Thursday, April 30, 2009

FOR SALE


$3000

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

They build 'em, I shoot 'em.

I'm not always ankle-deep in ugly buildings. I get to shoot clean, new construction sometimes! Harmon Construction hires me to document their completed projects about twice a year. Sometimes it's a small remodeling job, sometimes it's a HUGE new shopping mall.

This church in Olathe had a massive addition built, including a new entryway complete with coffee bar, new auditorium and large kitchen facilities. I'd guess the addition is about three times larger than the original church!



Monday, April 27, 2009

It's fishin' season!


Don't worry, they get a LOT bigger than this! Cooler temps this spring and now with all the rain, the season has been pushed back a bit, but it looks like this is going to be a good one. Caught two little bass in our cove (where we NEVER catch anything) a couple weeks ago. That was then. I'll bet the bass and crappie are on a tear right now! Wish I was there.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hot Rods

Gotta love 'em!



Friday, April 24, 2009

30 years ago . .



Self portrait; in my room, c.1978.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Pre-restoration

One of the things I wanted to do with this blog was show people what's possible through Federal and State Historic Tax Credit programs. Without the incentive these programs provide, MANY historic structures would be demolished.

I went out of town yesterday to photograph the existing conditions of a group of apartment buildings that will be renovated using these tax credits. It's hard to imagine, but soon these will be buildings I'd bet you would like to live in.






Monday, April 20, 2009

Gail's Swap Meet

(I have my Mac back, so we now return you to your regularly scheduled programing.)

April 11th Gail's Harley Davidson hosted a motorcycle swap meet open to all makes and models, not just HDs. Sadly there really wasn't much to look at. Most of the bikes were late model Harley's with the standard bolt-on custom parts, like this one shown below:


What the hell is that, anyway? I mean, sure it's an air cleaner, but what's the point of the double-filter when you only have ONE carb??

Anyway, here are my favorites from the meet:


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tea at The Liberty Memorial



My fears of this thing turning into a shouting match between pro-tax pro-government counter protestors and the tea partyers were unfounded. The event when off without a hitch. I neither saw nor heard anything that could be construed as hateful and I saw no covert operators trying to stir up trouble. It was a fun, worthwhile time.

Will it make a difference? Not yet, but this is only the first play of the game. And it's going to be a very long game.

It has begun . .


The Wall Street Journal has a fair story about how all this started and why. Check it out:
Tax Day Becomes Protest Day

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009

How far has film fallen?

Everybody knows that digital photography is rapidly replacing film, but just how far out of favor has film fallen? Here's a clue: I recently bought these items at an auction along with other less notable cameras, all thrown into one box. I paid $15 for them all.


Canon TX, manual SLR camera with 50mm f 1.8 lens. After putting a $3 battery into it for the light meter, it works perfectly.


Nikon MD-11 power winder for Nikon FM series cameras. Excellent working condition.


And the most amazing of the bunch, a Mamiya RB67 body with back and prism finder. Admittedly, the body is in rough, non-working condition and is missing a dark-slide. But the back and especially the prism finder are in excellent condition. Even the body is still good for parts.

On to eBay they go. There we'll find out what all this is REALLY worth.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

What next?





Anybody that knows me knows that our house was once the home of famous local Ragtime composer and bandleader, E. Harry Kelly. His first and biggest hit was "Peaceful Henry" (click the title to hear it) published in 1901.


About 20 years later an industrious fellow thought he could use the popularity of the tune in marketing his line of cigars. Thus the "Peaceful Henry" brand was created by M.H. Smaltz & Son, in Stouchsburg, PA and produced for several years. The box labels show up on eBay quite often but a complete box is RARE. I found one last week on eBay and jumped on it.


Cool? Yes! But that's not the end of the story. Once again piggybacking on a name and popularity, this time the cigars, a small tobacconist in South Carolina opened a shop called "Peaceful Henry"!

I wonder what will come next?

Thursday, April 9, 2009

30 years ago . .


Then as now, the only time I was interested in photographing people was when I could create something instead of just documenting; the complete opposite of how I view architectural photography. I had, and still have, a great appreciation for the great Hollywood photographers of the 20's through the 50's. So, with a good friend of mine in High School, we set out to re-create that same Hollywood portrait feeling.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Tea, anyone?



Next Wednesday, April 15th, from 4:00 until who knows when, Liberty Memorial will be THE place to be. If you're alarmed by the staggering speed at which our national debt has doubled (and possibly soon triple) in just the last six months with no end in sight, join thousands of other concerned citizens across the country in a Tax Day Tea Party. Kansas City's party will likely be among the largest and has already garnered national media attention.

Learn more at:
TaxDayTeaParty.com

Taxed
Enough
Already!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Our 3 Hours at Garozzo's


Tonight was Garozzo's twentieth anniversary and to celebrate they were offering everything at their 1989 prices. Could we pass that up? No!

No surprises, there were HUGE crowds and long lines. We waited two hours just to get in, but after that it was heaven. The usual great food and great service. All well worth the wait!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Nestor Miranda Cigars


If you weren't at The Outlaw Cigar Co. party Saturday afternoon, I'm afraid you may have missed out. Nestor Miranda of Miami Cigar was there to promote his special 20th Anniversary, Don Pepin Garcia-made offering. To be honest I wasn't really expecting much. No beer, no 300 lb. roast pig, no live music, etc. Turns out, nobody needed any of that this time around. It was all about the cigar! And they were FANTASTIC!

These cigars have a pre-light aroma of fine chocolates. They smoke with subtile spiciness, a creamy smooth finish and produce clouds of fragrant smoke. I enjoyed mine until my fingers could no longer hold it due to the heat. And it was every bit as good right down to the nub. I had to re-light it a few times but at NO point was there a bitter "re-light" taste.

Some cigars give you full flavor but make you pay for it in the knees (smoke a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero on an empty stomach and you'll know what I mean). Others leave you feeling fine but have very little (or bad) flavors. These Nestor Midanda Special Selections are delicious, and you won't need a wheelchair afterwards!

I had a great time, sampled some really nice rum, sat with Nestor Miranda and watched basketball for a while, and went home with an armload of very fine cigars!

Friday, April 3, 2009

30 years ago . .


I covered all the football games in High School from the time I was a Sophomore, both for the school newspaper and the yearbook. Most of these kids were seniors in this 1979 shot.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Outlaw Cigar Mini-Party for Nestor Miranda Saturday


Not a big shindig this time, but a big deal nonetheless. The Outlaw Cigar Co. is receiving a shipment of a very limited run of Nestor Miranda's cigars. The following, from Gary's Cigar Blog on About.com, explains it all better than I could:

"Pepin Garcia, of Tabacalera Garcia, and Nestor Miranda, of Miami Cigar & Company, have combined forces to produce a special limited edition Twentieth Anniversary cigar under the Nestor Miranda Special Selection label. On April 1, 2009, Miami Cigar & Company will begin shipping these cigars to one hundred select tobacconists throughout the country. The cigar is available in one size measuring 7 x 56, and is packed in boxes of twenty. It will be available in two different wrappers, Habano Rosado (medium) and Habano Oscuro (full bodied). The cigars are made in Esteli, Nicaragua, and only 1,000 boxes of each type will be available."

The party starts at 11:00!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

It's APRIL!


Time to license those bikes! (And/or buy another one!)