November Part One

Posted on November 14, 2009 by Roger

Saturday, November 14 dawned bright and clear. I spent the morning raking leaves and thinking how pleasant a day it would be for a photo hike. After lunch, I drove to Glacial Park in northern McHenry County. By the time I arrived, clouds had moved in and the day turned decidedly gray. Here’s what it looked like, in full color.

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Everything — and I mean everything — was brown or gray. I thought the photos on my camera screen looked like I took them in sepia. So I decided to go with it. I began thinking in monochrome and looking for textures and contrast. When I got home, I converted the photos to sepia. Here’s the one above. (Double-click to make them larger and sharper.)

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The result was even better than I imagined. I’ll post some others over the next several days. If this isn’t your sort of thing, sorry. Check back in about 10 days when I get back to full-color.

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Autumn in the City

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Roger

Chicago in early November. (Yes, in spite of the evidence in this first photo, it was early November.)

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Stepped Away for a Moment

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Roger

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Chicago Water Tower

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Roger

The Water Tower, on Michigan Avenue, was built in 1869 and is one of the few buildings to survive the Chicago fire in 1871.  The white building behind it is Water Tower Place, and behind that is the Hancock Building. Supposedly the Water Tower inspired the design of White Castle restaurants.

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On November 13, crews, including, apparently, George Wendt, were installing Christmas lights on the plaza.

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I spotted a sign on the door of the Water Tower that said it was open to the public during exhibitions. There was nothing to indicate an exhibition was underway, and nobody was going in or out, but I figured it was worth a shot. I tried the door and found it open. A security guard sat at a desk and never so much as looked at me. The walls were hung with perhaps 15 photos of Manila, Philippines, for some reason. I was the only visitor. In case you’ve never had the thrill, here’s what the inside looks like. The photo on the bottom was taken through the window looking toward the pumping station across Michigan Avenue.

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What’s Black and White and Good All Over?

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Roger

Do you fall asleep or leave the room the moment a old black-and-white movie comes on? Do you refuse to watch any film made before you were born? You’re missing out. No matter what you think about old black-and-white movies, you really, really should give these eleven movies a try.

  1. The Gold Rush (1925) Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp character travels to the Klondike in search of gold. It’s a silent movie, and that takes a while to get used to, but once you do, the silence will be broken by your laughter.
  2. It Happened One Night (1934) A reporter in search of a story happens upon an heiress running away from home. What happens next is hilarious.
  3. The Thin Man (1934) They don’t make movies like this anymore. The dialogue is amazing and laugh-out-loud funny.
  4. You Can’t Take It With You (1938) Can a wealthy young man find happiness with a woman whose family is downright bizarre? Jimmy Stewart gives it a try.
  5. Sullivan’s Travels (1941) A comedy director decides he wants to make a serious movie. He sets out on the road to see how the other half lives. Along the way, he meets an out-of-work actress looking for a way to get home. This movie can’t decide if it wants to be a social commentary or a comedy, and amazingly, succeeds at both.
  6. Mrs. Miniver (1942) The story of how a British family deals with World War II. It’s propaganda, but excellent propaganda.
  7. Casablanca (1942) THE classic. If you haven’t seen this one, you should feel embarrassed.
  8. Laura (1944) A detective investigates the murder of a young woman and discovers that everyone has fallen in love with her, including himself.
  9. Key Largo (1948) On a hot summer evening when a thunderstorm is brewing outside, turn off your lights and your air conditioner, grab a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade and watch Key Largo. It’s the story of a group of people stuck in a hotel with a gangster during a hurricane, and the suspense is riveting.
  10. Ace in the Hole (1951) This started out to be a top-ten list, but when I saw this movie recently, I had to add it. A jaded reporter discovers a man trapped in a cave and turns the situation into a story.
  11. Roman Holiday (1953) The movie that made Audrey Hepburn famous. Watch it and you’ll understand why.

If you do watch any of these, let me know what you think.

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