An unfamiliar subject -- the motorhome

Our latest assignment is to do a photo shoot with an unfamiliar subject, something that we wouldn't normally photograph. Since I generally have nature as my subject I was looking for something man made.  I spent some time shooting an old house beside the service station in Grant's Pass where we were getting a little repair done on the motor home.  That was fun, but I realized that taking pictures of old houses is something I've done quite often so I decided on a really different subject for me.

So yesterday I pointed my camera at the motor home.  We've had this old vehicle for about ten years and have done quite a bit of traveling with it.  But up to now the only photos I've ever taken of it were the kind like this one where it's posed in front of some scenery on the road (here on the main street of Mount Shasta).


The idea of using the motorhome as a subject was entirely new to me.  I began with the inside, taking photos as we drove down the Interstate 5 in northern California.  I took about fifty photos and found myself drawn by reflections in the mirrors of the landscape outside and then as I got further into it,  closeups of the hardware.  I kind of like the colours in this one of the latch on the "no-draft" window, something that cars haven't had since the early 1908s.

Then this morning I really hit my stride, when I went outside to take pictures.  It was a softly overcast day with some drizzle but that didn't deter me.  This time I took 130 images.  As I moved closer and closer in I was completely absorbed by the abstract images I was seeing through my viewfinder.   It surprised me that I wasn't even seeing it as a vehicle anymore.  Just as a way to finding abstract designs.  I've realized that it actually doesn't matter what subject I select, I can find things that draw my eye.

Starting with relfections of trees in the upper window.  (Of course I would be drawn to the tree silhouettes.)

Then again I got mesmerized by reflections and abstractions.  There water droplets everywhere and the chrome reflected the colours in the poncho I was wearing.  I really like the images where you can't tell what it is you're looking at.

 

This one reminds me of a kind of creepy smile showing rotten teeth!

These last two are more recognizable.  The first is the door handle and the next part of the side mirror.  I like the reflections here too and the limited colour scheme.

What did I discover?  First that I love abstraction and reflections.  Also I'm drawn to limited colour palettes.  But most of all, I discovered that I can find these things in almost any subject.