Sign of the Times

Stark message Paul….........love your take….......and the tones are perfect….
(Hope you gave them the bird!)

You got told off for taking a picture? lol – the security guards must be really bored… Like the subdued colors.

An experience I empathise with Paul… (love thos yellow/red pipe thingies) : )

lol they think you are a terrorist – our shopping centres are still pretty packed here

JC Penney is where?
& who told you off for photographing a car park! Man some people have nothing better to do with their life huh? – hand them an RB card tell them to smile & DON’T take their photo instead! lol
Chookas sweet man! X♥X

socially so accurate…
my best, francis.

Tough times indeed….....................hoping it does not come to that here

Now we really don’t want the reality of the economic meltdown to hit the masses….

I have to mention – I love the symmetry between the car park lights and the water pipes?

Wow JCPenny is still open in the States but times are hard everywhere I guess.

I have to say that its really not a bad thing if it curbs our consumerist society a little. Perhaps it is a positive that will improve our over consumption and ease a little of the strain on the planet…. then again it may not.

Gorgeous shot as always Paul!

Who told you off for photographing the car park??? That’s so silly! Security gone a bit over the top? Thought they still had JCPenny in the States. Thought the mall would be full. My Father just got back from the US yesterday (New York) and he says that clothes and food are cheap in that area at the moment. Didn’t ask about the malls. What part of the US were you in?

You’re just so good at seeing what everyone else will just walk past. Love the starkness, and the soft tones. Well done you for standing up to the security guard!!

I go to the mall for lunch once a week and it’s pretty congested there. If you think they are bad at the parking garage, trying taking some photos inside the mall LOL

If you spontaneously combusted Paul, there was easy acces to the fire hydrants by the looks… at least one positive. You would have probably also been told off for not parking between the lines too…. obviously a security guard with out too much to do… a continuance of this scene.

OMG this is so cool great work. Wahoooo for JcPenny.

I love the symmetry in this shot, along with the bright red and yellow pipes contrasting with the paler neutral colours of the carpark and building surface and the cloudy sky. It seems that photographing just about anything is taboo these days – I wonder if the security guard (?) enjoyed telling you off, or if it was simply something he had to do – company policy-type thing! A message to all of us, although how we each interpret it is going to be interesting.

there is no such thing as Public Privacy and if they allow the public onto their property the public has every to take photgraphs, at least that is the law in the UK

even if the property is not open to the public and they open the gates and you can see into the property you can photograph what you can see

lovely subdued colours Paul

Love ‘N’ Laughter Kriss

i love the colors

You have a sense of the Jeffery Smart in your urban landscapes.
We share that influence I think.
(have been chucked out of may urban situations myself. Ask anyone about Melb Central !)

Great balance Paul and love the hint of cars to show there is some
life behind the walls.
(I am getting dismayed at the growing trend to stop people photographing. It is going to get me in trouble one day because i will tell the wrong person to mind their own business: )

I agree with mick8585 above – saw an interview with Jeffrey Smart earlier in the week, and the resonance is uncanny. Paul, you see the ordinary and re-create it as a unique ‘eyeshot’.

Wow! I like your humour Paul, as I associated the JCPenney with ‘not having any pennies’ with the combination of the empty space and you got told off for photographing the empty car park hey we will have to start a club.

I’ve been verbally abused, insulted and had my film confiscated by the cops quite a few times now for doing street photography but as far as I’m concerned it is not against the Law yet and I should stress that point because the way our politicians, the media and society are going we are losing more and more of our liberties etc

Hi Paul, Great work, I’ve been told off in the USA photographing buildings! I sort of understand that considering what has happened in the past. (But i did sneak in a few shots without them knowing)
Regards M:>

The tones are beautiful – and your customary perfect composition…

And however much they try to control every bit of the brand / property / even the carpark they still can’t GET INSIDE YOUR HEAD

I find this intently interesting as I do not see the EGC at all! Its a great shot nevertheless! And someone obvioussly has way too much time on their hands to tell you off!

How do you take photos of an ordinary place and make them look as if they are snapshots from a movie portraying another world? There is always a wild 50’s kinda vibe, coupled with a muted, colorful desolation. If the technical term is composition. Then Mr. PVZ, boy do you have that knocking at the door of perfection.

