Postcard from Tucson

You are looking at one of the five remaining aircraft known as the “Super Guppy.” Built by Aero Spacelines in the late 60’s and early 70’s, it took its name from the original smaller version, nicknamed the “Pregnant Guppy” by NASA. As you might guess, it is a cargo plane.

NASA used it to haul airplane parts and even a rocket or two. The last produced Super Guppy remains in service: an SGT flown by NASA (currently used to ferry components for the International Space Station and Project Orion). It is stationed in and operated from Ellington Field in Houston. The other three are mothballed in various locations in Europe.

When in service, the front of the aircraft swung out to it’s left, revealing a giant cargo section…and I mean Giant! In its heyday, it could haul 47 tons. Not very much these days, when you compare it to a C-5 Galaxy (122.5 tons) or the Russian Antonov-124 (150 tons).

As you might tell from the photo, the aircraft looks like a giant balloon that has been painted to resemble an airplane. When you stand in front of it, that resemblance is even more pronounced. So, of course I went around it and banged on the fuselage a few times.  Trust me…it is made out of metal.

When you look at it, you would swear that it could never get off the ground…but it did. In fact, many of the 300 aircraft on display here look like they could never get airborne.

My son Eric, his fiancé Maria, and I toured the Pima Air and Space Museum here in Tucson just yesterday, where I took this photo (with my iPhone camera). Oh yes, and it was 95 degrees outside. We alternated between walking outside and visiting the indoor hangers that are air conditioned.

I’ve written before this unique museum before and about some of the aircraft on display here. So I won’t bother to give you the written tour again. If you want to learn more, visit their Website. But, trust me…if you ever come to Tucson, you will want to see this place. Be sure and take the Bone Yard Tour to see the thousand of airplanes stored right next door at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Chicago

There is a lovely Japanese garden inside Jackson Park on the south side of Chicago. It’s a stone’s throw away from Lake Michigan and the Chicago Museum of Industry and Science. Peace and serenity abound, as one would expect of a Japanese garden.

This is a digital sketch of the lovely bridge that is the centerpiece of the garden. This garden itself sits on the site of the original Japanese garden that was build as part of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Vandals destroyed that garden at the start of WWII. Fortunately, the city constructed this new garden after the war.

It was autumn when I took the original photograph, hence the yellow tree on the other side of the bridge. If you want some peace in quiet and you are in Chicago, now you know where to go.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach, Oregon offers an amazing array of photographic opportunities for every kind of photographer. Of course, there is the ocean and Haystack Rock which has probably been photographed more times than a Hollywood starlet.

Just north of town is the beautiful Ecola State Park, that offers both ocean and rain forest scenery. Make sure you plan at least one sunset photo shoot there. There are also other State Parks in or near town that offer unique views of their own. Another one of my favorites is Smuggler’s Cove, just south of town.

But there are also other opportunities for photographers in the town itself…like this unique staircase on the south end of town. I call it, “Up to the Beach,” as you climb up the stairs, over a sand hill, then down again to the beach. I caught it just right with the afternoon shadows on the steps.

If you like shooting unique buildings and homes, the town is full of them. There are several cute cottages and businesses that are best caught in summer or fall. The locals keep their flowers blooming as long as weather permits. It reminds me of Victoria, BC, where residents take special pride in their gardens.

Cannon Beach is arguably the queen of the North Oregon Coastline. The number of tourists that flock there every year for the scenery will testify to that. Yes, it is a town that caters to the tourists. But who can blame them?

If you go there and are on a budget, here is a tip…hotel and B&B rates are cheaper just north of town in Seaside, OR. It’s an easy 10 minute drive from there to Cannon Beach.

Here’s another tip…bring your camera.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Morro Bay

This is one of those unique architectural features I love to photograph when I find them. This is an old movie theater that was recently restored, but still remains empty. Sadly, it was arguably the most interesting object in Morro Bay to photograph. Even the beaches there are boring, photographically speaking.

I believe the design of this building would labeled “Art Deco.” Whatever its name, it is certainly unique. Wikipedia describes this style as “…an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colors, bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation.”

That sounds about right to me. I have a couple of more images from this building I will share with you in the near future.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Chinatown

This is a not photographic trick…meaning I did not do anything special in Photoshop to rearrange the items in this photo. Quite the contrary. I just stood at a corner on Grant Street, in the heart of Chinatown in San Francisco and took the shot.

Obviously, I used Photoshop and a couple of plug-ins to create the photographic effects, but everything else is exactly as it should be. I took nothing out of the photo either. But look close:

The Transamerica Pyramid Building is several blocks away, but in the image, it looks like it is sitting on an old Chinatown building. The Chinese street lamp looks like it grew a regular street lamp out of its side. It did not, of course. If you look just just barely right of the Chinese lamp, you can see the pole holding up the street light. It just blends well with the lamp.

This is one of those images that works to deceive the eye as it is a two dimensional image photographed in a three dimensional world. If you stood in this exact spot, your eye would not see this, unless you trained yourself to see what a scene looks like in two dimensions…not an easy thing to do. Your eye would see the depth of everything in the image.

I call this photo, “East Meets West.” It just seemed like a natural shot to contrast the Chinese lamp with the Transamerica Pyramid. I was fortunate when I found this corner and was able to line up everything almost perfectly.

Sometime, you just get lucky. 

