I enjoy going on photo walks early in the morning, usually in urban areas like my hometown of Toronto.

Much of my photography tries to reinterpret what urban photography is about, as I like images that do not fit neatly into categories like “urban architecture” or “street photography”. Even most of my “nature photography” is taken in urban areas like parks and ravines.

This photo had a very different beginning, but I think I ended up in a similar place. I took it when I was on a family trip visiting Port Dover, a small Canadian town on the shores of Lake Erie. I had decided to get up early in the morning and expand my repertoire by taking photos of subject matter that was not my usual subject matter: the lighthouse, the beach, and the fishing boats leaving the port early in the morning.

I took a lot of photos of all of these things, and many turned out quite well. Then I saw the light on these rails and just really loved the lines and the colours, so I took this shot. It turned out to be my favourite of the whole morning – probably because it is much more like the urban photography I usually do. I am drawn to these types of images where something ordinary and unremarkable (and rough around the edges) becomes unfamiliar in some way through light and framing.

Here, the light is beautiful, but I don’t always look for beauty so much as a different way of seeing something. I liked the chipped paint on the rail and the cigarette butts on the asphalt, and the contrast that this makes with the gorgeous light. When I developed the shot in Lightroom, I saw how I could emphasize the strong lines and symmetry through cropping it. It’s become one of my favourite images.

What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!

I think the light here is gorgeous and really makes the photo. The strong and simple symmetry of the lines is also striking (and slightly imperfect, which is interesting).

If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?

I would take more shots from slightly different distances, as that would have given me more choice in terms of how to crop the photo.

Lisa Austin shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.

Photographer

Lisa Austin, Toronto, Canada

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