Photine

Lined Up

2009-11-09T04:16:17-08:00

This Week: Between Here and There II

Back to Chicago, but first I have to tell you that my contest on Saturday was VERY successful. I had 17 students make the choir they were auditioning for, a new record for my school. And now that the contest is over I can look forward to the next thing and that is a trip to the country of Panama during Thanksgiving. I really haven't been thinking about it because things have been so incredibly busy at work and now suddenly I have two weeks to get everything together. Eeek.

This week's photos were taken when I was walking to and from places in Chicago. This photo shows, again, the amazing architecture in Chicago. Building after interesting building one right after the other.

Green and Blue

2009-11-06T04:19:28-08:00

This Week: Brazos Bend

One final photo from Brazos Bend. As nature-y places go it is a nice one.

In other news tomorrow is a big competition for my students. We have been working every morning and every afternoon from mid-September for this contest. I can't wait to get my life back.

Hike and Bike

2009-11-05T03:31:55-08:00

This Week: Brazos Bend

Have felt without my photo mojo for a while and I'm hoping this may help it.

Flickr Footnote: Wings over Houston 2009 by DanPancamo

Alligator Bark

2009-11-04T03:42:15-08:00

This Week: Brazos Bend

One of the stars of Brazos Bend park is the American alligator. They are all over the park and when they are out you walk right past them on the trail paths. The day we were there however was crisp and cool and the alligators were not sunning themselves on the path, but instead staying in the warmer water. But walking the path I came across this amazing bark formation so I had my alligator sighting after all.

Brazos Tree

2009-11-03T04:09:06-08:00

This Week: Brazos Bend

Even though I'm not really a nature girl, I love photographing beautiful trees and this park was full of them.

Photoblog Postscript: West Gate Bridge from Fisherman's Bend by Andrew McDougall

Elm Lake

2009-11-02T03:41:51-08:00

This Week: Brazos Bend

I finally went out to Brazos Bend, a 5,000 acre state park extremely popular with nature photographers that is about an hour from Houston. I am decidedly not a nature photographer, but my assignment group was photographing it for the month of October so out I went. Luckily our group meet-up turned out to be a crisp, cool, beautiful morning and it was very enjoyable.

Billy Goat Tavern

2009-10-30T02:00:00-08:00

This Week: Chicago Shops

Cheeseborger, cheeseborger, cheesborger.

Another view of the Billy Goat Tavern.

Beware

2009-10-29T02:55:28-08:00

This Week: Chicago Shops

On my way back to my hotel I needed to find a place to eat dinner. My Yelp iPhone app lead me to the Billy Goat Tavern. I am not up on my Saturday Night Live lore or Chicago baseball history, but I got caught up while I waited for my food. I usually am not good about making impulse decisions, but I'm so glad that I took a chance in this case. The story behind the restaurant is really great and I'm glad I didn't miss this place.

Flickr Footnote: Odd Man Out by lindes

Never!

2009-10-28T03:25:35-08:00

This Week: Chicago Shops

This book title cracked me up. I'm a fan of the rule "never put ketchup on a hamburger" so this wasn't a problem for me.

Hershey's Chicago

2009-10-27T03:15:56-08:00

This Week: Chicago Shops

I mostly avoided national stores and restaurants and tried to only visit Chicago institutions except for two places. The Apple store and the Hershey store. I am a big fan of Hershey's products and I couldn't pass up the chance to wander through this candy land.

Photoblog Postscript: 0000354 by sensationsflux.net

Chicagoland

2009-10-26T02:00:00-08:00

This Week: Chicago Shops

This week a peek inside some of the shops and businesses that caught my eye.

P.S. I simultaneously love and hate having this huge backlog of Chicago stuff to post. It is a great thing to fall back on when I don't have a chance to process new stuff for the blog, but there is still so much of it I don't know when I'm ever going to get around to showing it all to you. And the more I show you Chicago the further behind I fall with other things. I need to stop taking pictures!

