Postcards from Real Life: Wide

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Open wide! The Plaza of the Alligators statue in El Paso gave me the opportunity to step out of the obvious landscape shots for this week’s postcard.

Sure, I have lots of “wide” shots of the gorgeous landscapes in our national parks. But I knew I’d be traveling to El Paso this week and I thought it would be fun to capture the wide-open gaping maw of the gator in this statue. You know, just to break away from the predictable interpretation of this week’s theme.

My dear man and I have been exploring El Paso over the last couple of years as part of our Southwest Art Towns efforts. The city and its history are absolutely fucking fascinating. We’re history dorks that way.

Our rhythm is to stay downtown so we can stroll to dinner and other attractions—mainly museums—from our hotel. That means we visit the San Jacinto Plaza at the heart of Downton El Paso a bunch when we’re there.

At the center of the plaza is this statue commemorating the history of alligators there. I have more than a few shots of this statue but most of them are “usies” with our goofy mugs in them. Or they aren’t composed to highlight this particular portion of the statue showing this gator with his mouth open wide.

My first attempt at capturing it was a bust. The light was too harsh and contrast-y. So—damn!—I had to go to dinner and come back afterwards when the sun was lower.

But later, with my belly full of tacos and chicharrones and the light softer on the statue, I grabbed this shot to share with you.

If you’re ever in El Paso, be sure to check out the great restaurants, murals, and museums downtown. And say hi to the gators for me.

Peace out!

Bluesky Art Show

This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.