Chicago nights
A rainy night in Chicago, and I was downtown grabbing some shots of their iconic theater…
I was in Chicago recently, and one evening after a little rain, I wandered over to the Chicago Theater to capture a shot of that iconic spot. I have seen plenty of pics of this over the years, and always wanted to get some. I was traveling light, with just a prime lens, but what I lacked in versatility I gained in mobility. I took quite a few shots while I was standing there, and loved every minute of it!
Chasing fame and fortune
A couple of shots of that most famous of signs out West…
Whenever I see a picture of the Hollywood sign, I think of all the stories of all the people who ran out there chasing fame and fortune. Most of them are forgotten, and have moved on, but I am sure it still draws quite a few every year. Not me though, I would never want to live in LA. But when I was there, I definitely wanted to go see the sign!
Seattle sunsets
A lovely sunset in Seattle…
I was in Seattle in November, and on evening was able to get down to Pike Place Market to take some shots. It had been a nice afternoon, with some clouds, and I was hoping that the sunset would turn into something decent. So I popped into a place to have a beer, and when I emerged it was full-on sunset. I was frantically running here and there to capture the light, because it was just beautiful. Luckily I didn’t miss this one!
Moulin Rouge at night
A long exposure of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, taken after dark one evening...
This place is magical after dark!
I love neon signs when they are all lit up at night - I just find it gorgeous. On our last trip to Paris, I made sure to get over here to the Moulin Rouge one evening so I could capture it. On our previous trip, I ended up here during the day which is definitely not as exciting.
So I arrived after dark and set up on a little pedestrian island sort of in the street, trying to keep people from standing in front of my camera while I took this long exposure. Generally they were considerate, which is great, and I was able to capture exactly what I wanted.
Yes, that windmill thing atop the Moulin Rouge does turn, and that was my goal - to capture a long exposure so it would blur out and look like it is spinning pretty fast. Done!
The Blue Swallow Motel
The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM along Route 66...
I finally made it here and it's awesome!
I have wanted to visit this motel for many years now. I had seen photos online and just knew it was something I had to photograph myself. Well I finally had the chance during my Route 66 trip!
The Blue Swallow Motel is located in Tucumcari, NM along historic Route 66. That town was my destination for a night during my recent Route 66 drive. There were several things on my list for that town, so I knew I wanted to spend the night to make sure I had enough time to see them all.
On the day I was planning to arrive there, I was looking online for hotel rooms nearby and most everything was open, but uninspiring. You know, just boring chain hotels that were all sort of "blah" looking. Then I just happened to look at the website for the Blue Swallow Motel, and called them. They had a room and I took it, so I actually got to spend the night here, too. It was excellent!
I went to an early dinner so I could have plenty of time around sunset and blue hour to shoot here. While I was eating, it started raining. I was really worried that it would rain all night and I would miss my one chance to shoot here. Luckily, it stopped about the time I finished eating, and though the sunset wasn't much the blue hour with all the storm clouds was fantastic. I stood here for about an hour and took countless shots of the motel. I absolutely loved it.
The owners are really nice and you are welcome to photograph it to your hearts content - so I did!
Greetings from ATX
I finally got a chance to shoot the ATX sign in downtown Austin one recent morning...
This awesome sign sits in downtown Austin, right in front of Whole Foods. I have been by it SO MANY TIMES, and never in good light. Finally, I arose early one recent morning and headed downtown. As I was getting close to town I remembered that I wanted to shoot it and I made a quick stop. Downtown is pretty easy to shoot at 6am. There's no one to get in your way!
Nashville neon
Getting up early when in Nashville is well worth it. You get to enjoy the busiest part of town all by yourself, and no one gets in your photos! :-)
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Some goodness from Seattle
I love to visit Seattle, and luckily we made a stop there on our big trip this past summer. Unluckily, it was only for 1 night. But I did get a wonderful sunset out of the stop, so I can't complain about that! Here are some pics from Pike Place Market during that sweet, sweet sunset!
Have you been to Seattle? I think it's a beautiful city.
We spent a quick day/night in Seattle this past summer, as we were turning back to Texas and making the long drive home at the end of our summer of awesomeness. The city deserves (and frankly, requires) quite a bit more time than we were able to give it, but it wasn't our first time there and likely won't be our last. It was a short stop by design (sadly).
The primary thing we did was wander around Pike Place Market, and we did that a couple of times: sunset on the night we arrived, and the following morning before we departed. I was rather pleased with how the sunset turned out, and rather pleased that I had my camera with me (though you wouldn't really expect me not to, right?).
So today's pics are a handful from that evening's sunset, all taken at Pike Place Market, and mostly of the signs there, which I love. I actually have a large backlog of photos that I have processed from past trips (San Francisco, Copenhagen, Glasgow, France, etc), and I am trying to work them into the blog here when I can. This isn't exactly a chronological blog in any way, so I tend to mix things up anyways. It makes it more fun for me, and hopefully you enjoy the varied assortment. Plus, I am a little scatter-brained at times. :-)
Anyways, I am currently distracted with working on pics from my recent trip to Norway and Scotland, which was an awesome trip by the way, thanks for asking! :-) I have a dozen or so processed from Norway and I will be sharing those soon, so be sure and come back for a look.
