January 16, 2022
On Broadway
Not my photo. This came in a recent email from the Museum of Neon Arts. Somebody shot this at the conclusion of the Jewish Lights Over Broadway Tour. I'm the one in the white sweatshirt wearing a pink cap. Left of me (on my right) is Edmon Rodman who led the tour. I think we lost three or four from the group at the mid-point of the tour, the Grand Central Market.
permalink | January 16, 2022 at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)
January 5, 2022
Four On Kentmere Pan 400
All these photos taken in Desert Hot Springs were shot on Kentmere Pan 400 film. Kentmere is Ilford's cheaper brand. I used a red filter with these.
Dollar General construction a few months ago.
El Reposo Spa, a former spa on Fifth Street. It's obvious they've been under a little pressure from code enforcement over the last couple of years to finally clean up the place. Not long ago they removed the plywood that had been covering these windows into the hot mineral water pool room, which I'm sure is no longer in use. I would think the room could get really overheated on sunny days.
This is the mobile home park between Fifth and Sixth Streets which is also finally getting seriously cleaned up.
permalink | January 5, 2022 at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2021
Santa Claus Nabs A Hit & Run Driver
You'll probably appreciate this more if you speak French, which I do not.
permalink | December 23, 2021 at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2021
Jewish Lights Over Broadway
The Museum of Neon Arts seems to be able to schedule a tour (or two) during each COVID low point. This past Sunday they offered "Jewish Lights Over Broadway." The route was simple. We met at the Eastern Building which is almost at 9th and Broadway. From there we walked up to 4th and Broadway (the Bradbury Building), turned around and came back down on the opposite side of Broadway. Along the way the tour leader shared his incredibly detailed knowledge on the history of the buildings, the neon, and the people who built it all, many of whom were/are Jewish. I'd be willing to do this tour any time of the year, although if you tried it in the summer you'd have to wait until well after 9 o'clock to insure solid darkness to appreciate all the neon. But at this particular time of year it appealed to me even more because it looked like a social event during the holiday season that was NOT likely to include traditional Christmasy stuff. And Hanukkah has passed, so I wouldn't even have to hear a dreidel song.
The entrance to the Eastern Columbia Lofts.
The neon wasn't turned on, but it was still up there.
Also at the Grand Central Market. The MONA had some connection to the creation of this display.
The complete set of photos is here.
permalink | December 22, 2021 at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2021
Four Locations
Chicago, Ektachrome, 2000.
View of the Pru from the Christian Science Center in Boston, Kodachrome, 2000.
AIDS LifeCycle 1 in West Hollywood, Ektachrome, 2002.
permalink | December 16, 2021 at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2021
Bicycling The Triboro Bridge
The GNI Gatherings are in August in northeastern Pennsylvania. I bicycled to the event from Boston several times. The first time I rode with Michael and we took the inland route which had us make a big curve north of the NYC area, but that made the route much longer than necessary. In subsequent years we (or I, solo) took the shorter, more direct route which was to cycle from Boston to New London, Connecticut, ferry from there to the eastern end of Long Island, and then ride from there directly to and through New York City. The usual way into Manhattan was via the Queensboro Bridge, but then the city closed the bike path on that bridge for a construction (or rehab) project, so I decided to try the Triboro Bridge (RFK Bridge) in August 2000 which, according to the information I had, also had bike routes (sidewalks) on it. It became an adventure. I arrived at the bridge just before sunset so I could get a few photos. I managed to get onto Randall's Island okay, but the gates on the pedestrian path on the bridge (on the north end of Randall Island) that would actually take me into Manhattan were locked shut. The city probably wanted me to go to the south end of the island and take the Wards Island Bridge, a pedestrian bridge used in The Wiz. But by then it was dark and I didn't relish the idea of trying to find my way to that bridge, plus I had a friend waiting for me on 125th Street in Manhattan. So I simply took my panniers off my bike, lifted the bike and then the panniers over the gate, climbed over it myself, put it all back together and then rode towards Manhattan. Along the way I came across a bum who was sitting on the bike path while injecting himself. He apologized and pulled his legs out of my way. There were more locked gates at the Manhattan end of the bridge, which I got past in the same way, and then continued my ride into Manhattan.
All photos are Ektachrome.
Hell Gate Bridge, the railroad bridge that parallels the Triboro Bridge here.
Facing mostly east, into Queens.
permalink | November 26, 2021 at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2021
Four In New York City
All in New York in July 2001; all Ektachrome.
Herald Square.
The base of the Empire State Building.
Macy's at the corner of 34th Street and 6th Avenue.
permalink | October 16, 2021 at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2021
Two Pairs Of Unclear Origin
These first two were shot in October 1992, a month in which I visited Washington DC, so there's a good chance I saw them in a museum there. Both are Kodachrome.
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These next two were shot on Ektachrome in May 1995, in which month I was in California for California AIDS Ride 2, but neither look like California. More likely the Boston area...or Washington DC...or possibly any urban center in New England.
I'm pretty sure Boston was not using trash receptacles like these in 1995, but Cambridge? Somerville? Springfield?
That's a 1961 Chevrolet Impala.
permalink | August 22, 2021 at 08:03 PM | Comments (0)
August 6, 2021
A Return To Slides
Saguaro National Monument, 1988, Kodachrome.
"Road Ahead UNSAFE For Trailers Trucks Buses."
Boston City Hall Plaza, Agfachrome, 1984.
permalink | August 6, 2021 at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2021
Four More In Los Angeles
These were shot on Bergger Pancro400 film.
