tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16552840449628693802024-03-08T02:33:48.123-08:00Thunderflakesmusings, ramblings, and the occasional curmudgeonly rant
from an incurable romantic and semi-reformed web ludditeSteve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-60304528153916398822017-08-10T19:35:00.000-07:002017-08-10T21:24:02.448-07:00Duane Street Summer - a new Tribeca Summer Impression...<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></span></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jGLnPEcBITg/WY0VcsH1eBI/AAAAAAAACJQ/pARpJz5tCic2npgMj3X5B3tmBUqqWm2PQCLcBGAs/s1600/Detail%2Bfrom%2B%2527Duane%2BStreet%2BSummer%2527%2B-%2BSMALL-Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1467" data-original-width="1600" height="366" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jGLnPEcBITg/WY0VcsH1eBI/AAAAAAAACJQ/pARpJz5tCic2npgMj3X5B3tmBUqqWm2PQCLcBGAs/s400/Detail%2Bfrom%2B%2527Duane%2BStreet%2BSummer%2527%2B-%2BSMALL-Blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s been quite some time since I’ve engaged in <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">one of those</span> late night
visual fugues and turned one of my photographs into something more
impressionistic…or, as I like to call it, “messing around with a few thousand
innocent little pixels.”</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fact is, I’ve been rather busy with the “literal,”
especially since purchasing my first full-frame digital SLR,
the exquisitely capable Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, prior to my recent week in New
York.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nonetheless, as Canon celebrated earlier this year the 30<sup>th</sup>
Anniversary of its highly successful line of EOS auto-focus cameras, causing me
to realize I had been an EOS shooter almost from the git-go, jumping aboard in
1988 with one of the first two EOS film SLRs, this became a rather special
month, what with jumping, no...plunging!... into full-frame D-SLR
shooting with one of Canon’s high end statements (and so glad I waited to do it
for what the 5D-IV brings to the party!).</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But neither this little ramble nor the product of my
“messing around” has to do with my new 5D. Rather, it relates to that first EOS
film SLR that competed with my trusty Nikon
manual focus SLRs for this photographer’s affection back in 1988, the EOS-620.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After serving me quite well for a couple of years, the
trusty little 620 stepped aside in 1990, for no fault of its own, to make way
for the industrial strength professional iteration of EOS technology, the
EOS-1, which I had to spring for once it was clear EOS cameras would be part of
my shooting tools, and which I happily still use.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, in shall we call it a wave of sentimentality (and
if you know me, you know those waves crash often upon this shore), I purchased
a “new” EOS-620 a few years ago, remembering in this era of menu-driven camera
controls just how straightforward was its operation by comparison – sort of a
part-time return to a more “comfort-food-y” experience with a camera that had
the basic essentials for getting it done without a lot of unnecessary fuss. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 620 also reminded me of my first exciting visits to both
<a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/a-bastille-moment-no-1-steve-ember/37444869" target="_blank">Paris</a> and the Swiss Alps. And, if another excuse was needed, well, the price
was right – a minty 620 for twenty-eight bucks, shipping included! Yes, by this
point, in 2012, digital photography had pretty much knocked the bottom out of
most of the film camera market. And besides, the EOS-620 had been superseded
several times by newer EOS film camera models with more features, so in EOS
terms, it was a very “old” model. But it was those solid “essentials” I was
looking to have in my film camera arsenal once again. So, a happy “new”
addition to the ol’ tool kit…</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Becoming aware of the 30<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Canon’s
EOS system, <a href="https://medium.com/@emberphoto/happy-anniversary-eos-8d13a7413cbc" target="_blank">I wrote a story</a> about my (almost) thirty years of snuggling my eye
up against various EOS cameras’ viewfinders, including both the one that got it
started for me, the EOS-620 and that “new” 620 I got hold of in 2012. To
illustrate the piece, I started selecting images from my original and “new” EOS-620s
– an interesting voyage of re-discovery for me, as it combined shooting from
the periods 1988-1990 and 2012-present. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In seeking out some from the latter period, the search led
me to the original image from which the impression you see (a portion of) up top was created.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That “new” EOS-620 had come along with me to NYC in 2013 and
served me well alongside the D-SLR and
another EOS film camera. Indeed, the 620 was in my pack on the delightful first
day of summer late afternoon that I discovered the inviting motifs of Duane
Street in Tribeca. And while I was doing most of
my shooting with the digital camera, I did make sure to use the 620, loaded
with Kodak Ektar-100 film, to capture some of those moments in the golden light
of a New York afternoon. Some of
that shooting was capturing the human activities aspect of Duane
Street, richly back-lighted from my point of view
looking west along Duane to Greenwich Street.
</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The shots were fine, but, if you’ve read my <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2014/10/duane-street-you-delight.html" target="_blank">blog story</a> or
listened to the accompanying “PhotoMoments” podcast about discovering the
delights of this short street in Tribeca, you know how magical I found the
experience. I could not have discovered this venue at a better time of the day
with that special kind of afternoon sunlight that New
York provides. And, somehow, the Ektar shots were
almost too “literal,” not quite catching, I felt, the special sensual
experience of my visit. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so, my exercise late last night, using one of the
original Ektar images, which I think did better capture that special Duane
Street ambiance and the warm glow I felt in
experiencing it.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This “Duane Street Summer” impression (see it in full scope <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/duane-street-summer-a-tribeca-impressio-steve-ember/40040518" target="_blank">here</a>) will be available in
archival prints on fine art 100% cotton fiber paper in a variety of sizes. If
you’d like to own this little golden sunlit slice of Tribeca in summer, please
be in touch.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-81760246993738472022017-08-06T16:54:00.000-07:002017-08-06T23:25:37.791-07:00Discovering a plucky bit of contrast amidst the towers of Lower Manhattan<i><b><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></span></b></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_p3U3Svxna8/WYenlvtgEpI/AAAAAAAACJA/St6JnR1oIoY_i4DCbFneLQiPai-wz925gCLcBGAs/s1600/Contrasts%2Bin%2BLower%2BManhattan%2B%2528Oculus%252C%2BCorbinBldg%2B-%2BSMALL%2BBlog%2BF-B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1058" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_p3U3Svxna8/WYenlvtgEpI/AAAAAAAACJA/St6JnR1oIoY_i4DCbFneLQiPai-wz925gCLcBGAs/s640/Contrasts%2Bin%2BLower%2BManhattan%2B%2528Oculus%252C%2BCorbinBldg%2B-%2BSMALL%2BBlog%2BF-B.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oculus, World Trade Center looking east</span></span></td></tr>
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<![endif]--><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">There’s something about
the constantly changing </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Manhattan</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> skyline that keeps me so energized when out with the cameras (read:
all the time).</span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Often, it is the old
giving way to the new, always the classic and the modern cheek by jowl that
inspire. But what really excites is when the old, the classic – literally –
holds its ground and can cheekily say to the soaring modern, “I’m here to stay.
Get used to it, big shiny neighbor!”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Here’s one example of the
latter that really got the juices flowing on my last visit, as the contrast was
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> striking. Using mild telephoto to
compress perspective, I was shooting Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus transportation
center at the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">World</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Trade</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Center</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">, looking east toward Broadway</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> and was struck by the contrast between the soaring
white ribs and the plucky looking red-roofed tower atop the eight story late
nineteenth century building facing Broadway. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Now, you might say
Calatrava’s ribbed and soaring design is likely to contrast with any <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">modern </i>neighboring Lower Manhattan
architectural statement; but in this case, the contrast between the plucky old
and the boldly new, including the colors in the late afternoon sunshine of this
first day of summer, really excited me as I composed my shot through the
28-80mm L-Series lens on my new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV D-</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">SLR</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">So, what’s your story, plucky little
brown and red tower?</span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">As this was my first visit
to this side of the WTC, I did not at the time know the significance of said
plucky red and brown tower. But I do now. It’s the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Corbin</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Building</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">, whose construction was completed in 1889, and which was pretty down
on its heels as </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">New
York</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">’s </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">MTA</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> began construction of the neighboring </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Fulton</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Center</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> as a means of unifying </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Lower Manhattan</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">’s
jumble of Subway lines and their separate stations.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">The </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Corbin</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Building</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> was named for banker Austin Corbin, who had earlier acquired the Long
Island Railroad, generally acknowledged as the key to </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Long Island</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">’s growth and development.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Those who ride the LIRR
into </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Manhattan</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> may recall a once-upon-a-time monument to
railroading called Penn Station. Well, at least those of a certain age. The
original turn of the twentieth century station rose majestically on </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Seventh Avenue</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> at </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">33<sup>rd</sup> Street</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> and made arriving or departing midtown, well,
almost as grand an experience as the New York Central’s Grand Central Terminal,
further uptown and a few blocks to the east.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Unlike the sad demise of Penn Station's original incarnation, in the case of Mr. Corbin’s
building, nestled amidst all the new soaring structures downtown,
preservationists have reason to smile (even if in a smaller context). They succeeded in getting the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">MTA</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> not to demolish the building but, through a
painstaking excavation process in building the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Fulton</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Center</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">, to protect its integrity and to then even engage in cleaning and
preserving it. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Of course, the transit
folks got bang for their buck, as escalators now <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>connect Fulton Center to the Dey Street
Passageway, leading to the rest of the downtown subway lines, as well as the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">PATH</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> trains to New Jersey in the WTC’s Oculus…via the
basement of the attractively restored Corbin Building, which is now being
developed as inviting commercial space.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">So, win-win. And a rather
nice story to learn about as I edited my shots from that June afternoon in </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Lower Manhattan</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">. I hope it might enhance your enjoyment of the
photo.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/contrasts-in-lower-manhattan-steve-ember/40021407" target="_blank"><b>Contrasts in Lower Manhattan</b></a><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> is available in archival gallery prints in a
variety of sizes and media, including metallic.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">And, yes, my new
acquaintance with the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Corbin</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Building</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> means it moves to top of list on my next </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Lower Manhattan</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> explorations.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-64139921098044739072017-07-24T20:43:00.000-07:002017-07-25T17:14:28.283-07:00There's all kinds of candy stores...<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b>...from a photographer's notebook</b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What does it take to turn a New York Subway-loving
photographer into a kid in a candy store?</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Walking into the Fulton <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Street</span> Trans<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">it</span> Center one
June day was all it took for me, as I looked up to see all of the route emblems
for the many Subway lines this modern underground rail nexus now integrates.
