29-SEP-2009
Pizzeria, Jasper, Canada, 2009
Lou Lou’s Pizzeria is hard to miss. Its sign has become something of a local landmark for tourists visiting nearby Jasper National Park. It features a life-sized child feeding a slice of pizza to a hungry but friendly bear. The kid does not like to share. I made this image from across the street, using a 300mm telephoto focal length to weld the couple to the façade of the restaurant.
19-JUN-2009
Directions, Jacksonville, Oregon, 2009
A family crosses a main intersection in downtown Jacksonville. I was delighted by the profusion of signage at this intersection, and layered the signs, starting with the large vintage sign painted on the wall in the background, continuing with the highway route, and the mileage to nearby towns signs in the middle ground, and finally ending with the stop sign in the foreground. I photographed a number of groups crossing the street, but this family was the most expressive. The man’s shirt echoes the green sign above him, and repeats the faint striped pattern of the bricks on the wall. The bright red canopy of the stroller picks up the red in the background wall and the stop sign, while the scale of the child’s tiny feet provide an incongruous contrast to the adult feet striding on both sides of it.
21-JUN-2009
Western outfitter, Portland, Oregon, 2009
The vintage brick arch on the background building frames the neon sign of a western outfitter in downtown Portland. I walked entirely around this store, which covers a city block, to find the right vantage point. From this angle, the light was at my back, and the curve of the brick arch offered a period background echo for the curving horses neck in this venerable sign, which probably has been in place since the 1930s.
31-MAY-2009
Faded advertisement, Austin, Texas, 2009
I found a split personality within this old sign advertising chewing gum. The right side of the sign has faded away into the brickwork, while the left side, albeit soiled, retains much of its original presence. I thought this split metaphorically echoes the fatal flaw in chewing gum itself – its flavor always fades away, too fast and too soon.
13-APR-2009
Recycling, Cordes, Arizona, 2009
Cordes is a semi-ghost town. Its handful of residents manage to get by, some by being as thrifty as possible. Such as this property owner who incongruously used an old refrigerator door as a no trespassing sign. I photographed this from a number of angles. I could have shot it from the other side, showing its handle, but losing some of that twisting dirt country road as context. So I sacrificed the handle, and made a stronger image out of it as a result. For those who might not immediately recognize it as a refrigerator door, this caption will suffice.
14-APR-2009
Baking Powder, Hackberry, Arizona, 2009
The old baking powder sign, painted in copper colors a long time ago, stands rusting in the cluttered yard of the Hackberry General Store, alongside of Historic Route 66 in Northern Arizona. It is hard to tell where the paint ends and the rust begins, and that is what drew me to this sign. Half the fun of making this picture was deciphering its message. I leave to my viewers to figure it out for themselves.
09-OCT-2008
Administration Building, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2008
A herd of female elk had occupied the front yard of Yellowstone Park’s administration building. Most of them were relaxing, but when I walked over to the building’s directional sign, two of them walked over and stood just behind it. By juxtaposing the sign with the elk, I’ve given the sign incongruous context and given the elk a rallying point.
12-OCT-2008
Red light, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008
The red light is a traffic sign, telling us when we should stop and when we can go. At the moment, it has stopped us in our tracks in front of the enormous Mormon Temple. The light becomes a symbol that can go beyond its traffic function. Given this context, the stoplight can be symbolically asking us to stop to ponder the church’s enormous political and economic impact on this city and state. Some might even see it as an expression of secular protest. Ultimately I leave the message to the eye of the beholder.
09-OCT-2008
Stop Sign, Cooke City, Montana, 2008
There is much construction going on just outside of Yellowstone Park’s Northeast Entrance. We were asked to stop by this woman holding a stop sign. I made this photo from the window of a car. I do not try to show the whole sign in this image. The color and shape and bottom part of the word is enough to make the point. I was more interested in the stoic patience of the woman herself. It is bitter cold and snowflakes are swirling around her, yet her semi-frozen face betrays no emotion whatsoever.
12-OCT-2008
Signage, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008
The logo of the Union Pacific Railroad dominates this image. It identifies Salt Lake City’s old union depot. I made this photograph from several blocks away, which enables me to add traffic lights, directional signage, block numbers, traffic warnings, and even a reference to the Winter Olympics, which were held in Salt Lake City in 2002. My 400mm telephoto zoom compresses distance here, flattening all of these signs into a single plane, even though some of them may be blocks apart.
06-OCT-2008
Elkhorn arch, Afton, Wyoming, 2008
A large arch, made up entirely of antlers shed by male elk, dominates the business district Afton. It was, in affect, a sign for the entire town. On top of the arch are two-dimensional figures of fighting elk. I limit my frame to just those figures and the rain clouds that loom overhead. In doing this, I abstract the scene, removing the busy street below, and the arch that supports them. Instead, I symbolize the nature of the place itself – a town that is largely supported by tourists visiting nearby Yellowstone Park and its elk herds.
11-OCT-2008
No gas, Freedom, Wyoming, 2008
Mormon polygamists established Freedom, near the Idaho state line, in 1879 to escape arrest for polygamy by Idaho police. The town was named for the freedom it gave these early settlers. Today, Freedom is a semi-ghost town. Its gas pump stands empty and abandoned in the winter snow. The small broken sign in the window behind it sums up the current state of Freedom.
