Author: timothyk68

Of Fire Engines And Zombies- June 18, 2016

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Weekends during summer in Chicago offer a lot of opportunities to explore different subjects. The plethora of street fairs, neighborhood gatherings, and civic events usually result in some unusual combinations. Yesterday was just such a combination, as the title of this blog attests to.

The day started with an annual event at the Chicago Fire Academy, near Taylor St and Jefferson. The Academy stands roughly where the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started. This is where Chicago trains its firefighters. The event is a gathering of the Illinois Fire Buffs, who are dedicated to the history of firefighting. They have a show of nearly all eras of fire engines, vintage to current, as well as a flea market where you can buy just about anything related to firefighting, including vintage equipment, books, etc. The event starts with a short parade of the fire engines. They had everything from a 1920s era Ahrens-Fox engine, to a REO engine and Federal Engine from the 1930s, on up to the current engines made by American LaFrance. The older ones are still operational and well preserved!

It was fun seeing these machines up close, and helped me appreciate even more the firefighter’s ability to do their job in an era where technology was nowhere near today’s level. Even so, you can’t help but admire the firefighters of every era, who go into places everyone else runs from. It takes a special person to do this.

Later in the afternoon, I went to Millennium Park, as this was the annual “Zombie March” took place. The march covers a route of 2.5 miles, starting at the Pritzker Pavilion, going up toward the Wrigley Building, back to the Daley Plaza, and finishing at Buckingham Fountain. I got there in time to see the participants getting into character, and prepping their zombie makeup. The work they did was very impressive! All in all, it was a fun day, and the great news is, summer is just starting!

Washington, DC- April 2016

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For my first recreational trip this year, I went to Washington DC to hopefully photograph the cherry blossoms at peak bloom. Of course, when it comes to Mother Nature, she always has her own ideas, and my trip was about 10 days too late. Still, I stuck to my plan, and met up with a friend who drove up from South Carolina. We spent Friday, April 1 through Sunday April 3 in the area. We packed a lot into those three days, a theme I would continue with my Arizona trip later in April.

The first day, we started with the intention of touring Ford’s Theater. However, we were confronted by a huge crowd of school tours (it was still Spring Break time). So, instead, we checked out St. Patrick’s Cathedral right down the street, a great gothic exterior, and a gorgeous interior. From there, we went to the National Mall, and spent some time at both the World War 2 Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We had to get to the other end of the Mall so that we could take a tour of the US Capitol Building, which was great, except for the rotunda being covered by scaffolding and tarp. We finished up at Union Station, which is right by the Capitol Building.

Saturday was spent at the Udvar-Hazy Annex to the National Air & Space Museum, which is where the Space Shuttle Discovery is now housed, as well as a lot of other aircraft and spacecraft that can’t fit in the main Air & Space Museum. From there, we drove up to the Baltimore area for dinner with some friends, and then we went back down to the Mall to photograph the Memorials at night. That turned out to be its own adventure, as a vicious storm hit just as we got to the Lincoln Memorial. Luckily, we had shelter inside, and waited out the rain and wind.

Sunday, we drove to the US Marine Corps War Memorial (aka The Iwo Jima Memorial), as I wanted to pay tribute to a friend and Marine who had passed away from cancer on the Friday we arrived. The temperature had dropped into the 30s that day, with winds gusting 20-30 mph, and naturally, I hadn’t packed cold weather gear. We also went to the National Archives that day, after the Marine Corps Memorial, and then we finished the day at the National Zoo. We saw some lions (no tigers, though, they were camera shy), and the pandas, among many others.

Arid Greenhouse- Chicago Botanic Garden

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The weather in the Chicago area has finally gotten to spring-like. This meant one thing- I needed to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden again. I visit there several times during the year, but the last time I was there was in March for their Orchid Show. Visiting there gets me some much-needed exercise, and I get to explore one of my favorite photographic mediums- macro photography. The world is totally different when viewed through a macro lens. Details emerge that you do not see unless you are looking very close.

The gardens are beautiful, if you haven’t visited, it’s a must. And today’s weather was perfect, low 70s, sunny, great day for a walk in nature. The dahlias are not out yet, nor are the lily pads, we’re too early for them. But, there are still some great tulips to see. And I saw some (but they’re obviously not what I am writing about). Invariably, my visits to the Botanic Garden include a visit to their greenhouses. My favorite, by far, is the arid greenhouse. They have a great variety of cacti from around the world. No matter what season you are visiting, there is something interesting there. And, logically, if you’re there in winter, the arid greenhouse is a great place to warm up!

Now, while I do visit there several times during the year, I usually miss the blooms of the cactus flowers. I have either been there too early or too late- that sums up how my timing works out for most things, actually. Today, luckily, my timing worked out well. Several cactus flowers have already bloomed, and were still flowering. Others were very close to blooming.

Some of the blooms are just about ready to bloom- the Echinopsis “Apricot Glow” cactus has many buds that are going to open up during the next few days, perhaps even tomorrow. Others, like the echinocactus grusonii “Mexican Golden Barrel Cactus” and the opuntia Santa Rita Tubac “Purple Prickly Pear” Cactus have already bloomed. The flowers in the slideshow are from these varieties. And, one Apricot Glow cactus flower has bloomed (the photo is in the slideshow). But as you can see from a couple of the wider-angle photos, there are many more which are about to bloom. As these other buds are so close to blooming, a return trip will be happening very soon!

Arizona Excursion, Part 2- The Grand Canyon

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A trip to northern Arizona is not complete without a stop to the Grand Canyon. It has been on my “bucket list” for longer than I can remember. The last full day of my trip was set aside for the Grand Canyon. The trip started with a drive from Flagstaff, through the San Francisco Mountains, and then to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon. That drive was amazing all by itself, I stopped on a plateau to photograph the cloud-covered peaks, the elevation was just over 9,000 feet. One of the photos is in the slideshow which accompanies this post.

