Postcard from Quartzite–Rock Me, Baby

Give me some new tools for Photoshop and I will start playing like a kid with a new toy. This time, I revisited my collection of rock photos from Quartzite, AZ…the sleepy tiny town in the middle of nowhere that is famous for rocks and RV shows.

This is one of several photos taken at a rock shop in Quartzite where small and medium size rocks reside in barrels…perfect for shooting (you have heard the old expression, “As easy as shooting rocks in a barrel”). With my new Photoshop tools, I started playing and creating new colors and textures. I call this new series of photos, “Color and Chaos.”

While the colors here are not faked, they are definitely exaggerated…and the textures are definitely exaggerated! But, that is the fun of creating art…going off the mainstream and heading into uncharted territory. Sometimes you get a winner, other times a total dud.  I like to think this shot, and a few other rock shots, are winners, if nothing more than fun eye candy.

I hope you agree. 

You can see more fantasy rocks at my newly updated Flickr site in the “Colors and Chaos” section.

Postcard from Tucson

This is the first photo I am showing of my new architectural studies project. I started this project after seeing a book on architecture in Paris. Rather than photographing the large buildings and monuments of that great city, the photographer focused on small aspects of the native architecture. After going through the book, I felt sad that I could not go to Paris and do the same thing in my own style.

But then it got me thinking that I live in Tucson, and we have some wonderful architecture here…and I should focus my efforts on where I live, not where I want to be. So I started exploring and found many, many locations that fell right into place with what I wanted to achieve.

For most of the photos, I focused my eye on smaller parts of structures that show simple lines and form, rather than on a whole building. As I preached here before, one starts with the big picture and works down and down and down to the smallest parts, until finding what looks good in two dimensions.

This is a good example…the picture demonstrates those very lines and single point perspective. It is a walkway on the campus of UofA, taken early on a Sunday morning before the students were awake.  I had to do that as it is a very busy thoroughfare during the day and evening hours. 

About 90% of the photos you will see in this project are in black and white. In photos like these, color distracts the viewer from the main points of the photo and largely reduces any emotional impact. These are simple studies and I want viewers to focus on the simplicity and beauty of the objects you see. Black and white makes that possible.

I will show you more of these photos in the future, but not at the expense of some of my other interesting photos and traveler’s tales. I hope you like this first one.

Postcard from The Arches

Welcome back to the Fiery Furnace section of the Arches National Park. I’ve brought you’re here before, through the lens of my camera, but you have not seen this picture before.  It was one of those great days where you get red and white against a blue and white sky…and a little bit of greenery thrown in for measure. What more you could ask?

Again, this is outside of the furnace itself. I have shown you one image from inside, but there are more to come someday soon. The inside is difficult to photograph as it is a very tight fit in there, its dark, and no sky. As mentioned before, it is a maze of dead end slot canyons, best seen with a guide. One day soon I will tell you my adventures inside the furnace.

Of course, south eastern Utah is filled with all kinds of red and white rock formations, each different. Just think about it…the Arches is so very different than Bryce Canyon, or Red Canyon, or Zion, and many other places I could name. One could spent many years wandering in and out of that part of the state and still not see all its wonders. I hope to return there later this year to explore some new places.

And I promise to take you along. 

Postcard from Tucson

The University of Arizona sits on over 400 acres in central Tucson. It is a beautiful campus, with incredible architecture and educational facilities like few others here in the US. I often go there for walks and to do some reading and writing, and lately, some photography.

With so much space and so many places to wander, I constantly find new things and new nooks and crannies to explore. This last weekend was no exception. With camera in hand, looking for interesting architectural features, I came across this beautiful flower that I had never seen before. It is called a “Mexican Bird.” And it is not the only unique plant of its kind on campus.

Thanks to the work of Professor Emeritus Warren Jones and others, the UA Campus is the home of hundreds of species of trees and shrubs, from arid climates on all continents.  The University of Arizona Campus Arboretum was established for the purposes of preservation, education, and enhancing this extensive collection…and they do an excellent job.

According to their Website…”The University of Arizona holds a truly unique collection of plants from arid and semi-arid climates around the world. Many campus trees are the largest specimens in Arizona and have been designated as Great Trees of Arizona. There are 5 trees on the National Register of Big Trees.”

