Shoot to Thrill: A Hard-Boiled Guide to Digital Photography

Chapter 8. The Devil is in the Details

Checks Cashed (2009).

“If you want fresh air, don’t look for it in this town.”—The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

I was cooling my heels on El Cajon Boulevard, smoking a cigarette, waiting for Emmamarie Tran to fix the speaker in my cell phone. Across the street was a bus stop and liquor store that caught my eye. I pulled out my D90 and jaywalked to the other side for a closer look. A mural on the building of an American flag was begging me to snap it. Flanked by words advertising “Liquor” and “LOTTO,” it struck me as emblematic of hard times. The clouds were cooperating, too, hanging low, adding drama to the scene. Mean ...