Subtle contrast
As I've said in other captions, Walking around Chicago with my camera is the best. Sharp lines, the glass reflecting what cannot be seen and morning light combined with shadows brings it all together.
Godbe Mill
Old Godbe Mill - A silver-ore processing mill located in Pioche Nevada, the Godbe Mill was established in the 1920s, and abandoned in the 1940s.
Look up
Fire escape on a very tall building.
Las Vegas in B&W
Taken with my Leica Q2 Monochrome camera. All digital cameras take photos in grays then the processor matches those tiny grey pixels to the matching color pixels the camera maker engineered into that brand. So 10 cameras, including phones will give 10 different looks all settings being equal. The differences will be very subtle but they will differ. This camera I used does not convert to color. It uses its lack of color processing to produce a very, very high resolution image in shades of grey. It seems to work particularly good on architecture.
I might be the same age…
Now that hurts.
1800s Outhouse
Wikipedia: Outhouses are commonly humble and utilitarian, made of lumber or plywood. This is especially so they can easily be moved when the earthen pit fills up. Depending on the size of the pit and the amount of use, this can be fairly frequent, sometimes yearly. I found this in South Dakota on a homestead from the 1880s.
Overseas Highway
Built in 1893 to connect Key Largo and Key West via steam train. Finished in 1912 the tracks were laid over 126 miles of ocean.
One of so many
Las Vegas architecture at night
Cannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street bordering the city of Pacific Grove in Monterey, California. It was the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973. This mural is painted on an old Cannery wall.
In front and behind
No, my camera does not smoke pot.
Dusk on the Strip
Taken from high up at the Bellagio. Las Vegas is a wonderful city to walk around with a camera.
Cinco de Mayo Kaboom
Everyday is a good day for fireworks.
key West Harbor
I took this through a glass ball I was holding.
Lines
I'm learning that black and white photos can really capture the distinctive lines in architecture.
Ker Blam
Glen Canyon Dam
Page Arizona
Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. It was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2020. In May 2020, restoration and renovation of the historic building and grounds began. It opened for small tours July 2022 where one is now able to go into all three domes.
Fisherman’s Wharf – Monterrey CA
Walked to the end of the dock looking for a place to sit and eat some smoked salmon. Glanced down and saw these boats lined up.
Farm House Reflection
I like trying to get an interesting wall of texture combined with what's behind me. As a bonus, like this photo, it's reflecting in very old wavy glass. This is a farmhouse window and barn taken in Wisconsin.
Perfect (IMHO)
This is one of the most complicated photos I've taken in Chicago. There are 2 buildings reflecting each other in addition to 3 more behind me. The angle, light and colors were nearly perfect for this spot on the sidewalk. As a credit to my incredibly capable Leica camera this is exactly what we (Leica & I) saw that morning.
South Dakota Homestead
The territory that would become South Dakota was added to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first permanent American settlement was established at Fort Pierre by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. White settlement of the territory in the 1800s led to clashes with the Sioux, as some of the lands had been granted to the tribe by an earlier treaty. Nevertheless, the territory was incorporated into the union on November 2, 1889, along with North Dakota.
Nash Flying Lady
The 1955-58 Series III Nash Metropolitan was famous for its 'Flying Lady' hood ornament. It was a particularly classy design, and the wings could even be removed for a more streamlined, more risqué ornament design. The Flying Lady is part of a bygone era, the likes of which we'll never see again. Carbuzz
Chicago
Chicago with a camera, the best.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a joy to photograph because of it's colorful and unique architecture.
Reflection Puzzle
Old mine in Nevada which has a wonderful assortment of junk offers many photo opportunities, if of course you like junk.
Fireworks Plus
There’s something really fun about photographing fireworks with the different colors and shapes. When frozen by the camera you can examine them for a moment.
This was taken during a night airshow fireworks
in the background while a twin engine aircraft flew around firing small fireworks off its wings.
