Oh boy, I hope you like dreary, cause today we’re traveling through the rainy winter streets of Canton, Ohio!
It’s been said that you can, sometimes, take the best photos in the worst weather. Well, on this day, the weather was 34 degrees and raining — to me, that’s the very definition of the worst weather. Cold and raining is just harsh. Personally, I’d rather gave -50 degree weather with a driving blizzard than this cold, wet mess. But, even still, this could be a good photo opportunity. The rainy weather and cloudy skies can often offer up a deeply saturated color palette. Did it work out that way? Well, sort of.
Quite honestly, it was not an easy shooting day. The colors were there, but the subject matter was struggling to show itself. There were a few people out and about with their umbrellas, but they were often hugging the walls or set against busy backgrounds, so it was hard at times to capture them.
Instead, I found myself focusing on a lot of the architecture that was available. The cloudy sky offers a great chance to capture objects in soft, flat lighting. And while most people prefer the sharp lighting of a richly colored sunset, these conditions can be fun to explore as well.
Canton is currently in a transition period between growth and decay. Many of the older buildings are starting to literally collapse into the streets while other areas of the city are seeing extensive rebuilding and revitalization. I hope the latter is a trend that continues as it would be great to see this town march its way back to prominence in much the same way Akron has been attempting.