The view here is from a street level entrance, but the distinctive shopping and
subway station complex can also be reached via the underground concourse
leading from the Oculus at World Trade Center, which also links the Subway
lines here to the modern WTC PATH terminal with
its trains to points in New Jersey. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not sure what the symbol at the far right, next to the 5
Train signifies. But that’s all right – It’ll take several trips originating
from the various tracks and levels of this “candy store” before that even
becomes a concern ;-)</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Speaking of candy stores, methinks I hit upon a
great idea – M&Ms for Subway Lovers. Yeah, I ran it by them and got a form letter from "[my] friends at Mars" to the effect they don't take product suggestions coming from outside their Marketing Department. That's OK, Mars, I'll still eat your crunchy shelled little chocolates...</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">s</span>peaking of original ideas, my attention was so focused on the M&M's...err, Subway "bullets," that I didn't notice the "Subway Library Selfie Contest" poster to the left of the escalators while I was shooting. I doubt I would have looked more closely while there, as selfies are not exactly a passion of mine. But in editing my shots, I found myself wondering just what a "Subway Library" could be and why it would spawn such a contest.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Turns out I missed something special. It's over now - the contest, that is - so put away your selfie stick, but imagine this...just one of those wondrous things that NYC manages to do with such panache - and <i>scale</i>. The New York Public Library thinks straphangers should have <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/06/08/subway-library-offers-riders-a-read-on-their-commute/" target="_blank">something good to read</a> while tearing through tunnels or cruising to Coney (to eat baloney on a roll?) and is providing free e-books. The special train will run on the Sixth Avenue Line as an F train or on the Eighth Avenue Line as an E.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And, for its part, the MTA has "wrapped" a special subway train in vivid "Subway Library" colors. OK, we've all seen "wrapped" rapid transit or city buses, but, as I was saying about style - and this is what I must say I was sorry I missed! - the <u>inside</u> of the cars is "wrapped" to resemble the Rose Reading Room of the Public Library - complete with skylight and "shelves" of books. Hope they included a stern librarian "shooshing" the noisy ones yammering into their i-nuisances...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Come to think of it, I think I <i>would</i> take a selfie with her!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Happy reading...and subway riding.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
<i><b>
</b></i><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">P.S. You can ride with me and the cameras on some favorite MTA lines by clicking <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/m-train-approaches-marcy-avenue-station-steve-ember/3986480" target="_blank">here</a> (and then "transferring" to other trains by leafing through my NYC images).</span></span><i><b> </b></i>Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-4468187776658192862017-07-21T23:23:00.000-07:002017-07-22T22:19:33.037-07:00When it’s Christmas Morning on the Night Before Summer...<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></i></b></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OTkFsHbLL14/WXLuRVXYpsI/AAAAAAAACIA/y3J1f12nbkoUGOIIVEGs27Zv2UOBoaAAgCLcBGAs/s1600/ESB%2BNight%2BNo-1%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1100" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OTkFsHbLL14/WXLuRVXYpsI/AAAAAAAACIA/y3J1f12nbkoUGOIIVEGs27Zv2UOBoaAAgCLcBGAs/s640/ESB%2BNight%2BNo-1%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: xx-small;">Empire State Building from Madison Avenue</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">No matter how many years are on the odometer, I am delighted
to say that I never run out of “Kid on Christmas Morning” moments when I’m in New
York with a camera or three.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">And when one of those cameras happens to be my first
full-frame D-SLR, the exquisite Canon EOS 5D
MkIV – and so glad I waited – purchased especially for this trip and its
planned twilight open helicopter flight (let’s call it an early Christmas
present I’d no intention of waiting for Christmas Morning to open!)…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I suppose this image, taken on the night before summer, might serve as Exhibit-A. For at the
end of my first day exploring new territory in the city, enjoying for the first
time <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/a-purple-piano-in-the-park-steve-ember/39891511" target="_blank">Madison Square Park</a>, a few blocks south of my hotel on Madison Avenue, and
a nice dinner at a sidewalk café along the north edge of the park, I’m walking
back uptown and look up to see the iconic spire of the Empire State Building,
lighted in some of my favorite colors against a crystal clear night sky. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Yes, Santa Claus is coming to town – Heck, he’s already
landed that sleigh with a great big bundle of megapixels inside.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">The ESB was captured here through my trusty quarter-century<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-</span>young 28-80mm f/2.8-4 L-Series lens at its 80mm setting on the new 5D. The photograph (see it larger <a href="https://500px.com/photo/220675191/esb-night-no-1-by-steve-ember" target="_blank">here</a>) is available in archival gallery-quality prints in several sizes, and can be ordered<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> on several stocks including metallic media. Please <a href="mailto:steve@steveember.com" target="_blank">be in touch</a> for specifics.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">It was actually a fine afternoon and evening for viewing and
shooting iconic spires in Manhattan, notably also the gold-domed roofs of both
the New York Life Building and Met Life Tower along the east side of Madison
Square Park, both against afternoon- and twilight-blue skies on this photo-perfect
day... Let me share these with you soon.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">P.S: That 28-80L lens, incidentally, was purchased back when my EOS-1 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">film</i> camera and its “junior partner,”
the lovely little RT were new and has since meshed its shiny little gold electrical contacts
with those on my EOS-3 and 1N RS (big brother to the RT). It was nice (but not
surprising) to see it got along splendidly in NYC with the full-frame digital
EOS.</span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-66375911399379112312017-04-29T16:14:00.003-07:002017-04-29T23:27:48.986-07:00Rachmaninoff at the Meyerhoff<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i79w4Qc2lLY/WQUcFPqhrrI/AAAAAAAACHg/WwIY_d6jTzQCQ4A_YB20aCJyAO-Tt8diQCLcB/s1600/Marin%2BAlsop%2BAcknowledges%2BBSO%2Bmembers%252B%25C2%25A9Sig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i79w4Qc2lLY/WQUcFPqhrrI/AAAAAAAACHg/WwIY_d6jTzQCQ4A_YB20aCJyAO-Tt8diQCLcB/s400/Marin%2BAlsop%2BAcknowledges%2BBSO%2Bmembers%252B%25C2%25A9Sig.jpg" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Conductor Marin Alsop salutes her orchestra after a stunning performance of the Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 last night at the Meyerhoff </span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">I journeyed up the road Baltimore last night (well, crawled
might be a better word, as it was a Friday on the Capital Beltway and I-95 <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- b</span>etter planning in order next time<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> -</span> but
well worth the 2-1/2 hour slog!) to hear Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra perform one of my favorite works of Rachmaninoff, the Symphony No.2,
which also happens to be one of my favorite symphonies, period.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">When <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">one</span> loves a work <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">as much as I do</span> this symphony, it is <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">difficult indeed</span> to have
just one favorite performance, conductor, orchestra, or recording. I’ve always
thought Andre Previn and Eugene Ormandy have both made this <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">expansive</span> romantic
symphony their own in definitive recordings, but there are so many others in my
collection of CDs and vinyl, which I have enjoyed over the years. Oddly, for a
work I so love, live performances have not numbered all that many, but I’d like
to add Ms. Alsop to a list of conductors who I feel have made the symphony their own.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">If this happens to be one of your favorite symphonies too,
let me suggest – no, urge – that you go online at <a href="http://bsomusic.org/">bsomusic.org</a> and reserve a
seat at Strathmore this evening at 8 or at the Meyerhoff tomorrow afternoon at
3. I think you’ll be glad you did.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRgzjw5CzBw/WQUiOHOcrFI/AAAAAAAACHw/63W6el0Tq-oEDzaBNmmU_twz2nQRFH7VgCLcB/s1600/BSO%2BPoster-Nothing%2BBetter%2Bthan%2BLive%2BMusic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRgzjw5CzBw/WQUiOHOcrFI/AAAAAAAACHw/63W6el0Tq-oEDzaBNmmU_twz2nQRFH7VgCLcB/s320/BSO%2BPoster-Nothing%2BBetter%2Bthan%2BLive%2BMusic.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Especially when it's superbly played Rachmaninoff #2!</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Rachmaninoff No. 2 is a long symphony, running close to an
hour. Mere minutes into the first movement, as Ms. Alsop led her orchestra, I suspected
we were in for one hell of a ride. As the movement transitioned from brooding
to Allegro moderato, I knew I’d been right. And especially as the<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>Allegro molto second movement began, well this Rachmaninoff lover must have
been grinning like the Cheshire Cat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">As Cary Grant says in “North by Northwest” (if in an
entirely different context!), “What a performance!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">As the last movement built to its magnificent and
affirmative climax, I didn’t want it to end.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Brava Maestra Alsop! Bravo BSO!</span></span></i></b></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">This is a concert I’ll remember with unalloyed joy and
appreciation.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">I was not aware of this until reading the program notes of
the concert I attended earlier this month, but Ms. Alsop is a protégé of Leonard
Bernstein. It made perfect sense as I listened to her talk about Rimsky
Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” last time at the “Off the Cuff” concert, as well as
the way she engages her audience in discussing a piece of music.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Like Bernstein, she is a kinetic and emotive conductor. And
while I love many of Bernstein’s recordings, thankfully, unlike Bernstein, her
facial expressions do not suggest excessive <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sturm
und Drang</i> (or the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition!). Her love of – and respect
for – the music she conducts is nothing less than genuine. Beyond that, a good
descriptor would be “<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">unassumingly</span> eloquent.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">From my perch above the stage in a cozy three chair terrace
box, I could really appreciate how Ms. Alsop communicates with her musicians in
each section of the orchestra. It is nothing less than a warm and sincere love
affair, both with her orchestra and the music she conducts.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Finding my sweet spot at the Meyerhoff…</span></i></b></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">I mentioned in a <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2017/04/a-thousand-and-one-nights-at-meyerhoff.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> that I planned to sample the
acoustics and views from other locations in the invitingly modern concert hall
of the Meyerhoff. Assuming good acoustics, I’ve always enjoyed a high and
close-in view of the orchestra. It allows me to visually connect the sounds
with the musicians in each section of the ensemble. This time, I think I struck
gold – a front terrace box on the left side, way up front. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Experiencing the Rachmaninoff No.2 as conducted by Marin
Alsop from this high and cozy spot in the Meyerhoff, and watching her interact with the musicians, was nothing less than
sublime.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">The program also includes two choral works in which the excellent
University of Maryland
Chorus, </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">directed by </span>Edward Maclary, joined the BSO. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It</span> opened with Estonian
composer Arvo Pärt’s “Credo,” receiving its BSO premiere. It is described as a “merging
of the worlds of love and hate to offer healing.” I’m not at all sure that, on
first hearing, it did either for me. Like the 2-1/2 hour Interstate slog,
though, it was to be endured, knowing the affirmative joys of Rach #2 lay ahead.
