Rhonda had to attend a conference in San Antonio a few weeks ago so I flew down with her and we made a long weekend of it. While Rhonda attended seminars, schmoozed with industry insiders and conducted business, I basically walked up and down the famous San Antonio river walk. Even though I had full access to a rental car, I didn’t stray far from the hotel. Why? Texas is HUGE! The roads are HUGE! I have never seen so many interchanges, junctions, criss-crossy roads in all my life. I’m sure I would have died if I attempted to drive in that city.
I thought I would have a lot of great photo opportunities right around the hotel but, no offense to the city of San Antonio, the river walk is kind of boring. A stream surrounded by concrete, restaurants and tourists. Sorry! Before you fire off angry letters, please note that EVERYONE I encountered was friendly and quite happy to talk to me. The restaurants were out of this world and I didn’t have a bad meal the entire week. Oh, I also enjoyed the boat tour, where I learned the “river” is drained every January and cleaned. Hmmm…….
While walking, I happened along the historical presence of the Alamo. It was just a couple of blocks from the hotel right smack in the middle of the city. I always pictured the Alamo out in the desert with tumbleweeds tumbling and coyotes howling….. not across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe. The history of the Alamo and the fight for Texas independence is incredibly interesting but I have to admit it was kind of lost on me given the throng of like-minded tourists surrounding me.
I tried on three separate occasions to get a photo of the Alamo without anyone in its presence. Morning, noon, night…. it didn’t matter…. there was always a crowd of people. I then came up with an idea to photograph everything in black and white. I don’t know why that struck me as a particular challenge but it reminded me of all the vacation photos of my parents and grandparents. Famous landmarks captured in the glory of black and white photos. Those photos have a timeless appeal to them and a certain authenticity that seems impossible to capture in the modern age. So, I changed the setting in my camera to black and white and became a tourist. Why did I change to black and white in the camera? I felt it would make me think creatively and look for tones and texture. Did it work? The results are below so I’ll let you be the judge.
The Alamo. It does not have a basement.
This stone wall reminds me so much of Europe, which shouldn’t be surprising given the Spanish influence at the time. This was a “people free” composition, hence the tight crop.
We made a trip on Saturday to see Mission San Jose. I really enjoyed strolling the grounds and learning about the impact of the missions on the culture and economics of early Texas.
I love the feel and texture of this old wooden window.
This is how I see landmarks in my head. A result of looking at the travel photos of my parents and grand-parents through the years. This was my attempt to create the look and feel of those old photos. Yes, Photoshop was used quite extensively! : )
Mission San Jose
by Darrin Wassom
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