Downtown SLO Photowalk at Dawn [Day 2038]
- On July 31, 2014
- By Brian J. Matis
- In Photo a day
Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 212 – Total Days: 2,038
I woke up this morning at about 6am and decided to use that to get a jump on the day and do something I’ve wanted to for a while now, which was to do a photowalk of the downtown area before the city had really woken up. So I quickly threw on some clothes, put the wide-angle lens on my Canon, and drove downtown. The near absence of cars, pedestrians, and activity was fun to experience, and it’s easier to feel less self-conscious when there’s no one around to wonder what I’m up to.
When I woke up, I had actually been hoping for some sunrise golden-hour type of directional sunlight, but alas, there was a thick cloud cover that gave everything an overcast look instead. Oh well, that definitely called for a different style, but it was still fun to work with. It really made me feel that a cinematic, letterboxed look would really work so I tried it out and was happy with the results. I even recorded a Photoshop action to automatically apply the black bars so I could easily apply it to all the bonus photos after I had done the first one.
One particularly nice thing about doing the photowalk at dawn is that it feels much safer to stop in the middle of the crosswalk to get a photo.
Seeing the bar-stools through the window, still overturned and stacked from the prior night, really exemplified the early morning, city still asleep feeling.
Court Street is always a favorite photo subject.
As is the Downtown Center area.
Don’t let the neon fool you, Woodstock’s Pizza wasn’t open yet.
Hey look! Some activity! This convertible was sweet and I just barely managed to snag a shot of it as it came around the intersection. Glad I got it though.
Well, there you have it, Downtown SLO at dawn. Although, I definitely intend to do this a lot more, as the type and quality of light in the morning can vary greatly and I really want to see what it’s like under different conditions.
And for the record, even though the photo of the day is of a Starbucks sign and there’s also a shot of a Peet’s Coffee, I actually got coffee at a local shop: Black Horse. ;-)
Amy
I love this! It’s great that you were able to get out and do it. It looks like fun.
Brian J. Matis
Thanks! It was pretty great. I loved how few people there were. Those of us out there were like some sort of special, secret club.
Luke
I just watched a indie flick set in a small town, these look like screen captures. neat!
Brian J. Matis
Awesome! That’s exactly what I was going for. Thanks, Luke :-)
Regina A. Matis
I love the early morning photos of SLO .
Brian J. Matis
Thank you! They were fun to make :-)