The Hunt for a Better Shot - 14th FLOOR VIEWS Boston #2
Post #006: Tried to Top a Favorite Shot. Did I Improve It... or Kill the Magic?
The desire to Hunt, never goes away as both my game hunter, business and photographer friends will attest. Whether its bagging a 12 point Buck, acquiring that Billion Dollar Market Leader, or capturing that Pulitzer-worthy shot—it’s a vital part of purpose, drive, and pursuit.
I captured the shot above last October in 2024. I sat having my coffee, watching the CNBC Stock tickers roll past, before work around 8am. I noticed movement in my apartment. It was just me and Stan Lee (my dog), and he was fast asleep.
I saw that reflection and noticed something dangling-moving at the top of the picture. I turned around and saw that the building across the courtyard was having its windows washed. In high-rise living, its an important maintenance step and is done 2-3 times a year.
I did another double take with the framed, glass covered painting, which sits to the left of my TV, and then back to the building. An alarm sounded in my brain... GET THE CAMERA!
The Session Begins: Capture them before they drop
I grabbed my camera and came back to assess and start shooting. I shot some from sitting on the couch, some standing up and level with the picture. And I knew that I only had a few minutes before the "big Game" opportunity would be over and they would be working on floors below view. The adrenaline was real. The outcome? A few good shots.
This is one of my favorite shots as its really challenges the mind and need to solve the riddle of this quirky shot. I keep getting questions like, is this a window or mirror or reflection, what is the painting. why is there a lamp in the picture?
Sometimes you get lucky and capture a great shot.. I mean SOMETIMES.. When I shoot for 4-5 hours on a Photowalk or at an event, I could shoot hundreds and perhaps thousands of shots. But the reality is that when I go to look for the "A" Edits, or Keepers, perhaps there are 10-20, perhaps 30 that drop to the bottom and get selected.
I get a lot of recognition for this photo, and its on my top list in my portfolio. What do you think about it? Leave a comment below.
Lets Do it Again, But Better. The Trigger is Engaged and The Hunt is Scheduled
I got the email from our building and our next window-washing was scheduled for a 5 day window in June. This time, I realized I could prepare and plan ahead to re-capture the shots and improve on the first one. I had my tripod ready to go, had pre-checked heights that would yield better angles, and I removed the torchiere lamp from my side to not have it show in the reflection. (Some people commented that it was a distraction).
So, I kepi an eye out and hoped to be there when they were on the building next door again.
The Shot never Happened the way I planned! (imagine that)
My personal review - de-brief
This time the shot was made starting around 3:10pm on a cloudy day. In reflection, I see the "Photography" being better thanks to planning. I tested and changed focus points and apertures to affect the depth of field, and you can see better focus on the frame itself. However, the "subject/object" of the image did not reveal itself like it did last year and like I wanted it to..
This year, the time of day was different, the sky was gray and full of clouds, and I was completely disappointing with the outcome of the reflection. The building and window washers almost disappear. More of the color of the artwork itself was shown, masking the left of the two washers in view. Although from one angle, it looks like the window washer is climbing the tree.
There also seems to be more noise introduced. And guess what? The torchiere is still in the image. 🙂
And I thought to play with this image a little more to see if I could draw myself into it more with a different crop, ratio, and frame (of the frame).
So, this image above is another view of the same shot with a more square crop.
As the artist, I’ve learned to lean into creativity/interpretation. I used to obsess over realism—replicating the moment exactly as seen. I was more rigid and perhaps emphasized a “realistic” view focused on displaying I saw as closely as possible to the actual moment of the capture. That requires creating all its colors, lights, shadows, edges, etc. without any interpretation.
Now, I have realized, that I am free to display any view that I wish... What a freeing feeling!
And I still see something of interest in this image.. do you see it?
So, while I was not impressed with my work on this, I persevered and remembered, like the adage we quipped with our kids,
"You get what you get, and you don't get upset."
