May 5, 2009

The writing on the wall



On an afternoon stroll (with my camera, of course) through the city of Antwerp, I ran into the above scene at a quiet street corner: a true expression of contemporary urban culture.

A number of elements make this picture attractive and interesting: the chaotic graffiti with a couple of rather enigmatic glyphs; the blotches of fluorescent blue, orange and yellow contrasting with the pastel-ish green and brown; the scraps of paper on and around the door frame; the cigarette stumps on the floor...

Not much of a composition going on here, there was only one reasonable viewpoint to capture the image. If you insist, there's a subtle play of light and shadow adding a diagonal accent.

Then I noticed the rusty contraption to the right of the door, obviously a mechanism to raise and lower some kind of rolling shutter, and clearly not being usedfor a long time.


Googling for the "Jero" brand visible on the device, I learned that it once belonged to an Antwerp area manufacturer of wooden shutters and blinds, established in 1858, which after the turn of the century expanded to become... the very first Belgian aircraft building company!

Or how a stop on a corner may open up many more alleys...

Gear notes: D300, AF-S 18-200VR

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

No comments: