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.

Postcard from Benevento

 

This is one of my favorite digital paintings of Italy. Also one of my earlier works. In looking through my past blogs, I realized I never shared this one here. In fact there are other paintings from Italy that have never appeared here, but you will see them in the coming months.

Benevento is a fair sized city of 66,000 people and is located about 30 miles due east of Naples in Southern Italy. But, its roots go back a few thousand years. According to one legend, it was founded right after the Trojan War, long before the rise of the Roman Empire. It has had a few names over the years: originally Maleventum or still earlier Malowent and Maloenton.

In the heyday of the Romans, its name was Beneventium and was an important city along the famous Roman Highway, the Appian Way. Some of that highway has been excavated and can be readily seen near another beautifully preserved Roman monument, the Arch of Trajan.

In 214 BC, it was the site of a famous battle in the Second Punic War against the Carthaginians (the Romans won that one). So as you can imagine, the town is living monument of Roman History…including a magnificent amphitheater used today for theatre, dance, and opera performances.

As I often tend to do, I wandered around town and came upon this street. It was built by the Romans two thousand years ago…another example of the staying power of Roman architecture and construction. 

The arch on the right is obviously Roman, however part of the building in the back was added on to the Roman foundation during the Middle Ages…a not uncommon event all over Europe. Still, the street is charming and made for a quality painting.

It reeks of mystery…such as where the Roman arch leads to and how the street wanders down through another arch. Where does it go? And can you imagine the long history of this street? It almost boggles the mind with possibilities. 

If you are a long-time reader, you know I am in love with most things Italian and Roman. I wish I could spend the rest of my life there exploring the fascinations of that great country and the history of the Roman Empire. But, alas…

PS – My apologies for being absent from these pages for a couple of weeks. I was inundated with house guests and all the turmoil that they bring. Things now are returning to normal and I will get back to my regular schedule.

(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 Astoria

Lately, I’ve been back to dabble in digital painting. I’ve done a lot of pure photographic work in the last few years, as you may have noticed here, but only occasionally with paints (if you can call it that). But something I saw on TV recently reminded me of how much I love taking a few of my photographs and experimenting to give them a painterly look.

Here is one example, and I won’t claim it is my best work ever because it isn’t…but it was fun to play around in Corel’s Painter software and come up with this one. It is an old-style riverboat steamer near the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, OR. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version, so you can see the depth of the brush strokes.

One of the reasons I enjoy digital painting is it allows me I great deal of latitude for artistic expression…meaning I can give a whole new meaning to a photograph.

With the advent of digital cameras, every one is doing photos these days. And that is just fine. Many are never retouched. Artistic photographers (including me) love to take their original images into the digital darkroom to breathe life into their final output.

However, I do sometimes give them a different slant…I turn the photos into paintings. Very few photographers do this, nor have the know-how. I’ve spent many years trying to perfect this particular craft. I took many of my paintings on the road to art shows all over the west and did quite well for several years. Now, of course, I photograph and paint for fun…to quench my insatiable desire to create beauty. I pray you enjoy them.

(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 Yosemite

Spring

In the spring

Trees grow and sing.

In the gentle breezes

Of the wind.

I like to lie

Beneath a tree

Thinking of many things

That spring allows me see.

 

Robins building cozy nests

Sports, once again, outdoors

Squirrels scampering up trees

Playing tag with one another.

Flowers beginning to peek their sleepy heads

Out of the ground.

 

Silver raindrops plopping into the pond

While fishes awake to the noisy sound.

Kites flapping their tails in the wind

Reaching up to the blue sky above.

I like to lie

Beneath a tree

Thinking of many things

That spring allows me see.

By: Susan R. Stein

 

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

Postcard From Oakland

I call this photo, “Where Buildings Meet.” It’s a classic case of viewing a three dimensional scene in two dimension…with the help of a telephoto lens. What makes it interesting is the two building have similar architectural style…only one has blue windows, the other almost black.

