CITY DAILY PHOTO AUGUST THEME DAY - BLACK

Trying to think outside of the box today. From an old photo taken at STL's Annie Malone parade.            

THEY DON'T LOOK THAT BAD

A bit more of the black Masons. There seem to be a number of different lodges and I've seen these men on their antique fire truck before. I guess the slogan is an affectation. They look like they wouldn't hurt a fly.              

BACK TO WORK

We just finished the three day Memorial Day weekend in the US. Many of us are having trouble getting getting back into the swing of work, perhaps including this man in the Annie Malone parade. It is already summertime hot here. There have been days of record-setting temperatures across much of the Southeast and severe tornadoes have been dancing around the Midwest, skipping us - so far.

Our family heads to New England in a week, where we expect things will be different. Could be downright chilly in the evening when we reach Down East Maine.             

BABE?

I got you - babe? Covered? In the palm of my hand? American lawyers have to market themselves. My tiny boutique firm works on it, or else. So does Attorney White, but he doesn't guarantee what you will get.

This was one of the groups in the Annie Malone parade. By the way, no arm wrestling with the guy on the right.        

HAIL

One of my favorite parts of the Annie Malone parade is the black Masons. The organization was founded in 1784 as a reaction to racism. Whatever you think of Masonry, the members in this parade are impeccably tailored and exude dignity.

Of course, Masonry in its current American form is full of Arab-ish mumbo-jumbo and gives its officials wild names. The sign on the car (a Cadillac) in the third picture hints at this. Missouri, in general, has moderate rainfall but some people of a, um, progressive bent might agree with the metaphor, except for some parts of St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia.   

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU

Very late post today. Once again, a day when more people wanted a piece of me than there is me to go around. Plus my back is some worse. Pain management specialist next month. 

Some day I'm going to read up on the psychology and sociology of parades. We sure have a lot of them around here. One of my favorites is the Annie Malone parade. The foundation she started in 1888 provides wonderful services for children and families in our African-American community. 

The parade celebrates their mission and work. It's always colorful and, like most of our parades, has its share of ironies. The top picture shows a big pickup promoting what we call a title loan company. If you have a title to a car - the legal ownership document - without debt on it, you can hand it over for a cash advance, repayable at horrifying interest rates. If you don't make the payments, they get your car. Controversial, to say the least. In the second picture, a woman hanging out the window of a Cadillac limousine publicizing a mortuary.

Draw your own conclusions.

            

High Five

Running a bit low on material - just too much time at work, none left to go out and shoot. So, a motorcycle cop at some parade working the crowd. The policeman, as they say, is your friend. 

Maybe a little break would be in order until a road trip we have planned later this week. Kansas City on Thursday. Wheat, sunshine and rolling prairie beyond.  

What Is This Man Doing?

Let's make a projective test out of it. What do you see? I'll give you one hint: it's in a parade. More details later.   

Lawyer Advertising

Americans all see plenty of lawyer advertising. It's a bit of an oversimplification but years ago the Supreme Court ruled it is a matter of free speech, as long as it is not deceptive. This often shocks people I meet from other countries. My little firm advertises. We have to. Our field is competitive.

Some of it is creative and some of it is coarse. This is an example of both from a local colleague who handles personal injury cases. Love all those dollar signs.

                            

Slow Down

St. Louis loves parades and we throw in anything that can roll or walk. Always motorcycle police, fire trucks and the state highway patrol. I hate to see these cars in my rear view mirror, even it I'm right on the speed limit.The officers all look like they just retired from the Marine Corps and have no sense of humor at all.                       

Llama

Yes, a llama in Market Street. We know all about llamas.

From the Annie Malone parade, seen some years in these pages.

Hot Cops

I often have what psych types call loose associations, something making a person think of something else that is not obviously related. It can be a sign of mental illness or creativity; you pick. As I started to edit this picture the first thing I thought of was the Village People's old disco hit Hot Cop. I bet you'll never meet a cop as funky as these.

Anyway, yes, we have a lot of parades in St. Louis and it seems like every blessed one of them has motorcycle policemen. There are two St. Louis city officers and a Missouri Highway Patrolman in this shot. Photos like these always get a lot of views when I post them on Flickr.  There may be lurkers on Flickr who think these guys really are hot.

