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Lake Steam Baths
Lake Steam Baths
Rebecca


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Neon Signs (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Nikon Coolpix 5400
Location: Denver, CO
Date: Nov 7, 2006
Galleries: Urban, Black and White
Date Uploaded: Nov 7, 2006

 Colfax Ave. has all this fantastic vintage neon, most of it old motels left over from the days when Colfax was the main drag into the mountains. I fell in love with it when I moved here four years ago and have watched it all slowly decay, and ultimately decided to make a photo project of all the signs. There are signs that are prettier and more damaged than the steam baths, but it's my favorite to photograph. There's something fantastically urban and desolate about looking down Colfax at this angle and seeing this grungy-looking bath house on one side of the street.

While shooting, I was heckled by two drunk prostitutes and half-heartedly hassled in passing by a wannabe thug. I never felt threatened, but it tells you a lot about the neighborhood these days. The attention I gather as a suburban white girl setting up a tripod and camera as though I've been doing it in that spot all my life is generally more curious than threatening. I never look like a scared bunny, and I always make sure I know precisely what I want to shoot before I step out of the car. Locals will ask me what I'm shooting, how much I charge, point out other places of interest, and tell me random things about the neighborhood and its inhabitants. Tonight, for instance, a guy stepped out of his motel room to smoke a cigarette while I was shooting The Big Bunny and told me that The Big Bunny is the cheapest of all the motels on Colfax, just $25 per night. The White Swan, he said, pointing down the block, was rather steep at $40.

The steam baths are an old Jewish bath house, built next to a synagogue, relics from the days when the neighborhood was predominately Jewish. Now it's quite Latino and a little bit gangster territory. Inside, the baths are actually rather nice. Not posh spa nice, but a nice, relaxing no-frills place with a eucalyptus steam room, a dry heat room, a giant hottub, and, for the ladies days at least, a couple women who will give you a good rub down with epsom salts to slough off the layer of dead skin that all the heat and steam has loosened. It's a favorite treat amongst my friends and me.

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Post-challenge: I know it's not a great photo, and there wasn't much i could do with it using a little point and shoot and basic editing. However, most of the comments were very heartening to see, since it meant that a handful of people out there understood what I was trying to portray here, and were willing to look outside of the oversaturated and oversharpened box to see it. Thank you!

Statistics
Place: 107 out of 124
Avg (all users): 4.7273
Avg (commenters): 6.7273
Avg (participants): 4.7097
Avg (non-participants): 4.7333
Views since voting: 2121
Views during voting: 320
Votes: 242
Comments: 16
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 11/15/2006 04:35:10 AM
The two pictures i pick out as the best two finish 107th and 106th. Art isnt for the masses! This is a great picture so dont let the masses get you down. It screams narrative and could easily pass as a Travis Bickle street vision. You are an artist not a technician. Well done on producing such a shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens
 11/15/2006 03:22:03 AM
Who says that everything has to be "tack sharp" (hate that term) and oversaturated to be good. The muted colors and "blown" highlights make this look like a picture from when Colfax was in its heyday. It's a great capture.

Thanks, also, for the notes. I'm not from Denver, but I have a greater sense of the place after reading them.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D700
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED
 11/15/2006 01:57:37 AM
Yeah, i thought of Colfax for about 2 seconds and said nah, that's bleepin' nuts. People, this is not a a safe area and honestly not a safe place to be at night. But, good job for tryin'. And being brave.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 11/15/2006 01:47:04 AM
Love the feel to this shot. Looks like a vintage photo. It's a great shot and has much more merit then alot of people gave it credit for. Well done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Panasonic DMC-FZ8
 11/15/2006 01:41:10 AM
Thanks for writing up those photographer's comments - it was really neat to read.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D700
Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF
 11/14/2006 12:57:12 PM
This image had great potential. I try not to harp on tilts, sharpness, noise, blown highlights and all that other junk but this image would have been truly great if the technicals were at least a little stronger. This shot was a tough one to nail. The neon is overexposed and the dudes who really highlight the scene are a dash under. I'd bet, two seconds earlier that passing cars headlights would have lit those guys up beautifully. Good Luck!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Polaroid PDC 5070
 11/14/2006 10:55:17 AM
Moody and well-processed, or else a lucky first pic. I'd like to know how you created and processed this one. I'm bumping upwards.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM
 11/13/2006 03:23:21 AM
There's something very appealing about this, though I'm not sure what.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D80
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 11/12/2006 09:55:10 PM
Great Shot! I really like this alot. From the in-motion out of focus car in the bottom left to the soft focus on the sign and the men below it to the use of a muted color palette this image communicates well the "vibe" of the location you've chosen. A perfect illustration that photography is not exclusively comprised of images that are tack sharp and vibrantly colored. Well done. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 11/12/2006 07:51:19 PM
I really admire the gritty atmosphere and washed-out color effect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 11/09/2006 09:15:48 AM
Real raw, real sleeezy, real cinematic
Really good
8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300s
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
 11/08/2006 04:38:13 PM
I like the feel of this photo. What the sign actually says doesn't seem to fit though. Not that you can control that, heh. It looks like a place that has been there awhile, so to people in your city it probably rings some nostalgia. In that sense I think it works.

I'm not sure many people are going to put as much thought into this, but I'm glad I did.

To nit-pick: Your upper right street light looks to have suffered a bit from the editting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7200
Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
 11/08/2006 12:53:11 PM
The whole picture seems out of focus.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
 11/08/2006 10:47:28 AM
were you nervous about those folks walking toward you on colfax? i was when i shot there!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA
 11/08/2006 07:27:13 AM
seems really out of focus
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon PowerShot A510
 11/08/2006 04:26:54 AM
Yeah, faded colors!!!! Why noone thinks faded when thinking neon?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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