I don't know if neon sign making is a lost art or just one fading (sorry for the pun) because business owners can't justify the cost of it anymore, but the more I look for good neon signs the fewer I find. I guess that's why when I see a great sign I have to stop and photograph it. In fact, I keep a notepad in my car and if I'm out driving and find a great example but can't stop, I make a note to go back and shoot the sign later.
The motel sign here was found in Norwalk, Connecticut and it's one of the best motel signs I've ever seen--and certainly the last great piece of neon art on the Boston Post Road in Norwalk. Photographing the sign was simple--I just took a matrix meter reading and shot at that exposure, bracketing here and there by one stop (over and under) just to be sure that I got a useful frame. I shot in RAW too so that I could play with the exposure and saturation even more in Photoshop CS3. I really didn't do anything to this shot though--it's almost exactly as it came out of the camera.
I'd love to organize a nationwide traveling exhibit of photos of neon--it seems like we're letting a great piece of American art slip away. In fact, I'd love to start a "save neon" movement and try to protect the great signs that remain. For now though, I'll just make sure I do stop the car and get the photos while the signs are still there to shoot. You do that too. For more on how to photograph neon, visit the night photography tutorial on my main site or pick up a copy of my new book Exposure Photo Workshop.
By the way, if you happen to have any great shots of neon, email them to me and I'll post them on this blog!
