While Stopped In Traffic

A few weeks back, I decided to take on the black and white photography challenge.  It wasn’t the only challenge I took on.I found myself a bit stretched to find the time to do all of the challenges and then to blog about them. I am, after all, first and foremost a wife and mom. So I took a step back and assessed just how much I can do right now. This meant maybe playing around with a photography project once or twice a week. I would have to choose one specific concept to work on and go with that. I have many other experiments to share and well, I will get to that. Just be patient. It does take time to write about all this stuff.

I chose to work on my black and white photos once per week. This particular week, I came up with a sort of game to play. The rules are simple. I have my camera on the middle console of the car. When we get stuck in traffic or a really long light( which is quite often in Nassau), I look for a photo op from the scenery around me, roll down the window and shoot. I must NEVER shoot while driving. Generally, I am the passenger when I take photos from the car. Otherwise, if I see a shot, I can pull over and get out of the car to take a photo.

I shot this on a one lane road. This building is literally just a few feet from my car door. It’s one of many abandoned or under construction type buildings around the island.

It’s not uncommon to find Rastafarians selling peanuts or drinks to people sitting in traffic. Here, a Rasta’s bike sits propped up on a pole waiting for it’s owner to return. You can see a large bag of peanuts on the handlebars.

A dirt driveway to a group of houses in the back of the field. Broken down cars sit empty in the field waiting for repairs. Sometimes, we see children playing among the cars.

Now, there are a few challenges to this scenario. There isn’t always a clear shot towards my subject due to other vehicles or people walking. This week,I got three decent photos from our weekly commute to the grocery store through the streets of Nassau, Bahamas. My view of the island is often very different from what the tourists encounter here. Many of our weekly errands involve driving out and away from the tourist zone. Life in the Bahamas isn’t bad but it is quite different than what is pictured in the brochures.For example, it’s not uncommon to see chickens or goats hanging out on the side of the road.I spent part of the drive looking for chickens.I have seen them walking in unusual places such as  parking lots. They are ever so elusive to photograph and I told my son we would pull over to get photos today should we see any. Sadly, none showed. They seem to know which days I have my camera at the ready.

I hope to try the same game out next week. I am curious as to what other photo opportunities might occur driving around the island. My goal is to capture the everyday of our life here. Have you captured the everyday views that you see on your regular comutes?

Linking this post of with the Black and White Photo challenge at PODcast.