I was sitting on the top deck of the tour boat, waiting for the tour to start. Everyone was taking out their phones and cameras, getting ready for departure from the dock. Everyone else was looking towards the river and towards the castle. Except me. I was looking at a forgotten and run-down corner of the marina on the other side of the boat through my telephoto zoom lens, and I was probably happier about it than everyone taking in the castle.

What caught my eye first was an old dock in a forgotten corner of the marina, looking ready to fall into the water. The dock’s angle as it came off the shoreline formed a natural diagonal. The old, weathered boards were worn, their texture showing their age. The fact that it was at the Alex Bay Marina meant it was once relevant.

Then I started looking at what else was nearby.

Another old dock sat next to this one. A sign on the end said no trespassing. It wasn’t collapsing like the first one, but I still don’t think I would walk on it. It looked like a lot of birds hang out there, though. So even if it would hold my weight, I still wouldn’t walk on it. I played with that composition for a bit before moving on.

I zoomed in further and saw ducks camped out on a small platform beside this dock. Weeds growing on the rotting boards told me how long it had been since it was used.

A small building sat near the shoreline, with a Rest Room sign still on the door. The siding was worn and falling off. An old hose reel was still attached to one wall. You could imagine what it had been like, but like the rest of this area, it had obviously not been used for a few years. Just as I pressed the shutter release, a gull passed through the frame.

We started moving away from the dock; it was time for the tour. I turned away from the old corner that had kept my attention, and looked towards the river. As we were pulling away past the yachts moored at the next dock, I finally looked at the castle across the river that everyone else had been looking at.

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Same trip last weekend, coming home the same inner conflict starts.

Main road, traffic. Camera is put away in the back of the car. We’ve had a long day. Is it worth it?

My foot reached for the brake, then didn’t. Then I started for the brake again, no maybe not. We started past the barn, and I hit the brakes, and reached for the turn signal.

My wife laughed quietly. She saw the battle play out by the brake pedal, and knew what was going through my head.

I turned onto the smaller road just past the barn. Less traffic going by.

In another couple weeks the corn will be tall enough that not much of the barn will be visible. The next time to get a shot after that will be with corn stubble on the field in late fall, or over the winter.

I need to get better about keeping my camera handy, and just stop thinking of excuses. And maybe stick to back roads where there are fewer trucks.

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More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

Trying to stand out on an Instagram feed where images have lifecycles measured in seconds. AI anxiety. Keeping up with the latest trend.

Photography can be exhausting.

My Instagram account never really took off. And I’m not surprised. I’m not that kind of photographer. Frequent posts, stories, reels….. The feed flies by on small screens as fast as someone can scroll.

So who are my photos actually for? My best photos, my “meh” photos, all of them- where does their value come from?

Recalling the past.

I recently took some photos of an old feed mill in town. As a kid, I used to hear the mill, watch trucks backing in to be loaded, and see the owner going about the business of running the place.

That was somewhere around 45 years ago. I don’t have any photos from back then in my own archive. I do have photos from today, which are a stark contrast to the working business I remember, as the old building has been claimed by time and the elements.

As someone with Aphantasia, I find that a digital scrapbook gains value over time.

Solitude and personal recharge time.

I sometimes get up early in the morning before anyone else rises. I started doing it for the light. But I found something I had forgotten. Early morning quiet is the best kind of quiet. And being alone in it with my camera has a way of restoring something the everyday routine slowly drains.

I don’t do it just for the light now. Some mornings I take my camera out even in the rain, just to see what I can find. Sometimes it results in photos. But I can always find that quiet.

Community, coming together.

Memorial Day is a community event where I live. Parades, speeches, picnics, all part of the ritual. All part of remembering people no longer here.

I took a series of photos this year of the in-between moments at our fire station as we waited for the start of the next parade we were scheduled to attend.

This is the behind-the-scenes part. A part of the community, and also an extended family that not everyone sees.

Family moments.

On a family trip last fall, I captured a moment when our young rescue dog decided to stay by our luggage. She couldn’t watch my wife and me both at the same time, so this was her way of making sure nobody left without her.

Moments like this can be lost to time. Those small, in-between moments that make you smile can be held onto with photos.

Maybe it’s less about who the photos are for. They weren’t made because I was seeking likes. They started out as moments that made me stop and look. Nothing more.

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The locks and the boat activity on the Erie Canal make for interesting photo subjects on a sunny summer day. It had been a while since I had visited the Lock 20 park in Marcy, NY. So my wife and I thought it would be fun to hang out for a while and see if any boats were passing along the canal.

There was already a boat in the lock when we got there, so we sat and watched the ritual as the boat was raised 16 feet, then the doors on the opposite end opened, and it continued on its journey along the canal.

Soon, 4 more boats appeared. The lock was drained so that they could enter on the lower side, and the cycle began again.

What fascinates me most are the gates. These massive doors hold back enough water to lift a boat sixteen feet, using technology that hasn’t changed much in over two hundred years.

The canal started as a key to commerce for our young country. Today, it’s a key piece of a recreational boating route. I learned from talking to some of the boaters that they were traveling “the loop.” They said if I posted photos to the AGLCA, they would be able to see them. The 4 boats in the lock were from Maryland, Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina. They had come up the Hudson River and were traversing the canal on their way to the Great Lakes. And they would eventually reach the Mississippi River and the Gulf.

One of the boaters did find the photos I posted online, and left a note. We had made a brief connection with someone, and helped them preserve one of many memorable moments of their trip.

The AGLCA account commented and said that “the Erie Canal is such a memorable part of the loop.”

Lock 20 is a familiar place for me. But today was a new experience. I’ve watched many boats going through the locks, but never really thought about where they were going. The brief connection we made today changed that. Those 4 boats we watched are somewhere on the water west of here, hopefully having a safe and memorable journey.

📷 Fujifilm X-T5 16-55 f2.8ii

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There was one sure sign that the day was starting. I could smell breakfast cooking somewhere.

We were camping nearby, and I wanted to come to the lake for sunrise. I came early, looking for pavement, doorways, and brick buildings still wet from the night before. But the overnight rain had been lighter than expected.

I hunted for some compositions of the pre-dawn street lights, shooting part of a roll of film, but overall came up empty. So I decided to go down to the lake. The sky was starting to brighten just a little.

Today was cloudy. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, except that it wouldn’t be bright or orange. But I was after something quieter than that.

Where I stood, it was cloudy. Occasionally, I could feel a slight mist. I switched to a digital camera that doesn’t mind the rain.

Miles away, the hills at the far end of the lake were shrouded by mist and rain. The intensity gradually pulled back, then closed in again as I watched, revealing more, and then less of the landscape.

The light, the sky, the lake, all blue.

I wanted a mood. The lake delivered.

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Owego, NY. June 12, 2026. You could feel the anticipation running through the crowd. People with cameras, people holding their phones in the air, people with kids sitting on their shoulders.

Then we heard it in the distance. A low, deep sound from the whistle. It wouldn’t be long now.

I came here hoping to chase a train. I underestimated the crowds. I underestimated the atmosphere. I expected a handful of train buffs being on hand to chase the Union Pacific Big Boy as it passed through a small town in NY State’s southern tier. What I found was a celebration. Young and old alike had come out to see history being made by a rolling piece of our nation’s history.

People drove from miles away, took their kids out of school or daycare for the day, came early, and gathered in large numbers to see this larger-than-life piece of our history.

I attempted to leave Owego and get ahead of the train for some more photos. I found one crossing where I could park, and waited. After one quick shot there, I got back in the car. But once the train went by, the number of cars trying to do the same became a traffic jam. It soon became clear I wouldn’t see the 4014 again that day.

This train is an exclamation mark on its history, the history of Union Pacific, and the history of the United States. It’s traveling the rails again in celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s existence, coming to the East Coast, ultimately headed to Philadelphia, PA, for the 4th of July.

Watching the excitement in the crowd briefly took me back to when I was very young, when I saw The Freedom Train as it visited Boston in 1976 for the US Bicentennial.

The Union Pacific 4014, Big Boy, is the largest locomotive ever built. Everything about it was, and still is, larger than life.