.32-.45 cents a gallon
Alien Weed
I've been driving by this truck for years in Wisconsin watching the alien weed slowly digesting it. But this year it has really rooted in and it won't be long before it starts looking for an old tractor or something else to eat.
Southernmost House
The Southernmost House, built in 1897, is a historical hotel located at the Southernmost end of the famous Duval Street in Key West. "The Mansion", as locals refer to the House, has hosted over 20 presidents and dignitaries, has served as a private residence, casino, speakeasy, social club, museum and hotel during it's long and impressive history. Per hotel website
Reflection Puzzle
I got a little artsy on this one. Standing at the bottom of a deep canyon called Hell Hole. Straight up to my left are the sunlit walls of the Red Mountains in Ivins Utah. This photo shows red sand, rock and water. Half of the water is reflecting the canyon wall in its sun gold color.
Fireworks
What the camera freezes in a fraction of a second is always a surprise.
Art Deco
Dotting the Miami shore and all along South Beach in vivid contrast to the sparkling blue ocean, stands an array of brightly colored lifeguard towers, each with a very unique art deco design and its own piece of history. There are currently 35 towers and I hope to photograph more of them.
Fremont Street Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas. Lots of lines, angles, colors then lights making it very photogenic.
Las Vegas
Walking for blocks away from the normally vibrant downtown area the economic signs of the pandemic are shockingly evident.
Reflection Puzzle
FW2
Vegas street walking
Between the Strip and Downtown there is this depressed area the city has named the Art District. With the hope it will attract a reason to visit the city asked spray can artists to color vacant storefronts and alleys which camouflages the existing graffiti. There are a sprinkling of restaurants, bars and shops mixed in with vacant lots and stores so they appear to making headway in an economic transformation. With all that said it is a wonderful place to wander up and down streets and alleys with a camera.
Sea Bottom
Walking in the Florida Keys water during low tide creates many different images. Here the water was maybe 6" deep when I took this. The photo never impressed me until a friend had it printed on a 2'x4' piece of metal.
I had to stop for this
The interior was just as interesting. We came across it on a backroad trip near Capital Reef National Park.
Mystery Photo
I was standing on this Chicago sidewalk taking this photo. I must have looked all serious with my big camera mounted on a big black tripod pointing it somewhere across the street. After a few minutes framing and focusing this I noticed there were about 10 people behind and next to me looking for whatever I was photographing. When finished, I packed up and walked away while they stared across the street.
Firework Art
Always a surprise......freeze motion and color.
FW3
Tres Palmas
Black & White camera used for this plain photo with structure. I'm learning that plain without color makes me look harder at the subject.
I can’t explain…..
Higgs Beach...as found
Ford Forgotten
Spotted from a highway somewhere in South Dakota
Once upon a time
Thompson's Opera House, also known as Brown's Hall, Brown's Opera House or the Gem Theater, is a small theater building in Pioche, Nevada. The Opera House is a wood frame building built in 1873, attached roughly to the adjoining brick Gem Theater, a 1937 masonry cinema. Wikipedia
How many buildings?
I don't know but I love the fire escape on the left.
Just look down
One day, standing on sandstone in a beautiful National Monument a very experienced photographer shouted at me "look down". I glanced at my feet and he again shouted so I took a photo, minus my feet. Due to the simple texture of the rock, that turned out to be one of the best photos I took that day. Now when searching for eye level objects of interest I'll sometimes remember to simply look down.
Neglect in Old Town
Unfortunately Havana is crumbling due to neglect by a poor government which owns all buildings. Outside of Havana the towns are similar or better than most Carribean counties but Havana is truly in tough shape.
FW4
You ask why?
Because I was wandering around this group of about 10 long, very long abandoned houses. They had been beat up, partied in, open to weather and quasi occupied by people I didn't want to meet. When I saw this one square of ancient surviving tough toilet paper just barely hanging on the roll I decided it should be documented. Since I took it, someone burned some of these old houses down. So....that's why. A friend even had this printed and it's proudly hung in her powder bath. There are no rules in photography.