Oh, yes, it is relatively … short.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">More to my liking, the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, which
gave the orchestra and this fine chorus the chance to shine together. I <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">especially</span> enjoyed Ms. Alsop’s conducting and the orchestra's taught ensemble playing in a particularly angular and
athletic orchestral portion.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">The BSO programs also have a way of offering patrons some
nice after concert bonuses in the so-called BSO Late Night programs. Last
night, it was an (additional) performance by the chorus, a capella, on a
Meyerhoff stairway. Many of us audience members stayed around to enjoy their
virtuosity. Just a note, this bonus performance was for Friday night’s concert
only.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-79554534216142002032017-04-03T16:04:00.002-07:002017-04-12T20:44:32.884-07:00A thousand and one nights at the Meyerhoff...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U957_C3Outo/WO7hhxwRrjI/AAAAAAAACHQ/iT1GB3KXgF8uaSHsMZ43mC5AxUX0qLRXACLcB/s1600/Meyerhoff%2BSymphony%2BHall-6561%2BSMALL-Blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U957_C3Outo/WO7hhxwRrjI/AAAAAAAACHQ/iT1GB3KXgF8uaSHsMZ43mC5AxUX0qLRXACLcB/s400/Meyerhoff%2BSymphony%2BHall-6561%2BSMALL-Blog.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baltimore's Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<![endif]--><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Baltimore really
loves its symphony orchestra. I mean, really-really! It was such an <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">enjoyable</span>
experience catching up with the B<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">altimore Symphony</span> Saturday night. It was my first time
attending a concert conducted by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop, as well as my first
concert at Baltimore’s Joseph
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wow, did this Baltimore-bred music lover actually type that?
Where <i>is</i> his loyalty, one might ask. Not even a trip across the Beltway
to hear the BSO at Strathmore Performing
Arts Center?
(Well, I can at least say that I played a fair number of BSO recordings in my
past life as classical music broadcaster.)</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All of that changes after Saturday’s engaging evening of
music (and more).</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I must blushingly admit that the last time I had
previously attended a BSO concert was at the old Lyric Theater. I wish I could
even say that the last time at the Lyric was shortly before the Meyerhoff
opened in 1982…but, alas, it wasn’t.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nope, last time I actually attended a BSO program<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>was<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>sometime in the distant ‘60s. Someone had the radical idea of
busing a bunch of us rowdy high school hoodlums to a BSO concert. And to make
it “worse,” a concert that was being recorded for broadcast.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I referred not long ago to the hyper-developed trivia lobe
that sits somewhere behind my eyes and between my ears, so here is a bit of
trivia guaranteed to register <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">at least</span> with Baltimore radio listeners of a certain
age … or audio buffs (also of a certain age).</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We rowdy hoodlums (OK, I wasn’t one of them – I happened to like
classical music) were soundly and deservedly bawled out before the concert by Baltimore
broadcaster Gil Kriegel of station WITH for “our” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Not Me</i>, I reiterate!) lack of decorum. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"><i><b>When AM carried the fiddles and FM the celli (or was it the other way around?)</b></i></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Another bit of musical, broadcast, and audio trivia, again
for those “seasoned” enough to appreciate it – Once upon a time, and for a
mercifully short period until FM Multiplex Stereo broadcasting arrived, there
were experimental stereo broadcasts of the BSO by WITH, which at the time, had
both AM and FM stations. The programming was different, but on Sunday
afternoons, they came together to thrill music lovers with concerts by the BSO.
I believe the conductor at the time might have been Massimo
Freccia.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stereo was new and novel enough at the time that the (<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">often) </span>rather
obvious difference in sound quality between the two channels did not seem to
dim the experience, and the Symphonie Fantastique did indeed sound pretty
fantastic…as did the Tchaikowsky, Brahms, Mendelssohn, what have you.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A typical set-up might have been that the FM channel would
blossom forth from, perhaps, a large mahogany “HiFi” console (in our case, it
was a huge DuMont 19 inch TV that also incorporated an
FM tuner of quite decent quality and a big coaxial speaker), and the poor-relation AM side squawked forth
from a table radio (ours was a<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> modest</span> Emerson). </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As this was something of an event for music lovers, one made
sure that the AM table radio was carefully tuned to avoid any spurious
“whistles.” Also, that any fluorescent lights <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>vacuum cleaners</span></span> were turned
off to avoid any f<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">utz</span>ing with the fiddles or flutes.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, my, I have just reminded myself of how Hannibal Lecter,
another lover of fine music, rid the BSO of a faulty flautist who made the
mistake of playing his flute miserably out of tune during the Mendelssohn
Scherzo from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that opens “Red Dragon.” Ah, but that was
a “deliciously” appropriate (if purely cinema<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">tic) </span>matter of maintaining high standards of orchestral
playing, and I hasten to add the flutes <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday</span> night sounded just fine. So no
off-tune livers being dined upon with fava beans and a nice chianti…or served
as an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">amuse-bouche</i> to music
supporting dilettantes in Bolton Hill.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But back to those noble early AM-FM attempts at stereophonic
symphony broadcasts…They didn’t necessarily have to sound as cheesily
off-balanced as I described above. The true audio hobbyist (in which I had by then
only attained “sprout” status) might instead have listened on a full-fledged
audio system with identical speakers left and right, with the broadcast entering
via perhaps a McIntosh AM-FM tuner (with two tuning knobs) which allowed
simultaneous tuning of both an AM and an FM station, sending them as separate
left and right channels to the amplifying stages of one’s system. In such
cases, the AM channel could at least be subjectively closer in sound to the FM
channel…given no thunderstorms, fluorescent lights, or errant Hoovers.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><span style="color: yellow;">Pillo<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">w talk...and staying alive (with oriental color)...</span></span></b></i> </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ah, but I did I not begin this errant ramble with references
to the treats enjoyed by your scribe <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday</span> night at the Meyerhoff, as Maestra Marin
Alsop conducted Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s colorful orchestral showpiece
“Scheherazade” with Concertmaster Jonathan Carney playing the
featured violin parts by which the fair Scheherazade convinced the bloodthirsty
Sultan it was better (and much more entertaining) to keep her around as the
spinner of exotic tales.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It had been too long since I’d heard this favorite
piece in a live performance. Also, some recent photography around the old
B&O Mount Royal Station, close by the Meyerhoff, reminded me that it might
be fun to rediscover the BSO, experience the Meyerhoff, and enjoy more of Baltimore’s
dining and other attractions nearby. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And, as a </span>visit to the <a href="http://www.bsomusic.org/about/plan-your-visit/meyerhoff/" target="_blank">BSO web site</a> revealed some upcoming concerts featuring "Scheherazade," all fell into place nicely.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While the exterior of the Meyerhoff might be an acquired
taste, the inside is pleasantly modern and airy. Even before one enters the
auditorium, it is clear the public spaces have been designed with an eye to user-friendliness.
Spread out on each level are alcoves with seats and tables for enjoying a
pre-concert drink or snack from the multiple bars and food service kiosks or
just socializing. And most of these areas have nice outside views, including to
one of my favorite sights, beloved from childhood, the clock tower of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s proud Mount Royal Station, now productively occupied
by the art school of the Maryland Institute. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IizZh8GQ9Dg/WO7dBD4vEOI/AAAAAAAACHI/z6l4caojX6wHroBz7x_c43pq9hSi2TjpgCEw/s1600/MtRoyalStation%2Bfr-Meyerhoff-6570%2BSMALL-Blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IizZh8GQ9Dg/WO7dBD4vEOI/AAAAAAAACHI/z6l4caojX6wHroBz7x_c43pq9hSi2TjpgCEw/s400/MtRoyalStation%2Bfr-Meyerhoff-6570%2BSMALL-Blog.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">South end of Mount Royal Station faces the Meyerhoff</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The auditorium is visually pleasing as well, as one looks up
at boxes and other tiered seating areas with graciously curved forms, which
were, in fact, part of the acoustic design. While my computer-<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">selected</span> seat was quite close to
the stage and rather far to the left, I do look forward to experiencing the
sound balances and views of the orchestra from other parts, and levels, of the concert
hall on future visits.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"><i><b>Off the Cuff...</b></i></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This particular performance of “Scheherazade” was one of the
so-called “Off the Cuff” series programs, where Marin Alsop talks to the
audience about the work and conducts snippets to illustrate, before conducting
the full work. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is so satisfying to watch people who genuinely love what
they do, and who so engagingly share that passion with their public. The big
surprise, for me as a first time attendee of one of these programs, was that –
after the performance (which was, I should add, most enthusiastically received
by the large Meyerhoff audience) – Ms. Alsop returned to the stage with Mr. Carney
to conduct an informal question and answer session with the audience, most of
whom, I noticed, stayed on to enjoy or participate. There is one overwhelmingly
accurate description of how she presides – gracious. The questions were posed
by youngsters, seniors, and all ranges in between. And both Ms. Alsop and Mr.
Carney were patient, enthusiastic, and engaging. In the case of many of the
participants, Ms. Alsop asked them questions in return.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think the session may have lasted anywhere from 45 minutes
to an hour and never did I get the feeling that a questioner was rushed or
given less than thoughtful replies from the stage. And when it came time to
wrap up, it was done graciously.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh yes, there was another surprise. After the Q-and-A we
were invited to adjourn to the lobby where tasty Afghan dishes were being
provided at modest cost by one of midtown Baltimore’s
finest restaurants, The Helmand. And, to wash it down,
Stella Artois at four <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">bucks</span> a
bottle. Oh, yes, and an ensemble providing music.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can other orchestras learn from the BSO’s example of both
gemütlich and user-friendly accessibility? Another “Oh, YES.”</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A loyal fan was made that night at the Meyerhoff. Wish it
had happened sooner.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, one more thing to note…this one about…manners. How can I
put this gently? I have attended concerts over many years at our alabaster
cultural <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">palace</span> on the banks of the Potomac. Many a
fine performance, whether by the National Symphony Orchestra or </span></span><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">visiting world class</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>orchestras. I have never learned to be less offended when, barely have
the notes of the last piece faded away, one sees all too many “concertgoers” heading
for the exits to be the first ones to depart the parking garage. Not all, but
too damned many. I know the orchestra members are paid well, but to see this
happening after they’ve played their you-know-whats off…I have to wonder how
they feel seeing from the stage this consummate rudeness. And not just when the
next day is a work day.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Did I see this at the Meyerhoff? No. Indeed, it looked as
though most of the audience did in fact stay put for the Q-and-A.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If Saturday night is any kind of example, Baltimore
really loves its symphony orchestra and it really-really shows. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I couldn’t resist a movie reference earlier. He<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ah's</span> anudduh.
