The Accidental Photograph

I took this photo on the walk to Starbucks this morning.  I liked the contrast between these two buildings’ actual and reflected windows.  Windows upon windows. 

Because the idea of taking a picture hadn’t crossed my mind until the minute I looked up and saw this, I had to use my iPod Touch, which was the only “camera” I had with me.  Too bad.  My photo didn’t turn out nearly as well as it would have with my real camera and a longer lens.  I could “see” the photo I wanted in my mind’s eye, but using the iTouch meant standing in the middle of a (not too busy) downtown street in order to approximate the way a better lens could have captured the image from the sidewalk. 

When oncoming traffic sent me scurrying to the opposite curb, I unintentionally took the picture below when my thumb brushed across the virtual shutter release by mistake. 

Ironically, I like this accidental photograph even more than the picture I took on purpose.  There’s something appealing about all those lines and planes at odds with each other.  What do you think?

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About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor (PhD in English, concentration rhetoric) at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach film and media studies, political science, digital society, digital storytelling, writing for digital media, and communication. While fragments of my teaching and scholarship interests may quite naturally meander over to my blog, this space is intended to function as a creative outlet, not as part of my professional practice. Opinions are my own, etc.
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