Saturday, October 9, 2010

2200 Block of Congress



After the photoshoot on Jefferson at Hutchins last week, Jennifer Chase, the photoshoot host, drove up Hutchins and in the 2200 block of Congress found a row of old buildings that are mostly abandoned and in a very bad state of repairs. There was some mention of using this location for the Zombie shoot on the 24th. Right now they are talking about doing it in a park and that does not interest me the least bit—no ambiance at all, dullsville deluxe. I sure hate that one persons insistence on “getting permission” caused us to lose a great location—not as good as Congress but a dang sight better than some park.

So after we left the stores on Leeland I drove on up to take a few photographs of the block that Jennifer found. I want to get back and do even more in different lighting because they will soon be gone. The area is covered in new lofts. A portion of Houston that I have really enjoyed will soon look like the West Gray area on the south of downtown—Yuppieville.

I didn’t have any ones in my pocket today so I was hoping that I would not run into anyone for the $2 Portrait project but the next time I go back there I will have a pocket full because the area is heavily populated with the homeless. With these buildings for a background I think it would be a great area for the project.


Janet and I use to spend a lot of time on the East Side photographing the color. For a while it seemed that the color was disappearing but I believe that it is coming back. I like the East Side, it’s like Montrose, filled with interesting people, but it has an ambiance that Montrose has for the most part lost. Like Montrose, the East Side will eventually be gone, the textures, the colors, the decay of time will be lost. I need to get to this area as frequently as I can. Maybe tomorrow Janet and I can have lunch at the Calliope Poor Boy Shop and maybe more of the employees will sit for a portrait. I also should consider stopping in at the Aerosol Gallery and see if I can get the owner to sit for a portrait.

4 comments:

  1. From the look of the shadows, it must have been pretty late in the afternoon, maybe 5pm? How was the lighting?

    It seems to be the sort of place that would be great to do portraits pre-12noon. From 1-4, the sun on the buildings seems pretty harsh.

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  2. Joe, the photographs were taken between 4:41 and 4:47pm. The buildings face southeast so a morning shoot would have open sky. The side of the building where the Metro sign is was in shade at the time I was shooting.

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  3. Gary, I find it an enjoyable visual surprise to see that new-fangled type of bulb in the looking-up shot of the old light fixture. I am generally attracted to shots containing only three or four large expanses of really saturated color as is true of that image. Don’t know what the attraction is but maybe it’s just the lack of confusion of many objects and color or, stated another way, just an appreciation for a few well placed objects in the frame. The light bulb was just icing on the cake. Well done. JohnE

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  4. John, thank you. I was surprised also. It sure messes with the ambiance. LOL I hope other people have better luck with the CLF bulbs than I have. They not only screw up my color balance they break if you look at them twice.

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