Archway to the West – With My Name On It!

I happened to be in St. Louis lecturing at a photography conference a few years ago. With plenty of free time and a hotel within walking distance to the Arch, I decided to go make some pictures. There’s hardly a new angle on this American icon, but I wanted some for my collection anyway; after all, my travels to Saint Louis are very few and extremely far between.

I liked this angle a lot since it shows the massive stance of the shining structure. The sun glinting off the top of the arch and the reflectivity of the various panels on the far leg make for an interesting pattern. I thought the overall composition would be even more enhanced by taking out the color and making it a pseudo sepia color.

The most interesting feature of the Saint Louis Arch was not noticed until I was in my hotel room doing a quick edit and playing with the colors and black/white. I noticed on the panel in the shade on the lower right part of the photo, someone etched the name BILL on the structure. Just below it, there’s another etching that looks an awful lot like an F. I hadn’t noticed this when I was making pictures. Maybe it’s the quintessential failure to see the trees for the forest.

Now, I’m very much against vandalism of public property, especially iconic ones like this. Heck, I even get annoyed when people litter cigarette butts, but in this case, I was able to see a little humor to what I was seeing in my photographs. On the other hand, it was disappointing to see just how little regard people have for this and other icons that they feel the need to etch their names, love interests and gang affiliations into them. Bummer.