"Walt Hanks" wrote:

Ken: Yes, it's a little contrived (a broken bottle on the concrete would
be
believable), but I like the lines and sense of composition. It is well
exposed and well presented. Thanks!

Hi Walt,

Many thanks for your generous comments. Fewer and fewer (myself included)
seem willing to tackle this aspect. I imagine that my reluctance to comment
is rooted in the same unease that many of those lurkers reading this post
feel when they think about posting their own photos to the SI. In both
cases it just doesn't happen.

I do find "a little contrived" to be a *very* interesting reaction as the
scene was actually a found composition. The bridge is located right outside
of town and carries a lot of pedestrian traffic. There is an Albertsons
grocery store a short walk away and a Safeway grocery just beyond that. I
assume a walker on their way home was briefly standing there looking down at
the creek (or at the recently rebuilt bridge itself) and likely forgot the
unfinished bottle and just walked away. I dunno...

Maybe I'll stop by those grocery stores to see if they actually stock
8-ounce glass bottles of Coke. I heard somewhere that these are
manufactured and supplied solely for the tiny number of people who still own
vintage antique Coca-Cola vending machines. (And there's a lesson in that
for those who constantly proclaim that film is dead forever.)

In retrospect, I wish I had waited and come back after dark to try
photographing the scene using an electronic flash. Doing so would have made
for a harsher, but more graphically appealing, image by eliminating all of
the background clutter of trees. (See, Alan. I do listen to the opinions
you offer... grin)

And I did keep the bottle.

Ken