The Picture Taking Extravaganza Field Trip

Last Thursday, my English class took a field trip. Although this was no ordinary field trip. We went down and took the light rail around University avenue and took pictures. We ended it all by visiting a local artist by the name of Alec Soth. Well on this trip we took many photos to try and tell the story of the day as Alec has done many times. This is the result.

The first picture I decided to showcase is this one. To the average observer this is a simple picture, a couple of stores and what not. Very average scene. But to locals we almost all know where this is, and what it is. This is Axman Surplus. A corner stone of university I feel and I felt it needed to be showed. Axman is a big part of the atmosphere around here. For one, it is a surplus store, not know for being real pricey, and it is rather old and beat up. At this point on University, it is the same way. Not the best neighborhood, and definitely not even near the newest. The gloomy skies in the background that make the giant sign blend in, shows how the store is not fancy. It is not something to be glorified by the rich, but by the poor. It does not intend to catch the eye of someone driving a Mercedes, or wearing a Rolex watch. But rather the one with little money in their pockets, and maybe a shopping cart full of belongings. And people love the store, and everyone knows where it is. It is a classic and I thought it was a very important landmark of University, almost as much as The Electric Fetus on 4th Ave.

The next picture of the trip that I really felt, was this one. It shows this empty bar, in the middle of the day, that almost looks abandon. You would never know if the bar had had one hundred customers in it just a twelve hours before. It has nothing next to it, feeling secluded in such a populated area seems like it would be hard, but this manages to do it. It has a fence around it, and parking meters by it, seeming very uninviting. It has houses behind it and a not-so-busy road in front of it. As it sits in silence the world around it moves, but how would it know? It’s only a bar.

Third, features Mikey, a good friend of mine. I captured this moment as we passed the old grain mills near the Gophers stadium. The reason I mention Micheal in this is because he didn’t know the picture was being taken, and I originally intended not to have him in it. But when the shot came out with him in it, I liked it much more. Micheal has his back towards the monsters of buildings and is looking at his phone. this was so interesting to me because I personally love looking at these every time we’re by them and everyone even near the area knows of them. They represent an older time, a now worn out time. They are farther down University, which is rather surprising, because this could be seen as being in the nicer part of University. An old industrial, giant, in the middle of a nice part of town? Very interesting. But back to Mike, he’s looking at his phone as we pass something that is known throughout the city and has years of history in it. People from around the area, still alive today, used to go there daily. And now what? A teenager with his head on his phone. The day that those are gone University will be a different universe.

The final picture, was close to the end of our journey, at Stadium Village. This is one of the biggest stopping areas for the light rail and public transportation thrives. Why? The U of M. This picture shows us at this stop and you can see many college students who are wandering all around. This is the new age of University. Here you have many new buildings, people of higher income, sports fans and everything inbetween. But the one thing that I see missing is the old University. It is not poor here, it is not worn, it is not history. It is a new era, and a new generation. People are getting education that is some of the best in the world. All along the same big street that has an “AxMan Surplus” store. Often times when I here University, I picture this, mainly because I’m closer to this and have been more exposed to it. But in reality, University is two different, very different areas. And really more than that, University is a huge mix of culture, income, history and more. All along one street…

some extra pictures