Did the Union Pacific put all the money and time into that restoration because it would be a good investment in advertising? Did someone foresee the symbol it could be for the country’s 250th birthday? Did they envision a child sitting on a parent’s shoulders watching it go by? Or did someone remember being that kid years ago, watching wide-eyed as they watched a locomotive go by, breathing steam?

As I remembered seeing that train in Boston 50 years ago, I think I know the answer.

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Everyone was sleeping when I left our campsite. Usually this means I’m chasing some great light. Today I’m just going to explore the trail and enjoy the lake before the kayakers and beachgoers start showing up.

This morning, there were only a few ducks out on the lake, and a hiker here and there along the trail. The light wasn’t incredible, but that was OK. The quiet was what I came for.

And that turquoise water.

Green Lakes State Park, just east of Syracuse, NY. The park is home to a couple of small glacial lakes with some unique properties. The rare geology of the lake creates a beautiful blue-green color that gives the lakes their name. (Green Lakes State Park)

My time spent walking around the lake allowed me to decompress, which is the part of outdoor photography that is the most enjoyable for me. It also gave me an opportunity to get a few images of less obvious scenes around the lake, and to come up with ideas for next time.

Mostly, though, it capped off a weekend away, enjoying family time, with a little extra stillness before returning to the weekly routine.

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When I got home, something felt off. Unfinished.

I went out for a few hours, taking photos and enjoying some rare warm weather. I had found some scenes I felt good about. And I made some compositions I was looking forward to seeing.

I hadn’t shot film much over the winter. And many times when I’m shooting film, I also shoot at least a few images on a digital camera. But today there was nothing to look at yet. For the first time in a few months, I shot everything with my Nikon FE film camera. There weren’t any digital images to look at. Not even a cell phone shot.

Today was recorded exclusively on Kentmere PAN 400 and Tri-X

Instead of reviewing images, I spent some time thinking about why I felt like something was missing today.

What was missing?

Feedback

When the majority of your photography is digital, you get comfortable with seeing immediate feedback. Between seeing shots right away on the back of your camera and on a bigger screen as soon as you transfer your images off a memory card to a computer or tablet, you know if they met your expectations!

Gratification

Just seeing what you made, because you want to. Nothing beats returning from a photo outing and getting that dopamine hit when you download your images.

Closure

Just closing the loop on the day. Maybe because it’s a habit? Maybe it’s partly because of the first two reasons.

When I got back from shooting rolls of film, this loop got stuck open. The images I made today exist. At least I think they do. Can’t see them yet. So we are just going to hang here until I get my film processed.

Note: the images in this article are analog shots from my archive. Images referred to in the story are still waiting to be processed.

Why does this matter?

The instant feedback loop is really powerful (despite its addictive properties). I think I’ve learned more about exposure and composition with that short turnaround, and with the availability of EXIF data on each image, than I would have in 50 years of shooting film.

Shoot.

Review.

Adjust.

Repeat.

From a learning perspective, digital definitely wins.

Feedback also changes behavior.

These benefits can come with a cost. For example, chimping. I’m guilty. Shoot, and then look at the back of the camera. Sometimes it’s necessary to make sure you’ve got the shot. But you can start doing it too much, to the extent that you are worried about the last shot when you should be watching for the next one. Again, I’m guilty.

Sometimes instant feedback is useful. Sometimes it’s a distraction.

Film preserves uncertainty

That feedback loop gets rid of much of the uncertainty about the images you have captured. While film preserves it. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you, but with film, you don’t know for sure what you captured until you process the film.

You don’t know:

• Was my exposure correct?

• Was it focused properly?

• Did I nail the timing, capture the moment?

• Did the image even work?

If it’s an image you put effort into, it might stay in your head a while, in the form of a question. Something unresolved. Until hours, days, even weeks later, depending on how long it takes for processing.

It takes up that mental space longer than a digital shot as you wonder and anticipate.

The Train

As I went further down this rabbit hole of how the digital and film experiences are different, I thought about one of the shots I got that I am really looking forward to seeing.