“I’ll be back.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2017 Steve Ember </span></span></div>
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Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-48104047804324728082017-03-04T23:30:00.001-08:002017-03-05T11:15:32.044-08:00American Airlines greets you with Mewer Till Dawn<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tqyJ9sJUCXc/WLu8K2rcgAI/AAAAAAAACGw/P4XKaenyDkcWnJNixqKenXecrLW6JS8EwCLcB/s1600/Mewer%2BTCU%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tqyJ9sJUCXc/WLu8K2rcgAI/AAAAAAAACGw/P4XKaenyDkcWnJNixqKenXecrLW6JS8EwCLcB/s400/Mewer%2BTCU%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: xx-small;">Mewer tonight at the hospital. See him larger with narrative <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/mewer-steve-ember/39356402" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="cd4u5-0-0"><span data-text="true">If you'll pardon the possibly obscure reference, I'll try to explain it. Or you may just chalk it up to a significant lightening of spirit upon seeing how well my handsome little trooper was getting along tonight at SouthPaws ;-)</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="95uih-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="45gjv-0-0"><span data-text="true">You'll notice - no more ga ga eyeballs, as he's requiring less happy juice after his surgery.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="dqt77-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="9utev-0-0"><span data-text="true">Anyhow, if you know me you're probably aware of the sometimes bizarrely arcane synapses that can start firing off when photos and music are brought within sparking distance.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="51e0k-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="37rvs-0-0"><span data-text="true">Like fr'instance...</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3seqo-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="3seqo-0-0"><span data-text="true">I'd planned to go to the Kennedy Center tonight to hear the NSO play my favorite Brahms Symphony (No. 2). </span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="21uc2" data-offset-key="ccion-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ccion-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="ccion-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="21uc2" data-offset-key="5fvdt-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5fvdt-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="5fvdt-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of </span>course that was before it became obvious from Mewer's last potassium emergency that surgery needed to happen sooner, not later.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="21uc2" data-offset-key="engme-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="engme-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="engme-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dia4-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="dia4-0-0"><span data-text="true">So, after a happy visit with my little guy, I figured a good stout shot of Brahms No. 2 on the audio system while I edited my photos of Mewer, Dr. Keil, and Nurse Maka would be the next best thing.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="f6psj-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="f6psj-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="97onu-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="97onu-0-0"><span data-text="true">And as Maestro Bruno Walter and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra launched into the Academic Festival Overture (it precedes the Symphony on this favorite CD, such that I always think of it as THE prelude to the magnificence of good ol' Number Two), I flash back to American Airlines once-upon-a-time overnight program of classical music and light classics/lush orchestral <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">selections.</span> "Music Till Dawn" was hosted by a <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">select group</span> of the finest broadcasters to grace a microphone and it covered the country via CBS Radio <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">owned-and-operated stations</span>. It was on AM radio, but I suppose that added to the night-time mystique...who could mind the occasional fade when considering such magnificent music was covering boundless distances under starry skies...kind of like those silver 707 Flagships or the remarkable Electra-IIs, their powerful Allison 501 turboprop engines making their own unique music. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="9o5tb-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0"><span data-text="true">Back then, car makers actually cared about the quality of their AM radios, and I still vividly remember driving at night in my <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/ahhh-steve-ember/31580801" target="_blank">'63 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible</a> and being able to tune in WBBM in Chicago, sounding almost local if the atmospherics were good, to hear Jay Andres hosting Music Till Dawn. He became my favorite of the high class stable of American Airlines hosts. Rich baritone with easy-going style (unlike some unnamed tyros who poison classical music with precious and effete affectations on certain other forms of radio).</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0"><span data-text="true">I'd make sure that juicy sounding AM radio in the Galaxie was tuned to WBBM at 12:30 AM (11:30 PM Chicago time) and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">enjoy</span> that splendid arrangement of "That's All," the program's signature,which would swell and fade under Jay's rich baritone...</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0"><span data-text="true">"American Airlines greets you with Music Till Dawn." </span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="cmqcd-0-0"><span data-text="true">Ahhhh...</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8bvu4-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="8bvu4-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c2kva-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="c2kva-0-0"><span data-text="true">Whether Jay Andres was introducing the Academic Festival Overture or suggesting how your local travel agent could arrange for a jet powered magic carpet to whisk you <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">off</span> to delightful destinations...well, he just had you in a very special <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">sp</span>ace while cruising past the lighted monuments along the Potomac with the Galaxie's top open to the stars.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="47jvg-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="47jvg-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c2333-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="c2333-0-0"><span data-text="true">I don't know if Jay was a cat person, but as I looked at this photo of Mewer...and Bruno Walter conducted Brahms No. 2...I had to think if he were to come back as a cat...he'd be Mewer. Maybe that has to do with Mewer's rich baritone p<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">urr-r-r-r.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7knbj-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="7knbj-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="21uc2" data-offset-key="5lhor-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5lhor-0-0">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="5lhor-0-0"><span data-text="true">No, I've not been imbibing...though I shall raise a glass shortly and maybe hit <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"r</span>epeat" on the CD player for another sublime shot of Brahms.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="8tg2u-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="ei44c-0-0"><span data-text="true">Oh, <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/mewer-steve-ember/39356402" target="_blank">Mewer</a>? If you haven't already guessed, my little boy's doing fine. Thank you, SouthPaws.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span data-offset-key="ei44c-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ei44c-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></span></span></div>
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Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-55574423970538558552017-02-19T00:35:00.000-08:002017-02-19T20:52:19.543-08:00On coal-smoke memories, a one, and three zeros<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><span style="color: #ffd966;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></b></i></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFKZ0hrKd0s/WKlXwSUDvEI/AAAAAAAACGg/gFYKG5_eKV0tjJrZPPbmPBK7heTBnx_9QCLcB/s1600/WM%2BRailway%2B734%2BHelmstetter%2527s%2BCurve%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFKZ0hrKd0s/WKlXwSUDvEI/AAAAAAAACGg/gFYKG5_eKV0tjJrZPPbmPBK7heTBnx_9QCLcB/s400/WM%2BRailway%2B734%2BHelmstetter%2527s%2BCurve%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/western-maryland-no-734-on-helmstetters-steve-ember/39295021" target="_blank">'Mountain Thunder' on Helmstetter's Curve, Cumberland, Maryland </a>©Steve Ember</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I just realized a few days ago that the next photograph I
publish to my <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/user_photos/1571414" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Foto<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Communit<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">y</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> pages</span> will be the one-thousandth since joining the site back
in 2009.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps not a huge amount in eight years, considering how
long I’ve been shooting, but 1,000 is kind of a special number, no matter <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> one is counting.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I got to chasing my tail in ever widening circles on the
topic of which of thousands of images, whether digital or film, should be my
one thousandth on F-C.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Something from Tribeca or elsewhere in NYC? A
not-yet-published scene from London
or the Scottish Highlands?
A favorite Alpine moment? Perhaps a portrait of a lovely woman? <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or m</span>y handsome little gray and white furry side-kick and
editing assistant, Mewer the WonderCat?</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then, it snuck up and grabbed me…an image that took me all
the way back to childhood in Baltimore…even before my folks gave me my first
camera which got the whole thing started – this looking through viewfinders, turning
dials, pressing buttons, and light-p<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ai</span>nting upside down images of stuff I liked
on sprocketed strips of celluloid and, much later, digital sensors.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even before I fell in love with photography, I was into…trains!
When I was very young, my parents’ furniture business, originally a furniture
factory, was located on East Monument Street
in an interesting<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (</span>if not exactly "glamorous") part of east-central Baltimore. Its neighbors
were the busy Fallsway, various warehouses, The Baltimore City Jail, the
Maryland Penitentiary, and a <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">funky little blue collar</span> carryout that made great hotdogs called AJ’s Dog House<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, with its Baltimore-direct slogan "If it ain't good, we don't sell i<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t" emblazoned on the outside wall.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ah, but I digress…</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The “neighboring attraction” that applies here was the street-running
tracks of the Western Maryland Railway that ran past “the factory,” across Monument
Street, parallel to Fallsway. The tracks connected
the WMR’s Hillen Street Station with Baltimore Pennsylvania Station to the
north. These tracks saw shunting of freight cars among the warehouses as well (by diesel
locomotives), but the real attraction was the afternoon passenger train to
Hagerstown and Cumberland in distant western Maryland, pulled by a gleaming
black huffing, chuffing…steam locomotive.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The train originated at Hillen Street, did the
aforementioned street running, protected by a man in a little house next to
Monument Street, who would come out with a Stop sign to ensure no motorists
came out second best in an encounter with the huffing, chuffing black beast,
and would continue (the train, not the man) up to Penn Station where it would
pick up additional passengers. Then, after passing through the tunnel the PRR
trains used in heading toward Washington and points south, it would veer off
toward northwest Baltimore to begin its journey to the far-western reaches of
Maryland.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There was something very special about viewing (and hearing and smelling) <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a</span> steam train from above. Mom and Dad’s showroom was on the second floor of
that old brick building, and that would be my after-school perch for watching
the train. As the tracks were immediately next to the building, it was very “up
close and personal,” including hearing the throaty “chuff-chuff-chuff,” seeing
the exhaust belching from the locomotive’s stack, and smelling the sweet aroma
of the coal-smoke. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It took probably less than a minute for the handsome beast
to huff and chuff past, but the sight, sound, and smell imprinted me for life.