Mountain View Hotel
Built in 1895, this historic hotel in Pioche NV is located next door to the 1872 Lincoln County Courthouse. It has housed guests over the years such as President Herbert Hoover, state and national congressmen, and miner millionaires.
Las Vegas Neon
Near downtown Las Vegas there is a non-profit organization that has been saving old outdoor signs from destruction. For a donation you can enter their yard and view the signs. Once a month you can make a larger donation and enter after dark for the purpose of taking photographs. About 2/3rds of the signs are lit in some fashion so against a dusky sky they make for some interesting photos.
Old Farm Truck
Found this behind some buildings on an old settlers farm. When a 3 legged very ugly mean dog showed up it was time to quickly get back to the car.
Modena Nevada
J.B. Lund hotel. Founded in 1898 when the railroad first came through the area, water at the nearby Desert Springs made the site an obvious choice for a railroad depot where steam engines could refill their water tanks. In the early 1900s merchants from as far away a Mesquite and St. George would head to Modena to pick up goods shipped by rail.
With the invention of diesel engines that no longer needed to stop for water, however, the depot in Modena was rendered obsolete. The railroad company began to allow workers to live in nearby Enterprise, and slowly the town's population dwindled.
Art District
Between the Strip and Fremont Street areas in Las Vegas there is what's called the Art District. Formerly (and currently) a run down area of old buildings the city has been improving infrastructure and trying to renew the 30 some block area. It now has a scattering of restaurants, galleries, auto repair shops, vacant stores etc. I assume it will someday thrive as the Strip & Fremont Street areas converge but now it's an area that to my eye is struggling. Some old walls, alleys and vacant store fronts are covered in beautiful graffiti which is fun to photograph.
Architecture Row
Chicago architecture is wonderful.
Saturday Fireworks
Some of my favorite photography. I am always very surprised with what the camera sees. In this case I left the shutter open for 2 seconds.
School Bus
Found on an old farm in Utah.
FW7
Nicely aged
I think repainting this wall would make it less attractive but that's the opinion of a guy with a camera that looks for images like this.
Grafton, Utah
Grafton is a ghost town, just south of Zion National Park in Utah. Said to be the most photographed ghost town in the West, it has been featured as a location in several films, including 1929's In Old Arizona—the first talkie filmed outdoors—and the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The site was first settled in December 1859 as part of a southern Utah cotton-growing project ordered by Brigham Young. The town grew quickly in its first few years. There were some 28 families by 1864. In 1866, when the outbreak of the Black Hawk War caused widespread fear of Indian attacks, the town was completely evacuated.
(you can see stars because the photo was taken around midnight under a full moon which required a very long shutter speed making the stars visible)
The Bean
The structure is made up of 168 stainless steel plates that are welded together. The polished exterior has no visible seams, making it completely smooth. The inside is largely made up of a solid wooden structure.
It measures 33 x 66 x 42 feet, weighing in at 110 short tons. So, it’s pretty big. When in Chicago I have no problem taking lots of photos.
Leading Lines
Called South Street Pier, I noticed the different lines projecting into the soft seas and unruly sky.
Last Supper
Outside the abandoned mining town of Rhyolite Nevada someone erected this sculpture and one other strange "artwork". Nothing much else there except bad buildings, car shell and a bad totem pole.
Forest Light
Chicago Skyline
Kaboom Boom
I really enjoy taking photos of fireworks. The camera often sees what the eye cannot.
Alley Walking
Between the Las Vegas Strip and the downtown area (Fremont Street) there's an area that is....neither of those. Graffiti artists have taken over the alleys so it is fun to walk around with a camera.
Chicago Skyline
Chicago Skyline
Ride Art
Wisconsin State Fair Midway ride. I left the shutter open for 2 seconds while it spun.
