Old Shreveport
By Beth Welliver
18 Oct 2009
I have one of those jobs that forces me to move every few years, and I have been incredibly fortunate to live in some great places--Colorado, Tokyo, and most recently, Monterey, CA. When I found out last spring that I my next move was to Shreveport, Louisiana, I wasn't exactly excited. In fact, I cried. Shreveport has no mountains, no ocean, no fascinating Asian culture. I assumed my photographic subjects would be deep, dark forests and swampy wetlands. Yet, as hard as I tried, I just couldn't find the inspiration in these nature scenes--in fact, I was getting tired of relentless mosquitos, poison ivy, knocking down spiderwebs with my face, and one too many close encounters with an alligator. In frustration one afternoon, I grabbed my camera and decided to go wander around downtown Shreveport, hoping to find some little piece of inspiration.
Shreveport is an old town long past its prime. At one time it was bigger than Dallas. The rise and fall of the slave trade, the rise and fall of the cotton trade, and the constant battle against nature to keep the Red River a viable shipping lane have taken its toll. Part of downtown has been revitalized, with bright-light casinos and smoky jazz houses; but pockets of the old town still exist. Large brick buildings, once stately and proud, now stand abandoned and worn. These buildings have a story. They stand silent, yet they hold the history of a town and its people. They stand here majestic and proud, despite the tired and worn appearance.
While I love to shoot a great sunset over the ocean, a beautiful waterfall, or alpenglow on a snowy mountain summit, my next favorite thing to shoot is an old, decaying building. On a late summer afternoon, I found my new inspiration in my new hometown.
1 response
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Simon Fox said (19 Oct 2009):
I love these pictures, particularly Loading Zone and Fire Escape. Some old buildings have a beautiful sadness about them, and you've captured this perfectly. Bravo.
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