January in Arlington usually has some mild weather to get out and take photos. I mostly photograph architecture and signage, so the majority of these fall into that criteria. Coloring, creative editing, and experimentation were a large part of this month, with fewer black-and-white photos than usual. I also inadvertently created a pinkish aesthetic while editing one of my photos and copied the look to several others.

There were many photos this month that I liked, but these are my ten favorites from January.

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101 Center

This is a mixed-use area of Downtown Arlington, with apartments, dining, shopping, and other amenities. I liked the lines and coloring of this one.

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Cactus on Main Street

Cactus are a welcome sight in the cement jungle. These were sun-drenched and aglow.

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Arlington Music Hall

I saw Bricks in the Wall, a Pink Floyd tribute band, at the Arlington Music Hall. Great concert! The marque always looks nostalgic, especially at night with the lights and neon.

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West Street Bridge

I had two photos of this bridge and had a hard time choosing which one I liked best. I first went with one done in black and white, but then decided that I liked this one better. The greenish tint seemed to bring out some of the bridge’s character.

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City Tower

This is a downtown building with some interesting design elements to it. I liked the lines and chevron pattern.

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Corvette

The editing on this one was different and something that I don’t usually do.

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Shipley Do-Nuts

The lines and coloring turned out nicely on this one, with something of a dreamy look to it.

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George W. Hawkes Downtown Library

This is one of my favorite downtown buildings to photograph. The Mineral Well Public Plaza (mentioned below) is in the background.

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Mineral Well Public Plaza and Main Street

The new Mineral Well Public Plaza and a look down Main Street.

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Ocean Danger (at the car wash)

If you have a wild imagination like I do, you might see a man or alien-type figure in the bottom right-hand corner who is pointing in distress and looking a bit concerned. The large blue thing is a shark or whale, the white stuff is ocean spray, and you can probably guess what the red stuff would be. There also seems to be another face looking upsettingly at the ocean beast—look for the frown, wide eyes, and bushy eyebrows on the left.

I like this photo because it’s nothing like what it actually is—I took it at the car wash looking through the windshield. What you’re seeing is water, soap, equipment, and lighting from the car wash. The photo has been cropped and rotated, and the coloring has been slightly modified, but that’s pretty much it.

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Blog post & photos by Jason S. Sullivan, 01-31-24