I took this picture a while ago up in Richmond. A garage off of one of the cobblestone alleys had been left open along with the door leading out. I loved the whole feel of the scene, the contrast of the shadowed dark wall with the light ceiling and floor, the starkness of the space, and the open doorway in the back leading out into the light.
I'm pleased how this image is straight out of the (phone) camera. No retouching of any sort was needed. Heck I didn't even need to do any cropping
Showing posts with label Richmond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richmond. Show all posts
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Wisteria
Here's one more picture from my ramble about Richmond.
It"s the same plant from the previous post, just with a different take on the composition. I think I like this picture a little more, but the other one fit better in the context of the post. Either way I like both pictures.
Sadly the blooms are all starting to fade. I love the extravagant clusters that are formed with the delicate shades of purple with a hint of yellow in the throat. Every year I delight in their short lived abundance.
For me the blooms passing marks the end of spring. The trees are all fully leafed and the bare branches of winter are a dim memory. Soon it will be all too hot.
It"s the same plant from the previous post, just with a different take on the composition. I think I like this picture a little more, but the other one fit better in the context of the post. Either way I like both pictures.
Sadly the blooms are all starting to fade. I love the extravagant clusters that are formed with the delicate shades of purple with a hint of yellow in the throat. Every year I delight in their short lived abundance.
For me the blooms passing marks the end of spring. The trees are all fully leafed and the bare branches of winter are a dim memory. Soon it will be all too hot.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Two Viewpoints
During my Richmond ramble on Sunday I found a rather interesting wall. My initial view was of the side facing the alley and opposite a local church's parking structure, The wall was notable for the wisteria tumbling over in mad confusion and the graffiti.
For the most part Richmond has a decided lack in imaginative graffiti, one of the few notable exceptions is super mouse (whom I'm happy to report is still there along with blue cat). This wall has an interesting picture along with the more run of the mil tagging. The wild abundance of wisteria provides a nice counterpoint to the rather battered urban setting.
Then I got to see the other side of the wall.
It is neatly painted white with numbers for each of the parking spaces that abut the wall. Even the wisteria seems more restrained, it is merely draped across the top of the wall. No wild profusion of plant life on this side.
It is the same wall, but with two differing sides. This was another good find along with the pink snow.
For the most part Richmond has a decided lack in imaginative graffiti, one of the few notable exceptions is super mouse (whom I'm happy to report is still there along with blue cat). This wall has an interesting picture along with the more run of the mil tagging. The wild abundance of wisteria provides a nice counterpoint to the rather battered urban setting.
Then I got to see the other side of the wall.
It is neatly painted white with numbers for each of the parking spaces that abut the wall. Even the wisteria seems more restrained, it is merely draped across the top of the wall. No wild profusion of plant life on this side.
It is the same wall, but with two differing sides. This was another good find along with the pink snow.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Pink Snow
Today was my turn to drive the car pool to Richmond and I decided to bring my camera along and do a bit of a walk about. I'm so glad I did.
Being a sunny day I walked to a nearby market to pick up a few items. I then headed back to where the children were and continued on to do a bit of sight seeing. The fan is a lovely area in Richmond with a character all of its own. City living, but on a personal, more intimate scale.
As I turned the corner to go down one of my favorite residential streets my eyes were greeted with the sight of pink snow. For short stretches drifts of pink petals from the trees thickly covered the sidewalks. I was delighted by the sight and pleased that I had my camera with me.
I thought it was so beautiful I did a little detour with the kids as we walked back to the car, they were duly impressed by the masses of petals on the ground. Just as were we approaching the area where the petals were the thickest we noticed the owner was out on his stoop, the same one pictured here. I got this shot the first time I went by. The kids were a bit spooked by his presence, but I smiled and told him how beautiful his pink snow was. He smiled back and said we ere welcome to take some, in fact all of it if we want.
Once again it was very worth my while to bring my camera and have a look around.
Being a sunny day I walked to a nearby market to pick up a few items. I then headed back to where the children were and continued on to do a bit of sight seeing. The fan is a lovely area in Richmond with a character all of its own. City living, but on a personal, more intimate scale.
As I turned the corner to go down one of my favorite residential streets my eyes were greeted with the sight of pink snow. For short stretches drifts of pink petals from the trees thickly covered the sidewalks. I was delighted by the sight and pleased that I had my camera with me.
