Sunday, June 30, 2024

BACK AGAIN

 

Returning once again to my home town, this time with Mrs. C and granddaughter Ellie. This is one of the many entrances to the Times Square subway station. Ellie liked the subway but not being out on these streets. She said it felt crowded, loud, confusing and a little scary. Welcome to New  York, kid.          

Saturday, June 29, 2024

NYC - REVIEW AND PREVIEW

 

The family arrives in New York this afternoon and Ellie is pumped. This is a picture I took two years ago at the observation floor of The Summit, one of  the city’s newer mega-tall towers, this one next to Grand Central Station. The special thing is that the walls, floors and ceilings are all mirrored.  You have to wear special booties over your shoes so you don’t scratch the floor. We are booked for a visit on Monday.          

Friday, June 28, 2024

FINAL NOTES

 

A last image of the members of Moon Valley who performed at the opening of 3rd Space. The TinType app makes for interesting images. New York tomorrow.                                

Thursday, June 27, 2024

BACKLIGHTING

 

We’ll be a little low on material until we get to New York on Saturday but this will do for now.          

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

A MAN WITH A HORN


Moon Valley has at least six members who can perform in smaller groups. There were three playing on Sunday evening. I think this is Ryan Bouma, but those involved should correct me if I’m wrong.

The photo technique here is an iPhone camera app called TinType, that replicates old fuzzy images that were printed on small metal plates. Fun, and cheap - US$ 1.        

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

MOON VALLEY


Sunday evening's patio party included entertainment from three members of the music ensemble Moon Valley, https://moonvalleymusic.net/ . Founder and native Scotsman Gavin Duffy plays guitar, mandolin and sings the many songs he has written. Two other members of the group joined him, whom we will soon see. I'll run with this for a bit. Back in New York Saturday with our granddaughter, so more Big Apple images but from a kid's eye view.

We might set a record high temperature for the date today. What else is new.

  .                                

Monday, June 24, 2024

SOIRÉE

 

Sunday evening get-together, pot luck dinner and chance to meet interesting people at the home of our friends, Lohr and Carrie, the moving force behind our Artica festival, https://articastl.com/ . I do some images for them. https://tinyurl.com/yc7fn7ajThe musicians, part of a group called Moon Valley, were wonderful. More about them to come.

The event also celebrated the opening of Lohr and Carrie’s co-working, event and community venue, 3rd Space, https://3rdspace.llc. Likely I’ll be photographing goings-on there. 

Sunday, June 23, 2024

TRANQUILITY

 

The same fake ruins and fountain in Tower Grove Park, seen from across the pond. One of the things I like about this place is the feeling of calm and quiet, unless a festival is being held there. Much in contrast to its bigger and better-known competitor, Forest Park, which can be just packed.                 

Saturday, June 22, 2024

FAKE

 

An odd feature in Tower Grove Park: there is an area of fake ruins beside a pond, sort of a Romantic fantasy dropped down in the Midwest. It’s not like the park is set on a foggy moor. This was built in the 19th Century and seems pretty strange today. Still, people like it. You often see wedding parties being photographed here.               

Friday, June 21, 2024

SUMMER SOLSTICE

 

It’s not like anyone here needs a news bulletin that summer has arrived. No need to rehash the common complaints about the heat. I’ll just say that I didn’t spend a lot of time out of my car when I visited Tower Grove Park. I gave this picture a bit of an old color postcard look, thinking about what used to be normal.             

Thursday, June 20, 2024

RING OF FIRE


The band wasn’t playing a Johnny Cash cover as Caleb Carinci-Asch prepared to hurl himself through a flaming hoop and, if all went according to plan, land on the horse’s back on the other side. (Spoiler: he nailed it.). Again, how do you prepare for this? I could probably find my own ring of fire by walking around the streets of St. Louis today, but it’s going to be even worse over the weekend.                  


Wednesday, June 19, 2024

JUMP ROPE

 

The equestrians are back. Run the horse around the ring, stretch a rope across a radius and, well, let it fly. This is hard for me to understand. How do you train for it? How do you accommodate mistakes?

I really need to get back out on the street and find some new material. However, as you may have heard, the northeastern quarter of the U.S. is in the oven this week. Maybe there is something interesting indoors.             

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

TRUST

 

There is another circus organization in St. Louis. Circus Harmony has trained children and teens to perform gymnastics and circus acts, with performances around the world. One of the things they learn is reliance on their teammates. This may be what they call a leap of faith.                               

Monday, June 17, 2024

EQUUS

 

I’m at least mildly afraid of horses. After all, they are a lot bigger than I am and, if things went the wrong, way they could do you some real harm. The only horses around when I was young were under New York policemen. I certainly don’t know how to ride them. So I have great admiration for artists like Caleb Carinci-Asch and Leah Innocenti, who do things that could do them some real harm, and carry it off with aplomb.                   

Sunday, June 16, 2024

WHEEL OF DEATH



Peru native Carlos Morales began performing circuses at age 12. After mastering more and more complex feats, he began touring with the so-called Wheel of Death. These two photos can only hint at its complexity and daring. Walking in or outside the bigger wheel causes the whole thing to rotate. We are staggered to think the source of the idea, its design, testing, maintenance and transportation.              

