Smile!

You think you have privacy?  Wrong.

I am away but I have scheduled daily posts.  Please visit, even though my own ability to see your posts might be limited.

The Old Guard

The local newspaper had a notice last Tuesday, indicating that The Old Guard was meeting at the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 10 a.m.  The Old Guard was described as an organization for retired businessmen.

I imagined six stooped old guys in plaid shirts playing cards.  I thought they might make a good picture.  So, I put on an old sweater and jeans, grabbed my camera, and went.

The Old Guard has 300 members.  They attend lectures, perform charitable work like delivering meals to the elderly and infirm, and organize outings.  And, they wear nice jackets and ties.

I took a couple pictures and sneaked out of there.  If I can find a jacket and tie, I might go back some time . . .

Mixed Messages

So, what do you think we should do?

I am away and will be back in a week.  See you then.  Meanwhile, I have posts scheduled for every day.

Fire Training

The Connecticut Fire Academy is near the airport.  It has a tower where firefighters learn fire-fighting techniques.

Manchester Road Race

The Manchester Road Race is a 4.75 mile race run on Thanksgiving morning.  There are 15,000 registered runners and many more who run without registering. 

Among the runners were 23 members of my neighbor Jack's family.  You have met Jack before, here and here.  Jack -- at the bottom right -- is 80 years old.  He ran the race again this year, as he always does.  Five of his ten children ran, along with assorted spouses and grandchildren.

I left town before they came back from the race, so I don't know how they did.  But, it is a very athletic family.  I'll bet they all ran well.

Happy Birthday, Susie!

Susie entered our lives on this day 28 years ago.  She has been enhancing it ever since, even though these days she usually chooses to be on a different continent!!!  There are so many memories and pictures I could use today, but this one always makes me laugh.

In 1991 we rented a house at the beach.  The residents hosted games for the kids.  One of the games was pie eating.  There is nothing funnier than watching a dozen eight year olds dive face-first into a blueberry pie!

Of course, Susie won.  Did you doubt it?

Happy birthday, Susie!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am traveling for ten days but will return in early December.  Internet access is likely to be difficult.  Meanwhile, I have scheduled daily posts, so please visit. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Don't eat too much.

Old State House

The Old State House looked pretty good at night last weekend.  Contrast it with a mid-summer daytime view, here.

Remember All Those Red Umbrellas?

If you want to work at Travelers, you better like red umbrellas.  This is an overhead walkway on the Travelers campus, connecting the tower building to another building.

This post is linked to Ruby Tuesday.

Ichiro

Rachel and her daughter Amanda ate at the table next to my son and me. After they left, they stood outside talking so I could frame them in Ichiro's window.  Amanda is a model in Manhattan, so posing was natural for her.

Fall

When I look past the storm damage, it is very pretty this time of year.

Clean-up

I arrived back in Connecticut two days ago.  Power was out in most parts of the state for nine to thirteen days.  Now the emphasis is on cleaning up the downed trees and limbs, as well as the usual fall task of removing leaves.  The sound of chain saws and leaf removal equipment is almost deafening. 

Church Street

I have been trying to bounce images off cars, but this is the first one I have liked.  It was taken on Church Street in downtown Hartford.  A parking garage is on the left.

You can see more images with reflections on James' Weekend Reflections.



Goodwin Building

The Goodwin Building has an elaborate red-brick facade on the lower floors and a modern tower rising from the middle.

The rear of the building is less elaborate, but also appealing.

The building is from 1881.

Sport and Medical Sciences Academy

Hartford's Sport and Medical Sciences Academy is a magnet school built in the shadow of the old Colt factory.  In the summer, the school hosts an elite basketball program in the main gym.

This school was one of four in the City of Hartford named one of the best high schools in America by U.S. News & World Report.  The school attained this ranking by producing conspicuously better results than would be expected for the demographics in the school system.  This is SMSA's fourth successive year in the rankings.  For a poor city like Hartford, with a high concentration of low income students, this is an achievement worth trumpeting.

So, I did.

The Travelers' Red Umbrella Again (and Again)

 A flash shot from under the Travelers' red umbrella produced a nice washed-out image.

The red umbrella also greets travelers at the Hartford-Springfield airport. Projectors cast six large red umbrellas on the wall.  Each big red umbrella is made up of thousands of little red umbrellas.  As passengers break the light beam, the little umbrellas jump around, amusing passers-by.

This post is linked to Ruby Tuesday.

