On Taking Assignments #15 - Leading Lines

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Leading lines can be a very strong compositional element.  I had passed this location every work day for over a year, and this old "Clipper" had been out on the street 90% of those days.  I struggled to find an interesting way to shoot this car.  I always felt there was a shot there.  I just couldn't find it.

That was the case until one morning on the week of the Leading Lines assignment.  I once again drove past this great car, but for whatever reason, I also looked at it in the rear view mirror.  The image above is not far from the scene I saw in the rear-view mirror.

Once I saw it, I pulled my car over and made this photo.  It is amazing how hard it seems to get past a block sometimes, and equally amazing how something as simple as an idea can take you past that same block.


On Taking Assignments

I frequently listen to the On Taking Pictures (OTP) podcast, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for good conversation about creativity, especially as it related to photography.  In January 2014 the hosts, Bill Wadman and Jeffery Saddoris, began a new segment of weekly assignments that they gave to listeners.  Results of the assignments are posted on the OTP Google Plus group.  I decided that I would commit myself to the assignments for a year without interruption, and that I would complete each one before the next assignment was announced on the show each Tuesday morning.  My 'On Taking Assignments' blog posts are the culmination of my year-long focus on these assignments.