So its what I got. But I had planned to broaden my views and shoot more.
So I Kept Going: Still Shooting from the 14th Floor
Disappointed but undeterred, I kept shooting. My knee-roller helped me scramble around the apartment, camera in hand. I just can't stop "working."
Note the clarity of these shots is so much finer. I actually rolled onto my balcony to get these shots, unimpeded by the blue filter from the windows that line my apartment walls.
Please Don’t Forget. Share if you Care
The remaining pictures were taken inside, where the windows cast a subtle blue-tone. As a photographer, the blue tint of the windows is something important to consider. We overlook how much our brains auto-correct for color. When I look at objects in my apartment, my mind will show me the objects as if they were in a whiter, less blue light. Our minds, when they can, will adjust and as we know in Photoshop or Lightroom, white balance, tints, and hues to normalize for the objects. [See lessons learned below for some ideas on why this happens and its impact on art].
People at Work: The Window Washer Series:
What follow below are images from within my apartment taken of some very brave people who scale our buildings and many others.
These first few shots show the people who are scaling the building, sitting on a small swing seat. They diligently dip, rinse, wipe, clean, and repeat... from 10, 20, and 50 stories up in my hood. Gives me the willy's just thinking about it. These shots were from our Bedroom, which does not share the balcony, so they are directly in front. or on the side.
Its almost like ballet, watching the window washers move, extend and reach while painting the windows with soap and then using the squeegee to remove it.
Its time to move on and drop down to the next floor.
Balcony Detail: The Work Behind the Work
Its interesting watching them dis-mount from their ropes to the balcony. In my first year here, I thought they would knock on the door and just walk onto the balcony through our apartments, but nooooo.
I was startled at first when I saw this empty seat, and then realized that they got off to clean the windows on my balcony.
They are really good about dismounting from their seats and hopping on the balcony. We are one of 8 floors with this balcony, so they get some practice, but man... its unnerving.
These were tricky to expose: the bright southern sky created strong backlight. It is hard to get their faces and bodies lightened enough for detail. And with all the detailed captured by my full-frame sensor, there is a lot of room to bring up the shadows while dropping the highlights, a common practice when processing raw images. But how much detail is good? I am never quite certain, but sometimes a silhouette is enough to provide a moving feeling, other times the color or items within the image make a difference?
Tell me, do you prefer silhouettes or full detail?
Interestingly enough, they see me, I believe and do a great job of appearing to not notice me in my apartment taking pictures. (Were they coached to pretend?... that would be good professional management in practice).
Their motions were so fluid and stylized it felt like they were artists too. One even seemed to be drawing shapes with the squeegee while wiping the soap. The patterns that each washer uses seem to be similar, but unique.
I am also curious if the soap, when it is applied and masks the washer, is interesting or not. What do you think?
That concludes my Window Washer Gallery. These were selected from over 300 frames. There may be more gems to find yet. I am not done yet, as I have offered more pictures below.
And Wait... that's not ALL..
As you can tell, I am frustrated with my limited mobility, but it hasn’t stopped me. Whether rolling through the neighborhood or stepping onto the balcony, I’m still chasing moments that interest me.
Earlier in the day, It’s not hard to find beauty in watching planes crossing big fluffy clouds on their way up from Logan Airport.
And with the weather finally getting warmer, there is more hanging outside at the restaurants in the area.
While I am usually shooting events in the Seaport from the ground, there is still the chasing of light and shadows from above. Watching the races from above on the 14th Floor.
Thank you for you making it through this article. I’d love to hear your thoughts on photography, high-rise life, or anything this stirred in you. And as always, I share my lessons below.
