Category Archives: skyline

Kansas City Plaza holiday lights

The Country Club Plaza lights are a holiday tradition in Kansas City. They’re lit on Thanksgiving and stay on until New Years. It’s been a while since I’ve photographed them so I wanted to make sure to do it this year. The thing is… I wanted a day that wasn’t cloudy (low clouds turn brownish when they reflect the lights) and wasn’t too cold. Oh, and I obviously had to be in town.

As Christmas was rapidly approaching, the weather was not cooperating. Clouds, cold temps AND high winds were pretty much the daily norm. It was beginning to look like it might not happen this year. The week following Christmas wasn’t much better until yesterday. We actually hit 70 degrees and there were only scattered clouds. It was windy, but the wind began to die down around 3:00 and I decided to go for it. I called by friend and fellow photograper, Bhaskar, who has recently moved to KC and we arranged to meet on the plaza.

I arrived less than half an hour before sunset. Bhaskar had already scouted around a bit and I found him along Brush Creek where we began our 45 minutes or so of frantic shooting. I like to catch that cobalt blue sky that happens right after sunset and before it goes solid black. Those few minutes go by fast when you’re trying to cover a several block area of a landmark 1920s shopping area. The creek was still frozen from the previous cold days and it was killing the reflections so we headed to the streets and eventually the tops of two different parking garages. The light began to die while we were on the first garage and was pretty much gone for good when we arrived at the second one:

My last shoot of 2010 but the weather was so amazingly cooperative! This morning I woke to the sound of sleet hitting the roof and windows. Not just light sleet, but a regular downpour. Lightning and thunder soon followed and by the time the sun came up, my front window was iced over like this:

I’m thankful for that one summer-like evening but it looks like we’re solidly back in winter again.

Changing perspective

Reality and truth are concepts often discussed when it comes to photography these days. With the rise of Photoshop, people question what’s real — or perhaps they don’t question it enough. When I’m shooting for editorial use, I try to be “truthful” and show the “reality” of the place I’m photographing, but that doesn’t mean that some interpretation doesn’t creep into the images. In fact, it’s often my intention to boil an image down to focus on one single concept rather than to convey an entire, complicated reality.

There are often many truths and many ways of expressing them. Take these shots of downtown Mobile, Alabama. The one above gives the impression that the city is historic and shares much of the character that one thinks of when one thinks of New Orleans – brick buildings and ornate cast iron balconies. I would say that this is true of Mobile and it’s an accurate representation.

Then there’s this shot taken of the same block but from a higher vantage point. The same brick building can be seen in the lower foreground but this time it is minimized by the office towers looming above. Now Mobile appears to be a progressive city, a growing urban center.

Taken just a few blocks away, this photo shows yet another side of Mobile — one of a city that is struggling. Empty storefronts are emphasized by the camera viewpoint being moved back inside a shop entrance with vacant display windows. The vibrant shopping area that actually flanks this particular shop is hidden from view, giving the impression that this is a neighborhood in decline.

None of these images have been manipulated in Photoshop to give a false impression. The three sides of this city are conveyed simply by camera position and the choices made in composition. Is one shot more real than the others? I feel that they all represent my reaction to the city I was exploring. They do, however, contain my own personal point of view and reactions. Put a dozen photographers in Mobile for a day and you’ll have a dozen different perspectives. Maybe a dozen different truths?

Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany

Here’s an interior of the Frauenkirche that I mentioned in my last post. It’s hard not to be impressed by the effort that went into the reconstruction of this building when you look at the condition it was in from 1945 through the early 1990s. Beautiful inside and out, its dome is once again a prominent element of the already stunning Dresden skyline. I was lucky enough to have a room that overlooked this skyline and made good use of it at sunrise and sunset to capture a range of light both artificial and natural. Much of the skyline is lit in the evenings but the Frauenkirche seems to be lit the longest. I would start shooting while all the lights were on and continue as they winked out one by one until just that dome was lit. In the mornings, the whole thing was dark and silhouetted by the sunrise. Here are just a couple of shots from my window at the Maritim — sunset and sunrise:

Dresden, a comeback story

The fire bombing of Dresden in February of 1945 effectively destroyed the city center of what had been known as the Florence on the Elbe. Much of what I knew about Dresden before visiting came from reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five as a kid. Vonnegut had been a POW in Dresden during the raid, and drew heavily from that experience for the book. This is what Dresden looked like following the air strikes:

Image found on Wikipedia here. Bombing info can be found here.

