I've always had a love for photography, and could see the beauty in everything around me. It began when I was a boy and would notice patterns, profiles and textures during my walks throughout the city. Unfortunately, we weren't blessed by living in say, the pacific northwest, or in a stunning beach town. Growing up in a gritty city can present a beauty in it's own way, and it all began with a little train station.

We had a tiny little station not far from a bridge that was caving in on itself. This is where I coined the term "beautiful desolation" It was likely built in the 19th century, and offered the detail in the woodwork of that Victorian era. The building was nestled in a beautiful section, surrounded by trees giving visitors a cool respite from the burning rays of the summer sun. I'd sometimes climb down from the hill above to admire it close-up. From what was left of it's shell, you could tell it must have been a stunning structure in it's heyday. There was one blurry picture that I took of it which was lost over the years.

Then one day, I stood on the bridge and watched as they tore down this lonely little train station. One could almost imagine it being restored to it's former glory, but alas that was not to be. Afterwards, I resolved to capture these gems while they still existed.

Now, I don't have a professional DSLR camera yet, but you know the old saying: "use what you have" so we'll begin with cellphone photography for now. As you're viewing the images, keep in mind that I'm picturing them as if I had better gear and more knowledge of photography. So you might be able to say "ah, I see what he was trying to do there."

I had purchased a new phone with better cameras, but then found that I would need much more storage If I were planning to shoot video, as it does not come with a micro SD slot. The storage you buy is what you get and 64GB is not going to cut it, so it may have to be returned. So let's take a look at a few of the pictures I took while on my afternoon stroll yesterday.

Life is a "walk in the park!"

Seated on a park bench, I couldn't help but notice the shadows cast by the trees swaying in the wind. It almost reminded me of the shafts of light in an underwater photo shoot. Following that, I decided to take a closer look at these rustic trees and show the detail of the peeling, fraying bark. This sparked memories of the worn wallpaper that was creeping down the walls inside the old train station mentioned above.

Next up, we have the shadows cast by metalwork on concrete in a small plaza in my city. I was looking about for something interesting to capture, when this section caught my eye. It almost appears that the arms of the shadows and the metal are joined together in support of each other, with the parellel lines forming the body of some structural creature of the mind.

The next photo is actually part of a "V" formation in the plaza that I rotated in order to give it almost the effect of a piece of artwork in a museum. You can picture in your mind a framed work of art, as opposed to simple lines on the ground. The last picture in this series is of the base of the flagpole, which to me resembled a clock of sorts.

I love the way the shadows changed with the different parts of the base, I only wished I'd removed the pebble before taking the picture! :)

We have a little bridge in a park near the river and the detail in the metal caught my eye. Recall waht I said above about shooting as if I was using a DSLR, these would be so much better!

The bricks of the tower in the next two pictures flow as if they're pouring themselves into shape at just the right angle. This results in the final photo of our majestic tower standing silent sentry over the people below.