Yes, I like the smell of diesel exhaust, too…and the aroma of warm electric
traction motors, but that first impression of a steam-powered passenger train
approaching, rumbling past, and disappearing to the north was seminal to a
life-long love of trains.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Indeed, some of the first photos I took with that first box
camera were, predictably, of trains, as my Dad would take me to some great
spots to watch the activities of both the Pennsylvania
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the Baltimore
and Ohio railroads. But, by this
time, the old Western Maryland service to Cumberland,
was pulled by an Alco RS-3 diesel road switcher locomotive. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, no pictures to share of a smoke-belching Western
Maryland Railway steam locomotive, its tender emblazoned with the big gold
Western Maryland letters and the gold and red “Fireball” logo of the railroad
(long ago absorbed into the CSX) chuffing
its way past that old red brick “factory” in east Baltimore (It’s not there any
more either)…</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But a part of the experience…and a generous helping of
coal-smoke…came back in a pleasant rush, about fifty years later on a
sun-bathed early autumn afternoon in Cumberland,
where I had journeyed to shoot the “Mountain Thunder” Steam Train of the
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, along its route from Cumberland
to Frostburg.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The setting was along the famous Helmstetter’s Curve. As you
look at the photo, you’ll just have to imagine the belching exhaust. Locomotive
No. 734, a 2-8-0, built in 1916, was doing plenty of blastful chuffing in as it
climbed out of the canyon of the Cumberland Narrows up to Helmstetter’s Farm,
for which the curve is named, and it will <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">resume its</span> chuffing and blasting in a
moment or two as it continues toward Brush Tunnel, but, for the moment, the
engineer has eased off the throttle and the fireman is taking a breather from
stoking coal into the firebox. Ah, but the coal-smoke fragrance was certainly
there for the sniffing.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The photo was taken on Fujichrome-100 slide film – pushed to
E.I. 400 – through an EF 100-300mm F/4.5-5.6 USM
lens, wearing a polarizing filter on my Canon EOS-1.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You may view it in higher quality <a href="http://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/western-maryland-no-734-on-helmstetters-steve-ember/39295021" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had just the other day posted to my new <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photographybySteveEmber/" target="_blank">Photography bySteve Ember Facebook page</a>, a photo of another steam locomotive, shot some years
earlier at Cumberland’s majestic
old station. That loco did not sport Western Maryland
livery, as the tourist line from Cumberland
to Frostburg was then called the Allegheny Central…but photographers know how a
late night editing session can entail searches through the image bank of “related”
motifs.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was thus that I turned up this image, which I’d actually
scanned from the slide, probably close to the time I became an F-C member, when
I purchased my Nikon film scanner in 2009. It is making its first appearance
now, after all those years in “hibernation,” both in slide box and computer
hard drive.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And speaking of joining F-C, well that was at the repeated
suggestions (I was a reluctant internet user in terms of photos at the time) from
my German photographer friend Tom Reitzel around the time we were shooting
steam trains in eastern Germany’s Erzgebirge region in winter 2008.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And, as Tom is a fellow steam train enthusiast (including of
American steam) and photographer, and as I would probably not have discovered
the Europe-based F-C without his recommending it, I raise a glass of Proseco to
Tom as I finish writing this recollection and upload the image to
Foto-Community…as my 1000<sup>th</sup>.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cheers and Prosit!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2017 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-69921250733988484482016-12-22T00:17:00.000-08:002016-12-22T22:23:47.968-08:00December and Electric Trains...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tsYiRyU1boU/WFuEXEK6lII/AAAAAAAACFU/2Om6OYDEH7AGXtqlG06JS7-XPqmOs1JVQCLcB/s1600/Lionel%2BAdvertArt-50s-1%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tsYiRyU1boU/WFuEXEK6lII/AAAAAAAACFU/2Om6OYDEH7AGXtqlG06JS7-XPqmOs1JVQCLcB/s400/Lionel%2BAdvertArt-50s-1%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" width="385" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1950s Print Ad for Lionel Trains</span></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">As Christmas approaches, model trains are never far from my <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">thoughts</span>. No surprise, of course, as my birthday also falls in December. For me (up
until I had to choose between it and component HiFi!) the magic of my Lionel O
Gauge layout was year-round. And, yes, I still miss it. But the magic transformer throttle would get <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> notched up on the Friday after Thanksgiving<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, for it always meant</span> the trip downtown with my Mom, which
always included three fondly-remembered stops, each of them rich in model railroad enchantment. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Well, actually four, but one was not so much tied to
“electric trains” as it was to ladies in white gloves and, umm, Chicken a la
King. To get the fourth one quickly out of the way, it was lunch in the Tea
Room at Hochschild-Kohn’s, a venerable Baltimore
department store, popularly known simply as Hochschild's (or "Hayshuls," in Balmerese, the local variant on the King's English).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You see, once lunch was dispensed with, Mom and I would be
off to the department store next door, the equally venerable Hutzler Brothers,
Hutzler’s for short -- Hutzler's and Hochschilds shared a block along Howard ("Harrid") Street in downtown Baltimore. That’s when the magic kicked in, for our destination there
was Hutzler’s ToyTown, as announced by the uniformed elevator operator, as the
doors slid open. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For my purposes and preferences, I never considered
“ToyTown” an apt name, for my mission there was not a mere "toy"<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>experience.<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span> </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rvTHoaDaUU/WFuPnjgglVI/AAAAAAAACGI/ZV6KuFVh4w8ByebiRdtnYIeBV6ELuIxFACLcB/s1600/Lionel%2BSanta%2BFe%2BF-3%2Bw-MagneTraction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rvTHoaDaUU/WFuPnjgglVI/AAAAAAAACGI/ZV6KuFVh4w8ByebiRdtnYIeBV6ELuIxFACLcB/s400/Lionel%2BSanta%2BFe%2BF-3%2Bw-MagneTraction.jpg" width="380" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Lionel's popular and iconic O -Gauge EMD Santa Fe F-3 diesel locomotive</span></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For
it was here that, every Christmas season, the Lionel-experts set up an
elaborate O-Gauge layout with multiple trains negotiating steep grades (aided
of course by Lionel’s much vaunted MagneTraction), disappearing into tunnels,
blowing their whistles or horns for grade crossings, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">g</span>liding into magnificent
stations, or disgorging cattle into stock pens, or dumping logs into a
sawmill’s conveyor. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Silhouetted passengers rode in style in the fluted silver
streamlined “Lionel Lines” cars, pulled by growling Santa Fe F-3 diesels in sets
of three…or iconic Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 electric locomotives. And, of
course, imitation smoke puffing Hudson- or Berkshire-class steam locomotives
would haul their “heavyweight” Pullman parlor cars between country towns and the big city. As I recall, it was all on auto-pilot,
as speeds were carefully set to be as impressively fast as possible without
risking model disasters. And the big Lionel ZW transformers powering the
trains, as well as all the twinkling lights and crossing gates and other elements
of enchantment, were safely out of the reach of young visitors who might take
it upon themselves to cause quarter-inch-to-the-foot calamity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nva0SU4uyCA/WFuJhWYmT7I/AAAAAAAACFs/XJbbVjXeuZc6oN93RJDqH97HFiyiA1MnwCLcB/s1600/Lionel%2BAdvertArt005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nva0SU4uyCA/WFuJhWYmT7I/AAAAAAAACFs/XJbbVjXeuZc6oN93RJDqH97HFiyiA1MnwCLcB/s400/Lionel%2BAdvertArt005.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Imagine that: Bringing the FAMILY together. What a radical concept...</span></span></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">This post-Thanksgiving pre-Birthday ritual visit was for the
purpose of deciding which locomotive or passenger or freight car or accessory
might (well, hopefully) be presented following birthday dinner. And, damn, did
I ever make it my mission to be a good boy at this particular time of year.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The trip downtown would also include a visit to Taubman
Hardware’s flagship store on West Baltimore Street.
Now, “hardware store” I could more willingly buy into than the more frivolous “ToyTown.”
See, it was once a tradition for Lionel’s O and O-27 Gauge trains to be sold in
hardware stores. Back when hardware stores were not Home Depots…</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">So, further scrutiny to Lionel’s offerings was applied there
at Taubman’s, as Hutzler’s had the glamour layout but perhaps not everything
that Taubman’s had on its utilitarian shelves.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">And, finally, there was the visit to the lobby of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s office building at the corner of Baltimore and
Charles to take in their elaborate display. This one was not Lionel, but the
competing American Flyer S-Gauge trains, which actually ran on more authentic
looking two-rail track (as opposed to Lionel’s middle power-rail) and were, as
I recall, more toward scale in proportions. But, heck, back then, you were
either a Lionel partisan or an American Flyer devotee. I do remember a very
appealing American Flyer iteration of my favorite B&O train, the elegant
Royal Blue. Of course, AF’s “Royal Blue” was pulled by Alco diesels instead of
the sloped-nose EMDs of real-life, but such “poetic license” was OK as AF’s
Alcos were quite attractive.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yp1RE2nxE9I/USxmTOargbI/AAAAAAAAA0U/D4QXDC5RCXI079Bq1GCgpV3dD6HpNP_GgCPcB/s1600/Lewin%2BLeski%2BStation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yp1RE2nxE9I/USxmTOargbI/AAAAAAAAA0U/D4QXDC5RCXI079Bq1GCgpV3dD6HpNP_GgCPcB/s400/Lewin%2BLeski%2BStation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Screen Capture from <a href="https://shop.vgbahn.info/riogrande/shop/ontraxs-_981.html" target="_blank">Eisenbahn Romantik Ontraxs DVD</a></span></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">No matter the gauge…or whether one remembers them from
earlier years as “electric trains” or “model trains” (the latter having the
more “serious” connotation, as in devoted hobbyists who do everything in scale),
this is the time of year to raise a hearty Glühwein (or libation of your own
choosing) toast to electric trains, whether they simply chase their tails in a basic
circle or oval under the Christmas tree…or recreate moments from a saner past,
chuffing their way between German or French or Swiss villages, admired by tiny
farmers with their cows, awaited by tiny – and properly dressed –
travelers…admired by full sized adults and pint-sized kids….</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">If I may throw in a plug<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>for a most
enjoyable project I did a few years ago on a major European model train show<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">,<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> i</span></span></span>t was my honor to be the English language narrator for an “Eisenbahn Romantik”
2-DVD set on the Ontraxs show in Utrecht,
Holland.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">One of the reasons narrating this presentation was so much
fun had to do with how well the script described the enchanting miniature
worlds created by these dedicated modelers.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KN9XYzB3mXI/WFuK7aejVhI/AAAAAAAACF8/Hcv_rCeVuukqTyNsGCKtfe3tHRJU6jUigCLcB/s1600/Ontraxs%2BScreen%2BCapture%2B-%2BA%2BDiorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KN9XYzB3mXI/WFuK7aejVhI/AAAAAAAACF8/Hcv_rCeVuukqTyNsGCKtfe3tHRJU6jUigCLcB/s400/Ontraxs%2BScreen%2BCapture%2B-%2BA%2BDiorama.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"A Diorama" - Screen Capture from Ontraxs DVD</span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I see the <a href="https://shop.vgbahn.info/riogrande/shop/ontraxs-_981.html" target="_blank">set is still available</a>, so I thought I’d tell you
about it, even though it’s going to be too late to order and view it with your
loved ones by the Christmas tree (although, if you’re reading this in Europe,
there just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">might</i> just be that chance).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Here’s a <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-enchantment-of-miniature-worlds.html" target="_blank">link</a> to an earlier blog story I did on the project.
