MARKEM Photo Display 2007 (Click on a picture for more information) Updated Feb. 18, 2007
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"Sunset Over Manila Bay"; Manila, Philippines; 2000
The fall of 2000 marked my second visit to the Philippines. I would visit several areas in and around the city Manila and the town of Cavite. Unlike my other trips to the Far East, this time I was traveling alone. Fortunately the company I worked for had a local office in Manila and one of their technical staff was acting as a tour guide of sorts. I told him that I wanted to try and get some photographs of the sun setting over the water. He suggested this pier location as it was popular with the locals. The earth and stone pier had a paved road surface and concrete walls on either side and was about 500 feet long. There were indeed many people down there as the sun set. Some were selling snacks, some were fishing and some were even swimming. But the majority of the people there were just out for a stroll to watch the sun set. The young couple in this photo were a bit wary of me as I was the only non-native there and I was walking around with a camera on a tri-pod. They kept looking over their shoulders at me as I made my way behind them to get the ideal photo angle. I sort of had to trick them to get them to think I was photographing something else and when they turned back to the water I quickly snapped the photo. My intent when I saw these two kids siting there was to get them in silhouette against the reds and oranges in the sky.
This photograph was taken with a Nikon FE-10 35mm camera with a 28mm wide angle lens.
"Brandenburg Gate"; Berlin, Germany; 2006
In July of 2006 I made my second trip to Berlin, Germany (my
first being in May of 2005). On the first trip I attempted to take photographs
of the Brandenburg Tor, or Brandenburg Gate, but there was a special display
being exhibited in front of the gate that obstructed most of the views. The
first weekend I was there in 2006 was the weekend of the World Cup soccer
championship and there were large displays in from of the gate that obstructed
the views. But once the games were over the displays were taken down and the
monument returned to its normal display status. This photograph was taken at
about 9:30 at night. The timing was perfect to capture the transition of the
sky changing from bright blue to midnight blue. The warm of the spot lights
seem to make the stonework glow. This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8
mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens. The gate was constructed between
1778 and 1791. This gate was one of 18 city gates, it is the only one that has
remained. The Brandenburg Tor is 26m high, 65.5m wide and 11m deep. The middle
gateway, that is 5.6m wide, was reserved for the royal family. The other four gateways
are 3.8m wide and dedicated for the public transport. Today, the gateways are
part of a pedestrian zone.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Sunrise Over Prisoner Island"; Penang, Malaysia; 1997
This is a SUNRISE, not a sunset. In the fall of 1997 I had to travel to Malaysia for business. This would be the first time that I would travel with a laptop computer. Because of the additional burden of the computer bag, I decided to pack my camera bag in one of the soft-sided pieces of luggage that would be checked. That was a mistake that I will NEVER make again. The trip to Malaysia would be via Singapore and my traveling companion and I got stuck there as our connecting flights were canceled. It seems that most of the country side of Indonesia to the south was on fire and had created so much smoke the many airports in the region were shut down. We checked into a hotel and the airline sent our luggage over after the fact. When I did finally get my luggage the bag with the camera in it was damaged. When I opened the bag I found that the camera bag was still in there but the Pentax K1000 35mm camera with 200mm lens was gone. When we finally got to our final destination in Penang, Malaysia I took advantage of a beneficial currency exchange rate and purchased a new camera and kit: a Nikon FE-10 35mm. This photograph is the result of being faced with the decision of what to do when you are suffering from jet-lag, can’t sleep, and have a brand new camera. I was wandering around the hotel just as the sun was rising. In the channel that separates Penang Island from the mainland of Malaysia is a smaller island. In the days of English colonial rule the island was used a prison and hence retained the name of Prisoner Island. This shot is looking over Prisoner Island, from Penang Island, towards the mainland. No filters were used on this photograph - that was the actual color of the sky.I was also trying to show the different ridge lines in the background.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera with a 35mm wide angle lens.
