2013 Project 52, Week 16 - Charm City

Week 16: April 16-22

I mentioned that I had been in Baltimore for an entire workweek for a series of meetings. I took the Amtrak to and from, which allowed me to pack a bit more cavalierly than I otherwise would- train travel means neither any of the usual TSA hassles nor any of the ghastly baggage fees of today's air travel. It. Is. Great.

Initially I thought I might bring my camera and more than one lens with me, since I would probably have time in the evenings to walk around. But, having to pack for a week meant that my bags were filling up with clothes and overflow for work related notebooks, I put my money where my moaning and groaning mouth was and packed only the 10-20mm lens.

I had a few evenings to wander with the camera and one evening at the Orioles' wonderful ballpark at Camden Yards. I went shutter-happy at the ballgame and came away with a few that I liked, though it wasn't until Sharon looked over them and was able to verbalize what was compelling to her about the images I took that I was able to pin down and file away some more notes on compelling storytelling via photography.

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/4 1/25s
On his own

This was not originally the one I was going to pick; but after taking to heart Sharon's explication on the lines leading towards home plate, stadium curves, and focus on the solitary man in the outfield (Baltimore's Nick Markakis), I was convinced of its post-worthiness. There is so much to learn and keep in mind when I'm out shooting- to say nothing of the settings and technique- that have very little to do with the mechanics of arranging the camera to take a shot and very much to do with the mechanics of creating an image and crafting a story. This is my real struggle, to engage all parts of my mind equally (or perhaps, learning how best to apply it unequally) between the analytical and creative.

This shot of the statue of Earl Weaver turned out a bit more poignant than I had intended at the time. The flags at half-mast and Weaver's look off into the distance recalled a sense of solemnity over the week's tragedies in Boston and elsewhere across the country in ways that didn't strike me when I was pressing the shutter.

Earl Weaver and Camden Yards in observance

A note about the ballpark at Camden Yards: it is so cheap! I have been to games at Busch Stadium (STL), Turner Field (ATL), Citi Field (NYM), and Yankee Stadium (NYY) in the past few years, and every visit to the ballpark has been a sellout with expensive tickets. The group I was with in Baltimore opted for slightly more expensive seats ($60 a pop), but when we arrived to the stadium I discovered that these were the best seats I have ever had at a major league baseball game; $60 at any of these other stadiums mentioned would get you a slightly less nosebloody seat; $60 here got us nearly at field level. I was able to sneak down to the field level and get off a few shots of home plate and the foul area/batting circles. Here, I was kicking myself for not bringing any longer of a lens, but it was exhilarating all the same.

Adam Jones at the plate; Matt Wieters on deck

The remaining two shots are from walking about the downtown/harbor area. It was a perfect evening by the water, and the sounds of (an okay band, playing) "Freebird" attracted me to the mini-amphitheater in front of the USS Constitution for some captures that I really liked. The wide angle worked well in the first instance to suck in as much of the scene, while it worked against me in the second image and obscured a bit of the scene I was trying to show. Live and learn.

Busking in front of the USS Constitution

Enjoying the spring evening by the harbor

2013 Project 52 entries:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | 

Week 8 | Week 9 |  Weeks 10-13 | Week 14 | Week 15 |