Thursday, August 02, 2007
Main Street Bank Building (03740025)
This is a slightly older shot, but while reworking the print of it I've realized how much I like it.
Permalink / posted by and copyright of matt~ : 3:00 AM
Comments:
I think I can see why you like it. For me this is something from time gone by, I have memories of seeing pictures like these but cannot remember when or where. I don't know whether your transfer of grain and tones to digital consciously sought this look but the uniform treatment of ground and wall feels like something from a different era. The windows, car and utilities on the right provide just the right counter-point; slightly more solidity in an otherwise rather dream-like rendering of the concrete. Your banks really are elegant places! So, you get out of your car and, hey presto!, a hole opens up in the wall?!
I wouldn't say that this makes the building more beautiful (as Colin sometimes says), rather it places it out of time but in a particular country.
The pattern of the windows, the signs along the bottom, the truck facing inward, the bin facing outward -- each element contributes something. A great sense of the building's size.
Looking at the windows again -- makes me think about the anonymous people who work behind them.
In some small way that truck on the left is doing its best to push this picture further back for me. Very strong verticals and good positioning of counter balances at the foot. Interesting piece of pipework to the right. That complex of pipes adds a little bit of conffusion to an otherwise geometric presentation - as do those two cut windows top right.
This almost feels like a stage set to me. The ute is just slightly too glossy and perfectly angled. It has to be drawn on...right?
I can certainly see why you like it.
The oil stain and tyre marks bottom right add a sense of time and motion.
I like the gray and somber tonality that suggets "work office" but the lack of parallex of the vertical lines a little disturbing. And the pipes and unit, with just that little hightlight, on the lower right corner take me out of the picture.
The truck, or ute as Colin refers to it, is an awful piece of Chevy retroism from a few years ago; I think it was designed to look like something from the 1930's. It was the truck that first drew me, as it just seem so ridiculous. The way it balanced out with the dumpster and the repetitive pattern of the windows sealed the deal.
John, the tonality was a happy accident, but I agree with you that it's part of what make the photo work. The comment about the lack of entrances points out something about the area I live in; these banks were all designed pre WWII, so they were meant for pedestrian access. The additions came much later, when cars ruled the earth, so the grand entrances were forsaken for good parking.
Doug, I could probably lose the pipes and correct the parallax in photoshop. I might see how it works. As it is, I shot this photo by holding the camera above my head to help minimize the parallax!
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I wouldn't say that this makes the building more beautiful (as Colin sometimes says), rather it places it out of time but in a particular country.
Looking at the windows again -- makes me think about the anonymous people who work behind them.
I can certainly see why you like it.
The oil stain and tyre marks bottom right add a sense of time and motion.
John, the tonality was a happy accident, but I agree with you that it's part of what make the photo work. The comment about the lack of entrances points out something about the area I live in; these banks were all designed pre WWII, so they were meant for pedestrian access. The additions came much later, when cars ruled the earth, so the grand entrances were forsaken for good parking.
Doug, I could probably lose the pipes and correct the parallax in photoshop. I might see how it works. As it is, I shot this photo by holding the camera above my head to help minimize the parallax!