Project 365 – Day 92
November 5, 2009
“Neighborhood Watch”
Welcome. This is a neighborhood watch community. Government and its citizens working together.
Citizen informants, delators… it all seems a little Orwellian to me. Yet, it’s in plain sight for all to see. In Europe, back in the early 40s, delators were doing a hell of a job, rationalizing their act by serving the government in place at the time. Denouncing your neighbor wasn’t quite so popular afterwards. Don’t get me wrong. I am not in favor of letting suspicious behaviors remain unnoticed. However, I am always wary of a government legitimization taking precedence over critical thinking or simple common sense. That being said, on a psychological level, you can’t help but feeling a little safer. Damn that sign.
The sign was obviously my main subject, but I still wanted to show the street – the neighborhood – in the background. I wasn’t quite as lucky as I’d hoped for with the lighting, but I didn’t want to temper with the photograph in any way. Maybe I’ll go back and reshoot, it’s not as if it was far away… it’s our neighborhood. By the way, who said the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM was not sharp wide open? I’m not complaining a single bit, it hasn’t failed me so far. Another fine example of what can be done with a fast prime at night.