Of course, the windows are in fact the same…its just that one is angled just right to reflection the blue sky and clouds…and the other isn’t. But the black windows show a marvelous reflection of the Oakland Tribune Tower.  

The majority of the architectural photos I do are in black and white…and for good reason. But this one had to be done in color. While the lines and form are very simple, the reflected colors give it life. Simplicity rendered complex by the colors…but still quite austere.

Oakland has rendered some wonderful architectural images…even more so than its sister city across the bay…although that may not always hold true as I go back to San Francisco to look for more. Oakland is far less busy the SF, so its easier to move around and look for interesting architectural features.

Architectural photography is new to me…meaning I have only been concentrating on it for the last few years. But I am quite pleased at some of the results. I hope you like them also.

(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 San Jose

Sometimes a photographic image is just made for painting…meaning it is a decent photo, but when I turn it into a painting or sketch, it gives it a whole new life. I don’t necessarily understand it, but it is true.

Look at a sampling of works by the great Impressionist painters, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, etc. Then ask yourself if it would make a good photograph. Sometimes, yes…sometimes no. But, the key to understanding the Impressionists is they were the first modern painters to take ordinary scenes from daily lives and turn them into great works of art.

Prior to them, painter’s subjects were often heroic images from past times or the Bible, or from mythology. A bit of an oversimplification for sure, but generally true. The Impressionists changed everything…not just painting, but the way we look at life. They opened the world up the whole world for painters…and photographers.

It is difficult to photograph a heroic scene, or one from the Bible, or Greek Mythology. Yes, we have photo journalists that photograph wars and historic events. But we also have a plethora of photographers who make photos as art. They may be of beautiful places like a national park, or street scenes, or building and architecture. No matter…these images become art thanks to the vision and philosophy of the Impressionists.

Now, back to this image. I took it on the campus of San Jose State. The building and this courtyard were there when I attended college back in the 60’s but I never went inside. I did in July.

The courtyard stuck me as quite lovely and peaceful. So I photographed it as a subject for future painting or sketch. I often do that. While the original photo does convey those same feelings, I think this sketch does it better. My opinion, of course.

The technique is digital soft pastel. It is the first time I used this particular technique. I often experiment with new methods and new tools. It’s part of the makeup of an artist…trying new things to see where it takes them. I enjoy this part of my life, and now that I am retired from the everyday, work-a-day world, I can do what I damn well please…and revel in the results…well mostly. 

(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 Tucson

I bet very few of you have ever seen snow on a Saguaro Cactus. I know this was my first time. One of my great hopes when it started snowing last week was to go out at sunrise and photograph one of these big monsters covered in lovely white powder.

As I mentioned in my last blog, the most snow I found was up around Gates Pass. Sadly, 98% of Saguaros up there in the kiddie class…meaning they are under 100 years old and have no arms yet. Darn.

This was the only old-timer I could find (I should say, get to) that had some semblance of snow on it. Of course, when one thinks about it, most of a Saguaro is vertical, meaning snow will only stick on the tops or in the bends of the arms. So, the bottom line in photographing a big cactus with snow on it is you take what you can get.

Actually, I thought this turned out pretty nice. To get to the cactus, I had to position myself on a steep vertical incline…and of course the early morning sun was directly in my face. There was no moving around to another angle as I would lose the arms and snow in the shot (the snow was really starting to melt by this time, so I had to work fast).

So, I used the cactus to block the sun, which gave me an incredible back-lit view. You can see thousands of needles (aka “spines”) coming out of the cactus backlit by the blazing sun. In any other light, you might not pay attentions to these small needles. They so dominate the photo that they almost distract you from noticing that this cactus has snow on it.

In thinking about it, this may have been my one and only chance in life to photograph a cactus in the snow. I am glad for the opportunity. Now back to the boring old sunny days in shorts and t-shirts.     

