I often walk/drive/shoot around industrial parks when they are most desolate, on Sundays and holidays. This way, I can work in peace and uninterrupted. I don’t have to worry about security guards or people asking questions. Sometimes police will drive by, but I’m a 57-year-old man in a luxury-type car, so I fly under their radar, and they never bother me.
The architecture in these industrial parks on Long Island is often a mid-late century hodgepodge of tinted/mirrored glass and shaped concrete juxtaposed by rounded hedges and organically shaped plantings. On non-business days, there is a real atmosphere of loneliness and solitude.
These places are often overrun by Canadian geese, who often make for interesting subjects. This is one way a business tries to keep the geese off their property.
I like to shoot the odd and unconventional. I try to make each photo a bit mysterious. I want my photos to raise questions or leave people scratching their heads. I prefer the grotesque over the beautiful.
The moment I saw this “goose repellent” on the lawn of this particular building with its very particular rectilinear windows, I knew there was a great photo somewhere in this scene. I shot it from every angle and vantage point possible. I also used every stop between f/1.8 and f/11. I processed this one and another (different perspective and in color) using Lightroom. I always shoot RAW and process in Lightroom.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
The juxtaposition of the rectilinear shapes of the building and the curvature of the dog’s back makes a visual impact, as does the grotesque way in which the dog’s limbs are cut off. He only needs to scare away the geese, so he does not need to be whole.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?
I wish the light were more directional; maybe coming from the left or right of the frame. Arriving late on a sunny day would have been a better choice.
Herb Symons shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Herb Symons, Northport, NY, USA
Equipment and settings
Sony A7III + Sony 1.8 35MM
F8, 1/100, ISO100
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