Yes, the fun police seem to be lurking everywhere these days..
You have managed to imbue this with just the right measure of sadness and an almost teary quality through whatever magic you weave with your images – or is it my own reflected in how I see it???!!!

Very well captured…....and yes, a sign of the times we live here and in many places for that matter – I like the interplay of the two valves and both street ligths – and the feeling of austerity and simple geometry. A lot said with very little!

Photographers in the states are running into this alot, as they are afraid of people taking pictures of building thinking they are all terriorists. Some police have really gone overboard with this, even taking people’s cameras. If it’s a government building they have even passed laws against photographing them.. One has to wonder.

The photograph is an interesting recording of our lives today. In a hundered years people will look back and say.. wow look at how people lived then.. and that old car.. LOL!

brilliant image, Paul. & welcome to the States! the clouds, the verticals and the colors are amazing here. that guy must have been having a bad day to be giving you a hard time! everyone else will be nice, I’m sure…

Awh JCPenney. I love this picture. There are JCPenneys in Australia?

As usual the mood you set in your images is incredible. Another great piece of work!

wonderful image that tells a complete story., complimented by the empty carpark and store name. as always you find that viewpoint most of us ignore and you turn it into a work of art with your luscious tones

Yea, I guess that these aren’t the marketing shots they want LOL – hence you being told off. Sure is a sign of the times though, although not yet this bad in Australia.

Urban desolation! Has a Jeffrey Smart feel to it! Nice capture.

I was also going to say that …. you have JC Penney in Australia? Oh boy, that’s where I got my first training bra….. nostalgia. great shot and who the fuck cares if you take a pic of a fucking car park anyway?????

PS – great tones and geometry. At first I could not take my eyes off the Penney sign…... had to go back for a second looky…..

Hmm sign of the times indeed…..interestingly enough an economist was saying the other day that if you are seeing empty shelves in the supermarket it is indicative of an economy in trouble…..we seeing plenty of that here in SA…...imagine trying to take a shot inside the shop….there’s the challenge for you Paul…hehehehe…..great work as always

Simply love it! It’s so still and desolate but soooo fascinating. Great capture :)

i’ve been told off too. and asked to delete images. haha

the repetition solidifies this image. well done again.

God I love your symmetry! Masterful image and powerful story telling

A great example of the world as seen through the Vanzella eye and colour palette. Know what you mean about those bored security guards Paul, last time I was kicked out of a rooftop carpark I went back on AFL grand final day whilst the match was on. Didn’t strike any security problems that day.

reminds me of Michigan. cheers mate

Love your style Paul. I would not even have considered this shot. Your urban landscapes are a joy, you manage to see the possible in the ordinary. Looks simple, but of course is not, the symmetry, lighting, composition, precision alligning, straightened vertical perspective and that square crop make this a class image.

you bring your artistic genius to the mundane and make it beautiful…...... bravo…......b

Yeah,............rockin….......................................

Fantastic, says a lot. Reminds me of the old song Tar and Cement

Love the subtle coloring, your composition on an angle and the lights that are matched in symmetry by the piping in the foreground. You convey a wide open space to the viewer and a feeling of unnatural quiet which is what I think you intended…

nice work

Excellent composition and style again Paul – really gritty

Awesome love these kind of images,great treatment..

i’m on tour in the US at the moment… and have been into the same sort of trouble…
great shot by the way paul!! .. but then we sort of expect that from you now….

very urban and simplicity at it’s best… a great flow of lines in this Paul.

nice one…

strangely compelling…don’t know why…for me there is such a strong feeling of isolation..something about the colour, not just the subject…awesome work Paul:)

Funky shot, I like how the sign stands out so strongly.

love this image Paul. Nice work.

Really? Why?

so perfect. so bleak. so american. bravo.

great lines

Aww the famous JCPenney capture…glad you at least got it, awesome tones here Paul!

how on earth did I miss this!!! (that’s what I get for re-formatting my computer!)
I’m a little giddy at having found it. Another PV travel gem. Well worth being told off for!