Sony A77
Sony 70-400G @ 360mm
ISO 400, 1/80 @ f22
Gilmarten’s, Independence, Texas
This old store has been one of my favorite subjects over the past 15-20 years which has allowed me to observe and chronicle its demise. There used to be an old truck parked in front, the gas pump was in better repair and there was a sign declaring the owner just above the door. Now the front part of the Texaco globe is broken allowing only the back to show through and the building itself is starting to shift and lean. At the largest size you may be able to read that a gallon of gas went for 16 cents; 10 for the gas, 5 for state tax and 1 for federal. Gas may not ever get that cheap again but we’re headed that way. Mods, if you need to move this to non-nature please do so. All comments welcome. >=))>
Bill, a fine example of times past. The old Texaco pump is a real plus here. The tree placement allowing a view of the door area and pump worked perfectly too… 
Not a nit at all just an idea. I might darken the FG grasses slightly… 
Great historic vibe and scene. I would agree with Paul’s suggestion, but not a biggie. A fine look at history.
I love stuff like this, Bill. It is getting harder to find old pumps like this, so you are recording history.
This image is very pleasing, and has a wonderful old time feeling to it. It looks like the American Pickers guys should be showing up any minute to buy that gas pump. 
I love the lower contrast processing and subtle colors used here. I also agree wiht @Paul_Breitkreuz about burning down the foreground grass., it would make a good image even better.
I don’t know why but when I first saw this image I thought of Pokey and Gumby, that old cartoon claymation show that had some odd shaped characters in it. I very well may be alone in that thought. 
The shed looks it has two eyes, a crooked nose and a mouth and the character on the left looks like a fireman holding a hose about to douse the face of his buddy with it. Well, the right eye does say no smoking! Ok, enough of my overactive imagination here. I love this image. Historical or not I see so many different things in this image. It just invites your imagination to wander. I kind of like the foreground color the way it is so it doesn’t compete with the colors in the tree. And you have those wildflowers just starting to shoot up in the foreground and if you darkened the foreground those flowers would be pulling the eye away from the rest of the scene. As it stands now, you notice them if you wander through the frame but they don’t jump out at you. I like this as is. This was a lot of fun.
Bill,
Great find and capture. The first thing that came to mind is that this reminded me of the TV series “American Pickers” I was hooked on for a few seasons. fun stuff.
Great job framing this and you’ve told a great story. If anything, I’d crop a bit off the bottom.
I might have moved this, but Harley beat me to it in terms of making the call… 
Another beauty, Bill. I love old Americana type images and this one looks great. I definitely agree with darkening the FG and doing so with a larger dose than just “slightly” I feel the brightness really pulls the eye downward and even makes the flowers appear pale. Other than that, I love this one.
Bill, the mix of spring greens, weathered wood, and rusting pump comes together beautifully. I spent some time figuring out why the Texaco was backwards while the price read correctly, when it finally dawned that the Texaco glass on this side of the pump is mostly broken out, with just a hing of it at the very bottom. The scattering of bluebonnets and paintbrush(??) in the grass are a fun addition. Watching old americana decay is fascinating and nostalgic.