A freight train was approaching in the distance. With the digital camera, I probably would have taken several shots at different distances. I would have let the autofocus worry about the changing distance involved. And I would have had a few shots to select from when I got home to determine my favorite angle, lighting, and distance.

But I had a film camera. And guess what! There were two frames left on the roll. This requires a very intentional approach. I figured out how close I wanted it to get, the optimal angle, compression, etc. I was shooting with the FE and a 35-105 zoom lens, so I had options. I quickly picked the spot, prefocused, and waited. I visualized the shot I was hoping to get to a greater extent than I do with digital.

I think when I am shooting film, I put more creative effort in before the shutter click than I do with digital. This isn’t better or worse in my opinion, but it is different.

Chain of commitments

Film requires a chain of commitments before the shutter clicks.

You must decide:

• focal length

• focus point

• timing

• framing

• exposure

And then live with those decisions.

Digital, especially RAW files, let you make some adjustments. Even the timing/framing can be flexible with essentially unlimited shots and a high frame rate on a digital camera.

But with film, you have a limited number of exposures, and what the film captures won’t change much later.

Film forces commitment.

Digital allows more exploration.

Neither is really any better, just different experiences.

Why does it matter?

I started thinking about this because of the feeling of something missing. And I ended up thinking of quite a few ways that shooting film disrupts my routine. A routine and habits formed from shooting digital for several years now.

Film vs digital. In my head, I can think of as many benefits for one as I can for the other.

But one thing that this comes down to is that switching between them can disrupt habits. It can change your workflow and my thought patterns.

Breaking out of habits and comfortable patterns generally helps my creativity.

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I love sunrises and sunsets. I plan photo outings around them.

There’s really nothing wrong with that. I have not had visits from the photography police telling me I have to stop. So what’s the problem?

I am finding that I sometimes miss everything else. I came back from a trip recently, and as I was going through the photos I took, there were way too many orange photos. I did not have enough variety.

An appreciation of a beautiful sunrise or sunset is almost universal. And the challenge of capturing that beauty with a camera is addictive. Predicting the right conditions and putting yourself in front of that perfect composition just when the color reaches its peak is not easy. So there is a feeling of satisfaction from getting those shots.

For a long time, I thought I was chasing light.

Looking back, I was mostly chasing color.

What else can golden hour give you?

Besides a bright orange sky, golden hour provides some beautiful directional light. Looking past the color and shooting in black and white can provide some satisfying images. Texture, shadow, shape, and silhouettes can be used to create some interesting compositions. Taking away all, or at least some, of the color and using low-angle light at either end of the day can make these other elements much stronger.

Turning around and seeing subjects behind you, lit by the warm glow of the early morning sun, can also yield images you will likely be happy with when you get home. Turn only partway around, and look for subjects lit from the side. As stunning as the sky is at the end of the day, it’s easy to forget the effects it has on other parts of the scene around you.

Moving away from golden hour

Almost golden hour, or blue hour, is one time of day you shouldn’t forget. I’ve been at a location at sunset and watched everyone pack up and leave after the sun hit the horizon. But I stayed a little longer and got some rich and moody deep blue and purple tones. On the other end of the day, the first light before sunrise can also give you this moody color.

One photographer takes dusk photos of buildings and works to balance the ambient light during the transition from sunset to darkness with the artificial lights in the scene. Whether you incorporate artificial light in your composition or just use the fading light of dusk, a tripod may be necessary. But you may find it is worth it.

Midday is a time I’ve always been told to avoid. Photographer James Popsys, however, takes advantage of the bright midday sun. He incorporates the shadows cast by direct sunlight and uses that light to create minimal compositions against the bright sky as a backdrop.

I have other articles about rain and bad weather, but I will just mention them here. But cloudy days and precipitation can provide some of the absolute best conditions for photography, in my opinion.

So, as I said, I had way too many orange photos when I went through my shots after that trip. It made me realize I spend too much time chasing perfect sunrises and sunsets.

But that’s OK. I just need to keep looking for what else is there.

All images in this article were taken along the St Lawrence River.

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Here’s what he said that clicked:

“Not all photos are showstoppers, folks.

