Photographer's Note
View from the cemetary...
Marin Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was completed in 1957 to serve as the administrative and judicial center for the County of Marin. The link above tells a bit about the building, which like many of Wright's creations, has been much admired and occasionally criticized.
I worked in the building for nearly a year, which gives me some familiarity with the architect's phenomenal attention to detail. You perhaps are familiar with the building as well, for it was used as backdrop for the Hollywood movie called Gattaca.
I came upon this vista while visiting a cemetary in northern San Rafael. It was a sunny day, with the lovely light of early winter suggesting I might find some interesting subjects to shoot. You can imagine my surprise when I came upon this vista, the Civic Center framed by gravestones. I'll have more to say about the cemetary at another time, but for the moment, here is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's monuments. For an aerial view of the complex you can check this link...
Kite Aerial Photography of the Marin Civic Center
wilkinsonsg, pamastro has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
snuggleaphagus
(4146) 2004-12-15 3:02 [Comment]
SophieL
(6042) 2004-12-15 4:33
It's a very unusual view of the Civic Center, very moving. The contrast in shapes and colors between the tombstones and the blue, rounded roofs, and the contrast between the cemetary where all is quiet and a Civic Center, buzzing with life, is striking. I like the composition of this picture a lot, with a rather shallow depth of field that is unusual in a landscape picture. It's a very personal view, full of melancholy, and I'm glad you share it with us.
I have very special memories associated with this building (although I didn't know there was a cemetery close by). When I arrived in California for the first time, my friends picked me up at the airport to drive me to their home in Petaluma, up Highway 101. Once we had been over the Golden Gate Bridge, they showed me this building, with pride and a lot of fondness. I spent then a wonderful year in the area, and every time I would drive on the highway and see this building, I felt like I was meeting an old friend, watching over me. I never could take the time for a visit inside. I guess that calls for a new journey to your country! :^) It feels good to see it again.
Thanks for sharing.
pamastro
(7296) 2004-12-16 0:29
I like cemeteries and I like Frank Lloyd Wright buildings so we have two things here. The headstones offer a great foreground, with a subtle and quiet beauty to it. The bare trees add to that feel that matches the foreground. In the back we have the civic center and the green hills. Life and death, perhaps. I also like the way the lines of the building really blend into the landscape from this point of view showing his idea dating back to the Prairie Style. And I did not know that about Gattaca. It somehow slipped by me but it was a while ago that I saw the film. About the foreground. It seems a bit out of focus. Perhaps a deeper depth of field would have helped a bit. Perhaps not to get it into full focus but closer. Nicely found and shown.
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Curtis Grindahl (cgrindahl)
(6113)
- Genre: ÌÅÑÒÀ
- Medium: ÖÂÅÒÍÎÉ
- Date Taken: 2004-12-10
- Categories: ÀÐÕÈÒÅÊÒÓÐÀ
- Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Canon 70-200 f/4L, SanDisk Ultra II, B+W 67mm UV-Haze MRC
- Exposure: f/7.1, 1/200 ñåêóíä
- Âåðñèÿ: Îðèãèíàëüíàÿ âåðñèÿ
- Òåìû: Architects: Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2004-12-15 2:38
Discussions
- To snuggleaphagus: You were visiting next door perhaps? (1)
by cgrindahl, last updated 2004-12-15 04:25