We were on our way home from Provence, driving along deserted minor roads through the gentle hills north of Dijon, when the urge to photograph something railway came upon me. As luck would have it, thwarting was not on the menu that evening and I was able to stop and prance around this derelict station for a few minutes.The gare at Pavillon Les Grancey last echoed to the sound of passengers in 1969 and I would imagine that, by then, as the motor car swept all before it, there were precious few of them. Just a soupcon of bonjours, au revoirs and je vous remercie's to sweeten a placid day.
It was the lighting within the booking hall that attracted me, along with the old posters and the pastel green colour scheme.
When I started to light drama productions, I was keen to avoid the stereotyped 'sun through window' scenario. You see it all the time, in film and on television. However it's an easy option if you want to add a bit of structure and definition to a flat surface. It can also take your eye away from the dodgy set decoration and construction. Unfortunately, as we all know, the sun doesn't shine all the time, nor is it always conveniently placed so as to cast a shadow on an upstage wall.
Sometimes lighting designers and cameramen are so keen on this device that they arrange for the sun to come from several directions at once - I saw a film once where a man walked through the front door of a house with the sun streaming in behind him (very dramatic, very Ridley Scott) and walked out the back door with the sun hitting him in the face (very naff, very Neighbours).
I can't say I've avoided the trap over the years but I do try - honest.
4 comments:
Another brilliant photo as far as I'm concerned, sun or no sun.
Just imagine all the conversations that have gone on in that building...aaah history...sweet!
Thanks for putting yourself on my map too!
i really love how the diamond shaped shadows on the wall echo the grid of the floor tiles. and the way the green wall color is kin to the far field seen through the panes. i like the way they are have this conversation with one another. nice.
Railways and "Big G" lighting, eh Dave? If the buffet lounge had still been open, you'd have been in heaven.
Hi Hannelie, many thanks for your comment. As you imagine, that room must have seen a fair bit of emotion on display since it was built in the late ninteenth century - families splitting apart, some forever, and hopefully more than a few joyous reunions.
Snowsparkle - I noticed that diamond pattern of the floor but hadn't really clocked that it matched so well with the way the light fell across the wall - it adds another dimension. Love your comment about the conversation.
Peter - what a combination but I suspect the croissants would be a bit stale by now.
Lee - I cloned it out in Photoshop - it was too twee.
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