It's almost bizarre but we have English Premier League soccer in town tonight. Chelsea and Manchester City are playing an exhibition match at the baseball stadium (where a soccer pitch does not fit well). I tried to get tickets but they were sold out within 10 minutes of when they went on sale on the web.       

Noble Dwayne Sargent & Friends

We got a lot of Shriners around here. It's a branch of Freemasonry. This being St. Louis, we have black Shriners and white Shriners. The former are always part of the Annie Malone parade and I've gotten some good pictures of them in the past (like this and this). Here are a couple more.

I couldn't get the color correction right on these to save my life. Need to take a class or find an online tutorial. Crummy light that day.       

Not What It Seems

Scenes from the Annie Malone parade.

The young man at the top likes his brand identification. He's not off to play a chukker, though. More like on his way to the Venetian carnival.

The picture below is not war reporting despite how it looks. A girl had just set down her doll  while she viewed the parade at the fence. Off-kilter images attract me.
 

Annie Malone Parade

At the Annie Malone Parade yesterday, a favorite annual photo op. The Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center has done a great deal of good for St. Louis' African-American community for 125 years. The parade gives its friends and supporters an opportunity to strut their stuff. However, the graphics display on its home page uses two of my photos from last year, without my permission as best I can tell. Note to webmaster: busted. Don't do it again, or else.

You meet the nicest people at events like this. It's common that people see me walk by, sagging under two DSLRs and a bag-o-lenses, and ask me to take their picture. That's what happened with the charming family in the first picture. I would not want to arm wrestle with the guy on the left, though.

The second shot are members of the marching band from our Visual And Performing Arts School. More to follow.        

Youngest & Dopest

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A last picture from the Annie Malone Parade. Tomorrow we turn to Memorial Day weekend events, starting with the Bluesweek festival.

This young man was riding in the back of a pickup truck. The speakers were blasting an electronic rhythm track. He chanted "three - one - four - THREE - ONE - FOUR" over and over again.  This may have puzzled out-of-towners and numerologists but it's just the local telephone area code.

I thought I understood the meaning of "dopest" in this context but to be sure I checked The Online Slang Dictionary. Just the latest kid variation on very good or cool. "Da Lou" is a nickname for the city for those under thirty. "The Lou" is the usage for the rest of us geezers.

Apologies for no comments yesterday. We were out late at Opera Theatre of St. Louis' production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeny Todd. I get picky about such things but this was absolutely flawless. Locals should snatch up a ticket while any remain.

Level Of Intrest

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Parade viewers last weekend on the granite front of a 1930s courthouse. I like the formal composition, the lack of engagement by all but one of the people, the out-of-place look of the (I'm guessing here) Vietnamese man at the top.

Got to find a way to do some survivable shooting this weekend. It's supposed to be beastly hot and it's not even the end of May.

Dialectic

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Spectators at the Annie Malone Parade. Thesis and antithesis, but what's the synthesis?

Some readers may have noticed that the Thursday Arch series has been gone for a bit. I got sort of burned out on it. No fresh ideas. We have a three day weekend coming up in the US so there be some extra time. I'll take another crack at it.

Just confirmed everything for a return to my beloved Maine Media Workshops this summer. I'll be doing an intensive workshop in street photography, which is most of what I do anyway. This place is heaven on earth for photographers, both pro and serious amateur. Hope to visit with Birdman in Portland on my way up and Ming The Merciless in Bangor on my way back.

Annie Malone Parade

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Each may the Annie Malone Parade comes to downtown St. Louis. The foundation she established in 1888 is a leading provider of social services for children, families and the elderly in our African-American community. Their annual celebration is a two and a half hour spectacular. We will have a look over the next few days.

The Soldan High School marching band is full of color, the blare of brass and pounding drums. They did a complicated criss-cross drill in the middle of Market Street that left me confused. The drum major knew how to strut his stuff.

Sun Gates

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Dale Chihuly is easily the best known and most popular glass artist in the U.S. His sun gates flank the rose garden at our beloved Missouri Botanical Garden. Chihuly's work is often spectacular. On the other hand, I once had a conversation about Chihuly with an artist I know and respect; some of his work hangs in our office. His two word review of the glassmaker: too easy. He's got a point. De gustibus non est disputandum.

By the way, a bunch of new images have been added to the Tour de Grove bicycle races set on Flickr here.

Downtown St. Louis 365 has attitude and grace.