Gotham City Reflections by Chipka
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
I was a strange child. I didn’t like comic books; to me, they were like someone else’s coloring books. Why spend a whole quarter on them, when I could buy a blank one and color it in myself? Unfortunately, coloring books—like comic books—never really captured my attention. I was—if anything—pragmatic. I felt that if I wanted to color a picture, it would be best for me to draw it myself: or get someone else to draw the hard parts and the difficult characters, and then use my deluxe box of 48 Crayola colors to my heart’s content. Because of that little childhood quirk, I have no happy memories of comic books, coloring books, and other bits of childhood paraphernalia.
In recent decades, comic books have phase shifted. They exist, and will continue to do so…but now, Hollywood has gotten a hold of their money-making potential. Characters (once relegated to used coloring books) are now portrayed on screen by actors in updated costumes.
I’ve developed a vague, clinical interest in Gotham City. I can’t say this is recent. I’d always been interested in the place. I once read a poem by Wallace Stevens. “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” I’d read a reference in the seventh stanza in which he made reference to Haddam, a city in Connecticut. I wondered if Haddam and Gotham shared similar roots. In English lore, Gotham (a real place, apparently home to goat-herders) was also a place friendly to fools. In 19th and 20th Century American lore, New York, sometimes called Gotham, was also a place friendly to all manner of indolent-minded people of fickle persuasion. I saw connections between Haddam and Gotham, simply because in the Wallace Stevens poem, the men of Haddam were not the sharpest knives in the drawer…they imagined “golden birds” when there were plenty of blackbirds surrounding the pretty women of the city. I was a teenager when I first read that poem, and as a teenager, I’d first made that subjective connection between Gotham and Haddam. I theorized that Batman existed in Gotham simply because the people of Gotham (as the name of their city implied) were foolish and unable to protect themselves from themselves. The bad guys in Gotham City never seem to come fromoutside of that city, after all.
Because of recent incarnations of Batman, I’ve been thinking of Gotham City a lot. For anyone who has seen the most recent Batman films, you might recognize Chicago. It would seem that in the 21st Century, Chicago is the new Gotham. (Not surprising, really, the original Gotham was a New York/Chicago hybrid.) As I wandered around making photos last summer, I found places that struck me as familiar, places shown on screen during Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Unfortunately, there is no monorail on Wells Street (but there is an elevated “El” track, though it doesn’t look as…Hollywood flamboyant) the old Sun Times Building is gone; its swan song was actually a bit of destruction and smash-up involving the batmobile, and—to my knowledge—no one has seen Morgan Freeman or Christian Bale ordering pizza anywhere.
I can’t recall the name of this building, but I suspect that Corey can give you its exact address. I was more interested in the Chicago Gothic influences of the architecture, and the manner in which the newer Trump Tower reflects itself in the windows. This, I think, is a tiny part of what Gotham City looks like…on a good day: complete with history, folly, and more-than-occasional bad taste looming somewhere just out of frame.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (31)
flavia49
awesome building!!
Orinoor
Great photo, I love the building in a building idea and the architecture is rather Gotham isn't it? Of course, I mostly love your writing and this little bit "indolent-minded people of fickle persuasion" nearly had me on the floor.
clbsmiley
Cool!! :)
kbrog
Awesome POV and capture! Love the reflections in the windows. :)
MrsRatbag
What a wonderful POV, larger than life...and it's a beautiful building too!
RodS
Great angle on this one, Chip! Wonderful shot!
kgb224
Stunning capture of Gotham City's reflection my friend. God Bless.
jocko500
lovely pov
auntietk
This is what I remember the courthouse looking like from the early 1960s. We used to like the TV version with its tilted stills ... Zap! Pow! Bam! (I appreciated good camp even as a child.) Excellent image!
beachzz
Tara used my words--and they weren't even inside words!! Ok, that probably doesn't make any sense to most people (it's a long story). When I see that word, I think Gotham City, Batman and Robin (holy macaroni!!!), the Joker and the Penguin, oh my, I could go on and on and on..instead I'll just say WOW--cool shot!!
Crabbycabby
Breathtaking image.
bobrgallegos
Awesome POV!! Does seem Gotham like.
durleybeachbum
WHAT a corker! The photo is a marvel and your narrative great. I have always been ambivalent about comic books, and used to find myself wanting to put incidents between frames. I used to wonder why a character hadn't done so and so instead of what we saw. But cartoon movies are a different matter, and I hope to build up a good DVD collection in time to take it with me into my dotage accomodation.
blinkings
I have always been hugely into drawing and painting. I reckon I was drawing not long after walking! But I too can't 'suspend my disbelief' when it comes to comic books!
whaleman
It says "Gotham" to me! Loudly! Nice shot!
fallen21
Superb POV!
Feliciti
like the POV and this beautiful building in contrast to the modern building reflections !!
helanker
What a fantastic building and i love the POV. You did a great job capturing it, Chip.
makron
Wowwww....SENSACIONAL!!!!!!!!!! Very Stunning image.
icerian
Fascinating building, we really do not have such a buildings in Prague. It is necessary to visit Chicago :-) Well seen!
Lashia
Awesome shot! Love the lines in this- thanks for sharing! :-)
Selina Photography™
tennesseecowgirl
this is excellent!
sandra46
I KNEW GOTHAM CITY IS NEW YORK CITY. DID THEY MOVE IT TO WIND CITY? GREAT SHOT ANYWAY
jac204
I just had to find out what this magnificent building was and it made me think of the Wrigley Building, although this is taller and was once considered the tallest building outside of NYC according to Wikipedia. It's 35 East Wacker Drive also known as the Jewelers Building. Goggle Street View is such a great tool. Great capture and thanks for sharing.
Sepiasiren
terrific vantage point and framing--love it
treasureprints
As usual, your about is the best part of this.:)
praep
WOW. Impressive shot.
KatesFriend
Wait a minute, Gotham has good days? Beautiful shot. The windows seem so meticulously clean and reflect the sky in those rich blues and silver. A far cry from the grimy Gotham City of Tim Burton's vision. Still this old glory of a building with its rigid pattern of frames still conjures visions of Gotham. Maybe what Gotham could have been if its people didn't need Batman. I like your point about Gotham's problems always being self made. The greatest threat to every society is its dark side and not the specters from elsewhere.
Ilona-Krijgsman
what a great building.....if I scroll it makes me dizzy....perfect pov
danapommet
I love the shimmer of this reflection and how you centered it on this building. Fantastic shot Chip! Dana