Deconstruction, Or “Beauty Is What Eyes Behold”
“Man, I don't think I will get any great photos today, I don't actually
feel that inspired”, I said to stw of Netzwort.de
on our photo tour last Saturday. A little later I encountered one of these magical
moments when the surrounding conditions seem to converge and form a situation
that is so intense that you just have to grab your camera and preserve the space
and time with just a little technical skill.
We were walking around the southern commercial area of the town, a place that
is very inspiring in itself. Large office buildings along cobblestone streets,
a futuristic elevated train station and run down 70's buildings. Actually the
best conditions for good urban photos. I did get a bunch of those usual shots
that I've done a million times, but wasn't really satisfied. While the day had
been warm and sunny at first, we saw huge dark rain clouds coming up and decided
to slowly head back to the station before we'd get all soaked.
And then we ran into this place. At first we only saw it from a bridge. An area
next to the canal where a building had been pulled down. On the other side of
the canal was a weird party going on with music and people hanging around by the
shore and everything, and we went to a gas station to observe what was going on
over there. When we continued, we noticed a narrow alleyway besides the entrance
to the gas station that would lead us directly to the construction yard. There
was no fence, just some supports with a wooden bar across that was easy to dive
under.
As soon as we did that, we were in photographer's heaven. I've never seen such
an organized, clean construction yard. Anywhere you'd turn, there would be a perfect
shot waiting to be taken. The mighty dark rain clouds made the perfect complement
to this scene, as well as this special kind of lighting that you only get when
it's about to rain or had just rained. We spent the next I-don't-know-how-long-actually
running around the yard and shooting photos. I kept walking a few steps here and
there, turning, the camera always at full wide-angle, capturing more and more
scenes. Luckily it didn't rain yet, we had enough time to focus on our work.
After we left, we walked along a street and I suddenly remembered that I could
have taken a video of the place, so we quickly went back while the first water
was falling to film a short video of the place (see below). After that, we went
to the station and into a mall to get something to eat and - in case of stw -
buy some necessary food for the weekend. While we were inside, the clouds lost
their heavy weight of H2O, and afterwards we could continue our walk.
Now, I could actually write long stories about what these images mean to me, but
I will restrain from that and instead encourage you to think about these photos
and come up with your own interpretations. To me, there are several meanings that
can be put into the pictures, so what are yours? If you like, drop a comment and
let's talk about it.
There's just one thing for sure: The area will not have seen us for the last time
on Saturday. Although the construction yard might be gone upon our return (for
a little hint on a possible interpretation).
As a special feature, you can download the video I shot here
(5.7mb). Hurry, as it might disappear soon.
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