Traveling Man (Walking Tall) Statue, Deep Ellum
The Traveling Man is a 12 m stainless steel robot caught mid-stride at the northeast corner of the Deep Ellum DART station, the largest of three figures Brad Oldham built across the neighbourhood. This one, Walking Tall, leans forward on long bowed legs with a small polished bird perched near his face, and the brushed and mirror-finished panels pick up whatever the sky is doing, so cloud and colour read right off his surface. The big draw for photographers is the backdrop. Downtown Dallas sits to the west, so from the open lot you can line the figure up against the skyline, with Bank of America Plaza and the Sheraton tower anchoring the cluster behind him. Shoot in late afternoon and the warm light catches both the building faces and the steel at the same time, and a broken cloud sky like you often get here adds a lot without any extra work. The wide paved foreground gives you room to step back and fit the full height against open sky, or move in low and shoot up to exaggerate the stride and the long legs. A slightly low angle from the parking side keeps distracting station clutter out of frame and lets him tower. There are no fees or barriers, the figure is out in the open day and night, and the polished surface is worth a second visit after dark when the station and street lights play across it. Parking nearby is rough and the streets are pothole heavy, so the DART station itself is the easiest way in. (Dallas, Texas, USA)
