Monday, November 24, 2008

Another brick in the wall

I couldn't resist a monochrome shot of a side of the old Baranger Studios building. You know the old saying about being up against a brick wall? It isn't so bad when the wall looks like this.

I still haven't managed to really capture the soul of this place in any of my pictures of it. But I keep trying...

13 comments:

Tanya Breese said...

Sometimes it seems so difficult to capture what you really see/feel in a photo.
Nice job :) (Now I have that song in my head!)

Yakpate said...

I don't know what the old Baranger Studios building was used for... but, did it have anything to do with Harry Potter???

This shot really looks like it was taken somewhere in England! Ah, another great facet in the jewel of south Pasadena!

Petrea Burchard said...

I agree with Yakpate, the building has always reminded me of an English village. I think you've gotten some good shots of this building.

Kim said...

I like the B&W. I hope you'll keep plugging away at revisiting it (yes, I know, in all your extra time :-) ). You keep revealing it's soul to us in its facets. Which facet draws you in the most and how can you pull it in through the lens? I like this isolated side showing the masonry detail and the long street view and shadowed wall. Now I'm wondering what that garden over the wall might look like?
-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo

Cafe Observer said...

LA, this bldg/pic would've fit into The Wall music video!

Dixie Jane said...

this is a test

Dixie Jane said...

Who would have thought that you could find some beauty/drama in a brick wall? Keep focusing on that building. No telling what you will come up with. Once again, I didn't know there were bricks ever used in Southern Calif. I like brick walls and I know about being up against same. Remember I insisted on having a brick wall in my den all the way up to the roof line for hanging art work. Then many years later Shanna discovered a hand print right in the middle of the hearth on the fireplace. My house is built of hand made Mexican brick and a hand print seemed kind of special.

Knoxville Girl said...

It looks so prim & proper in monochrome - I think you've captured another mood; well done!

Anonymous said...

I like their gardenias out front but most of all your introduction via you-tube of Barrister display models. One of the coolist finds in bloggerland

Unknown said...

You took a good shot. Keep going back a different times of the day until you're happy with the results. I love doing that.

Mister Earl said...

Laurie: I'm curious what you mean by capturing the soul and why you think you haven't done it. Also, there's a building on the other side of the street that has similar architecture. Looks like it may have had the same builder or at least someone who was trying to copy it. I'm surprised you haven't photographed it. I think it houses an antique shop and a used bookstore.

Just got back from watching Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Israeli Philharmonic. Everyone who has even a remote interest in classical music must se Dudamel conduct. He's wild. He literally dances. And at the end of the concert, he goes back into the orchestra to shake hands with various players. Not just the violins in front, but he's all over the place. Tonight they played TWO encores, the last one being a very famous samba that everyone has heard, but I don't know the name of.

Laurie Allee said...

Hi kids,

Mister Earl, your concert sounds amazing! To answer your question, I haven't been able to convey the whimsy of this building. I notice it every time I drive by... something quirky, and alive, and filled with history (of those amazing Baranger Displays) and way more interesting than anything I've grabbed with my camera. (So far!) I have the same problem getting Craftsman houses to appear right in my photos. In reality, they're like part of nature -- almost an organic part of the landscape. When I shoot pictures of them... they're houses. ANd many of the charming details are often hidden in shadow of those big, sloping rooftops.

That's what's so much fun about photography. As a writer, I always have a word to use to describe something or fine tune an explanation. And I can add a lot more words if one isn't enough. (I'm a blabbermouth. I use a lot of words!)

Photography, though, is all about coaxing the subject into view without embellishing it. Okay, so there is Photoshop -- but I don't use it. The fun for me is trying to capture moments as they are. (And that silly building won't cooperate!)

Thanks for all the comments and conversation, everyone. I'm glad you are all here.

Until the next post...

Jane Hards Photography said...

From an English person, you could've fooled me. It's the chimny pots. Not a village but definitley suburbia. You know my thoughts on nautral is best, so I won't go on again. It's perfectly pretty.