Photos on top are looking northbound on 1st Avenue. The position of the camera for the loud photo on the left was the best vantage point for this shot and I wish I would have used the same exact position for the quiet one. You can feel the absence of the YMCA when they’re side by side. Otherwise, I’m pleased with how much the photos show of Downtown Phoenix, and its character: vintage Westward Ho, contemporary Arizona State University, refurbished YMCA, Palm Trees, Light Rail, Uptown, Downtown, Mountains in the distance…and no people.
Photos on the bottom are looking westbound on Van Buren. The loud one is striking, but a bit overexposed. It’d be a lot sharper if the lights weren’t so blinding and if I got rid of all the lens flares. On the other hand, it might not be so loud then. I do like the three palm trees peaking out over the madness and the dim and blurry Old Glory. The quiet one feels hot and bright, the desert road goes on forever and it exudes Valley summer.
All of these photos were taken with a 50mm lens, at a slow shutter speed (16-30 seconds) on a tripod, around midnight on Friday, July 2, 2010, from the fifth floor of a parking garage on the southeast corner of 1st Avenue and Van Buren. I’ll be back.
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