The Polaroid Kidd

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Still in the same eerie territory north of the Arch. This is a stairway to the back door of an abandoned industrial building. I'll never know, but I'd like to think these three words were written by a fierce photographer who won't let go of her or his chosen medium. The Polaroid Corporation no longer makes instant cameras. Fujifilm is the only company that still does.

WHAT'S THE OVERLOAD FACTOR: today is the annual full-day seminar sponsored by the St. Louis Camera Club, this year featuring Jim Richardson. Tomorrow, I've been asked to come by the Soulard Art Market gallery during teardown of their current show to photograph the artists and their work. There's a lot of day-job work to do. And I haven't done any local shooting in a few weeks. Better not sleep in.

TOMORROW: Industrial Revolution.

Snakepit

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I need to get out and shoot some new stuff (in my spare time). For a few days, we will go back to the strange, sometimes desolate area north of the Arch. This is the same weird plaza, still under construction, as in my posts of February 18 and February 10. The latter was shot looking through the hole of one of those red metal donuts. Your children might not want to use that area in the lower left as a wading pool.

WHAT"S ON TODAY'S CALENDAR: another Rituxan infusion. I [heart symbol] big pharma.

TOMORROW: The Polaroid Kidd

Crown Candy Kitchen

In an old neighborhood not far from downtown is Crown Candy Kitchen, run by the same family since 1913. It's a bit isolated now but people come here from all over. They serve basic lunch items, sandwiches, burgers and the like, but they are renown for their sweet stuff. Crown makes its own ice cream and still practices the art of confectionery. Chocolate is made on site. The jewels in the Crown are its big hand-made milkshakes. By tradition, if you can consume five of them in 30 minutes, it's on the house and they engrave your name on a plaque on the wall. Visit St. Louis and accept the challenge.

TOMORROW: Funky Broadway

Very Low Cost Eye Care

Much of the north side of the City of St. Louis is a hard place to live. It is predominantly black and poor, with limited neighborhood facilities. An older part of the area, close to the Mississippi, is home to a restaurant that is a local institution, more about which on Friday. What's pictured here is across the street. Still, it's not a happy neighborhood. What's a nice Japanese optometrist doing in a place like this?

Beats me. This looks like a tough way to make a living from a professional practice. Obviously, the overhead is very low but there's got to be more to the story. Would you be interested in contact lenses?

TOMORROW: Thursday Arch Series