Last week in Civil War Interactive's weekly blog review Laurie Chambliss pointed out that my Orchard Knob pictures mostly excluded views of the nearby homes. That reminded me that I should point out that Orchard Knob is in the middle of the city, and in a bit of a rough neighborhood. When I visited there to take those pictures in the fall of 2006 I did so with a plan.
I went in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. I've been there before on a weekend and let's just say that the more deserted the neighborhood the better. Since I was making this excursion alone I needed to be extra cautious. I also had a list of what monuments and views I wanted to take pictures of, and when I got there I went to work and finished quickly. I bet I shot everything in 45 minutes. Also because I know my parents worry I called my dad before and after my visit, plus he'd been there with me before so he knew what I was in for. If I had been with a group I wouldn't have been worried, or not nearly as much, but being alone I decided to err on the overly cautious side.
Clearly Laurie has been to Orchard Knob, I like this description that barely reveals what sort of neighborhood it in, or that it is even in a neighborhood at all:
"Those who have been to the site will appreciate the intensive effort that must have gone into Nick's choices of vantage points to photograph each memorial. Coping with bright sun on what was evidently a beautiful fall day is hard enough for the photographically challenged among us, but he also manages to make it look like a secluded, indeed idyllic spot. Only one shot includes the roofs of some nearby houses."
Nick,
ReplyDeleteYou're being kind in calling it a bit of a rough neighborhood. The last time I was there, we had to watch our step to avoid the used condoms and used hypodermic needles littering the ground.....
Eric
Its getting better. My first visit there was much as you say, needles and condoms. But this most recent visit was much better, just some broken glass.
ReplyDelete