Postcard from Tucson

Last Tuesday night, I sat in a lecture hall over at University of Arizona listening to an interesting talk on photography. Out of courtesy, I turned my phone set on “Do Not Disturb” mode before the lecture began. All of a sudden, my phone and several others in the room started emitting that terrible emergency warning screech. Scared me, that’s for sure. I pull it out of my pocket and it’s a blizzard warning for the greater Tucson area. What?

Now that was a bit strange as I spent most of this very day in shorts. But, it was a foreshadow of things to come. Still, getting a blizzard warning for Tucson is a bit unnerving.

The next day, it started raining…then around 2:00 PM it started snowing…yes I said snowing, here in the desert. It didn’t stick and eventually it stopped. But after the sun went down, it started raining first, then turned to snow…not little tiny snow flakes…no, these were big mothers just like I used to experience in WA. And, they started sticking.

According to the news, it was snowing everywhere in the Tucson area. They were closing roads into the mountains (Tucson is surrounded by mountains). The PGA golf tour happened to be here this weekend and they had to shut down play as the course became completely covered in snow. I saw two major golfers on the tour throwing snowballs at each other. What a day!

Of course, I saw this as a major opportunity to go out and take some photos. So I was up before sunrise…and after a quick scouting trip around my area, I realized most of the snow here had melted. So, I headed for a little higher elevation.

Gates Pass sits above Tucson and is only a couple of miles from my home. So I headed up there and quickly found a lot of snow still on the ground and on the cacti. So I started shooting as soon as there was enough light.

This was one of my first shots, looking down on the city of Tucson at sunrise. You can barely make out some of the snow on the nearby cactus. Off in the distance past the city lights, you can make out the Santa Catalina Mountains on the left and the Rincon Mountains on the right. As you can see, the snow comes all the way down to the city.

From what I’ve learned, snow in Tucson happens about once every ten years. So, you can probably guess we don’t have many snow plows and you can’t find any snow shovels in the hardware stores. So we just had to sit this one out in front of a warm fire (oops, we don’t have fireplaces either) and wait for it all to melt.

In all fairness, we do get snow every year high in the mountains (there is a ski resort up on Mt. Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains) but it does not normally come down this far. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in the four years I lived here.

It was quite an exciting 24 hours, to be sure…but we are back to normal and by Thursday we should be in the low 70’s again. But, it was quite an experience for us desert rats and I will have more shots from this extraordinary day in the near future.  

(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 Mt. Rainier

This is one of my heretofore unpublished photographs from the only trip I ever made to Mt. Rainier National Park. It was in September of 2005 and I was using my first digital camera, an Olympus DSLR. In fact, this trip was my first chance to give this camera a real workout…and to learn how to use it. It felt so different in my hands than all my film cameras. I felt like a complete novice that first day out.

And it showed…my first day of shooting was less than spectacular. I made a lot of mistakes in the settings. I got a few good shots, but most were not “Jim” quality.

I remember getting a hotel room west of the park in the town of Ashford and sitting their half the night, going over the photos I took and discovering what I did wrong. Then, with the help of the manual, I reset the camera’s settings and learned how to do certain settings when the situation called for it. You know what they say, when all else fails, consult the manual. I even fell asleep that night with the manual in my hand.

The next day’s shooting yielded much better results, including this photo taken on a trail in Paradise Valley. Besides learning how to properly use my new camera, I got lucky with the light and the wind on the mountain.

Mt. Rainier National Park is really only available to travelers and photographers for part of the year. As it sits at a high elevation, the roads close early. And if the snow is heavy in the winter, the roads are not open until late spring or even early summer.

As I said, I took this photo in September. But because of the short seasons at these higher elevations, this area of the park had a great many flowers in bloom…as if it was springtime. That was a nice surprise and helped yield some nice results.

You can see a few more photos of my only trip to Mt. Rainier on my Website…mostly taken on the second day. I am not sure why I didn’t go back their more often as I lived in WA for 15 years. I guess I was too busy with work and family matters...an excuse we all share. Now, I am really a long way’s away. Too bad as I have a better camera, eight year’s more experience as a photographer, and much better post production software. I can only imagine what I could do today. A photographer’s lament.

