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It seems fitting that the second half of the 52 week challenge should start with the profound theme of “Reflections.” It’s a contemplative and rich theme, but I wasn’t nearly so deep and philosophical this week and instead shot for it much more literally.

Abravanel Hall’s windows reflect and distort some of downtown Salt Lake City. The Chihuly sculpture “Olympic Tower” is visible on the left. – 3 exp HDR Handheld

Located just southwest of Temple Square sits the beautiful home of the Utah Symphony. Abravanel Hall is truly a gem in the heart of our city, I have had the priviledge to attend many (but not nearly enough) concerts of various musical styles at Abravanel Hall and every time I visit I am awestruck by the beauty of the lobby and the hall itself. One of the newest additions to the Hall was an original glass sculpture made by master glass artist Dale Chihuly. Named the “Olympic Tower” it was installed just prior to the 2002 Winter Olympic games hosted here in Salt Lake City. The sculpture was sold to Salt Lake City at a reduced price on the provision that it be visible to the public without requiring them to purchase admission, as a result it sits prominently in the lobby next to the entrance and as you can see in this and the photographs below it’s easy to view.

I almost went with this one, but that garbage can was a bit distracting… 3 exp HDR Handheld.

I liked this composition the best of the three, however almost all of the distortion that drew my eye to the reflection in the first place is lost. 3 exp HDR Handheld

An old water tank (soon to be demolished if it isn’t already) is reflected by its modern neighbor. 3 exp HDR handheld.

My daughter proved a willing model as we walked around the city looking for pictures to take. 3 exp HDR Handheld

Located in the Gallivan Center Plaza is this unique Monument/Sundial dubbed “Asteroid Landed Softly ”  I caught the flag from the Walker Tower in its side. 3 exp HDR Handheld.

Speaking of which, here the Walker Tower is reflected in the windows of a much more modern neighbor. 3 exp HDR Handheld

Looking up from an alley across from the Gallivan Center is this fun building. I really like its strong lines and geometry. 3 exp HDR Handheld

Part of the new mega mall in downtown Salt Lake City, The City Creek Center features large sliding glass arched ceiling panels that open or close depending on the weather (apparently they stay closed when it’s hotter than you know what..as it was this day). –  3 exp HDR Handheld

You know I had to get a closer shot of that balloon right?…3 exp HDR Handheld

My only monochrome for this week, a flag pole in a reflecting pool.

The color of the sky was such a deep blue this particular evening. – 3 exp HDR Handheld

I can’t pass up a chance to shoot the Main City Library whenever I’m downtown! I liked how the reflection makes the triangle. 3 exp HDR Handheld
3 exp HDR Handheld.

As the sun set I drove up past the State Capitol Building to try and get a shot of the sun reflecting off the waters of the nearby Great Salt Lake.

Reflections off water and metal, SLC international airport just happens to be in between downtown and the lake.

And finally I’ll leave you with what would have been a perfect shot had I been paying more attention to the little details that separates “OK” pictures from “Great” pictures.

As we left Abravanel Hall driving west directly into the sunset, we had to stop at a stoplight and as we were waiting I noticed in my rearview mirror that the lightrail “Trax” train was going to pass by next to us, (very closely in fact) in my mind I saw a shot of the setting sun reflecting off the shiny rail car and luckily my wife was holding my camera instead of it being in my bag, so I grabbed it and lifted it up just in time to grab a few frames as the train rumbled past. “Wow that’s cool” I thought as I made a really quick chimp at the shot in the LCD, (the light had turned green and I had to drive) What I didn’t realize until later was that I had mis-composed the shot by the just the littlest amount, but that was enough to make what should have been a great shot much less, in fact it’s basically a throw away now, but I’ll share it with you as a reminder to pay attention to the details even if it’s happening fast.

“Focus On What Matters To You”
How perfect is that sign, could I have asked for a better chance than this??

Can you see what I messed up with in my composition?      I’ll wait…

See my side mirror? It’s reflecting the tail end of the train and the city backdrop beautifully, only I’m not showing it fully!! Aaargh!

I actually drove around and tried to re-create this shot, but it was too late, the light and train were gone. A hard lesson to learn and a great shot lost, but a valuable experience to hopefully help me become a better photographer.

Happy Shooting!

Howard