Urban tattoos

I consider graffiti as a visually attractive form of 'urban decoration' - as long as it is put onto more or less appropriate surfaces, such as blind walls, old fences, etc. You shouldn't find it unwanted on traffic signs or any kind of private property. To the photographer on a street walk, these 'expressions of creativity' easily become colorful eye-catching subjects. Sometimes as a whole, sometimes in their detail.


If you look around a little, you may find nice samples in places where you would expect them less. Here below is a funny one, discovered on a rusty train wagon that is parked along the Schelde river quays in Antwerp.


You may have noted all pictures in this blog post are square. I like to go that route from time to time during post-processing, whenever the image itself invites me to do so, just like some other subject matter may lead me to black&white conversions. An exercise in composition and style, a tribute to old roll film cameras? You tell me, I don't really think about it that much when I go there...

Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8; D300, 18-200VR

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Loose ends

Dendermonde (D200, 12-24/4)

It took me a good while to realize, but I seem to have a thing for old, worn or broken electrical 'stuff'... Whenever I run into such a piece of equipment or circuitry during a shooting session, I simply cannot go on until I have grabbed a few frames.

Paris (D700, 28-200G)

I may spot them outside, indoors, on a wall or stuck onto whatever: I seem to notice them well before anyone else does. Sometimes, they are plainly visible in the open. At other times, they hide in the shadows or behind some other object and don't seem so easy to spot. What is it then that attracts me to these contraptions?

Gent (D700, 17-35/2.8)

For sure, it's not my training as an electronic engineer... More likely, there must be some visual qualities that make them look interesting - at least to the photographer's eye. Often, the textures of weathered or rusty devices are the first to get my attention, or the colors and how they contrast with each other: device against background, one material against another. Many times it is the pure geometry of conducts, wires and shapes that does it for me.

Dendermonde (D200, 18-200VR)

Remnants of older electrical installations are most likely to show such visually interesting characteristics. More recent gadgets tell a different story: you start wondering what may have happened, why the device was put out of use, half dismantled, left abandoned to the elements.

Brussels (D700, 24-70/2.8)

I guess that touches exactly on the core of photography: seeing what is there, dreaming of what could have been, and trying to capture and convey that imagination through a picture.

Gear notes: see below images

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Walk the World

Scott Kelby's second Worldwide Photo Walk took place last Saturday. More than 32,000 photographers participated to over 900 group shootings organized worldwide. I was one of the 50 'walkers' in Antwerp. We had a fun afternoon, strolling through the downtown area and - as always - discovering some nice new locations. Funny that an event like this brings you to places you passed by so many times, without noticing the photo opportunities!

Weather was very, very windy but dry and with enough sunshine for a good sky now and then. On such an occasion, making new friends is as important as making great shots. Nevertheless, I was able to put a fair little album together. I will put up some of the better pictures on this blog in the coming days, with a few short comments.

Of course we didn't part at the end of the walk without the obligatory 'terraske' along the busy streets of this wonderful town...!

Gear notes: D300, 18-200VR, 10.5/2.8

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