The Second Look

"Window to the Picture Show" by Wes Aldridge

Sure you say, "Well, there have been plenty of people that have shot that one before," and I say true. Hollywood 27 movie complex has surely been the target of plenty of photographers with their cameras with neons illuminated against a night sky. I ask you to take a second look. The shot is not a standard shot, but one with a reflection.

The side driver's side window panel of a 1998 Ford Explorer gave the perfect interpretation of the glowing neons. One quick glance and I knew that a straight shot of the illumination just wasn't that special. As I turned around to walk off, I saw the Explorer's rendition of the beautiful sight.

Only advice that I have is, do not be a glutton for the obvious. Look at and notice the little things that change and will not be the same tomorrow. This Explorer has a slim possibility of being in the same place at the same time with the same effect ever again. Take advantage of those things and make them your own.

Hunting for the Shot

"Light at the GEC" by Wes Aldridge

Coming back from the Box Seat in Green Hills, I saw some shafts of light standing in the foggy night sky. My curiousity struck and journalist mode kicked in. What was it? Where was it? And all those other questions... So I made a turn away from the apartment and followed that light. I took 21st down to Broadway and headed toward downtown. Of course the neon lights from the Stage and Roberts and other honkey tonks on Broadway caught my eye with nice reflections in the wet street courtesy of a rainy day. I illegally parked the Jeep in front of the Gaylord Entertainment Center and jumped out to get the shot of the neon reflections in the street. Then it hit me: I am off task, this scene isn't the one I was hunting for.

I started to move my tripod and happened to look up. And there the scene was and my hunt was over. The lights were blasting from the roof of the GEC, right above where I had parked my Jeep so eager to take another shot. I guess I learned to keep my eyes open for other opportunities when I am shooting, but always do my best to get what I set out for. Anyway, it is a neat site to see and the clouds and fog really made the light shaft visible. Enjoy.

A New Year Rang In

"The Beginning" by Wes Aldridge

Well, in this, the new year of our Lord two-thousand and five, this is what I have for you. It is a symbol of all things dubbed "New Year." It is the top view at 1.8 aperture of a gallon bottle of cheap champagne, somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 and some change. I think the shot is simple and beautiful. It is a way that you may have looked at a bottle of champagne before, maybe only for a moment, but never really took the time to notice how you were looking at it.

This is the mind of the photographer. To take a simple and common subject and naturally see it in a different way is what fuels the adventure in my mind when I hold my camera. Photography is a grand puzzle when joined with life. There are never two identical seconds in a day and you never have the opportunity to take the same shot again. There is the split second that no one can teach you to see and capture... and you have to catch it, you must become it. Each frame of film you snap off is a piece of the grand puzzle. What piece will fit in next? What do I shoot from here? Which direction do I travel? What will attract my eye? What will be the vision in my mind?

A Hard Truth

"A Resting Hero" by Wes Aldridge

This image tells of a true moment in time. It is a piece of reality that reflects a current social position. This image was not staged, I just happened to chance upon it. I can't remember the exact date that I was visiting my parents home in northwestern Georgia, but that is where this scene played out.

Being the good, proud Americans that they are, my parents have flags displayed in the yard for July 4th, Veterans Day, etc. This shot is the remains of one of those last occurrences. It was a flag that was looked over, forgotten, and had fallen to rest on the ground. Its colors had faded out as it laid battered on the ground. The flag represented an American serviceman fallen in battle in Iraq and the flowers above were like a mother, sister, wife, fiance, lover looking over the dead body of their brave soldier that gave his fullest measure of devotion for his country.

This simple scene seemed to say so much. It could be a piece of any service man or woman's life. It could be a situation that some family had to deal with in their hearts. It was a symbol of ultimate sadness, very powerful to me. It dared to show and make someone consider all the darkest situations in war: Death. Then, with that exposed, one must question why that death occurred. Was it a neglegent plan of attack by an administration with too much gusto? Was it an unnecessary war in the first place? Did a man die for no reason, or even worse, a wrong reason?

When I saw this little faded flag I immediately laid on the ground, camera in hand and hoped that the sun would shift its position ever so slightly and make the light and shadow an ultra-dramatic contrast. I probably waited a good hour and a half for that decisive moment that made this scene transform from a snapshot into a photograph with true meaning.