A crumbling area that reflects my meloncholy mood today.  I seem to have run out of steam and ideas recently.  I will spend the day tomorrow in Nebraska working on a shoot for the freelance commercial firm where I am working this summer as an intern.  Hopefully the change of scenery will produce some interesting new imagery, and an improved mood.

A landscape, strangely rendered through defocusing and camera movement.

Now that school is out, the campus of my university is very empty and quiet, providing a nice atmosphere for photography.  While I occasionally photograph on campus during the regular session, summer is really the best time to capture the many images that are hidden away in the nooks and crannies.

One of the first things I thought of when I noticed this pipe was the world of Mario and Luigi, as shown in various video games made by Nintendo.  While I’m not an avid gamer, I’ve always enjoyed the bizarre worlds in the Mario games.  The physics, strange transportation methods, and other things in these games has always been captivating.  I was happy to discover that Mario has reason to come to Warrensburg, he will have no trouble getting here.

It’sa me, Mario!

A padlock hangs on a metal utility box where it appears to have been for quite some time.  I’m really not quite sure what it is that draws me to make images like this.  Rusted, corroded, oxidized metals provide some of the most spectacular textures ever.  Scenes like this capture small bits of the work of humans which is generally forgotten and ignored for a very long time, until some weirdo like me comes along to photograph it.

A prosaic scene in a small urban area.  A small collection of the results of different human interests at work.

Nearly everything these days is made to be thrown away.  Some of these disposable things last longer than others, but a close inspection shows that very few things of any kind are created with the intention that they will be used and cared for for an extended period of time.  This attitude has pervaded throughout our modern culture, and can be found at the root of a number of unpleasant aspects of our reality.

A footprint left, probably unknowingly, by someone walking through soft gravel.  Humans leave a trail of some kind or another wherever they go.  Sometimes this effect is very large and obvious, and other times is almost hidden.  One of my favorite things to do is to walk aimlessly in urban environments, which consist of numerous such “leave-behinds,” and isolate singular instances of this in the sea of man-made impressions.

Maple seeds are shaped in such a way that they float downward in a helicopter-like motion in order to move further from the originating plant.  The seeds provide both playthings for children and interesting subjects for photographers.