CITY DAILY PHOTO JULY THEME - FLEA MARKETS

There used to be a wonderful big annual flea market in St. Louis to benefit the symphony called the Gypsy Caravan. I would go shoot every years. Sadly, they had trouble keeping an appropriate venue, it moved to the outer suburbs and gradually withered. You could find all sorts of interesting stuff but I wouldn’t try to restore this violin.

See bric-a-brack found by City Daily Photo members around the world at https://citydailyphoto.org/category/theme-days/                 

CITY DAILY PHOTO AUGUST THEME DAY - WOOD

An old photo from a local flea market showing wood made for producing music--or at least it was. As a failed violinist (good ear, bad dexterity), I am certain the beat-up violin will never again make a sound other than thunk. The electric guitar looks like it has a better chance. Musical instruments must be one of the oldest uses of wood.

See what other applications City Daily blockheads from around the world came up with here.                

MEMBERS NIGHT AT THE GARDEN

One of the jewels of our town is the Missouri Botanical Garden, often seen in these pages. Yesterday they had a members night with food, entertainment and lots of children's activities. Ellie had a great time, which I hope we'll get to.

I regret that I didn't make a note of the names of these musicians but they may email me, in which case I will update this. As you rounded a turn in the path entering the Japanese garden they were concealed behind a small grove, with only their sound to draw you in. It was like perfume in the air, pulling the visitor around to their music. They were playing a piece by Carl Stamitz, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Stamitz, a rough contemporary of Mozart and Haydn. To me, it was the highlight of a beautiful evening.        

VIOLIN SALUTE

A photo I liked from Artica that I forgot to post. This is our friend Heather, who plays a mean violin. Her tunic-like dress looks like something from Renaissance Italy. I studied violin for about five years when I was young and was a complete failure. Good ear, bad motor skills and coordination. I look at her left hand position with envy.             

HEADS UP

More images from Circus Flora. A young man with what I assume is a deliberately wacky hairdo avoids a club on the nose. In the middle, a multi-talented woman entertains the crowd with an electric violin while entwined in cords high above the floor. Below, the same dancer-acrobats we saw yesterday strike a pose that reminds me of a scene from Bob Fosse's All That Jazz.                

Still Life With Stringed Instruments

.

From a sale table at the Gypsy Caravan. I've had a go at both of these instruments in my time. I took violin for five or six years when I was a kid. Although classical music was a great love even in childhood, attempts to play the fiddle were a failure: good ears, bad hands.  I could distinguish Heifetz from Stern on recordings but my clumsy fingers couldn't play double-stops or trills to save my life. Later, I picked up a used electric guitar. Never made it past Louie Louie for the same reason. The image brings back memories, though.