A couple walking across the Tower Bridge towards the West Sacramento side, stopping, glancing up at the bridge, the gentleman taking several photographs, and then continuing on their way. I never did investigate what caught their eye. What caught mine was the “Get Beyond Gate” sign.
The love-hate relationship I have with the Tower Bridge was in full force. I love the bridge, the Streamline Moderne (or art moderne) style which stripped away the excesses of the Art Deco movement. I hate the fact that the bridge has been photographed from pretty much every angle possible, or at least it feels that way.
(As a complete sidebar, French designer and architect Jacques Carlu was a practitioner Art Deco and then of Streamline Moderne. He is the brother of Jean Carlu, a graphic designer that also started in Art Deco and then also moved to Streamline Moderne. Incidentally, I do have an original stone litho poster of Jean’s named “Emprunt National“)
Anyhow, back to the photograph. I had started off processing with the intent of leaving the photo in color. The radiant yellow/gold tones of the bridge and the sodium lights are definitely a draw. I pulled the processed color photo into Silver EFex Pro 2 just to explore the possibilities. Several passes through previous saved presets brought about a slightly sinister noir feel. Except for the clear lines of the bridge, lights, and now foreboding sign warning to “Get Beyond Gate” (selectively colored with a bit of the original yellow/gold to focus the viewer’s attention on it), the couple is barely discernible with the viewer having to work a little harder to figure out what is happening in the scene.
In fact, not much is clear, except to get beyond the gate.
Recent Sacramento street photography:
- Ice, American Ice Company, B&W
- Abandoned Warehouse, Woman (Vertical, Horizontal)
- (Ic)eland Shadow, Concrete Wall, Charred Door
- Tower Bridge, Sunset Clouds
- Tower Bridge, Light Trails
EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center weighted metering mode, 110mm, ISO 100, 20 sec, f/10
Get Beyond Gate Sign, Pedestrians, Selective Color. Sacramento River, West Sacramento, California. September 21, 2012. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.
Steven Tze Photography 