Zombies on the Streets of Kansas City

By the way, it appears they want your typewriters.  This is a street poetry producer protecting her prize.  (Ick.  What a word combination.  It is 1:00 AM and I should really give my brain a break.  Mmm... brains....)

Stage blood by the gallon.  What wholesome family fun!

Some people take their characters very seriously.  Point a camera at them and watch the fun!

This was part of a a 15 second head to toe spasm.  Impressive.  And scary.

"Did you say something?  It's hard to hear you over all this moaning!"

Clowns.  Why did it have to be clowns?

Favorite sighting of the evening:  this zombie is contemplating a happy couple inside a mobile photo booth.

A zombie walk through throngs of art lovers is towards the top of my list for fun street shooting.  I live for content rich scenes like this.  Claire came along and loved every minute of it.  We were going to dress up and join the fun, but after laying a new living room floor I was looking a little too much like a zombie to do a good job gimping along with the crowd.  Besides, inside the pack you only see the few participants surrounding you.  I love being on this side of the lens.

All photos were shot on a Canon 60D; some with a wide zoom and most with a 50mm f1.4 or 85mm 1.8.  I am out on travel.  This post is brought to you by the magic of Blogger scheduling.  Please leave a comment after the tone and I will moderate it on my return.

Beeeep!

Like a Candle in the Windy City: Marilyn Hits the Road

WARNING:  Tacky Camera Angles Ahead

 

Marilyn Monroe was loaded on two trailers said goodbye to Chicago on May 8th.  These photos were taken on May 7th as she was being disassembled.

Once again, insomnia and a love of street photography got me out of my hotel late last Monday evening.  I tend to wander aimlessly with a camera in hand.  Chicago is a great people watching town and there is always something interesting going on.  On this particular evening, that something was the sculpture Forever Marilyn being taken apart and readied for shipment to warmer climes.

But first, I need to provide a defense of tastelessness.  I like to think of the camera as a neutral party.  It will always seek drama and interesting light.  A misty night in Chicago with the Wrigley Building bathed in floodlights provides more drama than a poor camera can tolerate.  The view from the other direction was comparatively boring.

You were warned about the tacky/tasteless camera angles.  Turn back before it is too late!

I love the Wrigley Building.  My employer provided the restoration products for it and many of the other landmark buildings in downtown.  Bear in mind that tourists have been basking in the 26' Marilyn's glory for almost a year.

The specter of a 26' Marylin looming over Pioneer Court was controversial to say the least.  It wasn't around long enough to become an object of adoration.  It did draw a number of protests and attention from the teeming masses of tourists.  The Chicago Sun-Times produced a celebratory editorial entitled "Goodbye and Good Riddance, Norma Jean."

This statue represents a titillating and iconic scene from the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch.  Today we would find much worse on network TV.  It's the scale and placement that draws attention.

As public art, it would be hard to argue that the entire installation wasn't a bit tasteless.  It was kitchy and over-the-top and probably would look more at home in Vegas.  Actually, Palm Springs is a sensible home.  It is warm, optimistic and smells vaguely of Hollywood.  According to local news reports, Marilyn Forever arrived in Palm Springs on May 14th.

I would not have guessed that Marilyn was assembled onsite.  It makes sense.  How could you get this under an overpass in one piece?  Factoid:  this sculpture weighed in at 34,000 pounds!

And we have separation!

Not surprisingly, the crew was very professional and everything was planned out ahead of time.  Seeing Marylin split in half triggered some science fiction memories.  Yeah, like the saucer separation of the Enterprise D!  (Just don't let Troi do the driving.)

The Marilyn Separation continues.

The Marilyn Separation also reminded me of another iconic Star Trek scene.

I didn't want to go too heavy on the photos or I would have added images of one of the crew climbing in and out of the lower section.  Tasteless is one thing; tasteless and disturbing is quite another.

By now you might have surmised that more than one camera was involved.  For walking around at night, I fit the Sony NEX 3 with an Olympus PEN F 38mm f1.8.  I pressed the iPhone into service for wider angles.

Marilyn always did love the bright lights.  Goodbye and enjoy your new desert home!

I walked by Pioneer Court last Friday before heading to the airport.  It looks barren without Marilyn, but I'm sure Chicago has other mass installations in store.

Royal Hartford Typewriter Factory Photo Resurection

I finally pulled the photo of the Royal Typewriter factory final adjustment room out of its frame and gave it a proper scan.  The driver software for the Epson 3170 has some nice restoration tools built in.  This is a 16-bit grey scale scan with a touch of unsharp mask.  The built in color restoration function did the rest.

