Friday, March 12, 2010

Portals

Nikon D700, 24 - 70mm lens at f11 and 1/250th, ISO 400

We came upon this surreal scene unexpectedly on a recent trip to Galveston.  I had not been to Stewart Beach in many years but this was a cold February evening and not many people were there so we pulled into the entrance with the intention of shooting the clouds and waves.  These frames are not apparent from the road, or maybe I just wasn't looking --- they are behind the large abandoned building that had the restrooms and souvenir shop, maybe food places, which is still closed since Ike.  I cannot imagine what the purpose is for these wooden structures though at Honor's night Keese told me that for him this is a very morbid image because they look like the hangman's frames used in Germany during WW 2.
I have not been to the concentration camps and to me the frames had a "twilight zone" or Alice-in-Wonderland feeling.  They cannot support an umbrella, but maybe an awning of some kind?  It could not be very stable with just 2 uprights and a crossbar.  I hope someone with contacts in Galveston can tell me why they were built.  It had to be after Hurricane Ike.  I tried different angles and compositions and was thrilled to see a person wearing black walk along the beach and so waited until he was framed to shoot.  This image is actually a composite with another shot because I was not at this exact angle when he walked by, I think a mother and a little girl in hot pink were inside the frames in this one but not in as ideal a place as I wanted.  I also removed a ship on the horizon and cloned away a couple of distractions in the sand.  

2 comments:

  1. I never get time to look at photos during Honors Night at the club. This is a wonderful shot. It makes me think of croquet wickets from when I was a kid.

    I would like to see some shots made with late evening light and long shadows across the landscape. I bet that would be pretty nice too. The clouds definitely add to this shot and give it some depth, along with a very moody feel.

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  2. Really fine image that I believe totally captures the idea of rhythm in a photograph. I believe that fact that the structures seem to be completely out-of-place makes you stop and look more deeply into the photograph. Your camera position is great and your overall framing and composition could not be improved.

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