This letter A was part of the signage for a locally renowned restaurant, The Arches, that used to be located at this site. It was a longtime landmark in the city of Newport Beach, built in 1925, and the restaurant and its bar were for decades the favorites of Old Hollywood celebrities such as Shirley Temple, Gary Cooper, Howard Hughes, Humphrey Bogart, and of course John Wayne, who lived nearby. When The Arches recently lost its lease and moved to a nearby location, the site was taken over and reopened as A Restaurant (yep, that's the name), keeping the iconic and easily recognizable A from the original restaurant. Upon close inspection, I found it interesting to note how the signmaker connected the main illuminated part of the letter A with the interior triangles.
That's "A" beautiful shot! ;)
ReplyDeleteYour end piece is going to be so colorful...I sure hope you continue to have such successful finds.
ReplyDeleteMadamMtnLion
A very cool letter and a wonderful historical commentary. The solid black background always does these shots such good justice!
ReplyDeleteAnother great shot. Beautifully bright. Are you cloning out posts and wires?
ReplyDeleteWow ! This photo really grabs you. A fantastic neon sign - simple yet eye-catching.
ReplyDeleteI'm shooting at night, so all of them so far are either on dark walls or in dark-ish windows. And yes, I'm darkening areas outside the signs to clean them up. However, in fairness, I'm not taking pics that have too much to darken/clean up, since finding and taking the pics takes enough time in itself! Glad you like them!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit (alot) lean for time, so I'll do my best to check in ever few days with you Buff.. Firstly, thankyou very very much for your time and efforts in all the comments you've already given me..
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're off a great start with the 30DC! Your images are nice & clean with great color against those black backdrops.. But I'm secretly hoping that your photography starts to evolve a bit more than just the signs plonked in the middle of your frames. Reflections, blurs and alike, bringing more into your compositions and in return your images will hold us a bit longer, making us explore the image and make us scratch our heads as to what you're trying to share and just how you did it.
I'll be watching either way with great interest!
Matt
A+ great shot! I found myself looking for neon signs in town to shoot after seeing your great collection...
ReplyDeleteThis is cool!!! If I'm not mistaken, there is a little spot taken out on the bottom right corner of the A. It's still great though!!! :D
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ReplyDeleteSorry about that... error in prior post.
ReplyDeleteTo answer ellehchMevoLI - Good eye! Actually, it's not taken out. Due to the angle of where I was standing, which I didn't notice at the time, it's where the raised edge of the oval frame of the sign slides under the letter A cuts off the haloing from the neon. I wondered if anyone would see it because yes, it does look like a "sloppy masking job" doesn't it?
Shouldn't A have been your first one? :D Another great neon shot. You mentioned about the connections between the various lights - I was thinking that they could have at least coloured those connections yellow!!
ReplyDeleteA+! I like the color of this one - and I'm loving the history lessons.
ReplyDeletemmc9496
I really like this sign. Very articially done - and taken.
ReplyDeleteI like that black wire because it gives it character. Thanks for the little history lesson. Putting the sign in context gives the whole thing new meaning.
ReplyDeleteThose black backgrounds really make these signs even more interesting and bright, and this isn't a difference.
ReplyDeleteA+
The choice of neon signs really was a great one, I had no idea they would be so cool, with all the black around, they are striking!
ReplyDeleteCool having the description to go along with it. Nicely done, yet again :)
ReplyDeleteNice letter A, thanks for the commnets on the history.
ReplyDeletecl_UK
Your descriptions are a great help to give the signs some perspective. I can imagine it is sometimes hard to shoot them. Do you bring your own stepladder?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I am so far behind on some (most of the blogs). A wonderful simple and classy shot. Your gallery is looking great!
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