The Elmo

Posted by Damon Schreiber (Toronto, Canada) on 19 December 2006 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.

The El Mocambo has been a rock and roll institution for many many years. The Rolling Stones famously played here in the '70s as well as many others. Don't know exactly what's happening there these days, but that sign: gotta love it.

By the way, I just realised that this photo puts me in the 100 club. WooHoo!

[Spadina at College, Toronto]

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Comments (17)

mara from Madrid, Spain

makes me think of a place with the same name at the city where I studied... great memories... and great shot, of course, love it!

19 Dec 2006 7:26am

@mara: Thanks, Mara! Where was that? For those who might be interested, Wikipedia has a good entry on this El Mocambo, and as a bonus, you can see the sign in colour.

wanganeges from concord, ma, United States

love that sign! thanks for the nostalgic voyage.

19 Dec 2006 11:22am

@wanganeges: Absolutely welcome, Wanganeges!

MnX from PARIS, France

So sharp!!! I love the mood even if I can't transcribe it in words.

19 Dec 2006 11:35am

@MnX: Thank you, Cyrille!

Maoya from Rolle, Switzerland

As if you sat there until as many things as possible were going on and then *Bingo* The contrasts are beautiful. Clever shot!

19 Dec 2006 12:18pm

@Maoya: Hmmm... you described exactly how I took this, Maoya. Thanks!

Martine Lapointe from Québec, Canada

Very nice shot! Beautiful!

19 Dec 2006 1:18pm

@Martine Lapointe: Merci, Martine! Love your bonhomme de fibre optique!

Ned from Toronto, Canada

I really like your pictures. Seeing someone else's Toronto is great for me.

19 Dec 2006 1:44pm

@Ned: Thanks so much, Ned! Seeing some else's hamsters is great for me. Ok, I admit I don't actually have any hamsters, but I do love your pictures and the stories that go with them.

mara from Madrid, Spain

That was at Oviedo, Spain. But it closed several years ago.

19 Dec 2006 4:29pm

@mara: ¡Qué tristeza!

Jason Kravitz from Brussels, Belgium

Looks like a classic location - that is a great sign. Nice shot.

19 Dec 2006 5:31pm

@Jason Kravitz: Thanks, Jason!

badala from Leiria, Portugal

Nice photo.

19 Dec 2006 9:13pm

@badala: Obrigado, Badala!

Still from Valence, France

Fine details in this one!

19 Dec 2006 9:53pm

@Still: Thank you and merci, Still!

Michael Zhang from New York City, United States

The tones and contrast are superb and this shot is technically perfect.

19 Dec 2006 10:22pm

@Michael Zhang: Ho ho! Sorry, but I can't imagine a technically perfect shot apart from perhaps a grey card shot so that it looks neutral grey. Anyway, I have the disadvantage of having seen the original before post processing, so I'm fully aware of how imperfect it really is.

[obscure Photoshop technobabble follows; non-Photoshop users feel free to skip this paragraph.] I was amazed that the high pass filter sharpening technique rescued the womans face. And the other dirty little secret (or I consider it so) was compositing two exposures from the same RAW file into a sort of HDR so that the sky and street were both exposed okay. The black and white conversion was done with a combination of gradient map and channel mixer adjustment layers which for some reason does wonders for making signs like this one really pop.

Sorry for the digressive exposition, and thanks, Michael!

Chris Sullivan from Melbourne, Australia

It is a great sign. Excellent street scene, love the tones.

19 Dec 2006 10:46pm

@Chris Sullivan: Thank you, Chris!

Mammoth in Chief from Naperville, United States

Brilliant composition!!! Love the black and white, and the feeling of life next to the tavern.

19 Dec 2006 10:49pm

@Mammoth in Chief: Thanks, Mammoth! Funny how sometimes the shots one considers throwing away end up getting praised. Life and art can be random...

Lynne from Atlanta, United States

great photo! bc the image is so sharp you know it's a photo that was taken recently yet the setting and even the people in the foreground make it look like this photo was taken 10+ years ago. great effect...

20 Dec 2006 2:10am

@Lynne: Glad you like it, Lynne! Yes, it was taken less than a week ago, and apart from the web address above the door, I suppose it could have been taken over 10 years ago.