ben w. fey | photoblog

do not obstruct door

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:03 -0500

I thought these old HVAC systems were interesting to look at with the weathering and textures. The weathering of man-made surfaces has always been interesting to me. The weathering marks, or stains, are very organic in shape and sometimes color which is in contrast to the grid and structure of the man-made object. I also like how the weathering of man-made objects helps create a timeline and story for the object (some based on fact, some based on imagination).

If you are interested in the weathering of buildings, I highly recommend the book "On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time" by Mohsen Mostafavi and David Leatherbarrow. It is a short book with plenty of images and I could not put it down once I started reading it.

yellow airplane

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:42 -0500

I decided to walk around the neighborhood today to take some photos. Needless to say, I didn't intend to take any photos of airplanes when I stepped out the door. This was a welcome surprise, but only makes me want a longer zoom lens.

down on the corner (part 2)

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:24 -0500

This was another photo that I took on The Corner the other day. For some reason, I always like taking photos of newspaper boxes. I don't know what it is exactly, perhaps it is the mixture of bright colors? the graphic quality of the various logos? For some reason I personify the newspaper boxes, they seem lonely and it is almost as if they are staring out at the street hoping someone notices. Don't worry newspaper boxes, I noticed!

down on the corner

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:50 -0500

Took this photo on The Corner in Charlottesville. I don't have a tripod (need to work on that), so I just used the wall across the street to prop my camera on (which explains the unusual angle - which I ended up liking). When I was trying to think of a title for the photo, the lyrics to "Down On The Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival came to my mind, so I'll end this post with the chorus lyrics.

"Down on The Corner, out in the street,
Willy and the Poorboys are playin';
Bring a nickel; tap your feet."

moon in a blue sky

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:20 -0500

Another great warm day today! I took my bike (see previous post) out for a ride to the downtown mall to enjoy the weather, drink a coffee and read a book. This photo was taken the other week (the same day I took the photo of the hawk -- see two posts ago).

it is time

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:26 -0500

The weather has been great these past couple of days. It was only a matter of time before I got the urge to dust off the old bike and pump the tires. This, of course, was followed by a quick ride through the neighborhood and then a photo shoot.

hawk

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:11 -0500

This past Saturday, my friend Matt and I walked around grounds for a while with our cameras. Matt spotted this hawk around the engineering school so we ended up following it around for a couple minutes. I'm not good with identifying birds, trees, etc. So if you know what type of hawk this is, please let me know. I borrowed Matt's 18-105mm lens since I only brought my 50mm with me (which just doesn't cut it for taking photos of birds in trees). Taking photos of this hawk in the trees was the first time I really wished I had a longer zoom lens, which is odd because I usually find myself wanting a wider lens. It was fun watching this bird fly around (a couple of times right towards me). I tend to photograph buildings, small details, chairs, etc., so this was very different since the hawk liked to move around. If only I didn't get scared when the hawk flew right at me, I might have got a couple nice photos out of that. Note to self: get better at taking photos of moving objects.

blue gray grayness

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:30 -0500

Gray: of the color gray, dull in color.
Gray: lacking cheer or brightness in mood
Gray: having an intermediate and often vaguely defined position, condition

I cannot recall a winter quite like this one. These three polaroids were taken within a few moments of each other in my front yard. The yard is still a gray white color (with hints of gross brown here and there - not pictured) and has been for quite some time now. Despite the bad winter, I still wear my converse shoes practically every walking moment. I look down at the snow that just will not leave, can't wait for green grass to be beneath my feet. I look up, it is nice to see a bright blue sky, but it still lacks what I long for, the heat. There has been so much snow, oh so much snow. I am very much ready for spring to be here. I know people say this all the time, but I do love the spring and fall (sorry winter and summer, you can just be a bit extreme at times). How long will we have all this snow this winter? I hope not much longer, but that appears to be a gray area.

coffee

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:30 -0500

Where is the time going? I can't believe my last post was mid December! This means I really need to use my cameras more often (resulting, hopefully, in more blog posts). I can't help but laugh that this makes two posts in a row that pertain to coffee. I love the flavor of coffee and have finally starting using my french press again. The coffee mug in this photo is from the Pantry in Los Angeles. I went there a couple times with friends while we were working in LA on a design + build project for the 2008 SIGGRAPH conference. I really enjoyed working in California for those 5 weeks with some fellow 2008 UVa architecture graduates, twas a good summer.

Why don't you sit right down and stay a while?

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:56 -0500

Felt like listening to She & Him - Volume One. Such a good album, doesn't hurt I'm a fan of Zooey Deschanel. They just announced recently on their website that Volume Two will be coming out next March. The title of this post comes from the song "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" from Volume One. Felt the line "Why don't you sit right down and stay a while?" worked well with the image of the coffee mug and saucer.

I recently moved back to Charlottesville after spending a year plus in Brooklyn, NY. I can be a bit sentimental (perhaps I should have quoted the song "Sentimental Heart" from Volume One instead?) The coffee mug and saucer are from the diner I went to while living in Fort Greene Brooklyn, they kindly gave it to me as a keepsake before I moved.