GAS STATIONS IN THE NIGHT, NUMBER 4

QuikTrip, Big Bend Boulevard and I 44, Kirkwood. The underside of these canopies at newer stations are all white, with very bright lights. And all very clean. Most of them are edged in vivid red (except BP, green, and Mobil, blue). The feel is high tech.

I’ll come back to this theme later. There is something very cutesy to shoot today.                      

GAS STATIONS IN THE NIGHT, NUMBER 3

 

Circle K, Elm Avenue and Watson Road, Crestwood, very close to where we live. Don’t know how much longer I’ll continue with this. It’s different.                  

GAS STATIONS IN THE NIGHT, NUMBER 2

South Broadway and Lombard Street, downtown St. Louis. This project is turning out to be harder than I thought. The photographer needs a lot of room to find an interesting angle. Traffic is a problem. I’m wondering when some security person will get suspicious about an old man in a black car taking pictures of the property through his car window. It might be easier if I went to the edges of the metro area where is lots of space, but that’s not convenient.                   

GAS STATIONS IN THE NIGHT, NUMBER 1

 

I’ve become fascinated with the look of contemporary American gas stations at night. The inspiration is a favorite painting by the artist Ed Ruscha. It’s tricky to make this work. It needs a dark location, preferably without adjacent structures.There has to be enough surrounding space to get a good angle. A bit more of this to come.

For locals, this at the northeast of Big Bend and Laclede Station in Webster Groves.                 

AT THE END OF THE FOREST CLEARING

There's a metaphor in here somewhere, something about what is happening to us at the edge of the wilderness. This is actually a local landmark at a gas station that has been at this location for many decades. The original enormous sign was formed with neon. What you see here is a modern reproduction, sort of like the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square, Boston. The view is through the trees in the southwest corner of Forest Park.

The Amoco brand doesn't exist on gas stations any more. This one pumps BP products. I wonder how many Americans know that stands for British Petroleum.