In an effort to beautify our downtown, this statue and others like it were placed at some intersections a few years ago. I think it helped, and the sight of these still life pedestrians casually leaning on fences or sitting on benches helps lend a friendly and inviting atmosphere to the downtown aesthetic. I have often thought about getting a picture of one of them, but the light is never conducive to a good photo during the daytime. So one morning, as I often do in the warmer months, I brought my camera to work with me and stopped downtown briefly to snap a picture. Incidentally, one of the benefits of living in a small town is that this type of detour only adds about two minutes to the drive to work :)
It took a bit of experimenting to get the statue framed how I wanted it, and I had to shoot wide open at f/1.8 in order to get a quick enough shutter speed for a sharp handheld shot. I like to stick to ISO 200 or lower on my D200 if at all possible, which at this hour of the day, at f/1.8, resulted in a shutter speed of 1/160. That’s plenty fast enough for a sharp handheld shot like this, especially when the subject is standing still. I don’t know this guy’s name, but he seems like a chill dude who would be fun to hang with for a while. Or at least someone who enjoys a good sunrise.
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