Old San Juan
Originally uploaded by philputnam.
Back to the archives again this week. I took this shot in Old San Juan earlier this year. The dome is actually over a mausoleum building in a very old cemetary right on the coast. Click on the photo to go to my Flickr page, where you can see some wider shots. Or just click here.
You can see "La Perla" in the background. Those are the colored buildings on the hill. Basically it's a squatters town that was finally granted official status rather than kick everyone out. So...free housing on the most beautiful and historic real-estate on the island, rather than enforce the law. Gotta love the government.
3 comments:
Hmmm. La Perla. Ever had the chance to enter that cemetery in on Halloween night? Did you do it?
Did you take that photo from Bayamon with a 50,000mm lens so that you wouldn't have to get too close to La Perla?
You have an eye for composition, I'll give you that. But at what cost? The exploitation of not only generations of dead, but thousands of impoverished souls still on this earth and trapped in La Perla. The human toll of suffering and poverty, mocked in your annotation and your photo. Taken from Bayamon.
Nice pic.
Anonymous,
Funny you should ask that. In fact, almost exactly 3 years ago I had that opportunity. I'm not ashamed to say that I was unwilling to do it. If there ever was a creepy cemetery at night, this was one. Mostly because of the neighborhood, i.e. the "people" of La Perla. You could hear their raucus parties full of sin and debauchery right around the corner. That combined with the waves crashing on the walls on the opposite side made it an easy decision.
Of course, my companion for the night had "a little Captain in him" which provided plenty of courage. He claims to this day that he "entered the cemetery", when in fact, he just stood on the wall. Yeah. Real brave.
If I had been able to get that shot without having to smell the stench of La Perla, I would have done so. Alas, sometimes you just have to hold your nose for the sake of the shot. And in spite of your impassioned plea on behalf of the destitute LaPerlans, I don't see how my "eye for composition" has added to or taken away from their (self-imposed) plight.
Thanks, as always, for commenting. Sometimes I think you're the only one that cares about this little blog of mine.
The "artist" rarely recognizes the subject outside himself. Odd and penetratingly sad - the focus remains self-centered even as the lens amplifies that which is needy and raw. "Sometimes you have to hold your nose to get the shot." That is real courage.
Thag you very buch for the shot.
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