Thanks for clicking by today!
Signs you're in Portland
Portland Oregon is a great town! While we were in Oregon this summer, we spent a long day there exploring quite a bit of it. Here are some photos of some cool signs I spotted while there. Enjoy!
Just some wonderful Portland signage today!
I love signs and tend to shoot them a lot when I travel. On our big summer trip, we took one day and drove up to Portland to hang out and have fun (and eat doughnuts!). It was pretty awesome, and made more awesome by the fact that I got to enjoy some tasty beer, incredible doughnuts, and even got an amazing sunset while there! Good times!
So today's post is a short one, in terms of what I'm writing, but I wanted to share these shots and encourage you to go to Portland, and to take some sign photos while there! (oh yeah, and try the doughnuts!)
(click any photo to enlarge by the way!)
Experiencing a different side of Las Vegas
Good old Las Vegas - so much to shoot there, and such an interesting place! Today's post is a collection of pics from Fremont Street, which is in old Vegas. It's a cab ride away from The Strip, and a much different experience. Enjoy!
There's a LOT to aim the camera at when in Las Vegas - and it's not all on the strip!
I like Las Vegas, photographically speaking. I don't want to live there, but I enjoy traveling there and taking photos of the place. It's a bit of a photographic wonderland. Regardless of what you like to shoot, you can probably find it in Vegas.
On my last trip out there (back in February of this year), I made a point to get away from The Strip and had read about a section of old Las Vegas that has been redeveloped. It's Fremont Street, and there is a lot going on there.
In addition to some old casinos (with a lot of character), there are some cool neon signs to shoot as well, which is something I love. So I got there late one afternoon and fired away. It was a lot of fun, and a nice diversion from the insanity of The Strip (which is the only part of Vegas that I had ever seen before this).
So today's post is a small collection of what I shot there that afternoon. I took many more shots as day turned to evening, and will share those another time. I just need to find some more time to process them. I say that a lot don't I? :-)
And as you can probably tell, I processed some of these photos a bit differently than I normally do. While I am a creature of habit (and do like my normal style of processing), I thought that these signs were much more fun and interesting when done with a bit of a vintage twist.
So I took them all into Analog Efex Pro2 and hammered away at them. It was fun to experiment and I always find that I learn something when I do experiment. In fact, I hope to experiment more with both my shooting styles and processing styles as this year continues to unfold.
Well that's it - just a quick tour of a few spots I found interesting in Las Vegas! If you find yourself in Sin City, take a break from The Strip and head over to Fremont Street! You'll be glad you did!
Shooting sunset on Burnet Road
I love signs and graffiti - and sunset, 'natch! - and caught all 3 on a recent outing here in Austin. It's great to travel and shoot in various spots around the world, but it's also great to shoot interesting things near home. It's easier to get there, too LOL!
Austin has some pretty great spots, if you know where to look!
Hey Cupcake started as a food trailer, but now has a store on Burnet Road. And yes the cupcakes are delicious!
I have always been intrigued by this sign, and just happened to arrive during a wonderful sunset!
A few weeks back, I had a couple of nights at home by myself (well, me and the dog, that is) and so I did what anyone would do in that situation: I went out to shoot a bunch! (What, that's not what you would do?) ;-)
I have a long list of spots here in Austin that I want to shoot (and a very popular list here on the blog of spots that I have already shot), and so I took advantage of that free time to get out and check a few things off my list. You see, when I am driving somewhere in Austin, inevitably I pass something that I think would make a cool photo, and I make a mental note to tell myself to make an actual note of it, so I can remember to go back and shoot it.
I have to write it down, or I will never remember it. Signs of age, I guess.
The Little Longhorn Saloon has been on Burnet Road for as long as I can remember. I've never been inside.
Upper Crust Bakery, another long-time spot
How great is the sign at Lucy's Fried Chicken?
Tiny Pies - never eaten there, but sure sounds good!
So when I am at a stoplight or parked, I grab the iPhone, open up my "Things to shoot in Austin" note, and type it in. I've been doing this for years, and it works great. The note is always with me, and when I shoot it I get the pleasure of erasing it from my list. Well, it's a pleasure to me, but then again I love scratching things off lists. Makes me feel like I accomplished something.
So this list mostly just grows, but every now and then I get out while I am home and fire away at some of these things. It's pretty awesome to shoot in your hometown. It may sound stupid to say that, but I travel frequently and while that can be fun too, it's nice to just be in a reasonably familiar spot, yet still shooting at stuff that you find interesting.
I've never been in Top Drawer Thrift, but it's a cool storefront right? maybe I should go there and look for antique cameras.
Top Notch Burgers is famous for being in the movie Dazed and Confused, which included local celeb Matthew McConaughey. I have never seen him here.
