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A Statue at Fair Park and the Ever Changing Light

The statues along the Esplanade are some of my favorite photo subjects at Fair Park in Dallas. I went to the State Fair of Texas yesterday and took the picture below. I usually go when the weather is nice and sunny, but it was overcast yesterday and the first time I have taken a picture of the statues in the flat natural light that a cloudy day provides. It is much different than all my past photos of the statues I have taken in high contrast sunlight. These statues have stood in the virtually the same place since the Fair Grounds opened in 1936, but the natural and artificial light sources that illuminate their surfaces have been changing ever since and with that how they are perceived visually. I first saw these statues as a child, and see them differently today as an older adult than I did then. All this reminds me of the quote below from the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. It is a quote that increasingly comes to mind as the years pass for me.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

This statue is the work of Lawrence Tenney Stevens and was created for the first State Fair of Texas when it opened in 1936.

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Statue at Fair Park

I always enjoy seeing the statues out of all the attractions at Fair Park and watching how the light and shadows change throughout the day on those statues facing south, toward the sun. They are artistically lit with artificial light at night in very colorful and creative patterns. I have yet to get a good picture of them at night but plan to on my next visit. This statue is the work of Lawrence Tenney Stevens.