Tip of the Day – Look Down

(I should mention this regularly. You can click on any of the images in the body of this text and get a larger, sharper version on your screen)

By now, you might understand that unless I’m forced to take pictures of people, I prefer to document places and things. Over the years, I have suggested that we can find interesting images if we occasionally look in all directions. In 2011, a favorite shot was used as an example of what we can find if we turn around once in a while.

In 2017, using the ceilings of some of the grand cathedrals of Europe, the tip was about what you might see by looking up. My fanciful collection of state house rotundas is another good example, but forest canopies and cloud formations are as well.

This time, the ‘Where to Look’ series becomes a trilogy. I suggest that there are many image opportunities at your feet. Think of a fresh blanket of colorful autumn leaves or mosaics and artfully arranged cobblestones on an ancient street.

Broadway Magnolia After Katrina (2 February 2009)

When Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005, many of the city’s big trees were lost. Most street trees do not tolerate being under water for long. The magnificent live oaks can stand brief inundations…it is a Southern species after all. Thousands of trees were lost in the storm, including live oaks. The uptown street where the picture above was taken had many mature magnolia trees. Hardly any survived the flood. This is all that remained of one…3 and a half years later…a gray, lifeless stump.

Marbella, Spain (3 October 2005)

You can find wonderful pavement in Europe. Why make a sidewalk out of concrete when you can set smooth stones between colorful tile squares and allow tiny green plants to fill the spaces? Composition here offers a few considerations. I prefer NOT centering the cross of stones and plants although that can work. I could have cloned out the cracks in the tiles but I think they add character to the image.

High Rise Patio, Seattle (31 July 2010)

Of course we like the views from high-rise buildings. It’s great to be able to see great distances from a safe, high perch. I also like to look straight down. Jack and Anne’s apartment overlooked a well-kept patio with plantings and a water feature. Crop out the furniture and people and I like it more.

Near the Oude Kirk, Amsterdam (25 July 2007)

The Oude Kirk (“Old Church”) is Amsterdam’s oldest building, consecrated in 1306. It happens to be in the city’s famous red-light district where, a short distance away, prostitutes advertise themselves behind the brothel windows. In 1993, an anonymous artist inserted this bronze relief into the cobblestones of the church square. It pays to watch where you’re walking.

Mighty Mushrooms, Wisconsin (30 September 2010)

Never mind seeing the forest from the trees. A walk in the woods can present many PO’s (‘photographic opportunities’) if you scale down your perspective. Think of flowers, leaves, insects, moss and lichen formations on old, weathered rocks. On a walk through a northern Wisconsin county park, we came upon this scene. Not quite at my feet as the emerging mushrooms were on this ledge, slowly heaving the sandy soil out of their way to the surface world. I think the pine needles add texture and the fern a splash of color to the scene.

In conclusion, you have a camera…or a phone (ugh!) that can take pictures. You’re some place interesting where, if you look more carefully, there are images to be had. Look up. Look behind you. Look down. You can do better than take more selfies.

Shot of the Day – 30 – World War I Remembrance

Last November marked the centennial of the end of the First World War. I realized too late that I had an image and could post a personal story on the subject.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the combatants signed an armistice and the “War to End All Wars” ended.

Wars often spur technological advances as a nation’s brain power concentrates on new ways to kill the enemy. Witness World War II as it began with rickety bi-planes and ended with jets and the atomic bomb. World War I introduced tanks, flying machines, flamethrowers and poison gas…and it was fought largely as a brutal, protracted stalemate in water-logged trenches strung across most of western Europe. It was a miserable affair that killed ten million combatants and nine million civilians.

In April of 2006, we took our first river cruise in France. On this day, we were docked in the town of Chalon sur Soane. On the waterfront stands the town’s War Memorial.

War Memorial, River Side, Chalon-sur-Soane, France (27 April 2006)

On one side, facing the river, there are carvings of an angel, soldiers slogging forward along with a horse (that was the last war where beasts of burden were widely used) and, I’m guessing, the names of battles and engagements fought by the townsfolk. Then you look around to the other side of the monument and see the names.

War Memorial, Town Side, Chalon-sur-Soane, France (27 April 2006)

It appears the memorial was originally dedicated to the Great War and the casualties of the Second World War were added later. Given that France fell to the Germans early in the second war and there was not much fighting until the allies began the offensive eastward through the country after D-Day in 1944, one might understand why there are relatively few names in the 1939-1945 space…204 to be exact.

Contrast that with the death toll that occupies the rest of the wall. I counted 1014 souls recognized from the 1914-1918 conflict. Imagine town life without so many of the men. Imagine the toll on this relatively small community.

Images of Christmas, New Orleans

City Park, New Orleans (December 1988)

Glad I got this in on time. “What do you mean? It’s way after New Year’s. You missed Christmas by a lot” Not so fast, my friend.

This is still the ‘Christmas Season.’ The Brits call it “Christmastide’…the Twelve Days of Christmas. Traditionally, the ‘Season’ ends on Twelfth Night…the twelfth day after Christ’s birth when the Three Maji came bearing gifts. The Christian world knows it’s the beginning of Epiphany. In New Orleans, this was an even bigger deal because Twelfth Night marks the beginning of the Mardi Gras Season.

Last year, I posted some holiday images from New York City, my ancestral home. Seems right to dip into the Archives and do the same for another former home.

Mouse in a Tree (1984)

Sometimes, I take a shot of the entire tree and sometimes, I zoom in on a single ornament. Occasionally, a subject works well in silhouette. You don’t need to see any more features to know this is a mouse…wearing a Christmas hat. The only other recognizable object is the tree branch.

Many people know about New Orleans’ Audubon Park with its zoo and Garden District charm. City Park, the other large New Orleans park, is special in its own way. One of our country’s oldest urban parks (1864), it boasts a wide array of recreational opportunities, many of which are situated in the world’s largest stand of mature live oak trees.

During the Holiday Season, the park is decorated with lighted displays…called ‘Celebration in the Oaks.’ We lived just two blocks away so the photo ops were close enough for this lazy shooter to get off his butt and take the tripod for a walk.

Dueling Oak at Christmas, City Park, New Orleans (December 1988)

There was a time when (testosterone-addled) Men of Honor settled their differences with deadly weapons. “You, Sir, have insulted my woman…my horse…my boots. Whatever. I must be satisfied. Choose your weapon!” In New Orleans, these idiots would often meet at the Dueling Oaks in City Park. One of the two massive live oak trees survives and its spooky presence at night was enlivened by large red ornaments.

Because the picture was taken when it was fully dark, I had to expose the shot for several seconds. In that time, the globes rotated a little in the breeze. The individual lights blurred a bit in the image but the red remains round (How’s that for alliterative overkill?). I don’t think it’s a problem as long as the balls don’t sway in the air.

Christmas on St. Charles Avenue (December 1985)

On the grand, uptown avenue with the street cars, there are fine mansions with high ceilings and room for stately trees. On nights when home exteriors are bathed in the glow of stark, colorless street lights, the interiors are warm and inviting with that holiday glow.

Christmas in the Oaks, City Park, New Orleans (1988)

Here was a spot where we could do a ‘selfie.’ After propping the wife up against a pillar, the camera was set for a longer exposure so the Images and More Holiday Editor could enter the picture. I was trying for a ghostlier look and should have settled in for a shorter exposure. As it is, I can see bricks through my legs and lights, unfortunately, through my head.

Since this was shot in the days of film, I had to wait a week or two to see that the picture could have been better. No do-overs were possible then.

Happy New Year to all.
Hope your 2019 is healthy and rewarding.