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Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 30th 06, 10:59 AM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

In the summer of 2000, I had some extra money, so I decided to visit all 50
US State Capitols. I doubt I am the first to do this, but I had fun. My
aspiration is to visit the world's capitols next.

Visit http://crt.doce.lsu.edu/sherman

Some of the photographs are a little strange. I don't think anything
controversial, though I personally would much rather photograph something
controversial.

My favorite is "North Dakota House" because I used to live in Pierre and
would sometimes take this back road to Bismarck. This was an old shack along
the way. That was more than 25 years ago.

A fan of "The Sopranos" might recognize the building in "The Meadowlands"
photograph.

One of the photographs is entitled "Writer." I took this at the University
of Wisconsin. If anyone knows who she is, please let me know.

Well they are posted here for the first time because I've been too lazy to
find a publisher.


  #2  
Old February 1st 06, 03:34 AM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

Sfj wrote:

In the summer of 2000, I had some extra money, so I decided to visit all 50
US State Capitols. I doubt I am the first to do this, but I had fun. My
aspiration is to visit the world's capitols next.

Visit http://crt.doce.lsu.edu/sherman

Some of the photographs are a little strange. I don't think anything
controversial, though I personally would much rather photograph something
controversial.

My favorite is "North Dakota House" because I used to live in Pierre and
would sometimes take this back road to Bismarck. This was an old shack along
the way. That was more than 25 years ago.

A fan of "The Sopranos" might recognize the building in "The Meadowlands"
photograph.

One of the photographs is entitled "Writer." I took this at the University
of Wisconsin. If anyone knows who she is, please let me know.

Well they are posted here for the first time because I've been too lazy to
find a publisher.



Your North Carolina Shack isn't. Looks like an old store.

But since all you have are thumbnails, it's kind of hard to tell.

I live in Raleigh, NC. Your image of the State Capitol there is really,
really flat. It needs a lot more contrast, and is a little too high key.

A yellow filter might have helped to give the sky more definition &
separation. As it is, the roof of the Capitol fades right into the sky
with no discernable boundary.

The statue should be black, with the pedestal a darker gray than the
portico behind it. Your highlights are completely blown out, losing the
detail along the cornice.
  #3  
Old February 1st 06, 12:50 PM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

Your North Carolina Shack isn't. Looks like an old store.

But since all you have are thumbnails, it's kind of hard to tell.

I live in Raleigh, NC. Your image of the State Capitol there is really,
really flat. It needs a lot more contrast, and is a little too high key.

A yellow filter might have helped to give the sky more definition &
separation. As it is, the roof of the Capitol fades right into the sky
with no discernable boundary.

The statue should be black, with the pedestal a darker gray than the
portico behind it. Your highlights are completely blown out, losing the
detail along the cornice.


Thank you for the feedback. You may be right, the shack could have been a
store, but it was an abandoned store.

As for the photos, I agree they are pretty rough. Many people love to
photograph their capitols and are pretty good at it. They live there so
they have the luxury of waiting for the right weather, the right time, etc.
I was just passing through and I don't pretend to be a great technical
photographer. I went on this trip in the spur of the moment. I used an old
Nikon F and a light meter that my friend gave me. I had a good Normal lens
but I haven't played much with filters. I bought the film as I went and
since I never stayed anywhere more than a day, I couldn't even do any
developing until I finished the trip two months later. Really I was pretty
lucky that all the film didn't get ruined.

I'm just glad I got the right building. My first stop was in Florida. I
went up to this nice old building and read all the literature and studied
all the pictures. Then I went out back after spending several hours and saw
this huge building. I was horrified. I was in the "OLD" state capitol. I
was eager and patient at the beginning of the trip. But by the end, after
eating nothing but Ramen noodles and sleeping in the van all the time, I was
pretty grumpy.

North Carolina is a pretty state, though. Thanks for your input. Hope to
visit again someday.


  #4  
Old February 1st 06, 08:57 PM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

I needed to move my directory. Please use the following link instead of the
first one that I gave in this group.

Visit http://crt.doce.lsu/edu/sc/sherman

The old link will disappear in a few days. Sorry about the confusion.

Thanks.


  #5  
Old February 3rd 06, 03:32 PM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Posts: n/a
Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

Sfj wrote:

Your North Carolina Shack isn't. Looks like an old store.

But since all you have are thumbnails, it's kind of hard to tell.

I live in Raleigh, NC. Your image of the State Capitol there is really,
really flat. It needs a lot more contrast, and is a little too high key.

A yellow filter might have helped to give the sky more definition &
separation. As it is, the roof of the Capitol fades right into the sky
with no discernable boundary.

The statue should be black, with the pedestal a darker gray than the
portico behind it. Your highlights are completely blown out, losing the
detail along the cornice.



Thank you for the feedback. You may be right, the shack could have been a
store, but it was an abandoned store.

As for the photos, I agree they are pretty rough. Many people love to
photograph their capitols and are pretty good at it. They live there so
they have the luxury of waiting for the right weather, the right time, etc.
I was just passing through and I don't pretend to be a great technical
photographer. I went on this trip in the spur of the moment. I used an old
Nikon F and a light meter that my friend gave me. I had a good Normal lens
but I haven't played much with filters. I bought the film as I went and
since I never stayed anywhere more than a day, I couldn't even do any
developing until I finished the trip two months later. Really I was pretty
lucky that all the film didn't get ruined.