The Scrambler
The Scrambler is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction. Wikipedia
I took this at the Wisconsin State Fair by leaving the shutter open for a few seconds.
Bubble Art
A guy in the park in Key West was making huge 5' bubbles with a rope dipped in dishwashing soap. Had my camera so I was fortunate to get about 7-8 beautiful photos with the sun off to my left lighting up all the colors in from of me.
Chicago Skyline
Union Pacific
In Nevada with no sign of any railroad tracks.
Las Vegas Signs
Near downtown Las Vegas there is a non-profit organization that has been saving old outdoor signs from destruction. For a donation you can enter their yard and view the signs. Once a month you can make a larger donation and enter after dark for the purpose of taking photographs. About 2/3rds of the signs are lit in some fashion so against a dusky sky they make for some interesting photos.
Chicago Skyline
What you see is actually behind me framed by what is in front of me.
Navajo Colors
The range of colors of the Navajo Sandstone –red, brown, pink, salmon, gold, and even white—results from varying amounts and forms of iron oxide within the rock, and in the case of the white upper portion of the Navajo, the overall lack of iron. This photo comprises an area of about 6 feet square and shows why some areas of the Southwest look like they do.
Abandoned school/hospital
St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children (formerly known as "St. Coletta Institute for Backward Youth"). Pretty interesting history if you want to look it up.
Rhyolite Nevada
By 1914, Rhyolite was in decline and by 1919, it was a deserted ghost town. Its last resident died in 1924.
Fort Ord California
The base was named in honor of Union Army Maj. Gen. Edward Otho Cresap Ord. Initially, horse cavalry units trained at the camp, though eventually, mobile combat units such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, and movable artillery joined the base.
Before its closure in 1994, it stood as a fascinating army base. It is located on the Monterey Bay of California’s Pacific coast, and after its abandonment, some of the land was converted into the Fort Ord National Monument. This monument is handled by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.
Although it is beautifully situated, the base has a dark history of environmental destruction. It is now one of the most toxic places in America.
Its grounds were the site of 100 square kilometers of petroleum leakages, dump sites, landfills, and a large number of unexploded mines.
During its peak, the base held some 50,000 soldiers, some serving in the Korean War and some in the Vietnam war.
Chicago Skyline
Bang Whoosh
Fireworks on a windy night
Ghost Town
By 1914, Rhyolite Nevada was in decline and by 1919, it was a deserted ghost town. Its last resident died in 1924. In it's day was a producing gold mining town.
In the Nevada sun
This and other colorful jewels can be found in Nelson Nevada
Nelson Nevada
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution.
Chicago Skyline
Rhyolite
Founded in 1904 and dead by 1916, Rhyolite was one of several short lived boom-towns from the late Gold Rush era. People were drawn to the desert on the edge of Death Valley by the promise of gold found amongst quartz in local mines, and by 1906 the town had all the promising indicators of permanence with largest population in the area.
According to the US National Park Service: “The town immediately boomed with buildings springing up everywhere. One building was 3 stories tall and cost $90,000 to build. A stock exchange and Board of Trade were formed. The red light district drew women from as far away as San Francisco. There were hotels, stores, a school for 250 children, an ice plant, two electric plants, foundries and machine shops and even a miner’s union hospital.” Per Atlas Obscura
Petronia Street
Very colorful area of Key West located in Bahama Village.
If walls could talk
Old motel on Fremont Street in Las Vegas
Photographic Junk
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution.
Chicago Skyline
Chicago Skyline
Nelson
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution. The man who lived here after the mines closed was a hoarder. There are maybe 20 of these WWII trainers.
Fire escape
Pretty old Chicago skyscraper.
Girl From The Hood
This was painted on a car hood at an auto show.
Chicago Skyline
Exquisite!!!
Chicago Skyline
Sand Dunes
Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park Utah. Thought the textures were better looking in B&W.
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