"Autum Forrest Fire"; Swanzey Center, New Hampshire; October 1993
Barb and Steve’s engagement party; My wife’s youngest sister, Barbara and her fiancee had a party at his parents’ house to celebrate their engagement. The house was up on Talbot Hill Road in Swanzey Center, NH. The day was clear and the foliage was at peak color. I managed to get out into the woods near the party before it was actually time to start. I always had my camera with me. I found this patch of woods, only a few yards in from the road that was heavily populated with Birch trees, a classic mixed-hardwood grove. The white bark made a wonderful contrast to the yellows and reds and it was still early enough that greens were still bright. Given the number of evergreen trees in New Hampshire, it was a little unusual to find an area to photograph that has almost none. The photo has a great deal of depth to it and you feel that you could just walk into it.
This photo was taken with a Pentax K1000, 35mm camera with a 28mm wide angle lens.
"San Francisco Carousel"; San Francisco, California; 1999
I traveled to Palo Alto, California in December of 1999, for Markem, for a training class. Since Palo Alto is fairly near to San Francisco, and my wife Mary had always wanted to see San Francisco, I arranged for her to fly out and stay with me for a long weekend. We saw many of the attractions the city has to offer including a concert at a local club and a San Francisco 49er’s football game. We also went down to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf, or Pier 39,and saw the Sea Lions. A prominent feature of the wharf is the large San Francisco Carousel. Handcrafted in Italy, the carousel has eighteen hundred lights and is intricately hand-painted to depict famous San Francisco landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, and, Alcatraz. We were there just as it was getting dark and all the lights were on. It gave one the feeling of an old-time, country fair with the calliope music playing as the carousel went round and round. Can't you just smell the popcorn? It also struck me as some what similar to the alien mother ship from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera with a 50mm lens.
“Tears for the King”; the sarcophagus of Frederick I, the first King in Prussia (1713); Berlin, Germany; 2006.
This photograph is a particular favorite of mine. The female figure is full size, about 5 feet tall. The sarcophagus is about 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall. It is in a corner with floor-to-ceiling iron fencing enclosing it. It is not well lit. Across from the king’s tomb is his wife’s and hers is similar in size and design. Both of these tombs are right off the main hall under the dome of the Berlin Cathedral and have been on display there since 1993, when the cathedral re-opened to the public. Originally these tombs were gold leaf covered, lead and tin castings but I suspect that much of the covering is now gold paint as the entire cathedral was burned when bombed by the US 8th Air Force in 1943. The cathedral lay in ruins for 30 years and was rebuilt under the communist government of East Germany in the mid ’70’s. The interior restoration began in 1985 and they are still working on whole structure.
I wanted to try and capture the emotion that the piece evoked. To get the photo, I had to get down on my knees and rest the camera on the cross bracing of the fence as I had no tri-pod. I pressed up against the fencing and put my arm through the rails to reach around and hold the camera. I did not use a flash, just the ambient light and a LONG shutter speed. I wanted a shallow depth of field as I knew I needed the shutter speed advantage and to try and blur out the background as it was too dark to see anything anyway. There was a constant stream of tourists moving through the area and I had to put up with getting bumped a few times. Born in 1657, Frederick assumed the throne upon his father’s death in 1688. But the title was not “king” but rather “Elector”. What was to eventually become modern Germany was a part of the Holy Roman Empire and the laws prohibited any “kingdoms” within that. But in exchange for committing to form an alliance with Austria against France, Frederick was allowed to call himself King. He crowned himself “King in Prussia”, as opposed to “King OF Prussia”, in 1701 so as not to steal any thunder from the Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick died in 1713.This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Schooner Balclutha"; San Francisco, California; 1999
In the fall of 1999 I was in the San Francisco area for training. I had some time to do some sight-seeing and despite the crowds I went down to the Fisherman's Wharf area. There are several old ships moored down on the docks. Some are from World War II and some are from an earlier time.There were two large sailing vessels moored along Pier 43. The Balclutha is a large ship and difficult to photograph due to the scale. I searched for a different perspective and while touring the other ship I saw this angle. I set up the camera and tripod on the stern, or poop deck, of the ship in front of Balclutha and zoomed in to give try to convey that the ship was so large that it was bursting from the picture frame. There is no empty space in this shot, lots of riggin detail that would otherwise be lost. There is quite a bit of distance between the two ships and I needed to use the 200mm lens to reach out. A tripod and a bright day helped.
