Old Yangzhou Through the Window

I have been looking to think as a photographer from a way outside of the box kind of eye. Not just taking the tradition photos or just thinking like everyone with a camera today (or phone for that matter). But taking in what is not always getting done. What do I see every day that can be an interesting shot? I want to think as an artistic photographer and be less traditional.

Doing this is not just a work in progress for me, but I have taken this lesson from other that I have connected with here on Steemit. Just today, this topic was a short chat that I and @foxkoit had. He has shown me, through his photos that, things that we don't see interesting on daily basis can be interesting through photography. I have always know that, but not opened my eyes as much to it in the past. And with black and white photography, you can make those non-interesting thing, much more interesting to the eye.

These photos were from a coffee shot upstairs window, on to the roofs of the buildings in the village area that is at the East Gate Tower in Yangzhou that I showcased a few days ago.

When I first took a seat to have a cup of ice coffee in this coffee shot, by no means did I ever think I was going to take photos. I was taking a break from my tour and going to relax and cool down from the heat outside. But I turned my head to look out on to the old Yangzhou streets, and these dirty windows were there. And beyond them were the roofs of the old building.

Well, I turned on the camera, and I started shooting. The funny thing is, I thought nothing of these photos until today. Yes, I have looked at them a few times since taking them a month ago. After doing a little editing to them, I saw something. First I saw that old life in the area that no other photo of mine showed. But I also saw the dirt on the windows that told their own story. How old is that dirt? Or the dirt smudges, who did it and how long ago was it done. Well, these buildings go back I believe 800 years, so you take a guess. I want to believe that somewhere between then, and now someone stopped cleaning them to hold that little nostalgia to it.

What I like to pass on from this is we need to open our eye, beyond to margins that we live in every day​, to see the finer qualities that are in front of us.