It’s getting more & more difficult to find an ‘iconic’ image of Austin Texas. Not too long ago you would photograph the Austin skyline from any hill and be able to include the Texas Capitol & the UT Tower. Now unless you are shooting straight down Congress Avenue the Capitol is obscured by all the new construction. I had a fellow photographer tell me that the Frost Bank Tower (The tall building to the right of the Capitol) is the ‘new’ Austin icon. Me, I still like the old traditional Capitol.
On the grounds of the Texas State Capitol stands this Monument to “Terry’s Texas Rangers”. This was one of the last images I shot during Trey Ratcliff’s Austin photo walk before the last bits of color faded from the sky. You can see a couple of more images from that evening here & here.
This ‘purple hour’ photo of the Texas Capitol Annex is another image I shot during the recent Trey Ratcliff photowalk. (You can see another image I shot during the photo walk here.) This is a side of the Capitol that relatively few tourist see. This is on the north site of the capitol looking south. Most visitors walk up Congress avenue from the business & music district on the south side and enter the building from the south, never seeing this view.
The Texas State Capitol is one of those “Grand Old Buildings”. I love grand old buildings. I understand that ‘old’ is a relative term and to those of you reading this in Europe or Asia, or in virtually in any country but America the Texas Capitol building completed in 1888 may seem relatively ‘new’. Regardless, even in the short span of 120 years the ability to create new buildings of carved granite has simply become too expensive. Today we create fabulous modern glass skinned buildings that while they are also often quite beautiful. They are never quite as grand.
The Texas State Capitol; “Where time stands still”.
Last night the the Texas Senate Sergent-at-Arms Rick DeLeon unplugged the clock and stopped time at 11:58pm allowing the 81st regular session to continue past it’s midnight deadline to consider bills for the 81st session. Ahhh politics, where you get to make your own rules.
In any case if your must work late, it is a beautiful & inspiring building to do your business.
