Peace In The Margins

Landscape photographers in the southeast United States know the best time to shoot sunsets in sometime in August when the Sahara winds push desert sand across the Atlantic and enhance already beautiful sunsets making the sky look ablaze! To that end, I watched the weather closely, planning to pick the best night to snag a Central Florida lake sunset on the Winter Haven chain. Of course, Mother Nature made sure to dump buckets of water on us and fill the sky with clouds. Thus, no sunset.

But, in the words of Eddie Rabbit, “I love a rainy night!” Not wanting to waste the planned photo night, we ventured into downtown, and I tried my hand at an alley I always loved peaking down.

What I didn’t expect was the back side of the downtown poolhall to be in this alley. It was glorious – reminiscent of a 1940s/1950s poolhall it was smoky, dark, and moody. I immediately fell in love with the story it told.

My two favorite shots from the night were from the poolhall – lights reflected in a puddle in the alley and a peak through the bars looking into the hall. I loved the dark and moody feeling these images evoked. I can only imagine the stories the pool table might tell. The only thing missing is an appearance by Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason.