Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

© Ellen Barone.

This seemingly idyllic scene of the River Avon in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, is a powerful example of how deceiving a photograph can be.

Stratford-Upon-Avon was teeming with bus loads of tourists the summer afternoon I created this image. It had been a frustrating day spent dodging pushy tour guides and the trailing flocks of package-tour vacationers that swarmed nearly every inch of the Shakespeare Disneyland a.k.a. Stratford-Upon-Avon. I'd been hustling across a traffic-clogged city bridge to avoid an expired parking meter, when I spotted this scene out of the corner of my eye. A cacophony of chaos swirled about me - the impatient bleat of car horns and the noisy pings of diesel engines - however, when reduced to the silent rectangle of the camera's viewfinder, the image is rendered as anything but.

And here's the truth, today, when I think of Stratford-Upon-Avon, just like the cantankerous uncle who's remembered fondly after death, it's this image that I choose to see in my mind's eye.

Comments

[Ute Hagen]

the most peaceful and idyllic image - sooo beautiful Ellen!! - and so glad you shared the story behind it too. wow, what a world we live in!!! i know what you are talking about, i come up with these peaceful images of lago de chapala while there is garbage lying all around me and hoards of weekend tourists are bbq’ing (sp) with their car radios at top volume )): abrazos, Ute