Saturday, July 23, 2011

Pump you up

Another random street scene in Le Grand Pressigny. This time, a street that descends from up near the château down toward the center of town. I liked how the pump (I presume for water, although I don't really know what purpose it served) is tucked in beside the buildings.

Subtle blues and reds are quite noticeable in town.

The subtle light blue color of the shutters and the reddish asphalt of the street make this shot for me. It reflects something that I've always liked about France. Most buildings in French cities and towns (and there are exceptions) are very plain in color. Raw stone, or a rendering in gray, white, or beige, seem to be the rule.

Color is introduced with shutters and flowers. The bright red geraniums that you see everywhere in France, on balconies, window sills, and doorsteps make amazing points of color. Add that to the amazing variety of color flowers in springtime and summer and what otherwise might be described as drab towns come alive.

7 comments:

  1. This pump is for well water. Not too long ago these pumps were used by people before they had running water in their homes. It's probably still in pretty good working order.

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  2. More beauty. The pump is a piece of art.

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  3. Yes, that's a really good composition. I agree with you about the colors. You've got a great eye.

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  4. Lovely photo, Walt.

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  5. The photo also demonstrates the fixing of pipes and wires to the outside of properties. They rarely plumb in these things and you often see a Tube coming out of the ground with a bit of plastic tape finishing it off!

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  6. chm, as I suspected.

    mitch, I see quite a few around the local villages if I take the time to look.

    ginny, :)

    anon, thanks!

    lesley, many of the older buildings were built before indoor plumbing and electricity was common, so when it was added on later, the easiest thing to do was to run the pipes and wires outside the building.

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  7. Lovely Walt. I too appreciate the color composition and the "points of color" by the red geraniums.

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