Delano + Downtown ICT

When you’re a budding photographer in the Midwest who doesn't want to focus (pun intended!) on landscapes, weddings or families and you're too shy to ask people if you can take their photos, there tends to be a lot of photo block. The urge to take photos is sooo strong but the content options are so....empty. Frustration sets in...

That frustration was what I was feeling when 3rd Eye Blue and I first set foot in Delano. First of all, it was a little chilly. Not too bad for a December day in Kansas but still enough to cause nose sniffles. Then I felt like uggggghhhh nothing to photograph! I seriously spent so many shots on trying to make rental scooters look avant-grade it was getting ridiculous (I’ll spare you).

However, after I snapped this shot I started to feel a bit better:

Then came the bridge over the Arkansas River and the creativity started to rev up:

Once we crossed the river (dying of dysentery was thankfully avoided!) the vibes started coming together. I love inner city photography - the grittiness, the architecture, the unexpected.

As we sauntered down sidewalks and alleyways my RBF was out in full force to give anyone who wanted to mess with us at least a second thought before doing so. Following are my more moody shots:

As if the views weren’t cool enough, when we came out of the maze of alleys and side streets it was golden hour! The most wonderful time of the day for any photographer!

Alas, because of the cold my camera battery soon went out. They say the best camera you have is the one you have on you so I had to whip out of my iPhone for this creepiness:

It was getting to the point in the day where if we didn’t want to be like Richard we needed to cross the river before dark.

When we got back to our cars in Delano I was feeling 100% better than I had a mere couple of hours before. Thanks photography!