Someone put some nice new things here a little while ago, a bench and potted trees, seemingly trying to make it feel a little more . . . Noe Valley? But the transition seems to be a little bumpy.
13 Responses to “Fancy New Albion/17th Corner”
Allan Hough (7858)
Brittany Janis & Katie Cruz (104)
Authors
is that a person sleeping on the bench? under pizza boxes?
well, bumpy maybe, and sad, but not surprising.
Not a person, just boxes and a briefcase.
This corner has always collected so much trash. Just as Mission Creek runs beneath it, the flow of garbage runs atop. I guess.
I’m loving the warm brick accented by the royal blue… and the tree resting its poor abused head on the box. All in all, an evocative picture considering the inanimate subject matter. If that wall could talk, it would probably say “get me the hell out of here!”
I knew this was going to happen when I saw… This is why we can’t have nice things Mission…
By the way, there is something about the web photography dialectic that is VERY William Eggleston, VERY. And something tells me that will turn out to be a good thing. Though as of yet its not.
I’m not sure what you mean by this, but it sounds interesting.
What I meant by that is the Eggleston’s whole milieu is using the component parts of photography — composition, color, perspective, foreground/background depth of focus, etc. to help us see extraordinary things in what we would otherwise find ordinary.
I’m seeing a lot of web-focused photographers who shoot a lot of random stuff, but they are getting really good (see component parts, above) at shooting random stuff and infusing it with a lot of energy.
Its very different imo from the more dramatic tenets of traditional photo-journalism:
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/assignment/
And captures a different way of seeing things all around you.
I definitely see the connection there. Especially in city photography, since there is so much clutter, so much to stop and look at for a moment or two. So much crap that you see every day that you have a chance to, all of a sudden, reconsider.
There are so many little stories hidden around the city that jump out at you when you look for a second longer at something that doesn’t scream at you the way the billboards and bus ads do.
Also wondering why it’s not a good thing and why it might become one.
nice one. very nice.
i never thought about it but it’s spot on.
looks like they’re still moving.
There have been a lot of questions as to where this bench came from and who put it there. It can’t be traced to the apt. building, the funeral home or the church. However, there is a man who often sits there watching goings on in the area. It is rumored he also “works” a hotel down Valencia (i.e. he engages in some sort of criminal activity). If someone could refute this I’d certainly be relieved. But for now it appears to be something else they are ignoring from the police station across the street.
When I see this I think of it as a suicide bench. When I lived on this block a couple years ago there was one week when two or three cars on separate nights crashed into the corner there, marking up the bricks like that
I was just going through some old emails and found a quick note my mom sent regarding this post. My parents’ first apartment together was on Camp.
“OMG, Allan–
That 17th and Albion photo on MM features
33 Camp Street just to the right of the bus!
Our 2nd story bay window just peeks through
on the right side of the building. I’m thrilled!
–xox, M.”
Sorry I didn’t forward this sooner.