17 Jan 2013

Workplace turned into photography playground: Ramkhamhaeng University

One of the advantages of having a small-sized camera system (even though GH3 is the biggest among its m4/3 peers) is that you can fit it inside your usual bag, without the need for extra space. So today, as I know I had only a few classes at the university and would finish teaching early, I decided to bring the camera along with me in my backpack. As soon as I finished my last group, I had lunch at the canteen and started my short walk around the campus ground.

Go straight, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Arches and inverted stairs, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The campus is such an everyday environment for me, always associated with work and other unjoyful duties, that I challenged myself to walk the routine roads trying to see things I never noticed before, even though they had always been so near. Before long, and just by turning at the corner where I would normally go straight, I met the first little surprise. Little as in I'm a little drunk, when you actually don't even know where you are, that is.

No way out, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

What offends the nose perhaps pleases the camera, so I decided to climb the mountain of doubtful refuse to see if I could advance on the other side in unexpected directions, but as the good old truck seemed to be warning from the very beginning, there was no way out back there. So I climbed back and, as I was leaving the place, a golden shimmer caught my attention between the garbage.

It's not a flower, but it also grows in unexpected places, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

I continued walking for a while, but it was that time when most of the students finish their classes, and the lanes were becoming more busy, so, even if I hadn't explored that much yet, I decided to call it a day with the mental excuse of you can do this again any other day. You work here, anyway. Laziness is, without a single doubt, the biggest enemy of any creative work, but we always find pretexts to justify what is, ultimately, our own failure. I didn't want to feel remorse afterwards (how many times do you remember that shot you didn't take because of so many stupid reasons?) so I decided to avoid the hordes of students and I looked for shelter in an abandoned building that was nearby. 

When nobody looks, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Threat, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

It happened to be the old gym of the university, that once used to host a pitch, an auditorium and several other small rooms, but now all doors were firmly locked, ruins severely growing everywhere. However, not all hope was lost, as some students had decided to recycle its open lobby as a fencing training site, and reunited there regularly to sharpen their skills,  so near the bustle of the university, yet so hidden and quiet. I sat down for a while, watching the immobile contenders testing each other, and promised myself to do more exercise in the future. Whatever.

Balance of power, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Balance of power II, GH3 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

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