I have invented a photographic game I sometimes play when I’m out for a run or a bike ride, a game I guess I could call “Exercise in the Abstract.” The object of my game is that I find and execute a photo, something aesthetically different than I might normally see when my brain is not swimming in the Happy Juice of exercise-induced endorphins. Extra points are awarded if I can make the image without stopping my run or my ride (hey, my game, my rules.)
The photographs I’m posting today were recent Best Picture winners of “Exercise in the Abstract,” the winners picked by an esteemed panel of judges (me.) (My game, my rules.)
Above: There was ice on a small puddle that I came across when out for a trail run one chilly morning about a week ago. I did stop running, momentarily, to shoot the image...however, the photo is extremely sharp even though I’d been running a fairly quick pace and my heart rate was up and camera shake might have been expected. Thus the judge awarded me an extra 10 points.
Below: The confluence of shadow, light, and line resulted in an image that the judge called “Truly Visionary, Extraordinary.” The photograph was made from a moving bicycle (10 extra points) and against a brisk headwind (500 extra points.)
I am humbled by the success I have had in this game; I thank the judge for his praise; and I promise to continue to compete in the future in a spirit of sportsmanship and exemplary good-guy-ness.
