Battle of the Libraries
Over the past couple of years, I've become more interested in taking photographs of interior spaces. I've enjoyed visiting the State Capitol buildings and have now visited 39 of them. Eventually, I won't have any more Capitols to photograph! I've expanded this interest to places of worship. There are an almost unlimited number of churches and other interesting places of worship to photograph. I've photographed more than 130 of them so far!
More recently, I've added libraries to my list of sites to photograph. CNN recently featured several of my library photographs in the Travel section of its website. Click here to view some of my favorite library images.
The first library that I photographed was my local library--the Orland Park Public Library.
Subsequently, I've visited the Seattle, Salt Lake City, Lexington, San Antonio, Denver and St. Louis libraries.
My visit to the Seattle Central Library helped me realize how libraries can be amazing architectural subjects. While I was in that library, there must have been at least 8 other photographers there. I took my time working my way up as the floors spiral ten stories into the air. There's an abundance of bright colors. And, there's plenty of glass which offers stunning views of downtown Seattle.
After reading the reviews, I made sure to visit the Salt Lake City. As with Seattle, the Salt Lake City Public Library is very contemporary and is an impressive structure. Unlike Seattle, I was able to use a tripod while capturing pictures inside the Salt Lake City Library.
Later, I visited the Lexington Public Central Library in Kentucky. This library houses the largest ceiling clock in the World as well as a five-story high pendulum.
The San Antonio library houses an impressive two-story Chihuly sculpture called the "Fiesta Tower":
Fiesta Tower sculptureThe two-story glass blown sculpture named "Fiesta Tower" (by Dale Chihuly in 2005) in the lobby of the San Antonio Public Central Library at 600 Soledad Street in San Antonio, Texas on January 8, 2014. This photograph consists of three exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.
The Denver library also has an impressive lobby area:
Denver Public LibraryLobby of the Denver Public Library at 10 W 14th Avenue in Denver, Colorado on July 24, 2014
Most recently, I visited the St. Louis Public Library:
St. Louis Public LibrarySt. Louis Central Public Library at 1301 Olive Street in St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 2015
The libraries that I've mentioned so far in this blog entry are all public city libraries. However, I've also visited several state law libraries and university libraries which are at least as impressive (and will be the subject of a future blog entry).
So, which library wins the "Battle of the Libraries" in my view? My sentimental choice is Orland Park. But, I'll have to go with Seattle in this one!