The Million Dollar Theater, the first Grauman theater. Wikipedia.
The Million Dollar Theater, all of it.
The Cameo Theatre operated from 1910 to 1991, making it "the city's longest running, continually operating theatre." More info.
permalink | July 18, 2021 at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2021
Four More In L.A.
Again, all of these were shot on Rollei Retro 80S film.
Spirit of Growth by Tony Sheets on the side of a parking garage in L.A. More info here.
The Douglas Lofts at Spring Street and Third. More info here.
Los Angeles Theatre. Wikipedia article. You can see some of the interior of the theater in this video from 2009:
permalink | July 16, 2021 at 07:53 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2021
Four in Downtown Los Angeles
These were all shot on Rollei Retro 80S film.
LA City Hall and the Triforium.
US 101 passing under Los Angeles Street where you can see Gateway to Los Angeles displayed.
Part of the LA Times building.
permalink | July 15, 2021 at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2021
Milky Way Over Los Angeles
A composite of two images shot from Mt. Wilson on July 4 by Reddit user wuwu24. Discussion here. He writes:
Never thought I'd see milky way in LA, but that was exactly what happened on 7/4th at midnight. After the fireworks subsided, the milky way appeared over the LA sky, as blankets of smoke from fireworks enveloped the city, effectively blocking light pollution from reaching the sky. This photo is a composite of two images, taken merely 2 hours apart, at the same location - starry sky at 12:19am and city foreground at 9:51pm.
Also, he offers a timelapse.
permalink | July 14, 2021 at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2021
Apple Tower Theatre Opening
Yesterday the Apple Store in the Tower Theatre (first in L.A. to be wired for talkies, hosted sneak preview of The Jazz Singer, first in L.A. to be air conditioned, 1927) in downtown Los Angeles opened. The building had been sitting unused since 1988. This certainly seemed like a worthy event to travel to. I've wanted to see the interior of this theater for years, I'd never been to an Apple Store opening, and this one promised to be a bit more than the opening on El Paseo in La Quinta. So I got up early and drove to Rialto to get Metrolink. This is the first time I've tried parking at Rialto and it was totally fine. The parking lots were about three-quarters empty. And, it's not San Bernardino. Metrolink is still requiring masks for everyone on their trains (and even platforms), but they appear to permit eating and drinking on board?!
Union Station is looking pretty nice. I took some shots on film and continued shooting film as I walked to the Apple Store. I got there about 10:30 and the line to enter was not long at all and moved very quickly. They actually did the applause thing as our bunch walked in. And then I switched to my digital camera, because I just wanted to shoot a lot of photos under a wide variety of lighting situations. So I just walked everywhere and took pictures of everything. It was easy to spot Tim Cook - it was like finding the queen bee in a hive. Just look for all the congestion and wiggling abdomens.
Once I felt I had seen and photographed everything, I switched back to my film camera and walked around taking more photos. There's a chance I may have gotten an okay shot of Tim Cook on film...but I'm finding my film predictions are often wildly wrong.
Here's a nice, short article about the store.
Walked back to Union Station, made the train with like five minutes to spare, got to Rialto and the truck was fine and even in the shade!
The complete set of photos (so far) from Apple Tower Theatre is here. And here are some of them:
Apple Tower Theatre shot with my iPhone.
A look down at Tim Cook from the balcony.
They restored the drinking fountains, and they work.
Part of the ceiling over a balcony that overlooks the entrance lobby.
The loftier parts of the entrance lobby.
I can't imagine the theater actually had windows along 8th Street, unless they were just for display cases where they'd put their movie posters. These are hinged, but I don't think you'll find them standing open while the store is operating.
The big, main false skylight. There's another, smaller one over the balcony, mostly obscured in this shot.
permalink | June 25, 2021 at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)
June 3, 2021
Revenue Sources For The City Of Desert Hot Springs
This came from a graphic presented at the June 2, 2021, city council meeting.
permalink | June 3, 2021 at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2021
More American Misuse Of The Term "HIgh-Speed Rail"
Today I saw this article about planned "high-speed rail" in the San Diego area. I was immediately suspicious, since we still have no high-speed rail anywhere in the U.S., what are the chances that one city would build actual high-speed rail. Indeed, the article describes the proposed "trains moving twice as fast as the region’s trolley system." Wow! Twice as fast as a trolley! Well, I've done that on a bicycle in Boston, so it hardly defines "high-speed." Specifics could be found well down in the article: "SANDAG officials said the envisioned commuter rail could travel up to 120 miles per hour in spots, and will average around 50 miles per hour." So, not even as fast as the not-high-speed Acela. Why not call it what is, a proposed train system with good speeds?
permalink | May 28, 2021 at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2021
Cycling the Paris Catacombs
permalink | April 23, 2021 at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2021
Lincoln and Houston
"Migration - Series No. 7" by Dennis Kowal at the deCordova museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, Kodachrome, 1986.
TC Energy Center in Houston, Kodachrome, 1989.
Houston, Kodachrome, 1989.
Tranquillity Park in Houston, Kodachrome, 1989.
permalink | March 14, 2021 at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2021
Griffith Observatory
These photos were made with Kodak T-Max 3200 film in October 2020.
permalink | March 11, 2021 at 08:28 PM | Comments (0)
Cityscape, Boston, MA, USA in 1978
Boston's Back Bay, Charles River, Boston Common and Beacon Hill. Photo by Gösta Knochenhauer on Kodachrome. Shot from atop the Pru.