Then again, not all photos are meant to be. Some photos are like the coins in your pocket at the end of the day. On their own, they can’t get you much, so you just drop them in a jar in your closet and forget about them.

Then one day, some time has passed and you’ve got a jar full of coins that’s actually worth something.” — Nick Carver

Watch Nick’s video here:

Self-imposed Frustration

Too often, I have gone out with my camera and been frustrated because I felt like I needed to find something new and exciting to photograph.

Accepting the idea that not all photos need to be showstoppers gives me permission to take crappy photos. It gives me permission to experiment and be OK if not everything works.

It also gives value to the images you make that aren’t absolute stunners. They can still have interest. They may be great in a group or as supporting images.

Or they might be crap. But that’s OK.

Coin Collecting

A change in mindset from looking for that spectacular image to just being curious and capturing things as you explore a scene. Those images could become something later. A group. A story. A way of seeing a place that you wouldn’t have captured if you were only chasing the one perfect shot.

But I think it goes a little deeper than that.

The value isn’t just in what those images might become someday. It’s in what this mindset allows you to do while you’re there.

When you look beyond that one image that’s “worth it,” you start noticing more. You stay longer. You look at smaller things. You follow curiosity instead of pressure.

Your photography experience may not be quite as frustrating.

Because over time, that builds into something too.

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I spent a lot of time around motocross when I was younger. My family owned a race track, and I spent quite a bit of time there. I also took a lot of photos of motocross races early on in my photography journey.

Vintage wheels

I spent most of Saturday at a vintage motocross race. AHRMA is the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. And the members collect, restore, and race old bikes. Some of the bikes are over 50 years old.

Memory lane

The distinct sound of the older 2-stroke engines, along with the smell of the exhaust from the oil/gas mixture they run, transported me back in time. Walking through the pits looking at the bikes was a trip down memory lane.

I could close my eyes, breathe in the smells, listen to the engines, and feel like I had gone back in time between 40 and 50 years.

Vintage bikes I remember from my childhood. Some that I would sit on in the showroom, wishing I were old enough to be able to ride them. European brands like Ossa, Bultaco, and Maico were big names in the 70’s and early 80’s before the Japanese companies began to dominate the sport.

Full circle

When I began photographing motocross on a regular basis, the bikes were a little newer than some of these. However, reality check, the late 90’s and early 2000’s bikes I did photograph were also racing this weekend and are also considered vintage.

Capturing the races again brought it all back. Along with the other senses, tracking the bikes in the viewfinder again completed the picture.

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Springtime is here. As expected, the weather is bouncing between cold and wet, and warm and sunny. After the winter months, it’s hard to stay indoors.

Despite that, I let myself get discouraged and almost did not even get my camera out yesterday. Almost.

The light wasn’t great, and I couldn’t think of any new locations to explore.

We weren’t far from the train station, so I finally decided to go see if I could find anything there.

Winter has it’s place

During the winter months, I enjoy the minimal photos that can be found with snow covering much of the ground and the bare trees making up a stark landscape.

But after a few months, I need change. I’ve lived in the northeast long enough that I guess nature’s cycle is ingrained within me.

Spring brings with it a rebirth

The first day I can open the windows in my house, I can feel it.

Then, slowly, I notice buds on the trees and the grass starting to turn green. It shows as a green tint on the hillsides that you can almost miss at first. And then all at once, it’s there!

And then the scenes I photographed just weeks before have a new look. It’s warmer, softer, and more detailed than before.

Changing details

Seasons change a place, but so do we. And in a busy place, there is always change. Little details change as people go about their day.

Some people leave something behind after using it, or they leave it where they will need it again.

Sometimes people leave their mark so their presence is noticed.

On days when I struggle to get inspired, I can always just go somewhere that I have visited before and look for the details.

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They adjust the aperture for the depth of field they want, select a fast shutter speed to stop the motion, and a low ISO to avoid noise, using all the best advice.

All the photos are coming out too dark. Nobody told them all those settings are tied together by the exposure triangle.

I used to get caught up worrying about camera settings and miss the decisive moment. That moment came and went while I was still trying to react to it.

I’m not saying manual mode is wrong. It gives you the ultimate level of control. For some situations, and for some photographers, it’s exactly what is needed.

