Another Great Neon Sign is Gone

Some of you are probably familiar with the shot above--I've used it in at least one of my books and variations of it have been shown on this blog. I also have the shot in my Flickr Photostream and the other day I got a message from Flickr member Rick Ibsen that the sign was destroyed in a winter storm in March of 2010. The motel apparently switched hands around that time also and the sign isn't going to be replaced. Below is a shot of the sign after the storm shot by Rick (for more of Rick's great photos, check out Rick Ibsen's Flickr Photostream).

I always tell my students and readers: when you see something great, shoot it--you never know if you'll get the chance again. It's easy to drive by something neat and say, "Oh, I'll come back and shoot that another time." But fate does not always cooperate so nicely. It will only take five minutes out of your life to shoot something interesting and you'll always be happy that you did--and that goes for old friends, favorite trees and the pear ripening in the morning sun on the windowsill, as well.  Let your camera be your instant journaling machine.

By the way, speaking of old friends (!), if you're looking for some cool books to buy for one of them, check out my photo book suggestions on my main site.