(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 Tucson

Well it isn’t quite spring yet, here in Sonoran Desert, but we are getting close. I spent the weekend in glorious sunshine here with temps in the low 70’s. The best part of the days were spent either at a baseball game or sitting outside at UofA reading in the sunshine. The best part of our year starts now.

Sadly, in a couple of days, a nasty storm will be over our heads and temps will be in the 50’s. But I don’t mind. A good rain this time of year means we will have have a glorious March and April filled with wildflowers like the ones pictured here. We’ve had a couple of storms since I’ve been home…so more rain means more flowers.

I remember a couple of years ago driving from Yuma to Tucson, a journey of 3.5 hours. On that trip, it was non-stop wildflowers all the way, both on I-8 and I-10. It wish that trip was always so beautiful.

This image is of Arizona poppies taken a couple of years ago. I used a technique called Digital Crayons to give it a more painterly look. Somehow flowers usually turn out very well when painted. I still enjoy painting the odd photograph here and there. And I hope this year will again reveal some fantastic results.

(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 San Jose

If you are a long-time reader, you may remember this image…or one like it. Back in Sept, I published this photo in color as part of this blog. I liked it at first, very much.

Then self-doubt crept in (a common malady for those folks who think they are artists). I began looking at the lack of color in the original image, and started imagining it in black and white. After a long wrestling match, I decided it would be better in Black and White. But, by then I was on my way to the Bay Area and could not work on it until I returned.

Well I did re-do it in B&W…and I was right. I think this one is better. But, I will let you also be the judge of that. A friend of mine compared the two and he strongly agree with me. What say you?

In case you forgot what this is, it is the interior of the San Jose City Council Chambers looking straight up toward the ceiling. As I said back in Sept, when the entire structure is seen from outside, it reminds me of a football, made partially of glass, that is buried halfway in the ground.

I think putting it in black and white adds to the allure and mystery of the image. Color photos often give away the meaning of the image while black and white removes any distractions and lets you focus on the image. I think that was never so true as with this photo.

If you would like to see the original in color, here is a link to the photo and the blog.

(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 Marble

I bet you don’t know where Marble is? If you do, treat yourself to a chocolate sundae. Marble is actually a small town in Central WA…not far from the Canadian border. There is very little there except a few homes and what appears to be an old western ghost town…all in one building.

It looks old, but I can find no information on it. Anyway, on one side of the building are these stairs. Can you guess where these words come from? If you can, give yourself another chocolate sundae. Give up?

These words form the Boy Scout Law. How they got on these stairs, one can only imagine. I suspect there must be a troop of local scouts who were allowed to paint them. I thought it made for an interesting and unusual photo.

Good luck trying to find out more information on this little town. I have scoured the Net and can find next to nothing. Some locals in the area think the town is owned and occupied by some religious organization. Perhaps…or perhaps not. I just know that it has few interesting photo opportunities.

In closing, let me say I am back in Tucson and will try to get back on my normal publishing schedule. I had a great vacation in the Bay Area for a month, but am absolutely delighted to be back home in Tucson…even though it is raining today.

If you find any new information about Marble, drop me a line.

(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. Don’t forget, e-mail greeting cards are free.

Postcard from Tucson

May

By A.E. Houseman

Yonder see the morning blink:
    The sun is up, and up must I,
To wash and dress and eat and drink
And look at things and talk and think
    And work, and God knows why.
Oh often have I washed and dressed
    And what’s to show for all my pain?
Let me lie abed and rest:
Ten thousand times I’ve done my best
    And all’s to do again.

How clear, how lovely bright,
How beautiful to sight
    Those beams of morning play;
How heaven laughs out with glee
Where, like a bird set free,
Up from the eastern sea
    Soars the delightful day.