The reason I was able to identify this flower so quickly was that there are small plaques in front of plants, trees, and cactus all over campus.

Now that spring is in full swing, many of the plants and trees on campus are showing their blooms, although the cactus seem to be a little slow this year. The plant life that inhabits the Sonoran Desert is like no other in the world. What is enjoyable is discovering new flowers like this one, even though I have been here now for 2.5 years.

Postcard from Oak Park

Oak Park is a lovely city, just east of Chicago…a bedroom community, if you will, for many folks who work in the Windy City. The fastest way to get there, without a car is to take a Green Line El Train east out of the Loop and get off at the Oak Park station.

What makes Oak Park a little more special than most bedroom cities? It was the home for many years of the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The city is replete with several homes and buildings designed by this highly influential man. The photo you see here, is part of Wright’s own home and studio. It’s much larger than shown here as I could not back up far enough to get it all in the frame.

It is a good example of the “Prairie Style” architecture pioneered by Wright. That style featured horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the native prairie landscape.

Inside, there is a feeling of openness as Wright loved large rooms that were not delineated by full walls. Wright also designed the furniture and other aspects of daily living that went into each of his homes. He would even pick out silverware.

His early big break came when he was hired by the great Chicago Architect Louis Sullivan. He recognized Wright’s talents early on and eventually gave him large design responsibilities. Remember, at this time, Chicago was still being rebuilt because of the “great Chicago fire” of 1871…and Chicago was experiencing a large influx of new residents. So Sullivan (and Wright) were extremely busy at this time.

Later, Sullivan fired Wright when he discovered that his best designer was secretly freelancing on the side. A sad ending as it was Sullivan that lent him the money to build his Oak Park home. Wright was a complex man…a great architect, but a lousy businessman, lousy handling money, and a flair for stepping out on his wife and family. An affair with a neighbor’s wife eventually led to the two of them leaving Oak Park and moving to Europe. He left behind his wife of 20 years and six kids.  

If you want to know much more about Wright, I heartily suggest a PBS video done by the great filmmaker Ken Burns (The Civil War). Its available to watch for free on Netflix. It is utter fascination to see how this American icon led such a turbulent personal and professional life and rose above it all to become known as America’s greatest architect.

I have more photos Oak Park including homes around Wright’s, some of which he designed. I got to be pretty good at spotting his designs as I walked around the town. More to come in the future.

Postcard from Tucson

Not long ago, I mentioned a new project I was working on…architectural studies of buildings in the Tucson area. Well, I am still plugging away at it, usually on weekends. This is one of the photos I took on one of my outings. It isn’t exactly a true architectural photo, but I like it, never-the-less. It has some nice artistic qualities. And actually, as the tables, chairs and umbrellas were planned by the original architect, perhaps it is architectural in nature.

I took it on the third floor of the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building on campus as the University of Arizona. As you will see from future photos, the UofA is a treasure trove of fabulous architecture. And now that I think about it, you have already seen a few examples in past blogs.

This actually is one of my favorite places on campus. On weekends, you will often find me there, working on my netbook computer, or just reading. It has a fabulous courtyard between two main buildings, filled with tables and chairs. In the courtyard are beautifully shaped concrete planters with plants, lawn and bushes and many stately palm trees rising almost to the third floor. I recently read that the building was designed to resemble and airplane hanger, but I must admit, I don’t see it.

Two walkways on each connect the two buildings. It is from the western walkway, looking down, that I took this photo. I hope you like it.

Postcard from Wrigleyville

I realized after posting my last blog about Wrigley Field, that I have never told you the story of the stadium’s famous scoreboard. Well, I am here to make amends…and as you will see, the facts and stories behind the scoreboard are interesting.

First, there are only two fully manual scoreboards left in the major leagues…and as you might guess, they are from the two oldest parks, Wrigley and Fenway Park in Boston. A few other stadiums have partial manually operated scoreboards, but its not the same.

In Wrigley, the board, which was installed in 1937, is operated by five guys behind the scenes. There is no heating or air conditioning inside, so right now the guys are freezing, but will be roasting in there come summer. And, as you can imagine, they are constantly moving, putting up scores from all over the major leagues.

