I am Superman

And I know what’s happening.

I feel like I’ve entitled a blog post with this REM reference before, though not since I started my own website.

There are still plenty of photos to share from my trip to Japan.

In fact, I’ve already chosen something.

That said, I thought posting a composition that I made this weekend would be a nice deviation from that.

I’ll likely share the aforementioned selection(s) before March ends.

Anyone who has visited Providence likely has seen the Industrial Trust Co. building, also known locally as The Superman Building for its resemblance to The Daily Planet.

Erected between 1927 and 28, the edifice predates the first comics featuring the man of steel by about a decade.

Hence any similarities may be wishful thinking. Or perhaps more generously a nod to the building’s art deco aesthetic.

Either way, the high rise still dominates the capital’s small yet impressive skyline.

No companies have occupied the towering structure since 2013 when Bank of America opted not to renew its lease.

Potentially it will be converted into housing, though that remains in doubt despite that the city is in desperate need of additional living quarters.  

I had envisioned doing a black and white composition of the upper floors for some time.

On a clear day, the sun casts deep shadows on the right-hand side, making for a pleasing contrasty image.

I got one of these on my phone on my daily walk a few days prior.

I rather like it.

But of course, I prefer to share images I take with my camera.

We had some light cloud cover Saturday morning, which naturally presented me with quite different conditions.

I waited around and saw some small shadowing where I wanted it. But this never approached anywhere close to the intensity I was hoping for.

That is not to say that I don’t like today’s share.

I am very pleased with its simplicity and strong contrast between sharp stone and soft white forms.

I also played around with black and white processing in post.

Those are solid. But color works far better with the cloud behind the skyscraper.

I’m also happy about the journey that took me to the photo I ultimately chose to share today.

Far too often in the past I have not bothered to set up my tripod.

Or even when I have done, it’s been a bit of a dash to make 3 or 4 different compositions rather than settling in and observing what is going on in the landscape.

Here, though, I watched the cloud, which was quickly moving from left to right, change things up.

The first frame I took has far less cloud, and of all that situated below the pinnacle.

The middle shots capture the bigger puffs floating by, as is the case in the final selection.

Towards the end of the shoot, the clouds have begun to dissipate, presenting me with yet again something totally different.

Each kind of scene tells a unique story as a result of the different quantities of cloud.

How great is it that as a photographer I get to witness and capture all that within the space of an hour!

Thanks for reading. More to come soon.