Length: 301 feetWith: 38.6 feet
Draft: 22.7 feet
Hull: Steel
The Balclutha made her maiden voyage from Cardif, Wales to San Francisco in 1887. In 1904 she ran aground off Alaska and was sold and re-named Star of Alaska. She as used to transport workers and canned salmon back and forth between Alaska and the Bay Area. The ship was retired from service in 1930. In 1933 she was purchased and re-named Pacific Queen and made an appearance in the movie Mutiny on the Bounty starring Clark Gable. After a long career, the ship was purchased by the San Francisco Maratime Museum and renamed Balclutha. Balclutha tied up to Pier 43 on July 19, 1955 to become a floating museum.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera with a 200mm zoom lens.
"Carol's Rose"; Los Angeles, California; 1998
My wife's sister Carol lives in Los Angeles with her family. We were out for a visit and naturally I was taking pictures of everything because I had never been there before. Carol's yards were nicely landscaped with many flowering plants including a couple of rose bushes right behind the house. Because they were so close to the house I only had a small window of opportunity to photograph them before they went into shadow. I set up the big lens on the camera and put the whole assembly on the tripod. I used a couple of special close-up filters threaded onto the end of the lens to get an even shorter focal distance. When I took this photo the lens was only about 8 inches from the flower. If you get to close, the camera itself can shadow the subject and ruin the picture.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera with a 200mm Macro lens.
"Floral Fireworks"; Mary's Flower Garden; Keene, New Hampshire; 1999
My wife and I bought our house in Keene in 1989. There were pereinal gardens all around the property that had been there for many years. Many of the flowers are Irises and Lillies. I was working in the yard one late spring day and noticed the vibrant colors of this arrangement. I was surpised to see these three different colors come up and bloom at the same time. The coincidence of having these flowers occur in this arrangement, naturally, was too much to pass up. I have watched that part of the gardens for each year since then. All colors still come up, but not at the same time. If the chance is given, I'll take the picture again. I picked the name "Floral Fireworks" because the different colored blooms reminded me of a 4th of July celebration.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera with a 35mm wide angle lens.
“Berlin Cathedral”; Berlin, Germany; 2006.
The Cathedral is such a large and imposing building that any photo that shows all of it has no detail. The structure is covered with an incredible amount of architectural details and I wanted to try and capture some of them. I had taken some photographs of the building at night and at the height of the day but I was not able to get the look and feel I wanted. This photograph was taken late in the afternoon and the light angle gives good contract and depth on the subject, but still allows one to see the detail in the shadows.
The Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral was built from 1894 to 1905 and is located on the historic 'Museum Island' in the river Spree. It replaces a cathedral building that Emperor Willem II ordered demolished, which dated from 1747. The first church built on the site of the current Cathedral was a 1465 church. Much larger than any of the previous buildings, this version was meant to be a Protestant counterweight to the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The building is 114m long by 73m wide and over 75m in height. Berlin Cathedral is the former court cathedral of Prussia's royal family, the Hohenzollern dynasty, and they worshipped here until Wilhelm II (the last German emperor) abdicated in 1918 at the end of World War 1.
In 1943 the Cathedral was struck by a bomb during World War 2 and much of the structure was burned. A temporary roof was installed to protect what remained of the interior shortly after the war. In 1975 reconstruction of the church started. The restoration of the interior began in 1984 and in 1993 the church reopened. Some interesting items in the richly decorated interior of the church are the magnificent Sauer's Organ, the 1530 Elector's tomb and the neo-baroque pulpit. The main altar, which was saved from the previous cathedral dates from 1850. The two opulent coffins of Friedrich I and his wife Sophie Charlotte, cast in gold-plated lead and tin in 1713 and 1705 respectively, have been on display in the main hall since 1993.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Paisley Reflections"; Quissett Harbor; Falmouth, Massachusetts; 1993
My wife's parents lived in Falmouth, MA for several years and we would go visit them often. I always tried to steal some time to myself and go out looking for photographs. There are so many picture opportunities in the area. Quissett harbor is a small hide away that is only accessible by one narrow road. Early morning always made the best time to visit Quissett as the water was still very flat and gave tremendous reflections. The dories, or small row boats, are used to reach the sail boats moored in the deeper water. The dorie is tied up and the sail boat is untied to be used. When the sail is over, the dorie is used to return to the shore where it is jsut beached. This photo shows that the owner of the Paisley was up before I was on that morning. I love this photo because it is so calm, you can just hear the water gently slapping the hulls. The occasional cry of a sea gull in the background. The smell of the salt water.
