Photo Bomb

Maybe it's happened to you. You set up a shot in a public place and, just as you are about to press the shutter, an adolescent male jumps into the picture. It's called photo bombing, a little bit of image-making vandalism. I usally give the person a "you idiot" glower and they move on. Pretty annoying but not a disaster. I'm not shooting film.

It appears that the practice has spread to four year old girls.  I was trying to take a shot of one of the better ice sculptures when Ellie decided that she should be in the frame. That's more tolerable. The ice sculpture behind her is remarkable. Notice the seams - it's made out of three slabs. No idea how you do this without the sculpture shattering.      

Icy Blast

That phrase is a weather reporter's staple here in the Midwest when bitter cold winds from the Canadian plains sweep across us. The context here is the annual ice carving festival in suburban St. Charles. We took Ellie out on Saturday for a different experience. She sat on the pavement fascinated by the work but kept her ears covered the whole time. 

Objects d'Art

These are some examples of the ice carvers' efforts. They are a bit strange. A wolf and a mountain lion in a face-off? Three Little Pigs, one of whom seems to be standing on a portable oven and holding a fork? Mr. Clean after swallowing a wheel and tire? A local TV station affiliated with an abominable news network (although this station does carry The Simpsons)? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Sorry no comments yesterday. Got home from work way late.    

Peace Out

 

More ice carving. I was talking to someone today about how on earth the sculptor could make a perfect circle out of a block, not using a mold. He suggested that it could have been as simple as two nails and a piece of string to trace the shape. But how to keep the sides straight, how to make the interior angles so perfect? If anyone know how it's done please inform us.    

Artist At Work

The ice carvers I saw on Saturday had amazing skill. They used all sorts of power tools freehand. The web site for the event said that each of the sculptors was given big frozen blocks to work from but I don't see how they could have done some of this without molds. Their efforts ended in gleaming works of fine art, like the surfing chimp below.      

Poke In The Eye

There was an ice carving festival in the outer suburb of St. Charles yesterday. Not an ice festival like last week's in University City, where some small and simpler ice sculptures pulled people into restaurants and bars on a winter day. This was the real deal, expert craftsmen making big frozen treats. The sculptor here is drilling a pupil into a figure's eye. Ouch!

And speaking of which. while reviewing these pictures I noticed that none of the artists wore eye  protection. Bad example for the kids.

   

Ice Carving

.
I drove across the wide Missouri River yesterday to the the city of St. Charles. That's starting to get into the outer suburbs (ours go one endlessly), an area I rarely visit. There was an ice carving festival in the old riverside district, something different to shoot. This is an amazing craft: big power tools, all freehand, no do-overs. I liked the power with which the chain saws ripped into the big cold blocks. Got some good stuff that should last a few days.

On a different topic, thanks to my friend Kim of Seattle Daily Photo for pushing me into taking more iPhone photos. It's true: you can get very interesting, Holga-esque images so I tried some yesterday. I started a set for these and a few older ones on Flickr here. Also, I found a wonderful little book of iPhone photography on Amazon, The Best Camera Is The One That's With You. Worth checking out if you are interested in this sort of thing.