A PHOTO GALLERY

BY JOSEPH WALTER

I received a singular, puzzling request from an anonymous e-mail: "show some of your photography work."

I would never call myself a photographer in any capacity, but I do find the activity very soothing and relaxing. Perhaps even mediative. I'm typically fascinated by symmetry, architecture, and light in the night. 

For this small gallery, I chose a few that I quite enjoy looking at. 

I wonder if when you look at them, they trigger the same sense of discovery or mystique that they do for me. 

What do you think? 

Notes:  
1) Don't forget to click the photos for bigger, uncluttered versions!
2) I have no concept of touching up photos, so these are all as they were shot.

"Vanishing Point"

My favorite shot. It encompasses everything that catches my eye when I capture an image: Symmetry, the blackness of night, and the glow of lights against that. This was taken very late at night near the Polynesian Resort in Walt Disney World. 

Pretending I wasn't in Disney, this image gave me a sensation of wonder, wanting to know where the tracks led and how far they went in this enigmatic, luminous world. 

"Inside the Door"

Something else I try to capture in a photograph is a sense of mystery, or something that provides questions for the viewers and makes their imagination actively provide fantastical answers.  In college, I was famous for late-night walks, and this scene made my own imagination bubble over. 

If this weren't a college campus, but some unknown realm, what could be behind this door, with its singular light being the only glow against the frigid night? 

"Orange Light"

This was taken at my family's marina while I helped my Dad decorate it for Christmas. Christmas lights have always been hypnotizing to me, and it seems the makers of these lights have caught on to that by adding this intriguingly intricate design that only makes the lights more hypnotic.

It was freezing at the time, and seeing the lights in this image gives me a feeling of warmth, although it is futile against the mind-numbing chill that the black represents.

"Plus"

This is my favorite restaurant in Disney (well, probably on par with Mexico in Epcot) and I wanted to capture exactly what it was I love about it and how it makes me feel. 

The nostalgic and dreamy vision of shimmering cars pulled up to a drive-in during a clear, starry night to view a sci-fi B-movie perfectly illustrates that elusive feeling.

"Within the Black Hole"

A rarity for me: Yes, this is a picture taken during the day. I was on my way into Philadelphia, and I was so overwhelmed by how the skyline and sun looked that I had to pull over immediately and snap the picture. 

Philadelphia finally looks the way I usually feel about it: A vision of Hell, or a city annihilated by some future Cyber-pocalypse. 

Lastly:

If you realllllly enjoyed any of these photos, I do sell prints for $5, should you be so enamored that you simply must have one. All photos come with a hand-written note or story on the back, so there's that!