This photo was taken with a Pentax K1000, 35mm camera with a 200mm zoom lens.
"Timeless Refreshment"; Court & Winter St.; Keene, New Hampshire; 2006
This weathered billboard is piece of classic Americana. It is one of a few old painted advertisements that are still visible in the city of Keene. When ever I see this building it evokes memories of days gone by, a simpler time before high tech commercial advertising.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a wide angle lens.
"Classic Indian"; Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum; Pickerington, Ohio; 2006
On our way home from the MOPAR Nationals Car Show in Columbus, Ohio, my friend pleaded with me to stop at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. He had been to the museum a few years earlier and gotten a t-shirt as a souvenir. He liked the shirt so much that he wanted to get another one just like it. Of course, I figured that I could find SOMETHING to take pictures of. This old Indian motorcycle was in a group of bikes and they were surrounded by a short guard rail that was one horizontal bar about 18 inches off the ground. I sat down on the floor and folded my legs under the the guard rail, so the rail was up against my belly. I then leaned over the rail and supported my elbows on my knees, all so I could get as close to the bike as possible. Even with all of that, I could not isolate the bike from the others near it so I zoomed in until I only had Indian in the view finder. This photo gives a nice detailed view of the engine and frame. Oh, and in the end, they no longer had the t-shirt design that my friend wanted.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a 90mm zoom lens.
"Bears of a Different Color"; Bebelplatz; Berlin, Germany; 2006
In Berlin there is a plaza between the old National Library and St. Hedwig's Cathedral (domed structure in background), right on the Unter den Linden near the Berlin cathedral. This plaza has a notorious place in history as it was the site of the book burnings held by the Nazi's in the 1930's. In June and July of 2006 the plaza was host to the United Buddy Bear Project. A ring of 142 bear statues placed hand to hand, each representing a different country, was created to promote global understanding and peace. The display was originated in Berlin in 2003 and has been touring the world ever since.
The display was so large that it was impossible to capture it in its entirety and still see any of the details of the individual statues. It was fun to walk around and see the different people, of all ages and nationalities, interact with the various statues. Children were esspecially enchanted by all of this. I captured this shot as a small child timidly approached the statues, to touch it and make sure it was safe. There were so many people taking pictures it was easy to blend in and take pictures of people with the bears.
The blue-yellow-red bear represents Romania and was painted by Angela Dornauer. The blue-yellow -green bear represents Rwanda and was painted by Michael Kayode Olasoji & Daphrose Ndakoze. The child is touching the bear that represents Portugal and was painted by Gustavo Pires Fernandes.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Airlift"; German Technology Museum; Berlin, Germany; 2006
C-47 Transport Aircraft at Templhof Airport in Berlin during the blockade
The German Technology Museum has many large artifacts on display including a Roman era ship excavated from a river bed and an entire floor of full-sized aircraft. One of the building's most distinctive features is the real Douglas DC-3, also known with the military designation C-47, suspended outside over the top of the building.
The C-47 is significant to the citizens of Berlin because that was that model aircraft was the primary plane used to bring in supplies during the famous "Berlin Airlift" of 1948. When the second World War ended, Germany was broken up into 4-zones of occupation: French, British, American, and Soviet Union. The entire eastern half of Germany was under Soviet control. Despite the city of Berlin being int he eastern sector, the city of Berlin was divided in a method similar to that of the entire country. In an effort to try and gain complete control of the city of Berlin, the Soviets blockaded all surface shipments of supplies from the west to Berlin on June 27, 1948, effectively cutting the city off. The airlift carried over two million tons of supplies in 270,000 flights. The blockade of Berlin was finally lifted by the Soviets on May 12, 1949. Berlin became a symbol of the United States resolve to stand up to the Soviet threat without being forced into a direct conflict. This aircraft is one of those used to ferry supplies. Often the aircrews of these planes would drop candy and other assundries to children gathered near the airstrip when the planes were about to land.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Lustgarten Fountain";Berlin Cathedral; Berlin, Germany; 2006
A garden space was formed in front of the Berlin Cathedral. It was bordered on the other three sides by the Spree River, the Altes Museum, and the Royal Palace. The palace was damaged during World War two and eventually demolished by the East German government in the '50's. My crude translation of the name "lustgarten" is "desire garden". This is an odd name for an open space in front of a cathedral but it should be noted that the garden space was there before the cathedral was. The palace was the first structure and the lustgarten went with it.
