IGLESIA PIEDRAS VIVAS

I like the mural/sign and how the bright and light side of the building contrasts with the dark humdrum front on the street. The photo benefits from that light and color as well as from that wonderful fenceline. The little slice of dark green at the top adds to the whole.

Thank you. It's a quiet little piece for sure. There were large trash cans on the sidewalk in front of the building, and I would have liked to have included them, but it would have meant leaving in a whole bunch of dead space and I thought that would be more detrimental than advantageous.

i would love to have a translation of the sign. my limited high school Spanish doesn't quite get me there. i love the colors on the mural. i also like the inclusion of a bit of the sign. this looks like a place ripe for image taking.

"Iglesia" is church. "Libreria" is library. "Piedras" is rocks and "Vivas" would be living. So we have "church & library of the living rocks." It's just one of the hundreds of store front churches that come and go in the evangelically inclined valley of religious fervor.

You could compile these strip-mall churches into a compelling book. I like the fence with its spiked top, which adds a touch of the ominous.

I tend to go on streaks. For instance, for awhile it was roadside monuments. Dumb street signs is another, and goofy yards are always good hunting. Strip mall churches is just one more that fascinate me. And I think any one of those themes would provide a wealth of material for a book. So many pictures, so little time.

I like how the colors pop among the gray....the bottom fence is nicely adding visual guiding & energy...incredible how religious message and proselytism is everywhere....

Yes it is incredible. I'm sure those evangelical folks would simply say, "It's God's will." But I think it's more like their will. There was a wonderful and lengthy piece in our paper yesterday that talked about the "dumbing down" of our country. I suspect it isn't just our country, but at any rate, it talks about how one in five Americans think the sun revolves around the earth, and a huge percentage never read a book, and the video game or telly is the primary entertainment. It is pretty scary to think about. I see the resurgence of religion, particularly the evangelical segments as typical of this phenomenon because it is generally promoted to the less educated and those who think they can just pray their way to the riches they so much deserve. But there I go again, preaching. Sorry.