Brick Wall with Entry, Colonial Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia
I got an overdose of colonial architecture in Williamsburg, as expected. But I loved it. The simple lines and the straight forward detailing was refreshing. Most modern buildings are cheaply constructed with little or no ornamentation or they lack the proper proportions. the massive heroic architecture of Washington DC, as we will see in future posts, tries to over impress. These old brick and clapboard buildings have a zen like simplicity that is rare in America.
Unlike my previous Williamsburg post, which documented scenes from the Colonial Amusement park, I wanted to do something different with these set of photographs. I wanted to create simple, graphic and somewhat artsy images. Something that would capture the spirit of this colonial simplicity.
Notice the repeating horizontal lines. The honest texture of wood shakes and clay bricks. The contrast of the vertical pickets to the clapboard. They certainly don’t build them like this anymore.
White Clapboard, Colonial Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia
Red Clapboard, Colonial Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia
Pickets and Clapboard, Colonial Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia
Click on the photographs to see a larger image and hover over the photos to see the exposure detail.
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Nice grouping. That first doorway is beautiful. The second shot, the window with shutters, reminds me of one I shot in Massachusetts years ago.
Thank you, Libby.
You certainly succeeded in your goal here. Nice work. There is lots of peaceful symmetry in these images.
Thank you, Bernard.
Colonial architecture with a strong Federal and Shaker influence. You see a lot of homes from this period in New England, often in pretty good condition. We have several dating from the early 1700s on this road. I admire them, but I wouldn’t want to own aother one. Old houses are money pits. Beautiful, elegant, wonderfully designed money pits. Been there, done that. Love them, but it was unrequited. Great for photographers, though!
I could imagine it would be expensive to maintain and heat. Nice to see and photograph but a lot tougher to actually live in these days.
This is a beautiful set of pictures, composed perfectly to show off their aesthetic quality. I can imagine these printed large on canvas or board without frames arranged in a row perhaps in a modern house to create a contrast. Nice work.
Thank you for you kind words, Cedric. I wished I could have spent more time to shoot more of these kind of compositions. Perhaps the next time I’m there.