There's a photograph that I keep trying to take.
It's not even complicated. There's a large tank that holds some sort of chemical – I've never bothered to find out what – on the university campus that's near my home. It's a long horizontal cylinder, painted white, that's almost always in shadow from the neighbouring buildings. There's an elevated walkway next to it, so that it's easy to see across the top of the tank and along its length.
The tank is usually wearing rain-streaked dirt, giving it interesting detail and texture. The curve means that there are always highlights and shadows. Shade, reflections, and lights give it subtle colour variations. I'm fascinated by it, and try to take a photo most of the times I walk past it. I test out new cameras, lenses, and film with it. I've done this for years.
Completely without success.
I admit that I haven't gone all-out and made a project out of it. I could be unsporting and use the camera, lens, and colour controls that I routinely work with for my commercial photography. That would certainly give better results, yet I haven't done it. Ultimately, I know that what I like wouldn't really translate into a static photograph, and both film and digital are weak at capturing subtle variations of tone and colour.
I'm a big believer in having the right camera for the job, but there are jobs that cameras can't do.
Comments, questions, thoughts? You can find me on Twitter or via e-mail.