Mixed Media

This is the atrium for a gallery next to Theater Works.  An art gallery . . . a sinewy curving sculpture-bench . . . posters for past Theater Works productions . . . and the armed services recruiting offices!

P.J. works in the building and demonstrates that the bench is intended for sitting. 

In yesterday's comments, VP and Lynette filled in the blanks by identifying the art that I didn't.  You are both amazing!

Miscellany IV - I'm Sorry

Here are photographs I took during my visit to the Wadsworth Atheneum for the Patti Smith exhibition.

This acrobat flies above the Avery Court, just below the skylight.  The sign crediting the sculptor is on the third floor and I didn't want to climb three flights to get it.  Sorry.

This friendly woman was a study in black and white.  When I asked if I could take her picture, she graciously permitted it, all the while complaining about how pictures of her never come out well.  (Sorry, I didn't write her name down and now I can't remember it.)

This bust was donated by J. Pierpont Morgan.  The security guard walked through that door four times for me, so I could catch him mid-stride.  I didn't get the name of the sculptor or the guard either.  Sorry.

I rested my camera on the bench and waited for someone to walk into the exhibition hall.  I didn't get his name either, nor did I write down the name of the big painting or the artist.  Sorry.

LeeAnn

The Joseloff Gallery of the University of Hartford is holding its Faculty Art Exhibition.  It runs through December.  Among the exhibiting faculty members is LeeAnn Cogswell, a sculptor.

  

LeeAnn  was an exhibitor at an outdoor arts festival I attended in September.  She was working on a bas relief.,

A Special Day

November 11 was chosen for Veterans Day because Germany signed the Armistice ending the first world war on November 11, 1918.

This flag is made from Nike sneakers.  It is at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, half an hour up U.S. Route 91 from Hartford.

My boss for 11 years retires today, 11-11-11, at 11:11 a.m.  Congratulations, Mike.  Well done!  And, thank you for the opportunities.

Miscellany III

More pictures I couldn't fit in the blog in the summer.

Here we have . . .  

a mother-son moment at a summer concert in Elizabeth Park . . .  

a fireboat making a practice run in the Connecticut River, near the riverfront parks . . .  

a cow statue at the Children's Museum, sponsored by Guida's Milk, a local dairy . . . 

and ebony-and-ivory martial arts practitioners in an exhibition at an Asian festival on the riverfront in the summer.

Angles and Ornament

Fairfield Avenue, Hartford

Cloud 9

Maple Avenue, Hartford

Here is a change of pace.  It is a simple one, shown just because I like the contrast between old and new.

The Capitol at Night

Above is a night photo of the Connecticut Capitol building, completed in 1878.  Below is a view of the Legislative Office Building (1988) and the walkway that connects the LOB to the grounds of the Capitol.  A ramp to U.S. Route 84 runs between the two buildings, under the walkway.


My power came back on yesterday.

"Get in closer"

I was in San Francisco and Napa for ten days in October.  The first three days were at a photography workshop.

Some of the take-aways were to include people more often (don't wait until they walk out of the frame) . . . include details that provide a sense of the place you are visiting, and . . . "get in closer."  Here are four of the pictures I took during the workshop, trying to incorporate these goals into my pictures.

I need a lot more practice . . .

Chinatown music store, with a customer trying out an erhu -- a Chinese fiddle with two strings.  He was a skilled performer, a willing photography subject and the music was ethereal. 

Young man walking past a Chinatown mural.

Farmer's market.

Sorry, no "sense of place" here, but I thought she was a pretty cool kid.  When I asked her "Look that way" and then "Now look over there," she adjusted as if she had been modeling her whole life.

Emancipation

This is a 2006 sculpture by Preston Jackson, located on the Founders Bridge across the Connecticut River.  Jackson is a professor of sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.  A press release when the sculpture was dedicated says it "illustrates the tragedy of enslavement as well as the joy and exhilaration of knowing that freedom has at last become a reality."

The sculpture is one of fifteen honoring Abraham Lincoln's life and accomplishments.  It is on the Lincoln Sculpture Walk, funded by Lincoln Financial and organized by Riverfront Recapture and the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

I had a critical comment two days ago about not showing the difficulty that Hartford is facing in recovering from the "October Surprise" snow storm.  There are three responses.  First, this is a photo blog, not a news blog, and I like to show photos that interest me.   Second, after showing the broken trees and downed wires two days ago, you get the idea.  More of the same isn't of much value.  And, third, I am sitting in a Starbucks in Florida.  No sense freezing in a dark and unheated Connecticut house.  Needless to say, these are pre-storm photos.