To get this picture I had to climb up the narrow staircases inside the cathedral to get to a catwalk that goes around the outside of the main dome. The top of the dome is 75 meters high and I estimate that the walkway I was on was about 45 meters up. The cathedral catwalk offers a 360 degree view of the city of Berlin. In this shot I was able to look down past the bronze cross sculpture and capture the fountain as well. This open space is very popular with the young crowd in the city. People gather there with wine and cheese and just enjoy the space. People are there at all hours of the day and night. I was there one night at 1:00 AM and there were still many people just relaxing and socializing.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a wide angle lens.
"Swans at Sunset"; Pentwater, Michigan; 2002
My wife and I went on vacation with her sister and her family in 2002. We had rented a cottage right on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Nearby was the town of Pentwater, Michigan and we had gone into town for some shopping or dinner. We were on our way back to the cottage as the sun was setting. I glanced out the window and noticed the swans in the water amoungst the sailboats. I got my brother-in-law to stop the car and I took several pictures. In fact, I shot frames until I ran out of film, about 2 and a half roles. I had seen many sunsets with sailboats from years of taking photographs on the Cape but I had never seen a sunset with sail boats and swans so I did not want to miss it. As we drove away I worried that I had not gotten the shot and had to wait until the film had been developed to find out. I had this printed a little dark to put the ships in shadow but no color filters were used. That was the color of the evening sky.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera with a wide angle lens.
"Fountain Man"; Berlin, Germany; 2006
Kurfurstendamm is a green tree-lined boulevard that streches for several kilometres to the Western outskirts of Berlin, starting from the Gedachtniskirche and the chaotic square around the Europahaus. Huge department stores, expensive hotels and upmarket housing are all lined on this nice boulevard making it one of the liveliest streets of Berlin for shoppers and tourists. At the Gedachtniskirche there is also the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
My fellow travellers were weary of me taking photographs. We had been down on the Kudamm looking for souveniers and as usual I was taking pictures of everything. I coaxed my friends to wander a little farther around the corner just because we had not seen what was there yet. After a couple of blocks I came across this large fountain in some unknown plaza. There were a couple cafes with lots of outdoor tables and umbrellas around it. This plaza was so far out of the way that it would not get much tourist traffic. It was in the middle of the city yet isolated. The fountain was a large bowl about 6 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter. Around it were several life sized sculptures with water cascading down onto them. I was fascinated by the expression of this figure. He seemed to be gazing at something more interesting than the passing traffic.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Spree River North Branch"; Museum Island; Berlin, Germany; 2006
The Spree River flows through the heart of old Berlin. A large island was formed in the middle of the river and it was on this island that the first settlment of what was to become ancient Berlin was founded. On the southern end of the island a fishing villiage was formed and on the northern end of the island was where the Prussian Royalty would set up residence. The entire island is now refered to as Museum island because of the numerous museums that have been built on its northern end.
The Berlin Cathedral was built on the island next to the Palace (which is no longer there). There is a catwalk that goes around the base of the large dome on the cathedral that can be reached by climbing a series of very narrow stair cases. From this vantage point one can see a panoramic view of the city of Berlin. I was fortunate that the day I made the trek up to the catwalk that the weather was perfect. The air was dry and the sky clear which allowed one to see for miles. The top of the main dome of the cathedral is 75 meters up and I estimate that the catwalk is at about 45 meters. This photograph is looking almost due north, over the North Branch of the Spree, with the city scape of what was East Berlin beyond it. Essentially all of the buildings that can be seen in this view were destroyed in World War 2. The rebuilding of the city continues to this day. Due to the demands of the residents, many of the buildings were rebuilt in the original architecture style. River boat tours are a prominent part of the Berlin tourism industry and this bridge is a popular starting/ending point for many of those tours. As you look across the city you can see that there are not any tall buildings and the terrain is pretty flat. An old Berlin law prohibited the building of houses taller than the Kings Palace which worked out to 7 stories. Consequently many of the buildings in Berlin are 7 floors or less - even though the Palace is no longer there.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Spree River"; Berlin Cathedral; Berlin, Germany; 2005
The Cathedral is such a large and imposing building that any photo that shows all of it has no detail. The structure is covered with an incredible amount of architectural details and I wanted to try and capture some of them. I had taken some photographs of the building at night and at the height of the day but I was not able to get the look and feel I wanted. This photograph was taken late in the afternoon and the light angle gives good contract and depth on the subject, but still allows one to see the detail in the shadows.
The Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral was built from 1894 to 1905 and is located on the historic 'Museum Island' in the river Spree. It replaces a cathedral building that Emperor Willem II ordered demolished, which dated from 1747. The first church built on the site of the current Cathedral was a 1465 church. Much larger than any of the previous buildings, this version was meant to be a Protestant counterweight to the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The building is 114m long by 73m wide and over 75m in height. Berlin Cathedral is the former court cathedral of Prussia's royal family, the Hohenzollern dynasty, and they worshipped here until Wilhelm II (the last German emperor) abdicated in 1918 at the end of World War 1.
In 1943 the Cathedral was struck by a bomb during World War 2 and much of the structure was burned. A temporary roof was installed to protect what remained of the interior shortly after the war. In 1975 reconstruction of the church started. The restoration of the interior began in 1984 and in 1993 the church reopened. Some interesting items in the richly decorated interior of the church are the magnificent Sauer's Organ, the 1530 Elector's tomb and the neo-baroque pulpit. The main altar, which was saved from the previous cathedral dates from 1850. The two opulent coffins of Friedrich I and his wife Sophie Charlotte, cast in gold-plated lead and tin in 1713 and 1705 respectively, have been on display in the main hall since 1993.
This photo was taken with a Nikon FE-10, 35mm camera.
"Sun Blades"; Sony Center; Berlin, Germany; 2006
Satelite view of the Sony Center in Berlin
In the centre of Berlin at Potsdamer Platz, the Sony Center, a lively urban ensemble of seven buildings has been built. The site, which covers approximately 26,000 m², is in extremely interesting surroundings and has provided space for a combination of living working and entertainment since January 2000. The Sony Center consists of seven buildings that all are united by one huge round roof at a height of 40m, surrounding a large courtyard in the middle.
Potsdamer Platz is located about 1km south from the Brandenburg Gate. In the 1920s & 30s it was a very busy traffic center and in fact in 1924 it was home to Europe's first (hand-operated) traffic light. After World War II it became a desolate wasteland, dissected by the Berlin Wall. In the 1990's it became the largest construction zone in Europe, with mass development creating a 'mini-city' with the city. The Sony Center houses the headquarters of Sony Europe and Potsdamer Platz is also home to the European headquarters of Daimler-Chrysler.
While I was in Berlin for business in 2006 I had opportunity to eat dinner at a traditional Bavarian restaurant that happened to be at the Sony Center. Our German hosts were eager to show off the quisine as much as the SOny Center itself. When I walked into the complex my eyes were immediately drawn up to the roof structure over the whole place. I was facinated by the lines and shapes of the blades of the "fan" that hung over my head. I love the detail of the cables and panels with the associated shadowing.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a 90mm zoom lens.
"Smokin' Savoy"; MOPAR Nationals Cas Show; Columbus, Ohio; 2006
I drove my 1969 Dodge Charger to the MOPAR Nationals Car Show in Columbus, Ohio in August of 2006: 1781 miles round trip, 151 gallons of fuel. The show lasted 3 days and featured over 2500 Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Jeep vehicles from all across the country. This photo is of a superbly detailed 1963 Plymouth Savoy. The Savoy was an inexpensive trim package and were bare-bones cars. But they were light and were popular with drag racers. This particular car was so clean and well detailed that I had to try and capture it. In order to show the detail I had to get close, but I included enough of the car so that it was identifiable. The grill and headlight design to these cars was unique.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Egyptian Relief"; Altes Museum; Berlin, Germany; 2006
Satelite image of the Altes Museum (left), the Lustgarten (middle) and the Berlin Cathedral (upper right).
