10-17-12 Stone and Light

I took my first year photography students to the court house today and when I had a spare moment, I took a few photos standing in the central hall.I found interesting symmetry in this space and there was also plenty of color, especially in the glass ceiling. But ultimately, I decided that black and white helps you see the structure and texture of this amazing place in a way that the color version doesn't.

The Beauty Is In the Details

Of course the saying is that the "devil" is in the details, but it's hard to believe that when you look closely as the amazing amount of careful work that went in to decorating the interior of the Codington County Courthouse in Watertown, SD. The other thing that amazes me is that there are thousands of courthouses like this throughout the US. These structures were built at a time when there was enough time, talent and money to do such public works.Incidentally, this photo, and other photos of the courthouse, were done for an assignment I gave my Lake Area Tech Photo/Media students. I figured that if I could assign the project, I could just as well do it. To see the product of this effort, go to my Flickr account here.

A Multitude of Curves and Lines

When I went down to the Codington County courthouse to vote a couple weeks ago, I was reminded of how beautiful a building it was. Thus, I went back last week to take a few photos and this is one of my favorites.Though I like it, I'm thinking that someone else might see it and wonder what this is. Among other things, you are looking at the stained glass dome that covers the central foyer. They don't make public buildings like this any more.