To-day I shall be strong,
No more shall yield to wrong,
    Shall squander life no more;
Days lost, I know not how,
I shall retrieve them now;
Now I shall keep the vow
    I never kept before.
Ensanguining the skies
How heavily it dies
    Into the west away;
Past touch and sight and sound
Not further to be found,
How hopeless under ground
    Falls the remorseful day.

 

(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. Don’t forget, e-mail greeting cards are free.

Postcard from Tucson

No, I am not back in Tucson. I am still enjoying the crisp cool air of the San Francisco Bay Area…specifically Walnut Creek. Kind of wish I was back home as the weather there is in the mid to high 70’s right now. But, when I get back there in early February, I will have plenty of nice weather for a few months. So, I am fine here for now. It’s a nice change.

For airplane aficionados, I am sure you recognize the aircraft in this photo…a Boing B-17 bomber (AKA “The Flying Fortress”), the key bomber used in World War II, especially in daylight bombing raids over Europe. Flying mainly out from bases in Great Britain, the B-17 hit targets in occupied France and Germany.  It was a potent, high-flying, long-range bomber that was able to defend itself, and to return home despite extensive battle damage.

How tough was it? In one instance, a B-17 suffered a mid-air collision with a German fighter plane, losing an engine and suffering serious damage to both the starboard horizontal stabilizer and the vertical stabilizer. It was knocked out of formation by the impact. The B-17 was reported as shot down by observers, but it survived and brought its crew home without injury.

It dropped more bombs in Europe than any other bomber used by the Allies. Being a long-range bomber, the aircraft could fly deep into enemy airspace, but with a cost. Fighter aircraft could fly cover for the bombers only part way. From there on, the bombers were unprotected, making them easier targets for German fighter planes. So flying in one of these planes during the war was very hazardous duty.

Later in the war, the US began flying the P-51 Mustang as a fighter escort. It could flying the entire way with the bombers…thereby reducing bomber losses and effectively ending the effectiveness of the German Air Force in protecting the Fatherland against US bombers. 

This particular aircraft was restored and put on display in Tucson at the Pima Air and Space Museum…well worth a visit if you are ever down my way.

Postcard from San Francisco

I’m back after an extended holiday vacation…but, at the same time, I am not back. Let me explain:

I had a great Christmas in Yuma with my son and his new extended family. Eric gave me a new iPhone 5 which I love. Still learning about what it can do. He also gave me a Blue-Ray player for my new high definition TV (my Christmas gift to myself). But, more than all that, we all had a great time together for the first time.  

After returning to Tucson for a few days, I took off again…this time for Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am house sitting (and dog sitting) for my friends the Millers while they enjoy a month in Hawaii. Even though it is cold here, it is also cold in Tucson, so I have not given up much, weather-wise. I love the Bay Area, as I’ve mentioned here before…and so far, so good.

It is difficult, but not impossible, to keep up my blogs while on the road. With that said, I will only be doing one Postcard blog a week until I get back to Tucson. I hope that is OK.

Today’s photo shows another one of those great buildings in San Francisco. It does not have a name, at least that I can find. It is down in the Embarcadero District on California Street. I titled the photo, “Little Building in a Big City,” an apt description as you can see from the surrounding buildings.

The Embarcadero District, located down by the Ferry Building on the wharf has changed a lot since I was a young man living in the Bay Area. Lots of new buildings, mostly tall as it is part of the financial district. So some big name companies are headquartered here.

For me, that means a lot of fun exploring architectural art forms with my camera…hence this photo and others you have seen in the past. I have more which I will share over time in the future.

So far, I have not made it yet over to The City yet. It’s too cold and wet for this newly annointed son-of-the-desert. But I will soon. I did a lot of exploring with my camera when I was last here in July. For now I ‘ve been settling in with my new duties and getting used to the weather. I also plan to experiment with my new iPhone camera, supposedly the best smart phone camera today. We shall see.

(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. Don’t forget, e-mail greeting cards are free.