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from San Simeon

I went through my photographs from Hearst Castle last weekend and found several good ones I had not processed…processed meaning work on them in Photoshop. This was one I thought was pretty good, especially as it was done in low light and handheld. Thank God for anti-shake software.

It is one of the many guest bedrooms in the castle. There are actually 56 bedrooms, along with 61 bathrooms and 19 sitting rooms. During its heyday, Hearst Castle saw an unending list of invited guests come and go. I have no idea who might have stayed in this room, but it is fun to speculate.

Invitations to Hearst Castle were highly coveted in the 1920s and '30s. The Hollywood and political elite often visited…either flying into the estate's private airfield or taking a special, Hearst-owned train car from Los Angeles.

So who made the list? Probably a lot of folks you’ve never heard of. But those you may know include Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, James Stewart, Bob Hope, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Dolores Del Rio, and Winston Churchill.

While guests were expected to attend the formal dinners each evening, they were normally left to their own devices during the day while Hearst directed his business affairs. Since "The Ranch" had so many facilities, guests were rarely at a loss for things to do. In fact, Hearst frowned upon people staying in their rooms. So if you wanted to read a book, better do it by the pool.

You notice the dress laid out on the chair…this is a dress from the 20’s or 30’s. You will find several period dresses laid out in bedrooms as you tour the castle. A nice touch.

By the way, I titled this photo “Better than a Motel 6.” You will find more photos from Hearst Castle on my Web site. More are coming, so stay tuned.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Tucson

Last week, I wrote about the beginning of the baseball season, one of the two most important elements of Spring. Now, its time to pay homage to the most important benefit of this time of year…and that would be flowers in bloom.

Most of my life was spent up in the northern climates of the West Coast. Now I live in one of the most southerly parts of America, the Arizona desert. Obviously, we have a different set of plants and flowers down here…no less beautiful than those of the north…just very different.

This digital painting, created from an original photograph of mine, is of trumpet blossoms. In fact, I call it, “The Trumpet Section.” I apologize for not knowing the name of this lovely flower. You would think that being married to a horticultural expert for so many years, that some of it would have rubbed off on me. Not so.

I think some of my best works in digital paintings have come when I painted flowers. They are so beautiful and I think their beauty helps bring out the best in me. Not that this is one of my best works, but I think it turned out well. It was sure fun to do.

I remember when I did art shows a few years ago, a couple of painters told me that orange is one of those colors that does not sell. The reason is it doesn’t match the colors in most people’s homes. That is true. But since I stopped doing art shows, I don’t care what sells…I only care about creating beautiful works of art, no matter what the color. Now, I can photograph and paint whatever I want, as long as it meets my own high standards.

Being off the art show circuit has released new, creative juices that allow this kind of freedom. For me, it is all about beauty…something that is very rare in this current artistic climate. Some of the crap they call art today is a bit sickening, at least to my tastes. But, many folks in and out of the art world have high hopes that someday, beauty will make a comeback.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Wrigley

As the baseball season officially gets underway this week, I couldn’t resist re-publishing the photo I took in the dressing room of the Chicago Cubs. Obviously, they were not playing this day, but I got lucky that the room was all set up for the game the following day.

Baseball is my second favorite sport, just behind football. I bought myself a large HD TV for Christmas and last month order MLB TV over my Roku Box. So now, I can watch almost every baseball game being played in hi-def, right in my living room. As a lifelong Giants fan, you know I will be watching them a lot.

Last night, I watched Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers pitch a perfect game against 26 batters…giving up the only hit to the 27th batter he faced. So close, but yet so far. I felt bad for him. But, for sure, the 2013 baseball season is underway.

Every time I look at this photo from Wrigley Field, I think about that very special day when I took a three hour tour from top to bottom of that great sports landmark. The baseball and football history that fills the place is overwhelming, especially to a fan like me. I grew up loving both sports and never in my wildest imagination could I see myself being at this place…but I did. Somewhere in the top 50 moments of my life, this day is in there.

If I sound like an over-the-top sports fan…let me assure you I am not. It does not dominate my life. Its just one of the many things that keep happy and entertained…like movies, and  good books. 

Gotta go now, there is a Yankee/Red Sox game about to get underway.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.

Postcard from Northeast Washington

I call this digital watercolor sketch, “Brokeback Barn.” It is somewhere along Highway 25 in Northeastern WA State…I can’t remember exactly where. If you like old barns, this scenic highway is for you! It runs from Davenport all the way north to the Canadian border…much of it along the Columbia River.

Many of the barns look like they are ready to fall over…and I bet more than a few have since my last trip up there. I was told there was a big barn along the highway that looked pretty solid that was knocked down by a bad wind storm. Somehow, someway, nature always lets us know who is really in charge.

Anyway, I call this image a sketch as I didn’t take a whole lot of time to create it. I used one of my digital watercolor filters in Photoshop that did most of the work and I just touched it up here and there. Some of my digital paintings can take hours to do. Not this one.

But that is the fun of sketching or painting, whether with real paints or pencils…or with digital plugins. I took to painting and sketching my photos just to give them a different look and to stretch the boundaries of photography. I just know I love doing it.

In thinking more about this little barn, I wonder if it is still standing…or did it go over in a wind storm like some of its bigger brothers. If it is gone, you may be looking at the last image of it ever taken. Too bad I live so far away. I would like to know the answer.

(To see a larger version of this painting, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

If you subscribe to this blog by e-mail and wish to purchase a print or send a free e-mail greeting card using this image, click this link to the main Postcard Blog Site.