Fifth Ward
The Fifth Ward is one of Houston's former former political wards. They are no longer political entities, but people still think of them as geographic places. They include historic neighborhoods, and some blocks in other wards have been renovated. The Fifth Ward is rather rough; I posted black and white pictures in an earlier Houston post (please click the link).
 |
| Mary Street (alley) view north (35mm ƒ/3.5 Supar-Takumar lens) |
 |
| Former school and recycling company (out of business?), Semmes Street |
This molded concrete building, which I am sure was originally a school, resembled the aesthetic of the unused Culkin Elementary School in Vicksburg. I do not know details, but this type of construction appears to have been common during the New Deal era for schools and possibly other public buildings.
 |
| Noble Street |
 |
| Restored shotgun house, Semmes street |
 |
| 2318 Hailey Street |
 |
| Poison ivy farm, Semmes Street |
 |
| No services today, 2623 Estex Freeway |
A rainy/drizzly day made the Fifth Ward a bit gloomy and ominous. It was perfect for my type of photography. But I did not take my wife to some of the the rougher blocks.
Follow-Up
After a few hours photographing in the Fifth Ward, what next?
 |
| Flash Drive mobile photography education unit |
The Houston Center for Photography at 1441 West Alabama has interesting exhibits and an active education program. Their Flash Drive, housed in a repurposed ambulance, is a working camera obscura.
How about some jazz at the Menil Collection Museum? This was a concert in commemoration of the famous museum curator, Walter Hopps. The estate of Walter Hopps at the Menil included original silver gelatin prints (i.e., real photographs) from William Eggleston, Eugene Atget, Robert Frank, Allan Ginsberg (the beat generation denizen), Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Dennis Hopper, and W. Eugene Smith. Amazing, what a treat.
The Menil does not have the vibe of a Mississippi juke joint - it is more oriented to the wine and canapés set.
 |
| Niko Niko's on Montrose |
After a long day, one is tired and hungry. Where to eat? Why that is obvious. Find Greek. There are Greeks in Houston! And they make delicious food and baklava big enough for two. And they have Retsina. Ahh, contentment....
(I could handle living in Houston again - but we did that in the 1980s, so not again.)
I took the Firth Ward photographs with Kodak Portra 160 film using a venerable Pentax Spotmatic camera and Takumar lenses. Pentax's Takumar lenses were top grade in the 1970s and are still totally usable on film or adapted to digital bodies. The Spotmatic's light meter works in stop-down mode, meaning the viewfinder darkens as you stop down. For best results, be careful to avoid large areas of bright sky in the measuring area. I still have the correct mercury (mercuric oxide) V400PX batteries for the meter. The camera and lenses are reliable and compact, well-suited for travel.
Copyright note:
I recently saw some photographs from this blog reposted on Flickr and Pinterest. Some anus lifted them them without my permission. I'm sorry I need to note something as basic as this: these are copyrighted. Ask permission if you want to use some of this material.
1 comment:
Nice group and commentary. Semmes Street looks like it varies a lot. The school definitely looks like an Art Moderne design but I couldn't find anything thus far.
Post a Comment