Gourd in Window

by Richard
(Tucson, Arizona, USA)

Gourd on Meyer Ave

This old gourd is in a little window in a former shop that used to sell snowcones in the neighborhood where I grew up.

I had seen it many times before and finally decided to take some photos.

The gourd being so old and in such bad condition I felt that it would not last much longer.

I used subtle flash in this shot (even though it was the middle of the day). I felt that flash would enhance the detail of the gourd.

I was very please with the detail that came out in the end.

Since the window in the background was so busy, I decide to remove the gourd from the background using Photoshop and place it on a much less busy canvas.

In the end, the gourd for me is the most important aspect of this photograph.

I think Richard did the right thing here in using a little flash.

Never restrict yourself to using flash for night time only. In fact, look at professional photographers (at a wedding, perhaps), the flash is always on the go.

Many cameras even have a "fill-in" flash mode. This forces the flash to fire, even in broad daylight, and its job is to "fill-in" darker areas of a scene.

Thanks for the submission Richard, and well done for preserving a memory!

Darrell.