A Stroll Down St. George Street
black mamba
Registered Users Posts: 8,323 Major grins
It's not street photography but it is photography of a street....a famous street at that. It's located in the heart of historic St. Augustine, FL. It stretches for quite a few blocks. It is limited to pedestrian traffic now and has become a tourist mecca....quite different from years back when it accommodated two-lane car access.
This area used to be where the residents of St. Augustine did all their primary shopping. My wife, born and raised in St. Augustine, remembers when she, as a little girl, would go into the stores, load up on a bunch of goodies, and tell the store personnel to just send her daddy the bills. Boy, have times changed!!!
This area used to be where the residents of St. Augustine did all their primary shopping. My wife, born and raised in St. Augustine, remembers when she, as a little girl, would go into the stores, load up on a bunch of goodies, and tell the store personnel to just send her daddy the bills. Boy, have times changed!!!
I always wanted to lie naked on a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace. Cracker Barrel didn't take kindly to it.
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"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
Hi Russ,
I knew this was one of your favorite haunts for street photography. If I had any real skills at that genre of photography, I'd sure zero in on this place as well. St. George Street is a people watcher's paradise.
Tom
I don't know, BD. Walking into a store with a credit card, as opposed to telling the clerks to just send your daddy the bills, is worlds apart.
Tom
Don't plenty of Daddys still pay for their kids CC's, just saying
I do agree it's not nearly as warm and fuzzy of a feeling however!
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Well sure, Ben. Plenty of dads still pay for their kid's CC's. Hell, these days they are still paying for some grown-up kids CC's. But that's not the point. I'm talking about a time when there were no CC's. Families often ran a tab at the local stores....as did my wife's....and the store owners never thought twice about getting stiffed. You'd be hard pressed to find a store owner today who'd let someone load up their arms with stuff and have the person tell them to send a bill to my daddy.
Walking in with a credit card, instead of a story to " bill my daddy ", just ain't the same.
Tom
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Boy, Harry, you're not just joking there. Over time, I've built up quite an array of shots throughout the entire historic area of St. Augustine. A particular pet project of mine has been to capture the many, many unique gates and courtyards that beautifully portray the history of the area. There's a group of preservationists that want me to spearhead the publication of a coffee-table book based around my work. We'll see what happens.
Thanks for looking in,
Tom
Shots give a good overview of the street. What I want next is more focused shooting with interesting subjects and the area as setting/background...
Along this street, there's no shortage of subjects that would arouse your interest. I hope you can make it there one day. I'd love to see your interpretations of life on St. George Street.
Thanks for the visit,
Tom
Sounds like a great opportunity for a very good cause. Too much of St Augustine has been homogenized for the tourist trade already. I would hate to see it lose its unique feel.
Completely OT, on my last visit to St Augustine I found a great restaurant. Its called GAS Full Service and its located just over the Bridge of Lions. All their meals are prepared fresh using local produce. Well worth a visit.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
I've seen that place, Harry. I'll have to give it a try. You gotta love some of the restaurant names in that town. A little further down the road from the one you mention is my favorite restaurant there....the Gypsy Cab Company.
Tom
Not if you're walking into the story with Daddy's credit card.
"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
Well, of course you're right, BD,....in a pure literal sense. My original comment was meant to emphasize the gross difference between the level of trust and openness that existed back then, as opposed to now. Back in the times I'm addressing, " open " accounts, or running tabs, between a merchant and his customers was a very normal arrangement. These days, nobody trusts anybody. You let a modern-era business try and operate on such a basis and they'll soon find themselves out of business. Just another sad comment on the status of our world today.
BTW, during my stroll down this street, I ran across a couple of folks who had a dog very similar to your two. This one was all dressed up in pink for Mother's Day....quite a sight. I tried several times to get a good shot of it to post just for you. Unfortunately, none of them came out as well as I had hoped.
Tom
Thank you very much, Javier
Many thanks, Javier, for the kind words. Coming from you, it means a lot.
I was somewhat reticent to refer to these shots as being street photography. Truth is, you guys and gals that are skilled street shooters would have untold opportunities along this venue to do some dynamite work. But then, your LA playground may be unbeatable in that regard.
Thanks again,
Tom