Embedded in it are two audio players with clips from a couple of favorite
chapters (and that selection was, indeed, a hard choice!) as well as a link to
the web site from which the DVD set can be
ordered. Yank (and other non-European) readers may wish to lay it in for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">next</i> Christmas.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">©2016 Steve Ember </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
<br />Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-69465841106471241772016-12-03T23:17:00.001-08:002016-12-04T00:07:09.838-08:00Sam...Black Satin...and Shearing<i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></span></b></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Byw5nik86O0/WEPCVfXBtOI/AAAAAAAACFE/BFJPWKKW16UwDs6QgvjgOygpisdwZHDRwCLcB/s1600/Play%2Bit%2Bagain%252C%2BSam%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Byw5nik86O0/WEPCVfXBtOI/AAAAAAAACFE/BFJPWKKW16UwDs6QgvjgOygpisdwZHDRwCLcB/s400/Play%2Bit%2Bagain%252C%2BSam%2BF-C%2BDesign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I like Humphrey Bogart. And I like cats.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">And if Bogart came back as a cat, I could see him in this
photo saying "Awright, Shweetheart, this is the kiss-off."</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Or “Play it again, Sam.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">But wait - this <b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">is</span></b> Sam!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Sam crossed the rainbow bridge some years ago, after
enriching the lives of my cousins for his long life with his gentle nature
(even though he might appear a bit “sinister” here!). Sam always sought me out
when I came to visit, and I must say he was my favorite of their cats of the
time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I’ve always felt one of the top precepts of Catdom (right up
there alongside of “If it feels good, do it”) is “Any place I plant my furry
little bummy is home.” And, in this instance, Sam had planted said furry bummy on the black lining of my parka, which I’d left on my cousins’ couch.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Now I just tonight happened to find this image in a file
folder I’d imaginatively named (during a particularly hectic period of editing) “Everything
Else.” While searching out a totally unrelated image, my search program told me
it <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">w</span>as lurking in that “Everything Else” folder. Which led me to serendipitously rediscover
<a href="https://500px.com/photo/186355881/play-it-again-sam-by-steve-ember">this photo of Sam</a>, taken in 2011.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">As these stream of consciousness journeys often lead, the
splayed out black lining brought to mind a favorite album from the 1960s. Back
then, jazz pianist George Shearing had a very popular run of Capitol LPs which
combined the sound of the George Shearing Quintet with full orchestra. Capitol
engineers made particularly good use of those stereo masters in these inviting
recordings.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Each was adorned by some rather luscious album art featuring
comely lasses in come-hither poses. While these sets, including two of my faves,
“White Satin” and “Black Satin” later were released on CD, I must say the
effect was more arresting when these high-fashion photos appeared in the
classic twelve inch square format in the days of vinyl and record shops with
bins of LPs. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">If you flipped past one of these covers without stopping to
gaze, perhaps just briefly flipping it over to check the tunes and scan the
notes, before quickly returning your adoring gaze to the front and heading to
the cashier with it, well, you were probably long overdue for a visit to your
doctor.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I’m not saying ol’ Sam was as alluring on his “black satin”
as the gal on the cover of Shearing's "Black Satin," but the pose
certainly carried me back to my record shop perusing and subsequent listening.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Care to join me <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">for a track</span>?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">George and his sidemen and arranger/band leader Billy May
have also crossed the rainbow bridge. But that’s OK. Their spirit and art
linger on and continue to delight. In his own sweet way, so does ol’ gentle Sam.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">©2016 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-32982069293538245122016-06-18T22:45:00.000-07:002016-06-18T23:25:30.868-07:00Love on a Beach...<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>...from a photographer's notebook</b></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GmITHVRaT_M/V2YvR9C-SLI/AAAAAAAACD0/TS3lKGtzasMaqdJLrQ5zSBH4jnU1eDTZQCLcB/s1600/Love%2Bon%2Ba%2BBeach%2BSQCrop%2Bfor%2BS-C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GmITHVRaT_M/V2YvR9C-SLI/AAAAAAAACD0/TS3lKGtzasMaqdJLrQ5zSBH4jnU1eDTZQCLcB/s400/Love%2Bon%2Ba%2BBeach%2BSQCrop%2Bfor%2BS-C.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Detail from "Love on a Beach" ©2016 Steve Ember</span></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><i><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/269842332&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></i><br /></span>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I own many cameras, and I’ve never had occasion to question
the simple veracity of this maxim: The very best camera in the world is the one
you have in your hand when a special moment happens.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Despite</span> its obvious technical limitations, I’ve
always been very fond of this particular photographic moment for its
spontaneity, unequivocal joy, and love.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I can not imagine anyone enjoying a beach as much as this
happy little girl and her father were at the moment I shot this image!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’ve always been reluctant about taking along the “serious”
cameras when planning to spend some hours lying in the sand of an ocean beach.
Just too easy for an unintended dollop of suntan lotion, a surfeit of salt air,
or the errant grain of sand to mess with the internals or turn a prime lens
into a paperweight…</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Back in 1990, when this moment was captured on the Atlantic
seashore along the Delaware coast, when the ubiquitous camera phone was only a
mad scientist’s dream, Kodak and other film manufacturers offered fun little
disposable cameras with vacation-y names for just such needs, and I thought it
might be prudent to purchase one and not worry about my “real” cameras on this
July day. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The “Stretch 35” was part of Kodak’s “Fling 35” series (as I
said, vacation-y!). It was casually waterproof. By that I mean I don’t
think Kodak was promoting it for casual scuba diving photographers, but I knew
it’d be OK to carry it into the surf.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course, by any conceptual measure, the “Stretch 35” was a
“real” camera<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- a light-tight box with a
lens on the front by which, through the intervention of a wee shutter, a happy
scene can light-paint itself on a piece of film. In this case, the lens was a
(need I say!) basic 25 mm, and the camera featured a “panoramic” format, by
virtue of exposing 12 “letter-box” slices of the Kodak Gold-200 film inside.
The idea was your mini lab would print out your vacation-flingy fun on prints
that were 10 inches wide (instead of 5). At that size, the photos were about
sharp enough…Heck, we’re talking vacation-fling memories, here, not gallery
size enlargements. Oops, guess I should add to that analogy 23-inch monitors. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But really, for me this little love-moment overcomes its
technical limitations, and I hope it brings a smile.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6QNmxz_wEA0/V2YxBSyftiI/AAAAAAAACEA/FECybQUNQs4n36LYrgMHEOIzGmpwdWOpwCLcB/s1600/Love%2Bon%2Ba%2BBeach%2BSig%252B2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6QNmxz_wEA0/V2YxBSyftiI/AAAAAAAACEA/FECybQUNQs4n36LYrgMHEOIzGmpwdWOpwCLcB/s640/Love%2Bon%2Ba%2BBeach%2BSig%252B2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">
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<![endif]--><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you took your first picture with a smart phone, this will
sound very quaint; but once the twelve “panoramic” frames were shot, one did
not worry about such things as rewinding and unloading the film, but simply
took the whole “package,” sandy and slick with suntan oil though it may have
become, to a one-hour lab, where it was opened up and the film loaded into the
processing machine. What was left was, presumably, “re-cycled.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thus, a “one-use” or “disposable” camera could be a pretty
practical alternative, where sand and suntan oil, to say nothing of ketchup and
French fries, might wreak havoc with traditional gear. It removed any degree of
camera-angst from a day of taking in the rays and wading into countless gallons
of saltwater, leaving as the only angst: “Have I slathered on sufficient UV
protection to keep from looking and feeling like a broiled lobster while dining
that evening on, mmm, broiled lobster?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2016 Steve Ember</span></span> </div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-78083185786203408642016-05-10T17:52:00.000-07:002016-05-10T20:23:42.216-07:00Gonna miss you, Vickie...<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>...from a photographer's notebook</b></i></span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_wXbadZeVRo/VzJ7N-p81rI/AAAAAAAACDA/P6BaXeyfXoohojZV5HK2MS35PX095PlrACLcB/s1600/Crown%2BVic%2BAppreciation%2B-%2BSQCrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_wXbadZeVRo/VzJ7N-p81rI/AAAAAAAACDA/P6BaXeyfXoohojZV5HK2MS35PX095PlrACLcB/s400/Crown%2BVic%2BAppreciation%2B-%2BSQCrop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My German friend Susanne, knowing of my fondness for both New
York City and the venerable Ford Crown Victoria
taxicabs that for years reliably transported their passengers throughout the
five boroughs and beyond, recently sent me an article that appeared in early
April.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The piece was written by a German visiting New
York, who could not help but take note of the sea
change on the streets of Manhattan,
from the once ubiquitous great yellow fleet of Crown Vics to the new Nissan vehicles
that have been decreed as the new NYC Taxicab standard. Meaning, if you want to
paint it yellow and get your medallion, it will ultimately have to be a Nissan
NV-200 compact van.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The headline included a reference to New Yorkers reacting to
these replacement vehicles <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“mit
gemischten Gefühlen”</i> (with mixed feelings). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Funny, I’d not have expected someone from a country where
the great majority of taxicabs are Mercedes automobiles to pay all that much
attention to the virtues of such “ordinary” Detroit Iron as the Ford Crown Victoria.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But this guy did, at least between the lines, in terms of
performance, as he took note of the new taxi in which he was riding “faltering”
after stopping at almost every intersection on his trip downtown to Canal
Street. Now, when was the last time you
experienced such embarrassingly bad automotive manners in a big, solid Crown
Vic? I believe the writer also (and mind you, I did have to use some online
aids to fully translate the article) made mention of the fact the replacement
vehicles did not exactly have much in the way of grunt…</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iPXUnrFFMiQ/VzJ9rHlAt-I/AAAAAAAACDM/PxtHrMLV2LwVQi6eVN5bkpUAttlLgItZQCLcB/s1600/Taxi-to-Taxi-Crown-Vic-%2540-PennStation%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig-SMALL-Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iPXUnrFFMiQ/VzJ9rHlAt-I/AAAAAAAACDM/PxtHrMLV2LwVQi6eVN5bkpUAttlLgItZQCLcB/s640/Taxi-to-Taxi-Crown-Vic-%2540-PennStation%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig-SMALL-Blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Crown Vic to Crown Vic, as we are about to head downtown from Penn Station in 2013.</span> </span></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let’s be clear, I’ll never expect Seventh Avenue to be a
drag strip, or 42<sup>nd</sup> St to be the Indy 500 racetrack, but I do like
my little car-pleasures, like when my taxi driver pulls out from Penn Station
and, by gently brushing his foot against the accelerator, causes that big
bulletproof 4.6 liter V8 and heavy duty transmission to move that hefty rear
wheel drive machine smartly into the traffic flow and viscerally carry us off
downtown. Oh, did I mention no faltering at stoplights along the way?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The visitor from Germany
did take note of some of the more contemporary touches in the new taxis, such
as the sliding door, more legroom in the rear seats, more headroom for tall
passengers, USB connections for charging your
phone. Well, thank you, New York,
but I never found the Crown Vic confining for my fairly compact frame, and I
can wait to recharge my “devices” ‘til I get back to my hotel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Guess it’s only fair to reserve any further comments on the new
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NYC official taxi until I experience
same on my next trip, but even the panoramic glass on top – which I know I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will </i>enjoy, loving as I do the towers of
Manhattan – will not diminish my long-standing nostalgia for my Gold Standard
Taxi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Susanne added in her note that, <span class="5yl5">according
to that article, nowadays almost all Crown Vics have disappeared. “So ... the
end obviously is more than near,” she wrote in referring to a blog story I’d
written during a visit to the Apple a few summers ago.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="5yl5">The impetus for that story was returning to
</span><span class="5yl5">New York</span><span class="5yl5">, after an absence of too many years and noticing that the
appearance of the once-uniform armada of yellow Crown Vics was beginning to be
“undermined” by some distinctly unattractive, boxy looking hybrids. Further
experiences over the next few days demonstrated that these newcomers were <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">profound</span>ly uncomfortable as well, not coping at all as gracefully with the mean
streets of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Manhattan, as the solid, long
