STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

We took a roundabout route from Seattle to the place we are staying in the Olympic National Park, Lake Quinault Lodge. Our plan took us to the ocean for some distance before cutting back inland to the rain forest. The Pacific coast up here is wild and desolate, with a few pullouts from the coastal road. This beach was wide and flat, damp and packed enough you could drive well out in a 4WD vehicle. The sky was clear above but a constant mist rolled in. That's the kind of optics I like in this part of the country.                 

ANOTHER SIDE OF SPRING

The air is getting warmer but the water in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers is still chilled by snow melt from upstream. The contrast can create dense fog in the morning. Here, Eads Bridge vanishes in the mists. This makes me think of the half-way-across Pont d'Avignon. Eads is far more beautiful, IMHO but, um, it goes from downtown St. Louis to downtown East St. Louis, Illinois.

Shot from my office window yesterday morning.           

Heavenward

St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, kinda Holga-ized. The beacon was off that day.      

Fool On The Hill

He was sitting on the wall under the great statue of St. Louis, gazing through the fog down Art Hill to the Grand Basin. I walked by under the wall, taking pictures. I said hi. He said hi. I asked him what he had with him. A glass chess set and a volume of Aristotle, he said. I asked if I could take his picture. He said sure. I did, said thanks, and then walked away with a tune in my head.          

Christmas Day In The Lou

This is the ghost of Christmas present. Chilly and damp. Fog, thicker and thicker as you approach the river. Not approved by Charles Dickens, Santa Claus or Macy's. But, hey, it's home and we're together.

Top to bottom: Forest Park, Maryland Plaza, Citygarden.         

Fog On The Mississippi

Taken from my office window on a recent morning. It's been a lot warmer here but the water in the Mississippi, flowing from the north, is still cold.                                

Gee But It's Great To Be Back Home

Let sunshine be banished. The forecast in Tamarindo every day was 94F/34C and sunny. How monotonous. Let's get back to the Midwest.

This railroad runs near the Mississippi just south of downtown. The smokestacks in the background are across the river in Illinois. The reference in the title is to a very old Simon & Garfunkel song I can't get out of my head today. 

I have no idea why there is a windsock on the pole. Not like helicopters are buzzing in and out of the area. Maybe the sign (hard to read here) that this is an emergency meeting point has something to do with it.                                 

Thursday Arch Series

The view from my office window, taken yesterday on a foggy morning. Just a phone cam.

I love my view. I've looked at this for more then 20 years, photographing it over and over. Sadly, I'll lose it soon. Times change and the firm is moving at the end of the year. I will have a better view of the Mississippi, Eads Bridge, and the new bridge across the river. But it won't be the same.                 

STL DPB On The Road: San Francisco - Transamerica Building In Fog

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Yesterday morning, a lawyer-photographer friend and I took a pass on the conference and went walking with our cameras. Heavy fog was beginning to lift. This is the Transamerica Building, SF's pyramid, backlit through the fog by the morning sun. Why does a shadow of the pinnacle appear to be hanging on the cloud behind the building? If there are any meteorologists of optics experts out there, please help us out.

Lots of San Francisco pix are going up on Flickr here.

Thursday Arch Series

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I had never noticed that perfect line of three trees in front of the south leg before. You wouldn't see the pattern when they are full of foliage. Such a nice, strong rhythm under a vague sky.

WHAT I'M RUNNING OUT OF: new photos. We may have some odds and ends, some nice finds from the archives. Friday, for example.

TOMORROW: the presence of Buddha in my office.


There's another new Arch photo
today on Gateway.