I thought it was so beautiful I did a little detour with the kids as we walked back to the car, they were duly impressed by the masses of petals on the ground. Just as were we approaching the area where the petals were the thickest we noticed the owner was out on his stoop, the same one pictured here. I got this shot the first time I went by. The kids were a bit spooked by his presence, but I smiled and told him how beautiful his pink snow was. He smiled back and said we ere welcome to take some, in fact all of it if we want.
Once again it was very worth my while to bring my camera and have a look around.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Project MCP: Veteran's Day
Last week's photo challenge was Veteran's Day, with an idea of documenting those who served and I truly planned on doing that last Sunday and/or Monday. But life intervened and I didn't get out as I intended. I did however find a wonderful tribute for my movie Mondays, so I wasn't a complete slacker.
This weekend I had at least one trip up in the Richmond area and I thought a trip to the Virginia War Memorial was in order. It wouldn't be as nice as it would have been on last Sunday, but I had the time blocked out and it was a half way decent day. I like cloudy days and there was a good breeze blowing to get the flags moving.
I tromped around taking pictures for a good 20 minutes. A bit more sunlight would have been nice, however the somber sky was the right note. The wind, on the other hand, was perfect. The memorial overlooks the James river and a good stiff breeze had the flags snapping. It was not a problem to get a shot with all eight flags in the picture unfurled. For those wondering, the flags are Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Merchant Marines, Virginia War Memorial, and the POW MIA in the middle of the arc created by the other seven flags (the US flag and the Commonwealth of Virginia's are located far off the frame to the left). To the left of the flags is the shine engraved with the names of fallen Virginians that also houses the statue Memory and the Torch of Liberty.
It is a lovely sight and I'm seriously contemplating coming back on Pearl Harbor Remembrance day, aka my birthday.
This weekend I had at least one trip up in the Richmond area and I thought a trip to the Virginia War Memorial was in order. It wouldn't be as nice as it would have been on last Sunday, but I had the time blocked out and it was a half way decent day. I like cloudy days and there was a good breeze blowing to get the flags moving.
I tromped around taking pictures for a good 20 minutes. A bit more sunlight would have been nice, however the somber sky was the right note. The wind, on the other hand, was perfect. The memorial overlooks the James river and a good stiff breeze had the flags snapping. It was not a problem to get a shot with all eight flags in the picture unfurled. For those wondering, the flags are Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Merchant Marines, Virginia War Memorial, and the POW MIA in the middle of the arc created by the other seven flags (the US flag and the Commonwealth of Virginia's are located far off the frame to the left). To the left of the flags is the shine engraved with the names of fallen Virginians that also houses the statue Memory and the Torch of Liberty.
It is a lovely sight and I'm seriously contemplating coming back on Pearl Harbor Remembrance day, aka my birthday.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Project MCP: Get Down Low and Shoot Above
The fourth and final challenge for April was "Get Down Low and Shoot Above." Which for me, meant a trip up to Richmond.
I had all sorts of ideas, my only limitation was the weather and that turned out to be a big problem this week. Wednesday was the first decent day and it was only in the afternoon, far too late for me to drive up to Richmond. Thursday was a complete wash, but today was just right with abundant sunshine and not a raincloud in sight.
My plan was to drop off a couple of bikes at Bunnyhop (best bike shop ever) and take pictures around Richmond whilst the bikes are being fixed. I would first try to take a few pictures of a parking deck (far more interesting than it sounds), duck into my favorite building in Richmond, and then down to the canals.
The parking deck was a bit tricky, I essentially sneacked in with the idea of shooting a few quick pictures at the bottom of the well formed by the exit spiral. Unfortunately my path took me right past the guard room and I knew I had to talk to security before crossing two lanes of traffic and hopping over a guard rail. They hemmed and hawed for a good five minutes over my decidedly odd request. I stood there smiling away until they relented. As I got into position two pigeons flew up and out, sadly they were gone before I could get my camera out.
I was much happier with the old city hall. The sunlight was streaming down from the skylights and I was able to get quite a few good shots. The one featured here is my favorite. I was positioned at the base of the staircase, aiming the camera up and across. It is such an interesting shot with strong diagonals and a lovely diffuse light. I knew I had a keeper when I pushed the shutter release. I good thing too since I never did get down to the canals.
I had all sorts of ideas, my only limitation was the weather and that turned out to be a big problem this week. Wednesday was the first decent day and it was only in the afternoon, far too late for me to drive up to Richmond. Thursday was a complete wash, but today was just right with abundant sunshine and not a raincloud in sight.