wheel-based, body-on-frame Crown Vic.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJuCMqGUnf8/VzJ_ttT4hiI/AAAAAAAACDY/ITO1c-__EiEuHQeoLnleVW_A2h9I9th5ACLcB/s1600/Battered%2Bbut%2BProud%2B-%2BCrown%2BVic%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig-SMALL-Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJuCMqGUnf8/VzJ_ttT4hiI/AAAAAAAACDY/ITO1c-__EiEuHQeoLnleVW_A2h9I9th5ACLcB/s400/Battered%2Bbut%2BProud%2B-%2BCrown%2BVic%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig-SMALL-Blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">She may have looked a bit scabby, but as I recall she ran like a champ.</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="5yl5">It led, upon returning one night to my
hotel in a battered but still proud Crown Vic, to my pounding out a <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2014/05/her-name-is-victoria-and-shes-proud-old.html">story formy blog</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The realization that the days were numbered for the venerable
V-8 powered fleet also led to my making a point of photographing Crown Vic
taxis in various settings in NYC…and making a sentimental point the following
year of hailing – whenever possible – a Crown Vic taxi to get where I was going…even
though, even by then, there were less of them in the mix.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5R4ch3cF7zw/VzKAi2e6QAI/AAAAAAAACDk/hlJ8-iFnDE0AaLSxfVgB8Z9tT7gofIzGwCLcB/s1600/Crown%2BVic%2BTaxi%2BRear%2B%2540%2BDuane%2BPark%2BSMALL-Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5R4ch3cF7zw/VzKAi2e6QAI/AAAAAAAACDk/hlJ8-iFnDE0AaLSxfVgB8Z9tT7gofIzGwCLcB/s640/Crown%2BVic%2BTaxi%2BRear%2B%2540%2BDuane%2BPark%2BSMALL-Blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">She shows us her muscular stance on Duane Street, Tribeca</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What I didn’t know at the time was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just how</i> numbered the old gal’s days were. So, sadly, I’ll not be
adding lots and lots of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">new</i> New
York photos to my image bank featuring the Great
Yellow Fleet of Crown Vics. But her graceful and muscular stance, appearance,
and performance will live on in my mind’s eye, ear, and gut as a favorite part of
the New York experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As part of that memory, I thought I'd share my podcast
appreciation of the old gal for any other fans of this iconic machine. In
listening, please understand that it was produced before the new Nissan fleet
(which is gasoline powered, but with smallish engines) was introduced…and at a
time when it looked like the gas-electric hybrid was going to be the new
direction for the taxi fleet.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/263315928&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, yes, and here’<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">s my <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2014/08/new-superheroes-for-gotham-city.html">idea for decommissioned Crown Vic taxis</a>...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2016 Steve Ember</span> </div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-75271595587609573832016-04-04T15:52:00.001-07:002016-04-04T17:38:23.494-07:00Bay 12...PLEASE...<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">...or how a favorite moment in a favorite sci-fi movie raised the spirits of a post-shoulder-surgery patient on his way to a PACU...</span></span></i></b><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">So, why was the narcotics-infused shoulder
surgery patient chuckling Wednesday evening as he was being rolled into Medstar
Georgetown Unniversity’s Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)?</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">As there was likely to be a lot of
discomfort after a complex rotator cuff repair and the reattachment of a
partially detached biceps (and as Mewer the Wondercat is not as yet qualified
in dispensing narcotics), my surgeon Dr William Postma decided to keep me in
hospital overnight.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">However, an apparent shortage of hospital
beds that day, as well as a busy PACU meant that I’d be staying on the narrow
bed on which I’d been brought from the operating room…not that I had much
notion of where I was and how commodious the bed was during those first few
hours, but when I learned that being transferred to the PACU meant a much wider
and more comfortable bed with all kinds of controls, fuel-injection and
independent four wheel suspension...that at least provoked a smile…</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;"><br />
Being re-positioned for the move from the first intensive care room to the PACU
involved being moved into that much more comfortable bed that I would be
occupying in my new digs before going home.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;"><br />
Ah, but about that chuckle. There’s a line of dialog in the film “Aliens” that
everyone who loves the movie undoubtedly knows and delights in speaking at the
first opportunity.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">As the badass crew of Colonial Marines is
preparing for the mission to the hostile planet whose settlers have been wiped
out by the terrifying hordes of alien monsters, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) who
has been demoted after losing her ship in “Alien”) says to Sgt Apone that she
feels kinda like a fifth wheel and asks “Is there anything I can do.” He
replies, “I don’t know…is there anything you can do?”</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">Looking him directly in his Marine Sergeant
eye, she confidently says, “I can drive that loader” and goes on to demonstrate
her skills in the huge device. Returning with some heavy items clenched in its
hydraulic arms, she says “Where do you want ‘em?”</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">Apone, obviously duly impressed, smiles at
Corporal Hicks and laughing robustly and approvingly says, in resonant
baritone, “Bay 12…Please!”</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">I know, takes a lot of words to “set up” a
three word line. But if you’re a fan of the movie it’s just a really neat
moment, and such fun to quote whenever serendipity affords one the opportunity.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">So, as the patient approaches on his
smooth-riding, super comfortable bed (with tactical smart missiles and sharp
sticks, of course), the nurses doing the transporting ask the PACU admitting
nurse “where do you want him?”</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">“Bay 12, please,” she replies, which – of course! –
brings a chuckle from the patient, out of all proportion to the discomfort he’s
feeling...</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">No, I wasn’t having a narcotics-influenced
dream. The number just outside my curtain in the PACU was…indeed…12. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">I must send them a big blow up of Apone
saying “Bay 12…Please!”</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">And, no, I’m not writing the three
non-laughing nurses off for not having a sense of humor. Clearly, they just weren’t “Aliens” fans,
poor dears. I, on the other hand, had watched “Aliens” during dinner the night
before the surgery.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">That’s alright, important thing was – <b><i>I</i></b>
thought it was funny. And any time I can laugh at such inappropriate moments, I
know my strangely wired brain is still functioning…and that I didn’t leave any
warped synapses behind during the anesthesia ;-) </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;"><span><span data-offset-key="870aj-0-0"><span data-text="true">Thank you, Drs. Freeman and Kim for making sure that didn't happen.</span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">I decided it was best not to further test the nurses’ senses of humor by mimicking
something trying to burst out of my tummy and begging them to kill me…<b><i> </i></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;">©2016 Steve Ember</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"></span></span>Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-40511723573297757242016-02-05T16:47:00.005-08:002016-02-06T00:19:21.476-08:00From Reading Rambles to Chessie Steam Specials<i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">from a photographer's notebook...</span></span></b></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mKDlLl22ykA/VrVHkDjb0AI/AAAAAAAACBU/EcoUh1PHj3A/s1600/Chessie%2BSteam%2BSpecial%2BArriving%2BHarpers%2BFerry%2528470%2BKR64-13%2B%2529-SMALL%2BBlog-FB-%25C2%25A9%252BSig%252BCrop.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mKDlLl22ykA/VrVHkDjb0AI/AAAAAAAACBU/EcoUh1PHj3A/s400/Chessie%2BSteam%2BSpecial%2BArriving%2BHarpers%2BFerry%2528470%2BKR64-13%2B%2529-SMALL%2BBlog-FB-%25C2%25A9%252BSig%252BCrop.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Former Reading steam locomotive No. 2101 <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">leads</span> a Chessie System Steam Special approaching Harpers Ferry, WV on this May afternoon in 1977. Kodachrome ©Steve Ember</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">...<i><b>or stuff a good stout
blizzard can have you reliving...</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">You would not have necessarily
guessed it, looking at her handsome heavy duty 4-8-4 “Northern” lines, typical
of the highest evolution of the steam locomotive in the 1940s (before diesels
began to write a new chapter in motive power on U.S. railroads), but Reading
T-1 Class No.2101 (as well as all of her sisters in the 2100 series) began life
in 1923 as a (smaller) 2-8-0 Consolidation type.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Reading Railroad needed
faster and more powerful steam locomotives to pull both passenger and freight
trains, and with new steam locomotives not a possibility, the railroad created
and built the T-1 Class locomotives with a mixture of new parts from the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baldwin</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> locomotive works and the
aforementioned </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">2-8-0</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">’s. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">But there was nothing “thrown
together” looking about the resulting machine. Remember, this was an era where
major railroads, like the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Reading</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> and (of course!) the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pennsylvania</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, actually designed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and built</i> their
locomotives.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The result was a handsome,
reliable, and fast “new” class of steam locomotive which served its
creator/operators well into the mid-1950s, pulling both heavy freights and
long, fast passenger trains on the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Reading</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #ffd966;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #ffd966;">The </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #ffd966;">Reading</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #ffd966;"> Rambles...</span></i></b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">As the entry of diesels
brought about the phasing out of steam power, the Reading, much to its credit –
and much to the appreciation of countless railfans and steam enthusiasts –
continued to operate 2100-series locomotives on the famous “Reading Rambles”
fan trips and Autumn Leaf Specials.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I never got to ride one of
these specials, but I do vividly remember seeing a shiny black Reading T-1 on
the point of one such Reading Ramble, on the lower level of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad’s Camden Station in </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baltimore</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">. It was on a sunny afternoon in 1964,
the last year of these special excursion trains, and the rookie teen photog was
in attendance with his first </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">SLR</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, a Yashica J3.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">One day, I know, I will turn
up a color slide or ten of this magnificent machine surrounded by excited
railfans awaiting the thrill of riding behind <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">it</span>. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The locomotive</span> probably was one of 2101’s T-1 Class stable-mates, but a T-1…is a
T-1…is a T-1. And they were all as iconic as it gets.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b><span style="color: #ffd966;">From sc<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">rap yard to spotlight...</span></span></b></i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Like so many of her kind, T-1
No. 2101 languished in a scrap yard until 1975. Plans were being firmed up for
the American Freedom Train, which would run as part of Bicentennial
celebrations across the country. Southern Pacific steam locomotive No.4449,
another handsome <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">machine</span>, was the primary locomotive for this venture, but she</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>was considered too heavy for
some of the railroads on which the Freedom Train was to operate.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Railroad entrepreneur Ross E.
Rowland Jr selected Reading 2101 to pull the train in the east, and in the span
of thirty days, she was restored to operating condition in the very shop in
which she was created in 1945.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pulling the Freedom Train, she
bore the number plate AFT-1.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">But that was not the end of
the story for this handsome old gal. Less than two years later, Rowland
arranged a series of steam excursions on various routes of the Chessie System.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">We’ve already established 2101
was an iconic looking locomotive, but, before talking more about the “Chessie
Steam Special,” I’d like to tell you about an iconic little railroad kitty.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b><i><span style="color: #ffd966;">Skimbleshanks, meet Chessie</span></i></b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Now, if you’re like me and
love both cats and trains, you probably are familiar with T S Eliot’s
Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, from “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.” More
likely, though, you know him from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sC1A-RZXU2c/VrWCgUaMGDI/AAAAAAAACBo/tLxEUtSB3P4/s1600/220px-Chessie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sC1A-RZXU2c/VrWCgUaMGDI/AAAAAAAACBo/tLxEUtSB3P4/s1600/220px-Chessie.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Gruenwald Etching (Wikipedia)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">But I have the feeling
Skimbleshanks had a distant American great-great-great cousin named Chessie.