Now, you noticed I said 5 guys…not a woman in site. The reason…there is no bathroom in there…however, there is a funnel attached to a hose which is used when the need arises. Imagine that in this day and age!

Now, if you examine the photo, you will see electric lights used to signify balls, strikes and outs. These lights are not controlled by the guys inside, but rather buy a fellow working in the press box, high above the field behind home plate. His name is Rick and has picked up the nickname of “Quick Rick.”I was lucky enough to visit the press box and see where Quick Rick does his work.

Now, Rick got his nickname because he is super-fast at posting balls, strikes and outs. In fact, he has studied the motions of every umpire in the National League and has the ability to put up a ball or strike before the ump has finished his arm motion. He is that fast.

But, one day, he was a little to fast. The Cubs were playing the St. Louis Cardinals one day and the Cards had two runners on base with one out. The next batter hit a fly ball to the outfield where Sammy Sosa made the easy catch. But Sammy forgot how many outs there were. So, as soon as he made the catch, he turned around to check the scoreboard.  He saw two outs posted and thought he made the catch for the third out. But Quick Rick had posted the out before Sammy turned around.

Sammy, thinking there were three outs, started jogging in towards the Cubs dugout. The Cardinal runners all scored before Sammy realized he had made a goof. The Cards won the game by one run. Oops. Legend has it that Quick Rick was told not to be so quick anymore.

There are lots of great stories about Wrigley like the Curse of the Billy Goat and others, but those will have to wait for another day. Next time, something different than baseball, I promise.   

Postcard from Wrigleyville

About 11 months ago, I wrote a blog about my first trip to Wrigley Field in Chicago. I still think back to that trip and how special it was for me. Stepping back in history and waxing romantically about my love of baseball in my younger days.

I have been back to Chicago and Wrigley since then and it was no less a special visit than the first time. And with the baseball season just beginning, I thought it a appropriate to show another image of that famous stadium and its sign.

I don’t think there is any more famous ballpark sign in baseball. Sure, Fenway Park is slightly older than Wrigley, but I defy you to tell me what their entrance looks like. We have all seen photos of the “Green Monster” wall in left field, but their entrance is doo-doo compared to Wrigley.

In case you are wondering, this picture was taken at the corner of Addison and Clark. That whole area reeks of sports, both baseball and others.  Sports bars are everywhere. But having been to a few, my favorite is still Harry Carey’s Tavern, across from the stadium.

And while my love of professional baseball has waned considerably since my younger days, I still love the game. The major leagues lost me as a fan several years ago, but I do enjoy going out to watch college baseball here in Tucson. And this year, Tucson has a new Triple A Farm Team, so I might just drop by this year and see a few games.

But whatever happens, I will never forget my times at Wrigley Field.

Postcard from Oxford

It’s one of my favorite cities in the world…Oxford, England. It lies about 1.25 hours north of London, depending on traffic. Of course, it has one of the most famous and oldest universities in the world, dating back to the 11th century. Oxford University consists of 38 colleges with romantic names such as St. Johns, Trinity, Queens, Keble, New (which is old), Jesus, Exeter, and many more.

Its noted teachers and students are way too many to name here. Its churches, libraries and museums are incredible and fun to explore. The whole city reeks with charm from by-gone eras. And, I have been fortunate to visit it several times. But part of its charm includes its many pubs in and around town.

This photo/sketch is of my favorite Oxford pub, the White Horse. It is located on Broad Street, in the heart of Oxford, directly across the street from the famous Sheldonian Theater. It’s the oldest pub in Oxford, dating back to 1590. It was “home” to famous visitors to Oxford such as President Clinton and Winston Churchill…and favorite hangout of TV’s Inspector Morse. Also look for it in the movie, “The Oxford Murders,” (they sat at the same table as me). It is also one of the city’s smallest pubs.  But definitely worth the visit.

If you go, be sure and order the steak and ale pie…so delicious…and let the barman pick out your beer/ale/lager/bitters for your meal.

Its easy to get to…if you are in London, take the bus (called the Oxford Tube). There are several pickup spot in London, then non-stop to the heart of downtown Oxford. Then, just walk and enjoy this most incredible city.