The Altes Museum was the first museum built by the king on what was to become known as Museum Island in the Spree River. It was situated directly opposite the Royal Palace, across the Lustgarten. In the late 1800's and early part of the 1900's there was much archeological activity across the globe on behalf of the German kings. Many artfacts were retrieved and brought back for display at the national gallieries. The Altes Museum was world famous for many of the artifacts that is displayed. One of it's most famous, and controversial, is a bust of Queen Nefertiti, wife of Pharoah Akhenaten. Akhenaten is also father to Tutankhamun. The Altes Museum in Berlin has an expansive Egyptian collection. When war became to close in the 40's, the artifacts were hidden away to protect them. The museum building was heavily damaged during the second worls war but has been carefully restored and its exhibits returned. This photo is of a wall panel that was removed from an Egyptian tomb. The ancient craftsman would cover the walls with a limestone plaster and then scetch out thier designs. They would then carve the wall reliefs and paint them.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"Reichstag Reflections"; Berlin, Germany; 2006
The World Cup Soccer Championship for 2006 was held in Berlin, Germany. The championship game featured France and Italy. The Germans had setup large screens in front of the Brandenburg Gate to show the game to hundreds of thousands of people that could not get into the stadium. We were at the gate just before the game was about to end and our group decided to leave and beat the traffic crush that would soon follow. As usual, I was lagging behind as we walked back to where the car was parked. I was always looking for the next photo-op. As we crossed the bridge over the Spree River I saw the Reichstag Parliament building all lit up and reflecting off the river. First I put the camera on the bridge rail to steady it and let the camera decide how long a shutter speed it needed. But I decided that I need a different angle, to be closer. So I worked my way down the edge of the river. It was paved and well lit with no one around – they were all at the soccer game! I knew the shutter speed would be long so to steady the camera I placed it on the concrete wall along the river. The top of the wall was flat and about four feet across. To get an angle where the wall did not appear in the view finder, I had to place the camera on the far side of the top. In that location, I couldn’t see through the view finder so I had to climb up on top of the wall myself and lay on my belly. While the wall was only four feet tall on one side, it dropped about twelve feet on the other side to another concrete sidewalk. Several minutes had passed and by now my companions were wondering where I was. I found them driving up and down the street looking for me. They were not pleased but I feel that the resulting image was worth their ire.
The Reichstag is the seat of the German Parliament. After the founding of the German Empire in 1872, there was a need for a large parliamentary building in Berlin. Paul Wallot designed this neo-renaissance building, 137 m long and 97m wide. It was constructed between 1884 and 1894. In 1933 fire broke out in the building, destroying much of the Reichstag. It is to date still unclear who started the fire, but the Communists were blamed. It gave a boost to Hitler's Nazi Party. The building was even further damaged at the end of the war, when the Soviets entered Berlin. The latest reconstruction which started in 1995 and was completed in 1999 was driven by the relocation of the Parliament from Bonn back to Berlin after the unification of Germany. The design by Sir Norman Foster added a glass dome over the plenary hall. Since April 1999, the Reichstag is once again the seat of the Bundestag. You can visit the Reichstag and walk all the way to the top of the dome.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a 90mm zoom lens.
"World Cup TV Tower"; Berlin, Germany; 2006
Satelite view of the TV tower at Alexanderplatz.
When the communist government of East Germany built the Berlin Wall in 1961 it divided the city and often families and friends. The movement of people from East Germany and East Berlin into West Berlin had been a problem for the Communist Governement for some time. The was to keep people from the east out, not the people of the west in. In 1969 the East Germans built a large television broadcast tower on the Alexander Platz. It was intended to be a shining beacon of communism so it was built large enough that the tower could be seen from anywhere in the western part of Berlin. It was meant to show the world that people living under the communist rule had everything they could want, including television broadcast by this huge tower. Communist governments aren't big on organized religion so it was a bit ironic that the first time the sun hit the panels of the metallic globe, the reflecting light formed the shape of a cross.
Once the wall came down and the east and west were unified the television tower became a tourist attraction. People could use it as a sight seeing destination as the elevation of the tower offered 360 degree views of the entire city scape of Berlin. In 2006 the World Championship Soccer series was hosted by Germany and the championship game held in Berlin. To celebrate the soccer tournament just about everything that was round was painted like a soccer ball, including the globe on the television tower. This photo is taken from the catwalk on the Berlin Cathedral and the bronze sculpture is part of the cathedral. I liked this photo's composition because it contrasted a structure that represented religion with a structure famous for representing anti-religion. All of that surrounded by a deep blue sky canvas.
