The Iowa Photo: Double vision at NewBo’s Fulton Lofts

Nothing beats a vivid blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds.

I was photographing two men installing a large mural on the side of the Fulton Lofts near NewBo in Cedar Rapids. Fellow photojournalist Jim Slosiarek had already been out the day before to get the men starting the installation process so I wanted to challenge myself to find something different since they were still working on installing the final row of the mural.

When it comes to covering something big like a mural installation, I always try to take a few steps back to look at the entire scene and see what pops out to me. As the men moved the crane to add the final piece, I noticed my reflection in the window next to them — an instant light bulb went off in my head.

I climbed on top of the stone landscaping to get closer to the men working and crouched down to see a mirror image of Taqiy working and knew this was the shot I was looking for.

I was pressed against the window to get as much sky as possible reflected in the window. I lucked out with the beautiful deep blue sky that created negative space and the Toy Story-esque clouds that helped frame Taqiy.