So, here we go. I am about to go out on my first real shoot. This post will give you a little of the "before". First off, it is sunny and hot today but I will head out there about 4 and arrive about 5. I liked the way light was beaming on certain things in the first pre-shoot I did out there. So today I am looking for some directional light before the sun starts to go down. If you don't know what I am talking about the story starts here.  I also have some notes, which look like this:

To shoot:

-Stairs

 -Juxtaposition of buildings to buildings

-Vines up against red brick

-No sky long lens all red brick

-Rooftops at 400mm

Sorry to bring this down to such a pragmatic level but the notes help guide me or help me be selective with what I shoot, but also tell me what to  bring and how to start. BTW: Although good to have this "pre-project" mindset it can all change when you get there. 

Here are some of the"note taking pictures" that led me to draw up the list of "to do's".

So, there's a little glimmer here, a little bit of an idea or two forming in my brain. Nothing earth shattering yet, some ideas about shape of print beginning to work their way through as well as limiting sky in some approaches. It is tough as I am fixed to the ground, invariably pointing up, which gets old really fast. We will see what I can do about that. 

Prevailing thoughts as I go out to photograph this afternoon? To not be generic, to be specific and intentional. To link my pictures together, to prescribe a path or at least some relationship from picture to picture. To allow subsets or thematic diversions. And especially when shooting long, to work with where things are and are and are not in focus. The photographer's toolkit. With tools being used selectively.