Missouri Theatre
Stephen Bybee
Columbia, MO
2000
The Missouri Theatre was not something I photographed very often in the late 90s and early 2000s. The marquee was too bright at night, overwhelming my ability to capture any information in the darker areas of the negative. The wonderfully vintage theatre sign above the marquee was recessed in a dark curve of the building and proved very difficult to “see” on a black and white negative exposed for the sign. Except, on a snowy night.
The brightness of snow on the ground, combined with the illumination offered by a night sky full of snow and cloud, proved just the right way to balance this exposure without losing detail in the marquee sign. This was taken during February 2000, from the steps of the Methodist Church across the street from the theatre. Next to Missouri Theatre are Campus Jewelers, Acorns Books, Dawson Shoe Repair, MUy Bien, and Allen’s Flowers. The next image I post in this series will be a night view of the Missouri Theatre after the 2008 renovation, on a much busier night.