Stillness advice please

Joan

I have a submission already, but keep changing it, and could use some advice from you, please. I was trying to take photos of the Barnsdale Oil Company gas station (very interesting history) but it's difficult to get shots because of lighting (bright foggy skies, chain link fence, barbed wire (I unfortunately discovered that today hidden in some weeds), and tall fennel plants. So what do you think? My original submission (#1) or either of these two (#2 and #3)? Or maybe none? (sigh)

#1


#2


#3 (where I was trying to emphasize the beautiful historic blue and white tile, just for fun)

Steve Cavigliano

Joan,
I can't see your images

Steve

Sandy

Hi Joan

I think the first image conveys stillness nicely, I prefer the black and white shot over the color.

TomaS

Sandy must be psychic! Like Steve, I see nothing to comment on.

ginger_55

There are red Xs.

Do you have all you should have turned on for sharing? Is the gallery public? Etc?

ginger

Joan

Photos updated so hopefully you can see them...

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Joan,
I can't see your images

Steve

Yes, sorry -- I was posting those photos when smugmug and dgrin were doing maintenance on their servers, and I guess things got messed up. Some folks could see them, others couldn't. Hopefully this works now.

Joan

Bendr

Yay! now I can see them!

I think I like #1 it appears to convey a greater sense of stillness, A hidden among the weeds/abandoned feeling... whereas the other ones feel a little less artistic, and more like snapshots IMHO...

Anyway, Good luck!
Ben

Joan

Bendr wrote:

Yay! now I can see them!

I think I like #1 it appears to convey a greater sense of stillness, A hidden among the weeds/abandoned feeling... whereas the other ones feel a little less artistic, and more like snapshots IMHO...

Anyway, Good luck!
Ben

Thank you, Ben (and I agree with you)! It's really an interesting piece of history: The gas station and restaurant were built in 1929 for the Barnsdall-Rio Grande Oil Company. The restaurant was a lunchtime stopping place for many of William Randolph Hearst's guests when they drove from Los Angeles to Hearst Castle further up the coast. During WWII the Ellwood oil facilities nearby were shelled by the Axis on February 23, 1942 when a Japanese I-17 submarine commanded by Captain Nishino Kozo. Customers were scared away, and the gas station/restaurant complex failed. A remake of the movie "The Postman Always Rings Twice" was filmed here in 1981, but now the gas station stands still. It was over the years a place of bustling activity but alas, is now forgotten.

~ Joan

Bendr

Wow! That's quite a history!

You've inspired me, and of course I had to do a bit of googling, I don't know how much research you've done but you might find this url interesting.

http://www.oldgas.com/shoptalk/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001438.html

It provides quite a bit of info on that station...

Ben

Joan

Bendr wrote:

Wow! That's quite a history!

You've inspired me, and of course I had to do a bit of googling, I don't know how much research you've done but you might find this url interesting.

http://www.oldgas.com/shoptalk/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001438.html

It provides quite a bit of info on that station...

Ben

Thanks, Ben -- that's a great URL! I just happen to know a little bit about it because I teach at an elementary school just a stone's throw away. My school, Ellwood School, was built, keeping the same blue & white tile theme. You can see it here: http://ellwood.goleta.k12.ca.us/EllwoodTour/pages/1ellwoodschool.html I'm also the webmaster for the school web page, so added in a little tour of the surroundings for my students (an excuse to do photography!).

Thanks again for the link,
Joan