Last Chance + Sunflower

Brilliant Steve, I really like these. The near symmetry in the first works very well and the balance of the second is perfect for me. The sign and the building is balanced just right by the red tarmac and the lines and angles in the road. As usual I like that there are no people and the there is a slight sense of, almost, desperation to the scenes: the flower against the concrete and the the sign - it is not clear whose last chance it is; vendor or customer. Brilliant. :)
 
Thanks Pete!!!! That's a really strange part of town. There are all these ministries there catering to really down on their luck people, which is a lot of people in America these days. Just up the street there is a sort of mid 70's white brick post Mies van der Rohe looking church that is closed down and surrounded by a hurricane/barbed wire fence. I think the Last Chance is actually an operating bar, just not at the hour I was there. :D

I am really going to try starting tomorrow to not be so symmetrical. I think there are some things in my life right now that subconsciously are making me think that way though. I suppose I should be more deliberate before pressing the shutter.
 
I guess the key is to see the scene and image before you raise the camera. The image will (and should) be a reflection of you as well though. And if that is symmetry, then go with it. I really like the way you see the world around you (even without knowing the place -the camera is as good at capturing illusion as it is at reality) and it seems to have a strong element of social commentary about it (maybe observation is a better word as it seems very objective to me).
 
I hope I don't killed for this like that time I did the gun sign thing.

I am VERY liberal and oddly enough personally very conservative- as in my personal behavior. I have one vice- cigarettes and I desperately wish I could quit. I just have a hard time with people who photograph really down on their luck folks (I have been there as in really down on my luck and it does really hurt). It's almost like someone at a zoo taking pictures of the animals. (I don't like zoos but I do recognize to some degree the good work some of them do for species preservation).

I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, but it's something I feel very strongly about. Right behind me at that Last Chance sign were a bunch of sad people drinking pretty early in the AM. They would have let me take their photos but I don't think I could objectively capture it. Some people can but most people just treat them like they are zoo animals. At that point I have to wonder who has it worse.

I think the built environment frequently allows us to show how de-humanizing humans can be without taking advantage of people. I don't have much but I'm very lucky compared to the people who were behind me.

- - - Updated - - -

Actually make that two vices- adopting stray animals.... :D
 
We'll call that quits on the vices then shall we! ;)

I feel much the same way about images of people down on their luck (and much of 'street' photography as well). Having said that, I also see the value of the work of Arbus and, given the topicality' Vivian Maier. But here we see a contrast that in looking at the images now is no longer apparent. Arbus (and others) were recording with campaign in mind (they had a contemporary purpose) whereas Maier was simply observing (and it seems, solely for her own purpose). In the recent documentary highlighted by Rob, Joel Meyerowitz makes the point that in some ways the camera, the film in it of the image created was unnecessary the image was for her and the action of taking it was enough. I can relate to that in some ways - one sees and then uses a camera. Sometimes the image almost seems like a bonus!
 
Pete Askew said:
We'll call that quits on the vices then shall we! ;)

I feel much the same way about images of people down on their luck (and much of 'street' photography as well). Having said that, I also see the value of the work of Arbus and, given the topicality' Vivian Maier. But here we see a contrast that in looking at the images now is no longer apparent. Arbus (and others) were recording with campaign in mind (they had a contemporary purpose) whereas Maier was simply observing (and it seems, solely for her own purpose). In the recent documentary highlighted by Rob, Joel Meyerowitz makes the point that in some ways the camera, the film in it of the image created was unnecessary the image was for her and the action of taking it was enough. I can relate to that in some ways - one sees and then uses a camera. Sometimes the image almost seems like a bonus!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info on Joel Meyerowitz. I hadn't heard of him. That book is out of print...sigh... I have to find that at of course a cheaper price than the sellers on Amazon are asking.

I love the photo of the dog. I also liked the swimming pool a lot.

Is that a Leica he is using. The images from those are always so beautiful. It's the lenses I suppose.

I think in many ways Diane Arbus' photos are more about her than her subjects. Avedon is brilliant. That's another book I wish I had. American West. Unfortunately, it's also out of print. I started to steal the Dallas Public Library's copy but I just couldn't do it. Those are perhaps the best portraits I have ever seen. Just amazing.
 
The sunflower has a lot to tell us, Steve. Beautiful find. :)
 
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