The Theme is Steam

I’ve always loved the street photography shots that feature steam as a unique element. You generally see a lot of those coming out of New York City. Philadelphia is vastly different in the amount of steam we have being pumped out of the ground, and, generally, it’s funneled through large, chimney-like contraptions to keep it off the sidewalk. When shooting street, I’ve always liked to run and gun, rather than standing around looking like a goof. That was definitely not the case with either of these images. Above, I stood across the street, which was the best vantage point, just waiting for someone to cross through. This was, of course, at 8:45 in the morning while tons of people were headed to work on my side of the street. Below, the steam was being funneled through the aforementioned chimneys, but, at intervals, it was being beaten down by the wind, sending tons of great, billowy steam along the sidewalk. In this instance, I was waiting for someone to walk through while the worst traffic possible blocked my view. Instead, I joked later with a friend, I took this semi-abstract of a building and the steam out of spite.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Patience is definitely a virtue I need to work on!