Top Notch runs their own movie nights now, shown on a wall via a projector. They set up plastic chairs in the parking lot.
And by the way, I also make notes in my phone of spots I want to shoot in other cities that I have plans to visit. I do a lot of research before I go on a trip, so when I get there I already have a plan. There's nothing worse than being somewhere new and exciting, and not having any idea what to go shoot. Figure it out before you go, so you don't waste your time when you are there.
Anyways, back to the Austin stuff.
One area of town that is quite fun is along Burnet Road. It used to be mostly older and almost run-down retail stores, but it's a pretty decent part of town, it's somewhat close to the city center, and it's becoming more and more popular. Over the last few years it's really started to get popular. Cool new stuff is getting built (but not big name chains - mostly local cool stuff, as far as I can tell, which is great because we want to Keep Austin Weird) and it has the added benefit of being a short drive from my house. So I popped over there a couple of times and fired away at neon signs and some of the stores that I thought just looked cool, which I love to do. Something about signs and interesting storefronts just gets to me.
And a stunning sunset and blue hour never hurts. :-)
Upper Crust Bakery - love that sign!! Ain't it cool??!
just stepped a little to the left after that last shot
Then of course I drove around to a few more spots and fired away at some store murals and graffiti, which are basically the same thing except that one is intended for the spot and the other one isn't. :-)
Anyways, it was a very productive week in terms of taking photos and checking things off my list - two things that get me pretty excited! Thanks for having a look!
Oh and by the way, I just converted over to Lightroom CC and it's amazing. I will have more to say about that transition soon. If you weren't aware, I have used Aperture for the last several years, and since Apple killed that product I had to move. About a year ago, I wrote this post right after Apple announced they were ceasing development of Aperture. A year later, I finally got something done - and got to check another thing off my list LOL!
I have no idea who did this, but it's freakin' amazing.
I Love Video (I Heart Video, maybe?) is on Airport Blvd and I just had to run by here for a couple of shots.
the aztec king of tamales, I guess?
Also shot at I Love Video on Airport Blvd.
The incredible neon in Nashville
Today's post is all about that great American tradition: neon signs! In particular, this is a collection of photos of some of the wonderful neon signs in downtown Nashville, TN. I was there last week, and I shot a bunch of this stuff. Hope you enjoy it!
Do you love neon signs as much as I do?
I have a serious thing for neon signs. They seem to just scream "Americana" to me. I'm certain they are not exclusive to the US, but with the wide usage of them back in the mid-20th century here, they seem to be a hallmark of the old days in this country.
I just love to see them, and of course photograph them. So on my recent trip to Nashville, I made a point of getting downtown to Broadway Avenue a couple of times, so that I could do just that!
For the uninitiated, Broadway Avenue in downtown Nashville, TN is pretty much the center of their entertainment district, and it's populated with a LOT of country and western bars, honky-tonks, restaurants, shops and of course - AMAZING NEON SIGNS! Click!
Every time I go to Nashville, this is a place I end up shooting. It's just that awesome. So I spent a fair bit of time here last week, firing away, wandering, firing again, taking a few steps and firing again...it's rather addictive. Well, to me at least. So here's a collection of shots. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed shooting them!
And if you know any other towns with a great collection of signs like this, let me know! (Las Vegas for sure!)
(click any photo to view in a lightbox)
Top Notch burgers
This is one of those iconic signs in Austin, and this place was made famous in the movie "Dazed and Confused". Anyone remember that movie? It was written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starred up-and-comers such as Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck and some others. It's sort of a classic, at least in some circles. Anyways, some of the scenes were filmed here, and it just so happens this place is about 5 minutes from my house. I was passing by recently, and having eyed this sign for a long time finally pulled over and took the dang shot. Do you have shots in mind that just float around forever, until you finally get them done? I sure do, and now I can get this off my list. Sadly, this was mid-morning and the light wasn't that great, so I may have to return around sunset one day and get it all lit up. It's tough having an addiction sometimes!
Though I am posting this on Thursday night, it will be Friday by the time most anyone reads it, so I wanted to take a moment and recognize our Veterans since Friday is Veterans Day. My Dad served for 30 years, and I have many friends who do or have served. I just want to say that I really appreciate all the service and sacrifices that are made on behalf of our country.
Also, Friday happens to be my wife's birthday, so Happy Birthday love!
Late Dogs Nite
Just a sign I found while wandering in Austin. I love signs, and always enjoy the interesting things I see on them. This one really caught my eye. Have a great weekend and thanks for looking!
Queen of Pies
I shoot a lot of photos of signs. I just like them. Truth is, I am not sure why. I don't recall paying any attention to them prior to being a photographer. But now, they always catch my eye, and I am always looking for them. Well, I can accept it. They're cool.
This is from Home Slice Pizza in downtown Austin, which is fabulous. I pushed these pixels around quite a bit, to the point that this photo doesn't much resemble the original...but hey, why not? Sometimes you just need to do that.