The fence around my backyard, including this gate, went up in 1972. It's definitely showing its age, and as you can see the gate is now secured by little more than a band-aid and string. The fence was painted - actually stained with redwood - when it was built, but hasn't been touched since. That would account for the interesting weather-worn texture in the pickets.
This was not on my list of potential safety shots. In fact, I was planning on driving to Roger Williams Park at lunch for some potential street photography. The weather is cooperating today ahead of what promises to be an ugly "wintery mix" starting tomorrow morning, so there would be plenty of walkers and joggers enjoying the park. Heading out to my car, though, I saw this latch - the same latch I've seen daily for the last 40 years - and thought it would make a most interesting black and white. That's a great benefit offered by this project. It does change the way we see even the most mundane objects.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, and boost white. A levels adjustment and a sepia photo filter were added in PSE.
What you need Ron is a power tool to fix it! It's a quietly satisfying picture. We all know items like this, and their history showing us how things fall apart. Quite a philosophical shot to my mind.
February 26th, 2013
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And this project absolutely changes how I see the world.