Lessons Learned 🧠
So, as I write, and organize my thoughts, several items come up that I think are worth sharing regarding new learnings and thoughts. Here are the ones from today's article:
Cycles rarely repeat themselves: It takes patience, and persistence to re-create some of the gems captured in the past, again in the future. And sometimes planning still doesn't get you back to that unique special picture, much less making it better. Appreciate the process as there is always something to learn from it, but more importantly, the chase is thrilling. Look how many of us wait for those comets, meteorite showers, or shadows to form once or twice a year.
Print What You Sew: Culling from the hundreds down to 100 or less is hard, but getting down to 10 from 30 or 40 is even harder. Its a process. When I get this group of 30 or 40 from a shoot, I usually try to print them in 5x7 format. based on methods I have learned and adapted from great photographers. These become my "Work" products. Seeing them in Lightroom in Loupe or Group view is one thing, but physically laying them down on a table top, in a 4x5 columnar pattern reveals a lot. This helps to group pictures and eliminate and compare some as well. This was reinforced with a an amazing class at Mass College of Art I have taken twice now, from Michael Hintlian, called: Street Photography: A Praxis. I could go more into detail about this, but in a separate time. Should I discuss this process more?
Be aware of the Composition Colors and Tints: I took a great photography printing class with expert Sue Anne Hodges, through the Griffin Museum (I am a new and happy member). Sue Anne had us work on a simple, but insightful project. Take 5 "white" objects and place them together on a white tablecloth, describe the colors of white that we see for each of the objects, and finally compare my notes with what gets printed or displayed in Lightroom. This really opened up my eyes when seeing not only the different "whites" there were, but the affect of the blue tint as I placed my items right in front of the window and it donned its blue cast. This greatly impacts how you look at your pictures, adjust your white balance for pictures, and carefully observe the colors you remember versus the colors that you print.
"You get what you get, and you don't get upset." When I go on my photowalks, I sometimes feel like I come back with nothing. Over time, as I compare my work products from the past, with work products from current shoots, I learn more and change the way I view pictures. Don’t judge too soon. Let photos age. Let your eye change. The images may surprise you months or years later.
Your Vision, Your Image: As a creative, and not a pragmatic outcome driven business guy, my images are the result of my vision! Like Rod Serling from Twilight Zone, I have control of the horizontal, vertical, color, hues, highlights and more. I was inspired, not only by his work, but how Cole Thompson talked about his drive to be unique and not a “me too.” Early in his career he gained an early reputation as the "Ansel Adams Like Guy." He revolted from that notion and successfully created his own style and work that is greatly appreciated and sought after.
How much detail do you like to bring out from the Shadows... Its still a mystery to me on the choice of aesthetics or impact of silhouettes versus the details of surrounding space and items outside the subject. Sometimes silhouettes say more than details ever could. What are your views and thoughts?
Your Turn 💬
So, its your turn to tell me, especially if you are reading this still;
So what do you hunt for creatively?
How do you balance preparation and luck?
What helps you know when a photo is an “A” image?
As I get closer to recovery, still 6 weeks+ aways, I will be working on shooting more and returning to my long photowalks here in Boston and other places. Give me some hints about what types of work or discussion you want to hear and see from me. I will be displaying some of my beginning takes on different projects in my portfolio in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for listening, watching, responding, and keep shooting and having fun.
All photographs and images were taken and produced by me, David Rosen. Feel free to share this post by linking to it, re-stacking, or creating notes to spread the word! The images may not be reproduced or distributed without my explicit permission. If you would like to use the photos be glad to accommodate you, so please contact me at Click@davidrosenphoto.com. Thank you for supporting my work—subscribe or share to stay connected with my photography journey.
Nice photos.
It’d be really great to find the name of that cleaning company and share these photos with them - perhaps sharing the day and address those guys will get to see the photos. It’s probably not likely that they have high-quality photos of them at work.
I was once approached with a photo of someone caught of me and I really appreciated it.
I think you wound up with better photos (of the washers outside your windows & balcony) than what you'd originally aimed to redo. Next time, just don't surprise them with a flash - we don't want to read about that in the Globe!