Deck project begged for photo creativity

In the previous post, I alluded to how there would be pictures coming in this post exploiting leading lines and patterns.

That's true, but I also approached the content of this post as trying to be creative to illustrate the stages of construction on a deck built by Lee Ann's son-in-law and grandson last week. When we bought the house outside Raleigh a year ago, there was a deck there already. But it had not been well-maintained; it was in need of replacement because the flooring center point was soft and sagging, and the underside was caked in mold.

We tried to persuade the owners to take care of it because it deteriorated on their watch, but all they did was agree to have flashing installed around the floor base (there had been none, which is how water so easily compromised the underside).

We tore apart the deck within a few weeks after moving in, but the money we hoped to use to rebuild it ended up needing to go elsewhere, so we had this big hole behind the house that finally got to both of us this spring.

Matt, Lee Ann's son-in-law, worked in construction for some time and recently added a very nice deck on his own home in Fishers, Ind. If you are a regular visitor here, you might remember Matt from images I took of his wedding four years ago at Indiana Dunes. We talked him into coming to North Carolina and doing the deck -- with the help of Lee Ann's 20-year-old grandson Justin -- and knocked it out in just about a week, working long days in mostly hot weather. Matt even worked a full morning and early afternoon in a light rain during that span; he said he was glad to be able to work when it wasn't so hot and humid.

I spent the week documenting the build progress in pictures, many of which zeroed in on lines and patterns presented by the wood framework of the deck and stairs and from the pergola beams ... and of their shadows. One example is in the image leading off the post -- you get patterns, shadows and reflections (in the window), as well as the non-deck lines from the chairs and ladder and house siding panels.

Other examples appear below, but not all the images about lines and patterns. Some are simply attempts at creativity. They represent a mix of shots taken with my iPhone X and my Canon 6D equipped with a Canon 24-70mm f/2.0L lens.

(Above) On the day it rained lightly, Matt worked through it to enjoy the brief respite from heat and  humidity. I lingered in the house ... and came across this reflection composition.

The shots above and below were taken from a living room window looking out at the deck. The window is clouded with remnants of condensation (it needs to be sealed better), but I felt the image below -- taken from a much blurrier spot in the window than the one above -- offers a perspective you won't see many photographers show you. Maybe this photographer shouldn't have, either.

Above and next three below: Various perspectives of a patterns and shadows composition from the deck frame's underside. In the above photo, that's Matt (right) and Justin on the left tending to other matters of the deck.

Above and next two below: Variations of perspectives of the stairs framework.

An overhead of Matt (above) and a floor-level shot of him (below) sweeping debris off the deck at the end of a work a day.

Until the deck work started, we had an awning above the door leading from the deck to the house. When Matt and Justin went to take down the awning to make way for a pergola beam, they discovered a wasp's nest up the inside of the awning. Above, Justin bravely sprays the nest with Raid's hornet killer solution. 

(Above) Matt applyies a trim to a board. If you look close, you can see the sawdust flying off the saw.

Above: This shot wasn't set up. These were exactly how the wood screws appeared when I came across them on the paver, and I thought it was worth a patterns composition (of sorts). 

Variations of a similar pergola beams shot under shade conditions (above) and mostly sun (below).

Another stab at a lines, patterns and shadows composition (above), and a side view below, loaded with lines (wood, ladders and lower door facade).

Above: Matt relaxing at the end of his last day of work on the deck.