1600 S Pennsylvania St, Denver, CO

Well, obviously the Polaroid didn't quite come out, but you get the idea. I was frustrated by this one. I think it was due in part to the overwhelming feeling of having a bunch of addresses added to my project. I drove past this house a ton of times and the light was never right, but even if it was, I just wasn't feeling it. I couldn't see the picture. The main side faces north, so on Saturday night I drove back, but just as I got there, so did the clouds. Thick, Rocky Mountain clouds. do I stay another night? Another day waiting to make a picture I really wasn't feeling inspired for at all?

So with clouds rolling in I decided to drive the hour and a half south to Woodland Park, CO to scope out that address. I figured best case, I'd get there and photograph it, gaining a day on the trip. Worst case, it wouldn't be there and I could "spend" the day I would have spent in Woodland Park in Denver waiting on the above. Medium case, at least I did something with my downtime and scouted for my project. It wasn't there. I drove up the side of a mountain, drove down a dirt road named Pennsylvania Avenue and nothing. In the pouring rain I flagged down a woman driving and asked hr about 1600. Nope. Another dud. Back to Denver.

I really couldn't decide about whether or not to stay another night. I even booked a room, but in the end, I decided to move on, leave 1600 S Pennsylvania Ave, Denver unphotographed since I didn't like it. As I was headed north on my way to Kansas, I decided to give it one more look, what the hell right? Then I saw it. The back of the house, a smiling face, almost taunting me like a Cheshire cat, the picture was right there. Most of the address I focused on the front of house, but I never intended to make a series of real estate pictures, my intention has always been to document the structure, but to make an interesting picture somehow. Often, I'm limited to one view. Most of the 1600's are on the corner, so I have two choices, but one side usually prevails. With this address, for some reason, I never noticed, or should I say, failed to notice, the small alley and the rear of the building.

The light is not perfect, like the way the shadow touches the left window. The shadow was really on the window by the time I got to film, but I feel good about it. Maybe the shadow works in breaking up the uniformity of the structure. Maybe.