But it’s not a requirement.

“Real photographers” capture that moment. They do that by knowing their gear and not letting it get in the way. They understand that what is right for one photographer may not be right for another one, and that is OK.

Don’t be afraid to let the camera pick that shutter speed for you. Using Aperture Priority Mode and leaning on the exposure compensation button may give you all the control you need, letting the camera make those last-minute adjustments.

The photos in this post use aperture priority. I set the aperture, and the ISO, letting the camera pick the shutter speed. I also leaned on the exposure compensation setting to keep the silhouettes dark and the sky exposed properly.

The lighting conditions kept changing as dusk approached, and I wanted to think about composition.

The first time I had my photography hung at an art show, with potential buyers walking past, I noticed something important. They asked about the places the images were taken. They asked about the moment I had captured. Not one person asked what camera settings I used, or if it was in manual mode.

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Looking for small scenes with my camera, I like to pay attention to the hints of things going on behind the scenes. Things that often go unnoticed.

A variety of goods are made here, part of the process of demonstrating some of the practices and technology of the time. Many of these items are sold in the museum store, but some are also put to use around the grounds.

I like the realism of items that have been used, and remain in the field until needed again. Antiques that are not in a manicured display setting, but were used to create, or maintain aspects of the farm and the village.

What I like the most are the textures that show not only age, but continued use. Many of the displays are not just static artifacts in a display case, or behind a rope barrier. Tools sitting like they would have been, on a workbench in 1840. Shown as they would have been then. And also where they can be picked up and used today.

If you’re in Cooperstown, NY, look up the Fenimore Farm and Country Village. And when you’re there, don’t forget to look in the out of the way places, on the edges of the exhibits.

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Photography is relaxation for me. There is something calming about walking around with a camera, looking at the light and shadow, textures, shapes, colors, and anything else to see if there is something of interest for a frame.

“One should not only photograph things for what they are, but for what else they are.” - Minor White

Finding what else something is can be a challenge for me. And it is what gets me lost in the moment instead of everything else that’s on my mind.

Then along comes Substack with an amazing photography community. The pace is slower, and there’s no feed filled with perfect photos.

And stories….

Writing about my photos: How hard can that be?

A photo is something, more often than not, that just happens in my viewfinder.

I come home with a few, bring them into Lightroom, and see which ones look good.

Then what? What do you say about them? Stories about the place you took the image start to sound the same if you go to the same state parks and small towns.

I’ve been posting for around a year now. Finding my voice and figuring out what to say is definitely not getting a lot easier.

What’s my plan?

Going forward, I’m going to try to write more about what I noticed about a scene that made me hit the shutter button, and what I like about the composition. In my visual field notes posts, I’ll add more technical tips and discuss challenges some shots may have presented.

This week’s images

I have a few images along this hill. It faces west, and late in the day, an interesting sky can provide opportunities. This sky wasn’t great, not many clouds, not late enough in the day to start turning colors. But I happened to drive by while these horses were grazing along the hilltop. The bright blue sky behind them, with the backlit horses, made me stop and see how the silhouettes would turn out.

If you’re a photographer, does writing here on Substack come naturally, or do you struggle with the narrative side of a post?

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I used to keep my camera gear packed away when the weather was bad.

But using camera covers and eventually weather-resistant cameras and lenses (and both if it’s raining hard enough), I found that some special images can be found when the rain starts.

Simplified color/subdued light

A sky filled with rain or mist can simplify the landscape. A background that is normally too busy can be softened, letting details in the foreground stand out. Without shadows created by harsher light, and with some of the color muted or hidden by the mist, other elements in the scene can become the focus of an image.

On rainy days, I like to return to places with an interesting barn, tree, or other subject that has distracting elements behind it. Or to subjects I’ve photographed before that would look good with the softer mood provided by rain.

Is there something you pass every day that has a completely different look on a rainy day?

Details and textures

I enjoy finding hidden details in a scene, no matter what the weather is like.

The rain brings with it some new opportunities, letting textures and shapes stand out where color may dominate on a sunny day.