Saturday, June 15, 2024

INVERTED JUGGLING

 

I don’t have a lot going for me in the eye-hand coordination department. Can’t juggle two objects, let alone three or more. We usually think of these artists throwing things in the air. However, Tersit Asefa Dersu, a native of Ethiopia, turns it upside down. She calls herself a bounce juggler. When you throw a ball in the air, you have some leeway to work the parabola on the way down. When you bounce one off a hard surface, geometry is unforgiving. I got this image at a high shutter speed but it can’t give the feeling of the frantic, precise pace at which she was working.             

Friday, June 14, 2024

DOES OSHA KNOW ABOUT THIS?

 

For our international friends. OSHA is the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for worker safety standards. 

A staple of Circus Flora is the performance by the renowned acrobatic family, the Flying Wallendas, three generations of high wire artists. Tino is the patriarch, possibly as old as me. Son Alex, in this shot, has grandson Matteo strapped tightly to his shoulders. But they are probably 10 meters off the ground with no net. The family does this day after day, but should the authorities be concerned?            

Thursday, June 13, 2024

CIRCUS FLORA: THE LEADS

 

Circus Flora productions always have a thread of a story, a thin frame from which to hang comedy and spectacular circus acts. The current show is called Marooned, some fluff about pirates stuck on a tropical island and looking for treasure. There is always a ring mistress/narrator, Cecil MacKinnon, and a principal character, here pirate chief Brett Alters.                  

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

AT THE CIRCUS


One of the nice things about this town is that it it has its own resident circus company, Circus Flora, and the company has its own permanent big top tent. Their main production is in June. We take Ellie and I post pictures every year. They can be full of action but nothing unexpected. I think this one is different. What muscles.            

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

CULTURAL RELIC

 

Ah, American cuisine. This is one of the odds and ends in the City Museum’s collection. Big Boy (originally Bob’s Big Boy in Southern California - no relation) is a fast food burger chain whose fortunes have waxed and waned. I’ve seen a few in Los Angeles. There is apparently one left around here, open limited  hours. The sandwich and the waistline says it all.              

Monday, June 10, 2024

AMUSEMENTS


Still at the City Museum. The sign may be from an old amusement park or carnival. The sign and passage don’t lead to anything in particular, which may be the point.              

Sunday, June 9, 2024

WIZARD


Ever since I was a young boy, I've played the silver ball…  Pinball was quite my fancy when I was young. I was almost late for my last final exam in law school because my friend and I had so many free games rung up on our favorite machine. But that was long ago. On Friday, Ellie and I went to our nothing-else-like-it-in-the-world City Museum. For a few dollars, you can play a large suite of antique machines for as long as you like. The kid, a child of 21st Century tech, isn’t interested.              

Saturday, June 8, 2024

TEMPORARY TATTOO


Change of scene. As the sometime kid entertainment director, I took Ellie to the ever-popular City Museum yesterday. El made a beeline for an air brush temporary tattoo station. She took a long time deciding among the many designs. She will show it proudly until time makes it fade.                 


Friday, June 7, 2024

INFINITE ELLIE HEADS


The subject of this picture came up with the caption. I think it looks like a beehive. This was a big kaleidoscope at the Museum of Illusions. One of Ellie is usually enough. My friend and I are going to the City Museum today so we will have something new to show tomorrow.              

Thursday, June 6, 2024

OFF THE WALL



More Spiderman stuff? More mirrors. Ellie and her precious cloth lambies are not leaping through the air. They are lying on the floor off the bottom of the frame. The camera is facing the back mirror wall.                              

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

ANTI-GRAVITY



Granddaughter Ellie doing her Spiderman act. Another feature at the Museum of Illusions, of course. Easy to figure out how it’s done but you need Photoshop or something similar to flip vertically and horizontally.                

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

THE VANISHING KID

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, or in front of the wall, or on the side wall, all precisely positioned. The right side of this image is a mirror set closer to the viewer than the wall on the left. There is a small ladder behind the front-facing mirror for Ellie to hang from, dangling just a bit of her body in direct view.                  

Monday, June 3, 2024

MADELEINE MONDAY

Another from the Museum of Illusions. One of my sometimes rambunctious granddaughter is quite enough.                  

Sunday, June 2, 2024

COUNT THE PENTAGONS

A new amusement in town, something called the Museum of Illusions. It's not a new idea, however. The place is a franchise, with 40-plus locations around the world. Ours opened a couple of weeks ago. It is well done and Ellie had a good time. On the other hand, it takes about an hour to go through and is overpriced. More to come.        

Saturday, June 1, 2024

CITY DAILY PHOTO JUNE THEME - OUTDOOR CAFES

I have a problem with this month's theme. We don't dine al fresco much, generally preferring the comfort and, in the city, quiet of an indoor dining room. A search of my archives turned up nothing appropriate from the local scene. We regularly dine outdoors, however, during our frequent trips to Costa Rica. In fact, there are few opportunities to eat indoors in the beach town of Tamarindo that we usually visit. This will have to do. BTW, I wouldn't be caught dead in that  shirt.  

See other CDP members' favorite open air spots at https://citydailyphoto.org/category/theme-days/