My plan was to drop off a couple of bikes at Bunnyhop (best bike shop ever) and take pictures around Richmond whilst the bikes are being fixed. I would first try to take a few pictures of a parking deck (far more interesting than it sounds), duck into my favorite building in Richmond, and then down to the canals.
The parking deck was a bit tricky, I essentially sneacked in with the idea of shooting a few quick pictures at the bottom of the well formed by the exit spiral. Unfortunately my path took me right past the guard room and I knew I had to talk to security before crossing two lanes of traffic and hopping over a guard rail. They hemmed and hawed for a good five minutes over my decidedly odd request. I stood there smiling away until they relented. As I got into position two pigeons flew up and out, sadly they were gone before I could get my camera out.
I was much happier with the old city hall. The sunlight was streaming down from the skylights and I was able to get quite a few good shots. The one featured here is my favorite. I was positioned at the base of the staircase, aiming the camera up and across. It is such an interesting shot with strong diagonals and a lovely diffuse light. I knew I had a keeper when I pushed the shutter release. I good thing too since I never did get down to the canals.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Unintentional Absurdity
Richmond, like a lot of cities, has quite a bit of statuary. In fact one of the main roads is called Monument Avenue and is divided by a wide swath of green that is home to numerous statues. For the most part the statues are of various Confederate notables with one very prominent exception in the form of the Richmond native Arthur Ashe.
The Arthur Ashe statue is my favorite piece of absurdist Richmond.
Don't get me wrong, I think Arthur Ashe was a wonderful human being and is totally worthy of a statue in his native city. But...
Did anyone truly LOOK at the statue while it was being made?
I know they idea is that the piece celebrates his achievements in tennis and his dedication towards education, hence the racket and the book. With the children clustered at his feet it looks like he is about to bludgeon them with both the book and the racket. The upraised arms of the children seemed to be a combination of beseeching him to stop and to ward off his blows. These are truly unfortunate choices of poses for all of the figures.
Seriously, if you ask any Richmonder where the statue is of the guy threatening children with a book and a racket is they'll direct you to this one.
I spent a good bit of time shooting pictures from all sorts of angles and none of them made the statue look good. Why on earth did the artist choose to depict Mr. Ashe with both arms raised in such a threatening manner.
Heck I could have designed a better composition.
In my version none of the figures would have raised arms. I would have the tennis racket tucked between Mr. Ashe's arm and his body while he held the book open with both hands. Certainly it wouldn't be as dynamic, but it would do a better job of celebrating the man and would be a much more peaceful.
Sheesh.
Then again it also would no longer be my favorite statue in Richmond.
The Arthur Ashe statue is my favorite piece of absurdist Richmond.
Don't get me wrong, I think Arthur Ashe was a wonderful human being and is totally worthy of a statue in his native city. But...
Did anyone truly LOOK at the statue while it was being made?
I know they idea is that the piece celebrates his achievements in tennis and his dedication towards education, hence the racket and the book. With the children clustered at his feet it looks like he is about to bludgeon them with both the book and the racket. The upraised arms of the children seemed to be a combination of beseeching him to stop and to ward off his blows. These are truly unfortunate choices of poses for all of the figures.
Seriously, if you ask any Richmonder where the statue is of the guy threatening children with a book and a racket is they'll direct you to this one.
I spent a good bit of time shooting pictures from all sorts of angles and none of them made the statue look good. Why on earth did the artist choose to depict Mr. Ashe with both arms raised in such a threatening manner.
Heck I could have designed a better composition.
In my version none of the figures would have raised arms. I would have the tennis racket tucked between Mr. Ashe's arm and his body while he held the book open with both hands. Certainly it wouldn't be as dynamic, but it would do a better job of celebrating the man and would be a much more peaceful.
Sheesh.
Then again it also would no longer be my favorite statue in Richmond.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Beauty in Strange Places
Sometimes even pollution can be beautiful.
As I mentioned before, it was my turn to drive the carpool to Sunday school and I had my camera with me. However graffiti was not the only thing on my mind. I keep my eyes open when I'm up in the city because sometimes I find beauty in the oddest places. It is almost always worthwhile to have a camera on hand. Case in point was the short walk from the parking lot down the alley to Sunday school.
While tromping down the narrow cobblestone road (yes Richmond has plenty of cobblestones) I espied a flash of bright purple between the stones. It was so very striking amongst the grey rock and green moss, I just had to get my camera out. The picture really doesn't do it justice, the color was far more vivid in person. Of course the big question was why and where did it come from.
I got my answer just a few steps later.