The original post with additional information about the factory and the photographed and unadjusted image is at http://vintagetechobsessions.blogspot.com/2012/04/royal-hartford-adjustment-department.html

If you missed it the first time around, this will give you a good idea of how well this print has weathered the last 90+ years.

Photographed in the frame.  How's that for digital magic?

I've added a "Download Zone" to my Fotki site.  Feel free to grab a digital copy at
http://public.fotki.com/coyotesareus/download-zone/technology/

The image comes in file sizes ranging from relatively easy to download to high resolution.  The latter should blow up nicely to just about any size you want.  I'm thinking this would look good on Adorama's black and white paper at poster size.

Lucky me:  Kansas City hosts one of 13 National Archives for Federal archival records.  This Saturday, they are putting on a full day "Preservation Matters" workshop on archival and preservation techniques for photographs, ephemera and household heirlooms.  I'll probably find out that I have done everything wrong, but I am still looking forward to learning more.

Chicago Bike Patrol in Training

I love just about every form of photography.  Candid street photography is especially enjoyable since I like wandering impulsively with the camera at the ready.  I never know what might turn up.

Buskers and Bike Police.  Add a few thousand tourists to this scene and the summer picture will be complete.

Every city has spring rituals.  Chicago will be mobbed by tourists from all over the world in the summer months.  There is much to be done to prepare for the onslaught and make the city look its best. I'm accustomed to visiting in April and early May when the landscaping crews are doing their thing.  Crews are pressure washing the sidewalks and scraping up old gum.  If you look up, you'll see swing stages as skyscrapers are cleaned and maintained.

As I walked along Michigan Avenue last week, I saw something new:  a fleet of Chicago's finest preparing for high season bike patrols.

Those are tulips in the island between the Wrigley and Tribune buildings.  Chicago had a really mild winter.

While I've seen a few officers on scooters and horses, most get around the Magnificent Mile on foot or on bike.  Of course, they need conditioning and training.

Only a tourist or photographer would even notice a pack of police on mountain bikes.  The average urban dweller prides himself/herself on staying focused.

Taken with a Panasonic NEX-3 with the kit lens.

Off they go!  I'm pretty sure their next stop would have been Millennium Park.  I'll be back in Chicago for a trade association meeting in a few weeks.  We'll see what shows up in front of my wandering camera.

 

Nelson-Atkins World's Fairs Exhibit Opening

Margo would love a visit at Meet Margo: The Gold Royal with Star(let) Power

Entertainment for the evening.  Sadly, there was a conspicuous lack of mimes.

Photography is not allowed in the exhibit due to the number of pieces on loan from other galleries and private collections.  Visit the website for more:
 http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/exhibitions/worldsfairs/bells-whistles.html
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/exhibitions/worldsfairs/exhibition-themes.html

This is a major exhibit with many special programs and educational tie ins through its run.  Skim the website and you'll get a good idea of the treasures that await.  Our favorite part was the transition from Art Nouveau  to Art Deco.  Margo's designer, Henry Dreyfuss, even built a model city, "The Democracity", for the 1939 New York World's Fair.

In keeping with the tradition of the World's Fairs, the Nelson-Atkins decided to house a temporary structure showcasing technology and design.  After an open competition, the Sun Pavilion was born.  It lives on the lawn just past the sculpture garden.

The structure is comprised of reused scaffold support parts and old cargo containers.  It is interactive.  Visitors can donate various bits of debris which artists will turn into new art.  The solar panel array is functional and connected to a power management system so visitors can learn about the mechanics of taking DC and making it into AC.

Here is the official description from the museum website:
In conjunction with Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851–1939, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is proud to present the Sun Pavilion. World’s fairs were the most important vehicle for debuting technological and stylistic advancements for functional objects and the pavilions that housed them. The Sun Pavilion is a temporary structure keeping with these important themes. The design and construction team for the Sun Pavilion includes Generator Studio, Tm Gratkowski, Brightergy LLC, Thornton Tomasetti, BC Engineers and Prosser Wilbert Construction. The Sun Pavilion will be a sophisticated and visually compelling mixture of architecture, design, and technology. The open and fragmented array of solar panels, scaffolding and interior spaces will create an exterior connection to the featured exhibition in the Bloch Building and provide interactive experiences on the museum campus. Visitors of all ages will experience progressive principles of contemporary design and technology in this exciting new space. 

gingercat making electricity.

 You can learn more about building the interactive portions from the designers.
http://moonshot.barkleyus.com/
 And here is the power output for the day:  http://sunpv.mobi/
Architectural Record story

I hope you can make it to the exhibit!  The pedicab driver is lonely.