Before I left for Arizona, I had booked a helicopter tour of the canyon (again, thanks to a tip from a friend of mine). So, I knew I had to be at Grand Canyon airport at a set time. But, I was able to stop and get my first look at the canyon. What can I say about it that hasn’t already been said? I had seen so many photos, so many films, and thought I was prepared for it. I wasn’t. It’s cliche’, but I literally did have to catch my breath when I saw it for the first time. It’s magnificent, I can understand why the Native Americans consider it holy ground. I was able to get some initial photos, and then had to leave to catch the helicopter.

One of the photos in the slideshow is from the helicopter. That is really the best way to see it. I took one of the longer tours offered by Papillon/Grand Canyon Tours. I wanted to take in as much as I could. There just aren’t words for the experience, it was a blast. I cannot recommend booking a tour with them enough!

Once we landed, I returned to the canyon and hiked around the rim some more. I found some great vantage points just off the trail where I could just sit and look at the expanse. I took a lot of infrared photos (the black and white photos are infrared), as well as regular photos. I could have used up several 128 GB memory cards just in the time I was there. After several hours in the afternoon, I sadly had to leave, to get ready for the return home. I packed a lot into the three days I was there. I plan on going back, I need to explore Sedona and the Grand Canyon much more.

Arizona Excursion, Part 1

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My “bucket list” has been growing, not shrinking, over the past several years. This year I have decided to start crossing items off of it. The first places I decided to cross off the list are Sedona and the Grand Canyon, in Arizona. The great thing about choosing these locations is they are both within an hour and a half of each other. On the tip of a friend who used to live in Arizona, I chose Flagstaff as my base. Both locations are within an easy driving distance from Flagstaff. Flagstaff itself is a cool town, and I think next time, I may take a train ride to Flagstaff from Chicago, and spend more time in the town.

I flew into Phoenix, rented a car, and the plan was to stop in Sedona first, on the way to Flagstaff. I had reserved a tour with Pink Jeep Tours (a must for anyone wanting to get out into the canyons, away from the tourist-y part of Sedona). The adventure of the day began before I even got to Sedona- an SUV collided with a truck on I-17, and the highway was shut down. The accident occurred about 6 miles before the Sedona exit, and it took over an hour to go those six miles. I called Pink Jeep Tours, and they moved me to a later tour.

I had seen Sedona from other photos, and I knew it was beautiful. The canyons there are incredible, and that drive in to town was one of the most beautiful drives I have taken. And then, the tour itself was even more amazing. A friend of mine tipped me off to Pink Jeep Tours, and I cannot recommend enough taking one of them if you’re in Sedona. The Broken Arrow Tour is their signature tour, they are the only tour company that can take people on that trail. The trail is named after the movie Broken Arrow (with Jimmy Stewart), which was filmed there, in part. The tour takes you out into canyons around Sedona, and makes two stops. The first stop is where one of the vortices in the area occurs. The canyon walls cause the winds to speed up through them, creating a wind tunnel. Even if the winds are light, once you get there, they are intense. The second stop was at Submarine Rock, which looks like a submarine has surfaced in the base of the valley. The tour I took was a combination of the Broken Arrow Trail, and also up part of the way to the rim above Sedona.

I had kept Monday open, for either the Grand Canyon, or a return to Sedona. Since I fell in love with Sedona, I went back Monday. The weather had changed, clouds had rolled in, the temperatures dropped, and the winds picked up to between 50 and 60 mph gusts. The clouds made for excellent photographic opportunities. In the late afternoon, storms came through, cutting my explorations short. It both rained and snowed. I sought refuge at the Oak Creek Brewery, had a pint or two, and relished in the days’ adventures.

Next up, my first experience at the Grand Canyon on Tuesday…

First Blog Entry!

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Scan_026 copyScan_004As I try to get my fledgling website to fly out of the nest, I realized I should attempt this thing called a blog. For this first blog, I decided to talk about a project that also is in its fledgling stage. Having recently had to empty out my parents’ house, which they had lived in since 1961 (although my dad passed in 2002), I made a point to make sure any photos they had were boxed up so that I could work on archiving them.

There were a few previous generations of photographers in the family, including my dad, who had his camera with him when he served in the US Navy in the Pacific Theater from 1945-1946. Fortunately, with the help of some eagle-eyed friends and family, I found all of the negatives from his Naval service. He continued to photograph all the way through getting married, having kids (my brother and I) and later, right up until his death. Archiving his photographic history is quite a daunting task, but one I have to accomplish. The difficulty is not only the volume, but also not having all of the stories behind the photos. He left behind some other items that I am hoping will shed a little light on what he took, particularly before I was born. In the first photo in this post, that’s him in uniform (taken in April 1947). That uniform is in storage currently.

This project will take years. I have only barely scratched the surface, but some of these first photos I have already digitized have provided a glimpse into the man I knew, but also who I didn’t know. But, beyond his history, at the same time, he captured history around him- in the Navy, and when he settled in Chicago after the war and became a civilian again. For example, he took photos of the city from vantage points that I have taken in my work.

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The featured photo in this blog is a photo my dad took, looking south down Damen Ave. from the Damen Avenue elevated CTA stop in September 1946. The last photo is one I took last summer, from just about the same spot he took his. Although, at the time I took mine, I had no idea he had taken the same photo nearly 70 years ago. This journey has just started, and I cannot wait to see what other treasures he left behind! I hope you all will join me on this journey!