That’s nearly a reverse view of my shot that opened this post. The dome in the upper right of the historic photo is on the left in my photo. The bridge on the left of the historic photo is in the foreground of mine. The pile of rubble just left of center in the old photograph is the remains of the Frauenkirche, which you can see has been rebuilt in the recent photo — it’s the white dome at the center.

The reconstruction that has taken place in this city is unbelievable. Just when you think that the only things humans are capable of building anymore are Walmarts and Home Depots, you see something like this and realize that true craftsmanship and vision are not a thing of the past. I’m sure it would have been much easier for Dresden to have rebuilt in a modern style with reinforced concrete and steel towers but they didn’t. They respected their traditions and heritage and look at what they achieved.

Portrait of Minneapolis

I found this location last week while working on an assignment in Minneapolis/St. Paul but the weather was bad. You’ve probably read about all the flooding southern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Well, I can vouch for the amount of rain they got. Anyway, driving back from the North Shore on Sunday it was nice and sunny and it seemed like it might be worth a quick stop to see if I could get the shot. It was a pretty stunning location. You can always tell when you’ve found “the” spot in any city when there are 500 kids getting their senior portraits made there. I nearly had to stand in line to get this view, but at least I now have a postcard-esque portrait of Minneapolis in the files. And I still made it home in time for the season opener of the Amazing Race (my guilty pleasure). Something about seeing other people having difficulty navigating foreign destinations really makes my day. I’m just glad I’m not behind them in line at the ticket counter.

Louisville, Kentucky

100916louisville_sotc

It’s been a while since I was on the road but I broke the dry spell with a quick trip to Kentucky over the past few days. A couple of assignments and a chance to do a little stock work took me to Louisville, Bardstown and Frankfort. The shot above was taken from a popular spot on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, looking back at the skyline of Louisville. Google maps and its satellite image feature was a great help in determining the best location. I added a 4-stop neutral density filter to cut down on the light and allow for a longer exposure (30 seconds) to get the river to turn silky. An aperture of f/11 gave me the star points on all the lights. They’re hard to see here but add a nice sparkle when you see the image full size.

I’m looking forward to a busy Fall. I believe it may be my favorite season although it always feels the shortest. When possible, I like to stretch it out by heading north for the early Fall color and then following it south. I’ll soon be starting this year’s season by heading to the North Shore of Lake Superior where the color is already beginning to peak (or so says the internet — what did we do without the web?). Hopefully I’ll catch it before it goes. Whether I’ll be able to get more Fall color is in question as other travels will take me elsewhere. Hopefully I’ll at least have a little time to enjoy the season at home. But, where ever I am, I’ll be looking for color.

Travel by the Pint

Travel by the Pint

I’ll take a break from posting photos from my trip to China today to announce the launch of a new project.

Travel by the Pint is a video podcast featuring interviews with brewmasters and brewpub owners from around the country. Local attractions are also spotlighted in each episode.

This project has been in the works for over a year and filming of the interviews began last May. The entire first season is shot and in production but we are oh-so-happy to finally be able to announce that our first episode is now available on the Travel by the Pint web site. The vidcast is also available through the iTunes store by individual download or as a free subscription.

Steve Mazylewski

Steve Mazylewski (above), the brewmaster at Hog Haus Brewing Company in Fayetteville, Arkansas, was kind enough to be our first interview and appears in the first episode along with a visit to the nearby Coleman Theatre in Miami, Oklahoma. The restored vaudeville theatre has previously appeared on this blog as well.

We’ve had a great time getting this project rolling and have lots of plans for its future. Please stop by the Travel by the Pint web site site and check it out. We hope you enjoy it. And — don’t forget — please drink responsibly.