Torrington, Connecticut
This place has a pattern over the past decade or so of going out of business, remodeling and reopening after a few months, going out of business, reopening with a new name...
The building across the street used to be the office area of a really large factory complex. The factory buildings had been vacant for so long that I don't even know what used to be made there, and were torn down a few years back. It's easy to see how this was a prime location for a bar when the factory was in full swing, but now it doesn't seem to be a location that can support a bar and grill, even though people keep trying.
2 comments:
I just went back and reviewed the North Carolina work. Abandoned or going out of business is the same no matter where you are. But, the southern pictures do not look as bleak to me as those from Torrington. Is this just a wrong impression? Could it be the southern winter light is not as 'heavy' as the northern winter light? Is Torrington more of a city (ie, higher density) than Albemarle? Or could it be, being from New England the CT images are more recognizable, and therefore more personal, to me? If there are differences, has photographing in the south informed photographing cities in the north for you? Have you seen similar as well as differences between the two sets of images. (I know the south was done under time constraint and that could have a lot to do with it as well). (oh yea, sorry for the long rant!)
Lyle, I think the light might have a lot to do with your reaction. The Carolina work was back in October. The recent Torrington pictures are from mid-January, so New England winter, which is pretty bleak. So Carolina wasn't only south, it was just autumn, not winter.
If it makes any sense, the two towns felt quite similar. I looked up the stats and Torrington is twice as large in area and has twice the population, but the population density is close, which might have a real impact on the look.
As for a feedback loop, that's really interesting and I suspect will be true, but I've been so buried in follow-through work from the road trips that I've done very little shooting since October.
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