Months ago, while walking along Alabama Street in my San Diego neighborhood, I came upon a lawn fixture from behind. The shape, which you don’t see in the Featured Image or companion, reminded me of a fetus—dare I say aborted—or not fully-formed infant. Then I moved past and saw the adult-child face, which gave me even more willies than the disturbing impression on approach.
Perhaps this thing doesn’t bother you, but it sure upends me. Zoom in and look at the two fangs for teeth exposed by the septic smile. This evening, I passed the creature while looking for kitty Annie‘s tiger-tabby housemate; she often is briefly let out after dawn or around dusk and I want to make a portrait for my “Cats of University Heights” series.
I took just the two photos, keeping to my typically thrifty habit, which helps train me to compose and capture quickly; one chance, or two, makes my shooting more precise. Being an amateur, the approach improves my skills, which are far from those of seasoned professionals.
Both images are composed as shot, using Leica Q2. Vitals for the first, aperture manually set for both: f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 7 p.m. PDT. The other is the same, but 1/320 sec and 7:01 p.m.