I quite often take my camera out for a walk. It’s good for the soul and good for your health. I started this practice, like so many other photographers, during our shut down lives over the past couple of years.

Normally I would take these solo walks during the blue dawn or golden dusk periods, those times generally regarded by photographers as the best time of day for light and atmosphere. I almost never go out during the afternoon heat, I find the light too harsh and unforgiving, whenever I have, it’s been a fruitless and unsatisfying hunt for images.

However, on a recent afternoon, and entirely on a whim, I headed off while the sun was still high and blazingly hot – why I did this I couldn’t say. I followed my usual pattern of letting the traffic lights decide which turn I will take here in my urban setting. Whether I go left, right, or straight across is left entirely to chance. Turning a random street corner and having this quite strong scene presented to me really made the day, an encounter made of a series of chance decisions and careless luck.

Having the afternoon sun so strong and bright has helped to create a dramatic series of vertical lines down the length of the corrugated iron wall of this inner-city factory, the added bonus of the black car, so nice and shiny, and illegally parked right in front, helps with the composition and balance of the image.

The reflection across the front of the car, mirroring the factory wall, also complement the lines in the car wheels and the lines of the yellow road markings. All these visual elements are in sync with each other and combined, help to make the image a strong one.

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

The strong yellow vertical lines are the most impactful feature of this image. I find them quite difficult to look at for any length of time. The lines draw the viewers eye down the image and having the black space created by the car is a nice way to ease the eye away from the strong element above. On a more subtle note, I like the way the yellow road markings reflect the shapes of the wall above.

If you would be able to make this photo once again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or different?

I would like to have taken this image after a rain shower, still with the same strong afternoon sunlight, but the added visual dimension of a wet and shiny car and road would have added that little extra element.

Ross Duncan shared this photograph in the FRAMES Facebook Group.

Photographer

Ross Duncan, Adelaide, Australia

INSTAGRAM

Equipment and settings

Leica Q2
1/500sec, f/4, ISO 200