I'm just glad I got the right building. My first stop was in Florida. I
went up to this nice old building and read all the literature and studied
all the pictures. Then I went out back after spending several hours and saw
this huge building. I was horrified. I was in the "OLD" state capitol. I
was eager and patient at the beginning of the trip. But by the end, after
eating nothing but Ramen noodles and sleeping in the van all the time, I was
pretty grumpy.

North Carolina is a pretty state, though. Thanks for your input. Hope to
visit again someday.



Interesting about Florida.

The State Capital in NC moved around for a few years before Raleigh was
built. The capital was especially mobile during the American Revolution
when the colonial legislature had to move several times to escape the
redcoats.

Taking a page from the Constitutional Convention's decision to make a
new city in DC for the nation's capital, the NC legislature decided to
make a new city for the state's capital, and named it Raleigh in honor
of Sir Walter Raleigh who organized the first English attempt to
colonize the "new world".

That colony failed. The settlers disappeared, becoming the "Lost
Colony". But that's a story for another time.

The building you photographed is the second capitol building. There is
however no old Capitol to photograph, since it originally stood on the
same site.

The first building burned in 1834 IIRC, and the Capitol was
reconstructed using the original architectural plan. The present Capitol
opened in 1840.

There is now a seperate building to house the state's legislature. The
old legislative chambers in the Capitol building are kept for historical
purposes, but when the legislature out-grew the capitol in the late
1950s they commissioned their own building.

Designed by Edward Durrell Stone, it opened in 1963.

The Governor of NC has an official office in the Capitol building, but I
think his working offices are located elsewhere.
  #6  
Old February 7th 06, 08:14 PM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

Really interesting series! I'm amazed at how the capitol buildings all
look practically identical, particularly to my European eye, with dome
and triangular-roofed porticoe with columns. Presumably many of these
would have been built at more or less the same time in history, and
that was the appropriate style at that moment. I like the way you've
presented the series, without captions - it enhances this feeling of
anonymity I get. But what I then really want to know is which states
are the odd ones out? The solid square tower, the gothic mansion, the
modern building behind the palm trees? Who are these people? What's
special about them? Is it rebellion? I think I like them, compared to
the boring suits that work in the other buildings.

Very interesting - thanks.

Phil

(btw - don't take facile criticisms of your image "quality" to heart.
this is the art group after all. i think your pedestal's a perfectly
decent gray, i mean, jeez! i hate it when boards get so stuck in
techno-pedantics they completely miss the story being told. some of
these people are probably too dull to go around sleeping in a van,
eating ramen and taking pictures of all the capitol buildings in the
country).

  #7  
Old February 8th 06, 11:23 AM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Posts: n/a
Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols


"hey.philip" wrote in message
oups.com...
Really interesting series! I'm amazed at how the capitol buildings all
look practically identical, particularly to my European eye, with dome
and triangular-roofed porticoe with columns. Presumably many of these
would have been built at more or less the same time in history, and
that was the appropriate style at that moment. I like the way you've
presented the series, without captions - it enhances this feeling of
anonymity I get. But what I then really want to know is which states
are the odd ones out? The solid square tower, the gothic mansion, the
modern building behind the palm trees? Who are these people? What's
special about them? Is it rebellion? I think I like them, compared to
the boring suits that work in the other buildings.

Very interesting - thanks.

Phil

(btw - don't take facile criticisms of your image "quality" to heart.
this is the art group after all. i think your pedestal's a perfectly
decent gray, i mean, jeez! i hate it when boards get so stuck in
techno-pedantics they completely miss the story being told. some of
these people are probably too dull to go around sleeping in a van,
eating ramen and taking pictures of all the capitol buildings in the
country).

Phil,

Thank you for your interest. I'd like to know where in Europe you are from?
I'm happy to answer any questions here. You were wondering why I didn't put
captions for each buildings. I did this because I feel most people in their
state know what their capitol building looks like. There is some order to
the series, though. They are in order chronologically that I visited them.
If you start in Florida (the first one) and wind your way around the United
States you can retrace my trip. The gothic mansion might be Albany, New
York. As for the palm trees...Honolulu, Hawaii most likely.

The US is a young country compared to Europe. Our history goes back a
little more than 200 years compared the 500 and 1000 year old histories in
Europe. So these buildings are all less than 200 years old (some on the
East Coast might be a little older). I am not an expert on each building.
I was hoping to generate discussion from the individuals who know their
state better than I do, such as the gentleman from North Carolina. I think
domes are quite common for government capitol buildings but I am not an
architect so I can't tell you why the domes are so popular. I think many of
the buildings reflect the personalities of the people in the state. For
instance, North Dakota has a small population and they are very practical
people. That capitol doesn't have a dome and is not as fancy as some
others. Santa Fe, New Mexico is an adobe building and that style of
architecture is very common in the South West. As you noticed, Hawaii is
the newest state and the building is very modern.

I welcome any criticism, good or bad. I don't mind technical advice as well
as comments from anyone who just likes or dislikes something. I am not
posting to any other news group or cross posting so I hope people will feel
comfortable commenting here.

Thank You Phil, if you have specific questions, tell me the row and column
of the picture you are interested in and I'll try to answer.


  #8  
Old February 10th 06, 04:53 AM posted to rec.photo.technique.art
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Posts: n/a
Default Some scenery, oddities, and the state capitols

Albany is right-hand side, 9th down.

 




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