The first spot that we stopped, because our original intent for the evening was Hennipin Avenue, Lake Street and Lyndale, was Lowry Hill Liquors. We pulled up around 9pm. Lights aglow and dousing the street with their red glow. I got my camera out, switched up my lens and turned around to start creating images. The sign was off. They had closed at 9. Being my, my first though was "I will just ask them to turn it back on." They did. The guy inside was wonderful, his response was "Hold on a second while I figure out which switch it is!" I Love that these photos are unique, because in the little closed sign in the corner is balancing the large glowing sign. These two things are not usually lit at the same time. AWESOME! I also created a close up without the words Liquor Store, in order to not fill my book with Liquor Store signs. Even though that is one of the prominent business that has maintained their neon signs.
After this shoot we adventured to downtown, a trip the the Electronics Cage at my school had become necessary. My tripod mount had been left at home,making longer exposures nearly impossible. At least long exposures with any control over composition. I also chose to check out a 7D and a wide angle lens to accompany me for the evening. I love the way that the censor on the 7D is able to capture the Neon. It also performs nicely on a higher ISO letting me do a little more hand holding and still capture beautiful images.
Here are an array of the images I ended up making along Hennipin avenue. I filled my card and ended up with over 200 pictures for the evening. Note: all of these photos are straight from camera. No editing, no cropping.
Finally I have handful of signs that are not lit. I plan on adding these into my book to break up the glow of the other signs. I think it says a lot about a sign for it to still be in it's original location after the establishment is shut down. These also almost tell a story of an afterlife, or a purgatory I guess.
These neon signs are one of the main reasons why my best friend and I love driving around at night. We both are fascinated with colorful lights and being able to pass by a route or a street filled with neon lights just completes our day. These lights are very, very pleasing to the eye and I love the fact that their just by being there helps everyone to see their way when the night is darkest, and makes everyone feel at ease.
ReplyDeleteEve Desousa