Ha. That ain't happening.

Elevator Lobby

2009-10-24T08:10:37-08:00

Mirror Project: Elevator Lobby

Why are there always mirrors on the floors of hotels by the elevators? Last chance to fix yourself up maybe?

I'm starting a new photo project over on Flickr with a new little friend. Go check it out.

Toonzday

2009-10-23T02:52:45-08:00

This Week: The Best Camera

This has been fun. Here is the last photo for this week from the iPhone but I am sure you will see more in the future.

Pumpkins

2009-10-22T02:58:00-08:00

This Week: The Best Camera

'Tis the Season. This is a particularly lovely display of pumpkins at one of the high end grocery stores in Houston.

Keeping with the theme this week's Flickr favorite was taken with an iPhone.

Flickr Footnote: IMG 0020 by thatcrazyATXkid

Turn the Handle

2009-10-21T03:03:44-08:00

This Week: The Best Camera

I look at this photo and think someone could run a photoblog just with their iPhone and the Best Camera app. Even this square crop was done in the application. I'm glad I did this project because I've been feeling lately like I've lost a little of my photo mojo. I enjoyed looking for these photos and feel like I might get some of my spark back.

Broken Hearts

2009-10-20T02:59:15-08:00

This Week: The Best Camera

All photos this week are taken with the iPhone and all photos this week are being edited in the Chase Jarvis' Best Camera iPhone app. You can certainly pull your photos into Photoshop or Lightroom, but I wanted to see if I could do a whole week of photos just using my iPhone for capturing and editing. I do pull it into Lightroom to have it saved in my file and to resize it for my photoblog, but all processing was done with the Best Camera photo app.

Photoblog Postscript: Bono and the Phones by wardy

Windows

2009-10-19T02:00:00-08:00

This Week: The Best Camera

You've heard the saying "the best camera is the one you have with you." All the expensive gear in the world doesn't mean anything if it isn't with you when you need to get the photo. The iPhone has exploded in terms of camera use because it is so convenient. I personally have stopped carrying my point and shoot because the iPhone takes care of what I need and I already have it with me without having to add an additional gadget to my day to day routine. This week photos from the iPhone, the camera I always have with me.

River Views

2009-10-17T04:33:27-08:00

This Week: Between Here and There

Here's one thing I loved about Chicago. Not only were there so many wonderful things to see, but wonderful views along the way. The brown building on the left, the one where you can see the whole building, was my hotel and my room was facing the river. I got that fabulous location for $75 a night through Priceline. I'm a Priceline believer.

Carbide & Carbon

2009-10-16T03:11:32-08:00

This Week: Between Here & There

This is the Carbide & Carbon Building. The base is covered in black granite and the tower is covered in dark green terra cotta topped with gold leaf. Legend says that the building was designed to look like a champagne bottle. Next time I'm in Chicago (I am SO going back one day) I need to get a better photograph of this building.

Lovely Sunset

2009-10-15T03:11:29-08:00

This Week: Between Here and There

Well I missed posting for the first time in a very long time. I am fighting my seasonal allergies and I had a concert on Tuesday. I was bleary eyed Wednesday morning and trying to decide if I was even going to go to work. By the time I convinced myself to go and was in the car I remembered that I forgot to set up the day's post. Oops. Oh well.

This photo was taken on my way to dinner the first night. Merchandise Mart is on the right and Wacker Drive is on the left. I absolutely love water so it would be wonderful to live in a city with a river running through it. This was such a peaceful moment and I'm glad I captured it for my memories.

Flickr Footnote: Foggy Dubai by daveandmairi

Wrigley and Tribune

2009-10-13T03:25:29-08:00

This Week: Between Here and There

Right outside my hotel were my two favorite buildings in the city, The Wrigley Building and the Tribune Tower. So much architectural beauty right across the street from each other.

