The New Arrivals at the top of my home page shows old signs form current day and days gone by. I call this photographic category Implied Humanity. People once flour
ished in these places of comfort and rest. Back when these signs where built the attraction was the built in pool or TV. Now it’s cable TV, pools and WiFi. The elaborate roadside sign competed to drew people in after a long day on the road. On some of these sign’s the patina reveals it’s history as once standing proudly. For me, the sign’s are fun to photograph because it brings back the child like exploration to seek out these treasures left behind. I find these old signs by driving around my area looking and exploring for something of interest that catches my eye. Back in my photojournalism days we called this the great picture hunt.
What’s the best angle, what direction is the light coming from? How do I shoot the sign to make it as grand as possible. Once found it’s then my responsibility to photograph them in a way that draws me in. Sometimes, I step back to reveal the entire sign from the ground up in a way of paying reverence for it’s overall design. If the background is cluttered, I focus on the top of the sign so I can get a clean image that doesn’t interrupt the message. Go to Collections at the top of the home page and scroll to Implied Humanity to see more of these places that has demanded my attention.
