History and Horseplay - an Annapolis Moment

History and Horseplay - an Annapolis Moment

Often, one of the joys of being out and about with a camera is that lovely element of serendipity. Sometimes it’s just that unexpected little accent that turns a “serious” photograph into something engagingly playful. And it makes the photog just a bit happier that a camera – and the right lens (*) – was at hand.

In this case, it was a winter late afternoon in Annapolis, Maryland – just a short visit to take care of some gallery business. It wasn’t even the kind of day whose special light calls out for a camera. But, as a camera was along – and as the alternative would have been a long slog back home to northern Virginia with all the joys of the Capital Beltway in rush hour, I made the decision to spend a more pleasant while, exploring amidst the strong character of residences along Duke of Gloucester Street in the Historic District of Maryland's capital.

This one, No. 116, struck my fancy – the rich textures of old brick and the classic entrance and sets of stairs.

But the nearby serendipitous people-fun made it just a bit more special for me.

©2018 Steve Ember
(*) I had mounted a favorite Nikon manual focus lens, which doesn't seem to get enough "exercise" these days - the Nikkor AI-S 85mm F/1.4 - to my Canon EOS 40D via an adapter, which made the serendipity complete. The powerful light gathering capacity of this huge hunk of glass made the low light capture possible at a comfortable ISO, and its focal length of ~135mm, as translated to 35mm terms on a crop sensor camera, was just about right for including the serendipitously occurring "horseplay" in the shot.