Photoblog Postscript: Wellenflug by pabst-photo.com

Marina City

2009-10-12T03:03:09-08:00

This Week: Between Here and There

Back to Chicago to celebrate the fact that I finally finished editing my Chicago photos. Hooray! I still have many more to share here over the next few months, but at least the processing is finished. Many of the images I want to share weren't at a specific location or event but were taken when I was walking to one place or another. This is Marina City. From wikipedia:

Marina City is a mixed-use residential/commercial building complex occupying an entire city block on State Street in Chicago, Illinois. It lies on the north bank of the Chicago River, directly across from Chicago's Loop district. The complex consists of two corn cob-shaped 65-story tall residential towers, a saddle-shaped auditorium building, and a mid-rise hotel building all contained on a raised platform cantilevered over defunct railroad tracks adjacent to the river. Beneath the raised platform at river level is a small marina for pleasure craft.

The buildings are so distinctive. In fact it is amazing how much of the architecture in Chicago is so distinctive. I don't think I really realized that when I first booked my trip, but if you love architecture as I do, Chicago is definitely the place to go.

I finally uploaded more images from my Chicago artwalk. You can see them at the beginning of this Flickr set.

Elevator Copies

2009-10-11T06:31:20-08:00

Mirror Project: Elevator Copies

Disheveled after returning from one of my outings in Chicago, but never too tired to pass up a reflection opportunity. I love the long line of me that runs in the mirror into infinity. I realize that taking these mirror projects must make me sound vain, but I am mostly interested in the reflections and their context. Try to get me in a regular picture of any kind whether I am taking it or someone else is taking it and you will have a fight on your hands.

In Minds Dusk

2009-10-09T02:43:25-08:00

This Week: This and That

Finally ending with another shot of the In Minds sculpture in downtown Houston.

If you have a vote to spare for the Photoblog Awards I would appreciate it. I certainly won't make it into the finalists but each time someone votes it gives more people a chance to discover this blog.

Mount Bonnell

2009-10-08T03:02:07-08:00

This Week: This and That

Overlooking Lake Austin, a reservoir on the Colorado River, from Mount Bonnell in Austin. At the bottom of the hill on the edge of the lake are luxury homes.

Flickr Footnote: Elm | Main | Commerce by the urban fabric

Altar

2009-10-07T02:37:22-08:00

This Week: This and That

The altar of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

Amen

2009-10-06T02:44:30-08:00

This Week: This and That

Sign outside the folk art structure Beer Can House.

Photoblog Postscript: 28 by That was my foot

If you grill it

2009-10-05T02:00:00-08:00

This Week: This and That

Clearing out some miscellaneous photos. Friday I went to the Greek Festival. I try to go every year and one of the stops I always make is the souvlaki line. It is SO good and tender. Actually, it is worth two trips through the line.

YMCA Mirror

2009-10-03T06:46:20-08:00

Mirror Project: YMCA Mirror

A sign that things are indeed returning to normal around here. A mirror project! I haven't posted one in more than a month!

Shallow

2009-10-02T02:57:07-08:00

This Week: Downtown YMCA

No matter how beautiful the new building will be it won't have the wonderful details like this tiling around the pool. There used to be such pride in the details of buildings and it didn't matter if it was a building for the very wealthy or for the every day man. You can see more from the YMCA shoot in this Flickr set.

Pool Mural

2009-10-01T03:19:28-08:00

This Week: Downtown YMCA

Beautiful mural by the pool. I love my 10mm lens. I wish it was just a little bit faster so I could easily use it in these situations without worrying about blur.

Flickr Footnote: Untitled by darkhairedgirl

Hardwoods

2009-09-30T03:06:11-08:00

This Week: Downtown YMCA

The original basketball court for the building.

Running Track

2009-09-29T03:02:12-08:00

This Week: Downtown YMCA

This running track is on the roof of the YMCA and your view while you run is this mural plus all the skyscrapers that surround the building.

