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Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Thematic Photgraphic 10: "Patterns" v.1.0
This week Thematic Photographic looks at Patterns. I guess you could really take that to mean any pattern, but for today I'm going to stick with "purposefully arranged objects".Back in 2001 I was dating a big-time race fan. For her birthday I bought a ticket package for the fall race at Charlotte that included race day pit passes. Even though we didn't get to stay on pit road during the race itself, there were plenty of photo opportunities that I wouldn't normally have gotten. And it made her stupid happy, so it was a win all the way around. This is part of the pre-race setup for one pit. The markings on the sidewalls tell the crew where on the car each tire is supposed to go, and what set each tire goes with. The tires are matched to each other using some kind of voodoo so that they perform better as a unit. Don't ask me to explain. I'm still trying to get my head around the guy sitting there gluing the lugnuts onto the wheels so that they're already in place when the tire goes over the wall to be put on.I've been waiting for a chance to use the second shot, and this seems like the perfect time. This is the "other" side of Bethlehem, PA where the steel mill isn't. This is across the river from the plant, and if you didn't know better you'd swear you were in a different town altogether.edible latex panties girls rubber leather licking slick wet mother theresa
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9 comments:
Great shots...I love the detail in the iron fence- I'm assuming it is old...we just don't see the incredible detail anymore in our "modern" fences! I still don't have my pics up yet but soon!
mojo, the iron fence is amazing. great, sharp picture too.
after seeing your other shots re Bethlehem the fence looks totally out of place. someone wanted to add a real touch of class to the city - and they succeeded.
well done.
gord h.
Geez. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that fence could be here in the city. Very cool.
@Gord: The fence would look out of place on the other side of the river, but Bethlehem is really three towns for the price of one. In the business district, this is pretty much the norm. Cross the river and you're in mill town at one end or Lehigh University at the other. What really amazes me is that a giant like Bethlehem Steel could fold, and the town survives anyway. It truly is an amazing place that I was (obviously) quite taken with during my stay there.
And given a few more years, I would not be at all surprised to find that the mill town has reinvented itself and a scene like this one will look perfectly natural. Will it become as "gentrified" as the other side of town? In a way I hope not. It would be a shame for mill town to lose that character. Maybe in another couple of years I'll go back again and see what they've done with the place since I saw them last.
Love the pattern of the wrought iron fence! And the picture of the tires --- ooh, the smell of fresh rubber! There is nothing in this world like a visit to the pits on race day. Nice!
The tires provide a terrific pattern! That shot is just good!
Happy Thematic Photographic!
Tire voodoo - love it.
Great shots!
Mine is below, but you have to work for it a bit. HINT: It's at the bottom of the post.The public has a right to know
I love how you've juxtaposed these two very different scenarios. You took two very rich photos and painted even richer scenarios around them both.
The power of photography, thanks to you...
I'm now going to mull over whether gentrification is a good or a bad thing. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.
Gentrification in and of itself is usually a good thing. But not if it robs a town or neighborhood of its identity and character. And the area around the old steel mill in Bethlehem is nothing if not stacked with both of those things.
Beaufort (North Carolina) is a lot like that. The historic district has its peculiar rules about building or remodeling, but the town as a whole isn't so impressed with itself that it forgets what it is. The boats that anchor in the harbor there might cost more than a house in the 'burbs, but the town never forgets it's a harbor town. And unlike its cousins across the causeway bridge, it hasn't completely sacrificed itself on the altar of tourism either.
These are the towns I was talking about a few posts ago when I called them "the kind of towns the country couldn't exist without, but that nobody notices most of the time".
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