Architecture was the subject of Readers Photo Challenge for June. Buildings and their styles can add to the character of a place whether in a large city or a rural landscape. Ten readers sent in 35 photos. Here are the top examples which captured the style and character of buildings and/or how they fit into their landscapes.
Fred Norman of Stockton was on a trip through the eastern Sierras along Highway 395 north of Mono Lake when he spotted a lone abandoned farmhouse in the open rangeland. With a Canon 6D DSLR camera he photographed the ramshackled building which stands out against the natural world around it. A majestic mountain range, still with a smattering of snow, rises in the background. The house is set in the frame where a slope of one of the peaks draws the viewer eyes to the building making it the focal point to the scene.
When comes to interior architecture photography what’s often overlooked is the ceiling. We often look around and even down but rarely do we look up. But that’s what Carrie Walker of Stockton did during an event at the Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton. The theater’s lobby is full of wonderful detail and textures and it’s ceiling is no exception. She used her Apple iPhone 8 to photograph the ceiling and captured an ornate chandelier and the detailed oval moulding surrounding it.
Steven Rapaport of Stockton was on a trip to the ghost town of Bodie. The town was a gold mining community built in the 1880s and is now a state park. The state does not restore the buildings but maintains them as they were found when it took them over in 1962. Rapaport used a Canon 5D Mk IV DSLR camera to photograph a window of a church in Bodie. The window leans to the right due to the settling of building over time and is surrounded by the texture of the weathered wood of an exterior wall.
While on a drive on Highway 4 east of Farmington, Timothy Ford of Stockton took time to stop to take a photo of a barn that’s passed by many times before. The weathered barn at the Orvis cattle ranch, sits in a pasture of dried yellow grass which lends warmth to the scene. With a Nikon D7000 DSLR camera Ford captured striking storm clouds billowing in the background which add a sense of drama to the photo.
All of the entries can be seen in an online gallery at recordnet.com. More top picks can be seen on the Record’s Instagram and Facebook page. A new Readers Photo Challenge assignment will be issued on June 28.
Record photographer Clifford Oto has photographed Stockton and San Joaquin County for more than 37 years. He can be reached at coto@recordnet.com or on Instagram @Recordnet. Follow his blog at recordnet.com/otoblog. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.