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Took a couple of hours to walk around downtown Des Moines, IA this weekend along with some other fellow photographers. Unfortunately, I showed up late and had to leave a little early so I did not get to socialize very much. Also, I must have taken off in a different directly than the bulk of the group, because I didn’t end up running in to too many other photographers. From Java Joe’s, I headed West towards West End Salvage. I went to the top of a few parking garages to try to get a different perspective of the Des Moines sky line.

Here are my photos from that session. As always, please click on a photo to show it on Flickr, visit the whole set on Flickr, or just fire up the slideshow.

 

606 Walnut St BW

606 Walnut St

750 Mulberry St

8th and Cherry

800 Walnut St Reflections

800 Walnut St Self Reflection

800 Walnut St Self Reflections_resized

Safety First

700 Walnut St

 

A selection of my photos from both Des Moines sessions of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk 2011. As always, please visit either the First Set or the Second Set for more!

I’ll lead off with my two submissions. Neither of them won, but that’s not surprising because all of the submissions were excellent!

Bike Seat Framed

Banksy-esque

Now for a selection of other photos from the walks:

Facebook Is Retardo Posterized

Knot Hole Photography

Living In Flyover Country

Blinded By Science

Miyabi 9 Deconstructed

Don McLaughlin, one of my contacts on Flickr, encouraged me to attend this event. I was only able to make it to the Friday evening opening ceremonies, but I managed to get some great shots. Next year, I think I’ll try to spend more time at the event. For more information, please visit the White Eagle Pow Wow Web site.

Please check out the Des Moines Flickr Friend Photowalk Group for more photos from this event and other Photowalks by this group. And, as always, be sure to check out the slideshow and set on Flickr for more of my photos from this event.


Hand painted tipi

Hand Painted Tipi

Grand Entry Dancers

Grand Entry Dancers

Grand Entry Dancers

Grand Entry Dancers

Grand Entry Dancers

Grand Entry Dancers

Des Moines Eagle Claw Acrobalance Team

Des Moines Eagle Claw Acrobalance Team

Once again, I spent some time visiting with my parents over Memorial Day weekend. Mom just got a new camera from Dad for their 40th anniversary, and I chipped in with some accessories and an afternoon tutorial as an early birthday gift. After waiting as long as we could stand for the battery to charge, we took a miniature photo walk around her garden/yard. The following are a few of my photos from that session.

As always, be sure to click through on any images you like to see the larger size on Flickr.com, or view the slide show here.


Tiny Pink Flowers

Pink Flowers

Green Star

Green Star from the Side

Green Star Pattern

Green Star Pattern

Pink and White Flower

Green Star Pattern

My wife and I took a mini vacation to Chicago last weekend. This was our second trip to Chicago, the previous being way back in 2003. Back then, we visited both the (then) Sears Tower (now, Willis Tower) Skydeck and the John Hancock Observatory. While the Skydeck is definitely taller, you simply cannot beat the view from the Hancock Observatory. The John Hancock Center tower is much closer to Lake Michigan (see this map), therefore you get a better mix of lake and city views. This time around, we skipped the Skydeck and opted instead for the more scenic JHO. Here are a few photos from that excursion.


Chicago Hancock Observation Deck North Shore

Chicago Hancock Observation Deck North Shore

Chicago Hancock Observation Deck 900 N Michigan Ave

Chicago Hancock Observation Deck 900 N Michigan Ave

Chicago Hancock Observation Deck South Shore

Chicago Hancock Observation Deck South Shore


My wife and I both agree. Unless you have a compelling reason to say you’ve “been there,” skip the taller Willis Tower Skydeck in favor of spending more time at the John Hancock Observatory. You won’t regret it!

After studying many photos from Valery Titievsky’s Photostream on Flickr over the past few weeks, I decided I would need to set a limit on the number of photos to include in this post or risk mirroring most of that stream here. Three is just not enough, so please click through each photo on Flickr and explore the other photos. I think you’ll find yourself, as I have, spending a lot of time there.

First, let’s start off with the photograph which first drew me in:

Coffee & ...

This is part of a subset of photos within the set “The life in Black & White” simply titled “Coffee & …”. There is a sense of motion which he captured well here by tracking the waitress as she hurried by while using a slower shutter speed to blur the background.

Here is another photo entitled “Coffee & … (Street Life)”:

Coffee & ... (Street Life)

Here we see a good use of bokeh with the string of lights out of focus in front of the subject, but what really draws you in is the emotion captured in this moment. Is this despair or simply fatigue? Did she discover her wallet is empty after having finished her meal? There is a story here, but it is incomplete, thus the photo holds your attention.

Although I was tempted to pick yet another of the excellent “Coffee & …” photos, I forced myself to pick more of a street photo. This one is called “Old Man”:

Old man

Digging into the exif information for this image reveals that the flash did not fire, yet we see some quite dramatic lighting here. There is an excellent contrast between the dark, almost ominous, sky in the background and the brightly lit face of the man. His age and hair bring complex textures into the mix. What is the story here? Is this a street corner preacher, giving his sermon to all who pass, hoping some will stop to listen for awhile?

I have yet to make it through all 1600+ photos in Mr. Titievsky’s photostream, but I have subscribed to the RSS feed from his Flickr page so I can keep up to date on his work. I encourage you to do the same.