I had a chance to tour the Missouri State Penitentiary today. Built in 1836, it was the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi River. It was decommissioned in 2004 and, now, is open for tours. To put it gently, they have not done much renovation. ;). You are looking into the inmate's cells... two to a room, please. Metal cots are still inside. I am standing on the entryway to a catwalk that leads over the main floor. There are four stories to this housing unit.
In 1967, Time magazine called this the "Bloodiest 47 Acres in America" due to the 550 serious assaults inside the walls.
This was an amazing space. From a photography standpoint, lots of enjoyment. From a humanitarian standpoint, much more complex.
Probably more to follow, this week. Still lots of shots to process. Thanks so much to taking time to stop by. I appreciate each visit.
10/1/2020: Finished year 7 (!), with continuing gratitude towards this amazing community. Based in St. Louis, MO. Regular worker-bee and self-taught photography dilettante....
As you know, I am not a huge fan of colour, and this is exactly the kind of shot I would have thought cries out for black and white processing... but the handling of colour in this is inspired!
This just oozes hardlife and hardship. I cannot begin to imagine the kind of lives the inmates had. There is certainly nothing warm and inviting about this place!
Very neat and clever composition, using the symmetrical railings to lead us into the picture. The variety of colours are stunning and very well captured. This somehow makes me think of the movie "Chicago"...
You definitely captured the "hard" feel to this place. Was this with the Creve Coeur photography tour? I got an email about it. Sounded like lots of fun! This image is a great one. Will look for more to come . . . FAV
I mean this as a compliment : this is disturbing. I see the pleasing artistry in the composition at the same time as I think about what the place was and the way life was lived there. Very thought provoking image.
@ishutter Actually, it was! We drove down and met the camera gurus. They just got us inside. After that, we were all on our own. Next time, I would just go without the fuss of a group. It was a totally awesome photography environment.
I agree with @northy on this, I would have been tempted to go b&w for the texture and feel, but there is something about your color edit of this that works really well. Maybe b&w is not the way for everything!
@ukandie1 The b&w took all the power out of the shot, for me. In hindsight, I might desaturate the colors a bit, but it really was colorful... so I left it alone.
@rosiekerr I think it is the vibrant colors that make this work. I am glad you did not desaturate the colors, I don't think it would have the same impact if you did!
