More Doors of Venice:
The doors on the canals of Venice
So at a knock, I emptied my cage, To hide in the world, And alter with age
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else
More Doors of Venice:
The doors on the canals of Venice
So at a knock, I emptied my cage, To hide in the world, And alter with age
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I put a new engine in my car, but forgot to take the old one out. Now my car goes 500 miles per hour
This is one of those times that you run across something totally unexpected. I was checking out those huge presidents heads and ran across a Mustang in mid tear down; I thought it was a neat scene with the ominous sky in the background.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Light from out of the darkness
I was at at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in the museum district of Houston, just looking around. They're perfectly fine with photography and they let you roam around the main auditorium unattended. When I get a camera capable of long exposures, this is the first place I'm going to hit up. So much potential!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Hwy 59 overpass
I just think there is something so beautiful about the freeways and overpasses here in Texas, especially in Houston. I think my wife had something to with making me realize this, being a Texan herself. They just don't put this kind of effort into them in Arkansas where I'm originally from.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Giant Presidents head mold
A mold for a giant presidents head statue at David Adickes Sculpturworx. Very creepy, one of my favorites from that day.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Gates of Paradise
The east pair of doors to the the Florence Baptistery or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John), dubbed by Michelangelo as "the Gates of Paradise"
The Baptistry is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures. The south doors were done by Andrea Pisano and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
The Italian poet Dante Alighieri and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistery In fact, until the end of the nineteenth century, all Catholic Florentines were baptized here.
The octagonal Baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza di San Giovanni, across from the Duomo cathedral and the Giotto bell tower (Campanile di Giotto).
These are not HDR by the way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Baptistery
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
With ancient markings etched on weathered stone, Above ruins of the dead and finite dust of hollow bones
In 1875, the land, which had
previously been used for slave burials, was purchased by Richard Brock, Houston's
first black alderman.
It opened as a cemetery for black Methodists
in 1877. When Olivewood was platted, it was the first African-Americans
burial ground within the Houston city limits.
Many 19th century influential
African-Americans were buried in the cemetery, including Reverend Elias Dibble,
first minister of Trinity United Methodist Church; Reverend Wade H. Logan, also
a minister of the church; and James Kyle, a blacksmith; as well as Richard
Brock.
The cemetery includes more than 700
family plots around a graceful, elliptical
drive that originated at an ornate entry gate. It contains graves of both the
well-to-do and those who died in poverty; therefore, the grave markers run the
gamut from elaborate Victorian monuments to simple, handmade headstones.
Burials at Olivewood Cemetery continued through the 1960s.
In 2003, after decades of neglect
and abandonment, the "Descendants of Olivewood," a nonprofit
organization, was established to take guardianship of the cemetery, "to
provide care and to protect its historical significance."
Olivewood was designated an Historic
Texas Cemetery. By 2010 water and vandals threatened to damage graves in a
portion of the cemetery.
On a spookier side note:
Over the years, there have been numerous reports of mysterious after-dark sightings and strange movements within the graveyard.
Cathi Bunn, a paranormal investigator, began exploring Olivewood in 1999. One moonlit midnight, Bunn said she videotaped the ghost of Mary White, who was buried in 1888, hovering above her headstone.
Olivewood Cemetery on Wikipedia
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Old weathered train cars
Trains, trains, and more trains. I think I have around thirty photos from that day, so many opportunities at a train yard, and the employees were kind enough to let me roam around on my own. Spent almost two hours there, proablbly would have spent more if not for the heat.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Roof of St. Mark's Basilica
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Stairway to heaven
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Presidents heads
Artist David Adickes is known for his heroic scale sculptures of historic figures. Just south of Huntsville on 45, you can see one of his creations, a 67 foot tall statue of Texas historical figure and founder of Houston; Sam Houston. His series of President heads, between 16 and 20 ft. tall, became the core of two theme parks -- in South Dakota and Virginia. Both have since closed, but travelers can see an array of leaders' heads by peeking over the fence at Adickes' Houston studio.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Inside the Colosseum of Rome
Most people assume that the Colosseum is in it's current shape due simply to the passage of time. But when the Roman empire fell, it's society collapsed. There was no government any more and after a while the locals lost any reverence they had for the magnificent structures of the time. Why go all the way to the quarry when all this stone is going unused right here, They began scavenging stone from where ever they could find it. Specifically marble, which included the expensive seats and the columns of the Colosseum.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Now close the windows and hush all the fields...
Reminds me of The Wizard of OZ for some reason. Just on the other side of the toll road from our apartment in north Austin, Texas, was a bunch of old, dilapidated farm buildings that were pleading with me to come photograph them.
