Las Vegas

I recently attended a wedding in Las Vegas as the official photographer. I’ve never been to Vegas before but like most people, I had an idea of what the city was like because of the movies. Many of my assumptions were based on modern day legends: Elvis, the Rat Pack and heavyweight boxing world championship bouts. These all conjured up images in my mind about what to expect but didn’t tell me much about the city.

Several things hit me all at once on arriving. Firstly the heat. Vegas must be the hottest place I have visited and the wind that came off the desert didn’t refresh – it added to the discomfort. Secondly I was hit by the scale of the hotels. they are massive beyond belief. Thousands of rooms built over casino after casino. All modern comforts from air conditioning to waitress service at the slot machines. It wasn’t just one gambling hall; each was a whole series of casinos. Thirdly it was the openness of the city – the Strip is six lanes in each direction in parts and that is a wide road! And then there are the demolition sites adding to the exposure you feel walking down the road. Hotels, many of them part of the historic landscape have simply been knocked down and the site rebuilt or in the process. Land is of a high premium here and it doesn’t do to get sentimental about it.

I’ll write more about Vegas in my next few entries and include more images. I created the panoramic view of a part of the Strip at New York New York which as the song tells us is so good they named it twice. All the landmarks of one of the world’s most famous cities are here – the Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Manhattan Bridge. The soft sepia tone suited the subject matter for me; whenever I think of images of the city I recall the work of Lewis Hine and the building of the Empire State.