The TV tower, known as the Fernsehturm or the Tele-spargel (toothpick) is one of the largest structures in Europe.The total length to the top of the spire is 365m or 1197 ft. The sphere contains a revolving restaurant (Telecafé) at 207m and a viewing platform at a height of 203m.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a 90mm zoom lens.
The World Cup Soccer Championship for 2006 was held in Berlin, Germany. The Germans were in very good spirits as they were the host country and had earned a spot to play for third place in a game with Portugal. While Berlin was the site of the actual championship game, games were played in several other cities around Germany. This game would be played in Stuttgart which is several hours south of Berlin. To accommodate the large number of displaced spectators, a temporary viewing stadium was setup right outside the Reichstag Parliament building. There were multiple jumbo screens and facilities setup for the expected 500,000 (plus!) fans to see the game. People of all nationalities were streaming into the facility all day proudly waving their respective team colors. The wearing of one’s country’s flag was the style. These boys were sitting with their flags on the steps of the Parliament building showing their support the German team. I was struck by the German flag on the top of the building flipping in the wind. In order to get this shot I got down on my knees in front of these guys and pointed the camera up. I had to wait for the wind to blow the flag on the building just right to balance the color. These guys were not sure about me and kept glancing over at me to see that I was still there. It only took a few seconds but when you know someone is watching you it seems like forever.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a wide angle lens.
The Reichstag is the seat of the German Parliament. After the founding of the German Empire in 1872, there was a need for a large parliamentary building in Berlin. This neo-renaissance design building, 137 m long and 97m wide, was constructed between 1884 and 1894. In 1933 fire broke out in the building, destroying much of the Reichstag. The Communists were blamed and it gave a boost to Hitler's Nazi Party. The building was even further damaged at the end of the war, when the Soviets entered Berlin. The latest reconstruction which started in 1995 and was completed in 1999 was driven by the relocation of the Parliament from Bonn back to Berlin after the unification of Germany. The design by Sir Norman Foster added a glass dome over the plenary hall. Since April 1999, the Reichstag is once again the seat of the Bundestag. You can visit the Reichstag and walk all the way to the top of the dome.
"Transmission Transitions"; German Technology Museum; Berlin, Germany; 2006
The German Technology Museum many large artifacts on display including a Roman era ship excavated from a river bed and an entire floor of full-sized aircraft. One of the building's most distinctive features is the real Douglas DC-3, also known with the military designation C-47, suspended outside over the top of the building.
One of the displays inside the museum was a World War 2 vintage aircraft engine. The engine was shown in an "exploded view" with every component suspended, in their proper relation to each other, in the air by a thin piece of wire. There were four Lexan panels suspended from the ceiling that hung down forming a box around the display. The glare off the panels made taking a photo difficult but there was enough room at the corners, between the panels, to let me stick the camera lens through. This photo shows just the output shaft and transmission that would drive the propeller. An unusual perspective of a normally unseen item.
This photo was taken with a Canon RebelXT 8 mega pixel digital camera with a normal lens.
"General Parrish - Jumanji"; Keene, New Hampshire; 1995
In the fall of 1994 a movie company came to Keene tofilm some scenes for the movie Jumanji, starring Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst. The following spring the company was to return to Keene to shoot some more scenes. The spring time scenes would be set in the year 1969 and as the president of a local car club I worked with the props manager to arrange for period correct vehicles to be available. I was able to move around behind the scenes and photograph what was goin on. One of the major background props for the film was the large advertisement for Parrish Shoes which is still visible downtown. Another major prop was a statue of General Parrish, ancestor to the character that Robin Williams played in the movie.
The statue was created and painted to resemble a weathered bronze casting upon a granite pedistal. The statue is actually a closed-cell foam carefully carved and painted to give the effect of weathered bronze. The base is plywood that was painted to match the granite in the existing fountain on Central square. The "statue" was only in place for a few days during the the fall and spring filming. After the filming was completed in Keene, the plywood base and foam statue were essentially given to the city. Both components were being stored at the Colonial Theater the last I knew.
This photograph was taken with a Pentax K1000 35mm camera with a 50mm lens.