encounter




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This stairway is located on a wall next to the local post office. I no doubt look at it almost every day, but realize I hadn't "seen" it until Saturday. Usually I pop out of the car, hurriedly collect the mail, pop back in the car and never spend a moment noticing anything. Especially anything as mundane as a grey metal stairway. Maybe the light was in precisely the right place, but it's design and shadows and rusting edges captivated me. I sat looking at it for a long time before taking this one shot through car's front window.

Most apparent are the patterns created by strong horizontal and vertical lines. While these might represent solidity and stability, the more subtle downward-angled shadow of the iron railing suggests movement and mutability.

The layering of light and dark, the textures of the wall and red rust and the overall feeling of mystery - of an event about to occur - make it interesting to me both as an abstract study and as a visual narrative.


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