The purple was from what I presumed to be gasoline overlaying the puddle that was draining through the cobblestones. The gas formed a beautiful iridescent overlay on the water. The sight was mesmerizing. I know the spill wasn't doing the environment any favors, but the effect was amazing.
I do my best to be a good steward of the planet and I would never deliberately spill such a noxious item. However I do appreciate beauty in even the ugliest of things.
As I mentioned before, it was my turn to drive the carpool to Sunday school and I had my camera with me. However graffiti was not the only thing on my mind. I keep my eyes open when I'm up in the city because sometimes I find beauty in the oddest places. It is almost always worthwhile to have a camera on hand. Case in point was the short walk from the parking lot down the alley to Sunday school.
While tromping down the narrow cobblestone road (yes Richmond has plenty of cobblestones) I espied a flash of bright purple between the stones. It was so very striking amongst the grey rock and green moss, I just had to get my camera out. The picture really doesn't do it justice, the color was far more vivid in person. Of course the big question was why and where did it come from.
I got my answer just a few steps later.
The purple was from what I presumed to be gasoline overlaying the puddle that was draining through the cobblestones. The gas formed a beautiful iridescent overlay on the water. The sight was mesmerizing. I know the spill wasn't doing the environment any favors, but the effect was amazing.
I do my best to be a good steward of the planet and I would never deliberately spill such a noxious item. However I do appreciate beauty in even the ugliest of things.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Old City Hall
While trying to come up with a post I was combing through my picture files when this one of Richmond's Old City Hall popped up.
I snapped it from the observation deck of the new, or rather current city hall. It's a different perspective and lets you see the building's Gothic glory. I like how it looks like a something straight out of Hogwarts.
All it needs is a few owls wheeling in and out of the building yo complete the picture..
I snapped it from the observation deck of the new, or rather current city hall. It's a different perspective and lets you see the building's Gothic glory. I like how it looks like a something straight out of Hogwarts.
All it needs is a few owls wheeling in and out of the building yo complete the picture..
Thursday, November 03, 2011
New Reflections
This is the final post from my photo trip to Richmond.
This is the same building that was reflecting the Old City Hall and this was my view stepping out of city hall. There was no question in my mind in whether or not to take a picture. I just needed to find the right angle.
I love how the imperfections of the window glass slightly distort the reflection in each pane of glass. It is a wonderful effect and I just wanted to share this one last picture.
This is the same building that was reflecting the Old City Hall and this was my view stepping out of city hall. There was no question in my mind in whether or not to take a picture. I just needed to find the right angle.
I love how the imperfections of the window glass slightly distort the reflection in each pane of glass. It is a wonderful effect and I just wanted to share this one last picture.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Old On The New
Here is another picture from my architecture photography foray in Richmond.
It was just happenstance that I noticed the Old City Hall being reflected in the modern structure across the street. I had stepped out of the New City Hall on a cross street and was confronted by this building. As I strolled around the corner I realized what a neat image I had found, the old reflected on the new.
I had a lot of fun with my time being a photographer in Richmond. I looked at things (and for them) in a very different way.
It was just happenstance that I noticed the Old City Hall being reflected in the modern structure across the street. I had stepped out of the New City Hall on a cross street and was confronted by this building. As I strolled around the corner I realized what a neat image I had found, the old reflected on the new.
I had a lot of fun with my time being a photographer in Richmond. I looked at things (and for them) in a very different way.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
New City Hall, Reflective
It is well known that I love Richmond's old city hall. The new one, however, is a different story.
It' was an ugly, modern structure that was plagued for years with a very serious design flaw. The decorative marble cladding on the outside had the disconcerting habit of dropping off the building. The solution for quite some time was to literally strap the panels in place.
So a big ugly building was made even more hideous with bright yellow straps.
Fortunately it was only temporary and the exterior got a major overhaul. All the marble panels were removed along with some non structural columns. Granite was used on the lower levels and aluminum on the rest.
The final result is actually quite striking and, dare I say, attractive.
It' was an ugly, modern structure that was plagued for years with a very serious design flaw. The decorative marble cladding on the outside had the disconcerting habit of dropping off the building. The solution for quite some time was to literally strap the panels in place.
So a big ugly building was made even more hideous with bright yellow straps.
Fortunately it was only temporary and the exterior got a major overhaul. All the marble panels were removed along with some non structural columns. Granite was used on the lower levels and aluminum on the rest.
The final result is actually quite striking and, dare I say, attractive.
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