Reflections

Don’t forget to look down. Water on the ground, while it’s raining or soon after, can take on almost abstract qualities. Look for sources of light near standing water. Slow down, take a moment to check multiple angles, and see what the light gives you.

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

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I had been waiting for the right conditions to experiment with reflections on wet pavement and water.

Rain has been frequent, but it's either during the day or in the evenings, when I wasn’t able to go out with my camera.

Last weekend was perfect. Not a downpour, but there was enough rain so the ground was soaked.

All the way to town, I was thinking about this image. I wasn’t exactly sure where to find it, but this was what I was looking for first.

I took the first few shots without leaving the car. Street lights, reflections, and water drops.

After I took a few of those, I got out and wandered around for a while. It was still raining, but not hard.

Pioneer Street is always a favorite of mine. The welcoming lights at Cooley’s Tavern and the reflections on the pavement added a little more to the scene.

This alley doesn’t have street lights. A couple of doorways are lit, but the obvious light sources aren’t here.

I took some time to notice the light that was there and where it was coming from.

And to notice where the reflections were.

On Main Street, most of the shops were closed.
There weren’t many people.

I didn’t need to rush anywhere.
I could just stand there and watch what the light was doing.

📷 Fujifilm X-T5 and 56mm f1.2 WR

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

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It was all about catching the motion. Timing it right. And waiting to see what would come along.

So I stopped back at Union Station to see if I could catch one of the scheduled Amtraks or a freight passing the station.

It was one of the first warm days this spring, so I waited outside to see what would pass by.

But while I was waiting, I had time to notice more.

What I look for has changed over the years.

It’s not about the motion anymore or catching that one unique engine at the front of a passing train.

Today I’m more interested in the old things. The worn-out things. The things that are rusty.

I like to find the surfaces that make you wonder what they’ve been through.

The awning over the platform is functional. Showing its age, but still doing its job. Lots of texture that only time and weather can create.

Across the tracks, there are some old engines and railcars. I don’t know what shape this 1950’s ALCO is in. It’s been left here on a siding. What do you think, parts, or restoration?

Sections of the station are being restored and repurposed. Some things are still waiting. It’s good to stop by and notice what’s old and what’s new. Next time it may be different.

Inside the station tells a different story.

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

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I almost did stop to take this shot.

In fact I drove right past it the first time.

It was a gray overcast day, and I was looking for old trees with open sky behind them. I was looking for shape and contrast.

I noticed these trees right away, but I didn’t think too much about them at first other than the shape. There was too much else around them, too much clutter. So I kept going.

But as I drove past, I finally noticed the old house. Really noticed it.

Made of brick, but falling down. It had character. It had history. And it looked like it had once been a beautiful house, with big old shade trees behind it.

I was past it. But the story was in my head now.

I went back. Back to the first view I had of the trees, with the back of the house, the shed and the metal tower.

The overcast sky was perfect. The trees had once provided shade for the house and its residents.

Now they just stand and watch as the house slowly returns to the earth.

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

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When I started out in photography, I spent a lot of time trying to learn all the rules. The rule of thirds, leading lines, and other rules of composition. What did people say was the right lens, the right shutter speed, the right aperture.

And I went nuts trying to remember it all.

Eventually I learned something else.

You also have to learn when to forget it all.

I still see new photographers getting hung up on the question of what’s right.

They ask questions like:

• What lens should I buy?

• What exposure should I use?

• What film simulation is the best?

The problem with questions like these is that the “right” answer is usually very subjective.

The photographers answering them are giving their opinions. And those opinions come directly from their own taste, experience, and artistic style.

There’s nothing wrong with asking for other people’s opinions.

Just remember that they aren’t rules.

And be curious.

Some of the photographs I end up liking the most didn’t come from following a rule.

They came from doing something wrong. Something like shooting in bad light, or at the wrong time of the day. Going outside the what is “correct” and challenging myself to find a shot that actually worked.

With a digital camera, it costs literally nothing to experiment. Try different things. Break the “rules.” See what happens.

Curiosity will teach you more than any rule ever will.

What photography rule helped you when you started… and which one did you eventually ignore?

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

Subscribe now