Night Light on the Holocaust Sculpture “Keeping Tabs”

I was wondering what I’d post following the dedication post  of the Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Holocaust Sculpture from yesterday.  Thank you for the thoughtful comments and for sharing it with those who were unable to attend.

And then the artist Elena Hiatt Houlihan called me Monday night to say she’d taken photographs of Keeping Tabs at night with a borrowed tripod.

She said to me, “You have to see it at night.  The light is beautiful.”

I was half asleep-

but after we hung up, I pulled jeans over my pjs,  threw on a coat and grabbed a hat.  I drove up Beechwood Boulevard to photograph the sculpture even though Elena had already left.   It was 10 PM.

My tripod was at school in my classroom so I took up a Swifter with a flat top pole to steady my camera.

No moonlight to help the effort.

As I got out of the car, I  saw the light reflecting off the six million pop tabs encased in the glass blocks. All was quiet.  It was moving.

I was all alone until a single figure arrived and entered the sculpture for a  time.

I tried a number of settings, shutter speeds, aperture and white balance, trying to get the best quality shot I could, given lack of tripod or remote cable.   It was in the low 40’s and I was wishing I had my tripod.  Night photography takes practice.

This post seems to complete yesterday’s photographic essay.  Good idea, Elena.

keeping tabs at night 2

 

 

 

 

keeping tabs at night 3

 

 

 

and then too much light, blown out- but autumn colors in the surrounding trees

 

keeping tabs at night 4

keeping tabs at night

14 thoughts on “Night Light on the Holocaust Sculpture “Keeping Tabs”

  1. I love the night view. Memorial always seem to look eerier at night. Almost more meaningful.

  2. The colors in the “too much light” image are stunning; and seeing all of the pop tabs reflecting the light around them again makes me tear up. How can something be so beautiful and so tragic at the same time? Such is the power of art.

  3. Ruth I think your photos are AWESOME! Thank you for these night pictures, They are stunning.
    Nancy Tuckfelt

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