Once again I am reminded of a quote from Michelangelo I used for another post title: "A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it......".
If you liked this one, check out this older post: Leaving this old farm house to it's loneliness and decay. It's of another structure from the same area.
| -Robert Frost- | ||||||||||
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The winged lion of Venice
I took this one while we were at the Doge's palace in Venice, Italy. It is located at the top of the "Scala dei Giganti", latin for "The scale of the Giants". For another view, check out a past post: Standing in the presence of giants...
The Lion of Saint Mark, representing the evangelist St Mark, pictured in the form of a winged lion, is the symbol of the city of Venice and formerly of the Republic of Venice. It appears also in both merchant and military naval flags of the Italian Republic. The Lion of Saint Mark is also the symbol of the award of the Venice Film Festival, the "Golden Lion", and of the insurance company Assicurazioni Generali. Also the open book is a symbol of the state's sovereignty.
The lion of Venice is usually depicted with its paw on an open book that contains the text:
Pax tibi, Marce, Evangelista meus.
This is Latin, and means "Peace be upon you, O Mark, my Evangelist." Venetian legend has it that, while visiting the region of Italy that would later become Veneto, Mark was approached by an angel, greeted with those words, and told that the Venetian lagoon would be his ultimate resting place. The actual story is most likely as described above, with the Venetians taking it upon themselves to fulfill the angel's prophecy (which they probably wrote themselves, too).
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Chisholm Trail Crossing in the rain
Back a few months ago in another world called Austin, well actually Round Rock, Texas. This was the first really hard rain we had in a while there, gully washer some might have called it. This is a train bridge of Brushy Creek in west Round Rock next to Chisholm Trail Crossing, the place of Round Rock's naming. It's named after a large round rock (what else) that is mostly above the water not far to the left of this scene.
Friday, September 28, 2012
The ever watchful eyes of the Piazza San Marco
I cannot find any information on the internet as to who's head this is. Maybe Zeus? The orb below him is one of the many lights that line the Piazza, at Night it is quite a remarkable sight to see all those lights lit up. Anyway, this is in the back end of the Piazza San Marco or Saint Mark's square, opposite of Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica) in Venezia, Italia (Venice, Italy). This photo is one of the many situations I have found myself in while processing. Before I processed this image, I did not expect much of a dramatic result, but boy was I pleasantly surprised. Its experiences like these that keep me coming back to HDR, taking a boring pic and making something remarkable out of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_San_Marco
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Brunelleschi's lantern at the top of the Duomo
And here we have Brunelleschi's lantern at the top of the dome of the The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Firenze, Italia (Florence, Italy) or just the Duomo, as it is more widely known.
To get to the top, requires the purchase of a ticket and then 414 back breaking steps (no elevator).
Like a tree where lovers carve their initials as show of affection for viewers to come, hundreds of couples have written their names or initials on the lantern.
After the miraculous construction of the dome by Brunelleschi, his ability to crown the dome with a lantern was questioned and he had to undergo another competition. He was declared the winner over his competitors Lorenzo Ghiberti and Antonio Ciaccheri. His design was for an octagonal lantern with eight radiating buttresses and eight high arched windows (now on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo). Construction of the lantern was begun a few months before his death in 1446. Then, for 15 years, little progress was possible, due to alterations by several architects. The lantern was finally completed by Brunelleschi's friend Michelozzo in 1461. The conical roof was crowned with a gilt copper ball and cross, containing holy relics, by Verrocchio in 1469. This brings the total height of the dome and lantern to 114.5 metres (375 ft). This copper ball was struck by lightning on 17 July 1600 and fell down. It was replaced by an even larger one two years later.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Old Booth Texas School house and auditorium
I was in the area of Booth, Texas looking for something else entirely and I stumbled upon this little gem, the old Booth Texas school house and attached auditorium -
Founded by freeman Irby Booth (1866 - 1931) about 1890, shortly after he bought
the surrounding property. In the early 1890s, Booth went to South Carolina and brought
back 30 families to settle his land. Early crops of cotton, corn, and rice were shipped
to market via the Brazos River. The post office opened March 21, 1894. By the early 1900s,
the town of Booth had a syrup mill, sawmill, and was serviced by the Gulf, Colorado &
Santa Fe Railroad, by which sugar cane, alfalfa, and truck vegetables were shipped.
Booth Public school opened in 1908 and operated until 1947.
(from the Historical Marker)
The information I found on this school house and the settlement of Booth in general was taken from :
which I found via:
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