Yay for the return of Photoblog Postcript, not to mention the Flickr Footnote on Thursday and Mirror Project this weekend. School is finally settling into a routine which means maybe my life can return to normal. The beginning of the year is my favorite part of the school year, but not the first few weeks of school. They are painful with extremely long hours and are always accompanied by getting sick. This year seemed harder than most, but I think the worst is behind me.

Photoblog Postscript: Kings by John Leech

Downtown YMCA

2009-09-28T03:41:11-08:00

This Week: Downtown YMCA

Taking a break from Chicago photos, but don't worry, there are so many more. They will probably pop up every two to three weeks.

But on with something new. My photo group had the opportunity to photograph the downtown YMCA. The building was designed in 1941 and is scheduled to be knocked down at the end of next year. I am sure when it first opened it was an incredibly beautiful building, rich with architectural details especially on the inside. Over the years many of the details have been covered up but some are still there if you look. It was a great opportunity.

Calder Views

2009-09-25T03:49:32-08:00

This Week: Chicago Art Walk

The thing I really loved about the Calder was that it looked different from all the various angles that you could view it from. The buildings that surrounded the piece also got into the act and changed the way the piece looked as I walked around and around. You could do a whole study on that piece and the interactions with the surrounding buildings from various angles at various times of day and in different kinds of light.

The Flamingo

2009-09-24T03:01:38-08:00

This Week: Chicago Art Walk

The final piece I visited on my art walk was The Flamingo by Alexander Calder. Even though I was exhausted and my feet were killing me I went round and around the sculpture photographing it from different angles and looking at it from different perspectives. I was energized by it. I've always liked Calder's work, but viewing it and the way it interacted with the buildings around it made me really fall in love. I'll have another view from this piece tomorrow.

I was inspired by this experience to create a Calder Flickr gallery. Flickr galleries are new ways to share the work of other photographers. It was fun to search through Flickr looking for the most complimentary photos of Calder's work. Stop by here and check out that fabulous Calder Red from around the world.

The Picasso

2009-09-23T03:30:00-08:00

This Week: Chicago Art Walk

The Picasso. While I was standing here I kept thinking of the scene from the Fugitive where Harrison Ford is running through the plaza and the police are shouting about him running towards the Picasso. And here it was, the Picasso and there I was in Chicago. The audio tour entry for this one was so interesting. Apparently the city has had a love/hate relationship with this sculpture. I of course love it, but it is different when you are a city resident.

Chagall Seasons

2009-09-22T03:29:16-08:00

This Week: Chicago Art Walk

This is the Four Seasons mosaic by Marc Chagall. It is a lovely piece with beautiful colors throughout. I'm usually only so-so on Chagall's work, but I really liked this piece. But when I think of it I will think of funny little stories. Like how I got completely turned around on this art walk and l stopped in a plaza to figure out where I was so I could find this mosaic and it turned out to be right over my shoulder. Or how I ended up right back in this plaza the next day for a taping of the NPR show Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me which records in the Chase building, yet I didn't put the two things together earlier in my trip.

Monument with Standing Beast

2009-09-21T03:31:48-08:00

This Week: Chicago Art Walk

Tired of Chicago photos yet? Well after this week I need to catch up with some other photo sets going on around here, but don't worry, there will be many more from Chicago. The Chicago Loop Alliance had these wonderful audio walking tours of downtown. They had one for Millennium Park, one for Chicago landmarks and one for Chicago artwork. You download the mp3s to your portable player and then walk around and get a short story of each of the stops on the tour. I definitely recommend these for someone who wants to explore Chicago on their own.

This is Monument with Standing Beast by Jean DuBuffet. It is one of three monumental sculptural commissions of DuBuffet's in the United States. One of the other pieces happens to be in Houston. It was unveiled in 1984.

City View

2009-09-18T02:23:09-08:00