Well, actually, little Chessie had Viennese roots, too. Don’t you just love a
good sturdy mixed breed "mutt" of the domestic shorthair variety?</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">In the 1930s, the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Chesapeake</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> and Ohio Railroad got itself a really
neat mascot. It was adapted from an etching by Viennese artist Guido Gruenwald
of a cute little tabby kitten all cuddled up in a blanket. Chessie appeared in
all the railroad’s advertising for its passenger trains, with the slogan “Sleep
like a Kitten.” Chessie had an admirable run as <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">corporate symbol-kitty</span>,
until 1972 when the C<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">&</span>O ceded passenger train service over to Amtrak.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_c-7AhgaAr8/VrWDWXJnocI/AAAAAAAACB4/PJcwoT3cYqE/s1600/Chessie-Largerjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_c-7AhgaAr8/VrWDWXJnocI/AAAAAAAACB4/PJcwoT3cYqE/s400/Chessie-Largerjpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">But Chessie went on as a
symbol for many more years...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The aforementioned <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">C&</span>O, along with the <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">B&O</span> (</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baltimore</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> and </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Ohio</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">) and the Western Maryland Railway, all
became the Chessie System. And while the Chessie System no longer operated
passenger trains under its banner (it did operate certain Amtrak routes), it
kept Chessie’s allure quite alive with a distinctive logo, the “Ches-C,” which
incorporated Chessie-kitty’s form into a big bold “C.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b><i>So, back to that
“Chessie Steam Special,” 2101’s Last Hurrah…</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">For this set of excursions in
1977 and ‘78 on various routes of the Chessie System, 2101 was adorned with
Chessie System trim, and her big yellow-and-orange tender bore that bold
“Ches-C” logo. The locomotive’s number plate, of course, reverted to 2101 (from
the AFT-1) and above her pilot, she bore a yellow “Chessie Steam Special”
plaque, with the “Ches-C” as part of the design.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I enjoyed “chasing Chessie”
along a few of the routes she traversed, of course taking lots of slides of
this special train and its handsome </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">4-8-4</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> on the point. The images are now making their first appearance<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">s.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O2yf0_xm2x8/VrWLfLwh_QI/AAAAAAAACCU/51rmxmxYTII/s1600/Chessie%2BSteam%2BSpecial%2BHanover%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig%2BSMALL%2BBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O2yf0_xm2x8/VrWLfLwh_QI/AAAAAAAACCU/51rmxmxYTII/s640/Chessie%2BSteam%2BSpecial%2BHanover%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig%2BSMALL%2BBlog.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">2101 applies some hefty 4-8-4 power as she pulls the Chessie Steam Special t<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">into</span> this sweeping curve </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">on the former Western Maryland Railway near Hanover, Pennsylvania on a May afternoon in 1977. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Kodachrome by Steve Ember ©2016</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">One of the most enjoyable
parts of the recent MonsterBlizzard for me (with no travel either beckoning or
possible!) was delving into some long-unseen strips of negatives and boxes of
slides. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Much of this was done rather
“at random” for the sheer pleasure of re-discovering, well, who knows what
photographic adventures.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Among those happy finds was a
box of Kodachrome-64 slides, part of my Chessie-chase in May of 1977. One of
the reasons I so loved shooting Kodachrome was – and is – the fact that its
colors are quite unlikely to fade over the years when properly stored. I was
not only as tickled as the kid in the candy store in finding these slides and
reliving a pleasurable train-adventure, but also in seeing these Kodachromes
had proved true to their longevity heritage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">This set included shots of the
train on sweeping curves at both </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Hanover</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pennsylvania</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> and </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Harpers Ferry</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">West Virginia</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">. But I think my favorites were those I
took from the highest ground in Harpers Ferry, from the lawn of the (still in
operation) Hilltop House Hotel and Restaurant, of the westbound Chessie Steam
Special emerging from the Braddock Heights, Maryland tunnel onto the bridge
carrying the former B&O tracks across the Potomac leading into Harpers
Ferry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">This also happens to be the
most “iconic” as it is a real <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">B&O</span> legacy view – the Chessie Steam
Specials were actually honoring the 150<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I’ve many a fond memory of shooting
– in th<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">e</span> pre-Amtrak days – the glorious sight of the B<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">&</span>O’s
flagship Baltimore to Chicago train “The Capitol Limited,” resplendent in Royal
Blue, gray, and gold livery behind a gleaming set of three EMD E-8 diesels in
the golden late afternoon sunshine, including from that same vantage point…to
say nothing of riding that exquisite train to Chicago, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">enjoying supper</span> in its <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">lovely</span>
dining car as it rumbled across the bridge into Harpers Ferry<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, later enjoying the increasingly rugged scenery from a comfortable seat in the train's "Astrodome" car before contentedly retiring to my roomette.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Sometime – hopefully even
before the next “Stormzilla” – I shall find <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">those</i> slides.
What a nice time machine journey that will be!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Meantime, may I share this
photo of the Chessie Steam Special with 2101 puffing away on the point. It was
taken on </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">May 28, 1977</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> through a 300 mm lens on <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a</span> Pentax Spotmatic
</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">SLR</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7wVeeDi2HRw/VrVHrv6ndOI/AAAAAAAACBg/096PPgo9BNU/s1600/Chessie%2BSteam%2BSpecial-HarpersFerryBridge-BW%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="409" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7wVeeDi2HRw/VrVHrv6ndOI/AAAAAAAACBg/096PPgo9BNU/s640/Chessie%2BSteam%2BSpecial-HarpersFerryBridge-BW%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Yes, it too was shot on Kodachrome-64
film, but, considering the subject, and the B<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">&</span>O legacy it represents, I
decided its first appearance should be in this toned black and white version. (Fine Art prints available; see below)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">If you’re not familiar with </span><a href="http://fc-foto.com/36509242" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Harpers Ferry</span></span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, a bit of description may be in order.
This historic town sits at the confluence of two major rivers in the eastern </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">U.S.</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> – the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Potomac</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, over which the train is crossing on
the bridge, and the broad Shenandoah in the distance, beyond the trees. The
other bridge, also a part of the original B&O trackage at </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Harpers Ferry</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> carried trains past Harpers Ferry on a
<a href="http://fc-foto.com/36843010" target="_blank">branch line to </a></span><a href="http://fc-foto.com/36843010" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Winchester</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Virginia</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Both lines are now part of </span><a href="http://fc-foto.com/37084234" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">CSX Transportation</span></span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">, which the Chessie
System went on to be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">And yes, one can still see the
occasional reminder of Chessie the Railroad Kitten along the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">CSX</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Oh, yes, I mentioned the
Chessie Steam Special was 2101’s Last Hurrah. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The sad postscript...</span></span></span></span></span></b></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">She was
parked in a roundhouse in </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Kentucky</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> when a major fire swept the building.
The fire damage was so extensive that it would take a major rebuilding to get
her re-certified to operate. She now appears – in a cosmetic restoration – at
the </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baltimore</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> and </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Ohio</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Railroad</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Museum</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> in </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Baltimore</span><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">. Sadly, things being as they are, it
is doubtful that she’ll steam again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">If you’d like a memento of
2101 in prouder times, the photograph is available in archival gallery prints
in 10 x 7 inch and larger sizes on Epson Signature Series Ultra Premium Luster
as well as on various Fine Art white cotton matte stocks. Very large prints can
be made on Canon Metallic or matte stock in archival pigment prints.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Other images in the series are
available in color. All can also be ordered as custom printed photo note cards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Please be in touch
(SteveEmber.com) if you’d like more information on this or other series of
photographs<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2016 Steve Ember </span></span><br />
</span></span><br />
<!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
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<![endif]-->Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-6889133035165072122016-01-09T15:29:00.000-08:002016-01-09T16:17:42.242-08:00A New Year Brings New Pricing for my Photos<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFsn01B3q44/VpGXTPRKMqI/AAAAAAAACAw/oNMJOUNAXDQ/s1600/Woodland%2BSerenity%2BNo-2%2BPatapsco%2BValley%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFsn01B3q44/VpGXTPRKMqI/AAAAAAAACAw/oNMJOUNAXDQ/s400/Woodland%2BSerenity%2BNo-2%2BPatapsco%2BValley%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #93c47d;">Woodland Serenity, Patapsco Valley ©2016 Steve Ember</span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;">See it larger <a href="http://fc-foto.com/37428679" target="_blank">here</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Stay tuned - Details to follow!</span></span></b>Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-39684158968598984982015-12-28T17:31:00.002-08:002016-11-23T20:56:36.540-08:00Not quite winter...<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></b></i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zhieBSVmMqg/VoHgWzbZfpI/AAAAAAAACAg/ukPRNd9G_WA/s1600/Not%2BQuite%2BWinter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zhieBSVmMqg/VoHgWzbZfpI/AAAAAAAACAg/ukPRNd9G_WA/s400/Not%2BQuite%2BWinter.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was late in the afternoon on the 30<sup>th</sup> of November 2014, and while
I was trying to be a good lad and keep my nose to a rather long audio book
narration in progress, cabin fever got the better of me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Besides that, I was itching to try out the lovely Nikon 85
mm f/1.4 manual focus lens that had just come back that week from being
repaired <i>chez Nikon.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, a short drive to the nearby rural byways around the
town of Clifton, Virginia, with the 85 mounted on my Nikon FA loaded with Kodak
BW400CN – just a 24-exposure roll, as I wanted mainly just to confirm the lens
was playing nice with the camera and stopping down as it should.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As I said, it was late in the afternoon, and the sun was
already too low in the sky in terms of the byways I was cruising to suggest any
interesting motifs in black and white.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until I paid some attention to the sky!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I love shooting winter-bare trees. Sometimes with their
complex tentacled forms silhouetted in telephoto-compressed perspective against
geometrical forms of soaring office or hotel towers in New York or
Chicago…always against the fiery postlude of a glorious winter sunset.
Contrails from passing jetliners, brilliantly illuminated by the low angle of
the sun? Bring ‘em on!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Usually my choice for shooting such motifs, especially those
after sunset moments, is in color, whether digital or on a nice well-saturated
chrome film like Fujichrome Velvia or Ektachrome VS.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But on this particular afternoon, I had set out in a purely black
and white frame of mind. I did take a nice dark red No.29 filter along. I
pulled off the two lane road, screwed the 29 onto that big bright 85 mm and
indulged my senses in one of the most dramatic after-sunset skies I’d seen in
quite some time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Looking through the 85 mm field of view with contrasts
magically enhanced by that dark red filter, I was treated to a dramatic pattern
of stratified cloud traces, crisscrossed in multiple directions by streaking
contrails.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Naturally, those patterns so artfully created by the
collaboration of Mother Nature, Boeing, and Airbus would have been striking in
color…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But necessity being its usual good mother, I went for it in
black and white, and when the processed BW400CN arrived, I was so glad I had.
Free of the “distractions” of color, the images could instead focus on the
graphic play of those winter trees and the ethereal forms that made the sky so
special and evocative in those last moments of afterglow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Did I say “winter” trees? Well, yes, they are what I’d call
winter-bare, having long since shed their remaining leaves by this last day of
November. Indeed I called the first image I edited from this shoot <a href="http://fc-foto.com/37366774" target="_blank">“WinterTrees at Sunset.”</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But somehow, as I worked this one up, I immediately recalled
a favorite scene in a favorite movie. And, in that flash of cinematic
recollection, the title wrote itself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Not quite winter…</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a wonderful, gentle moment in “Three Days of the
Condor,” a film perhaps not best known for “gentle” moments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If that “Not quite winter” did not register with you, it will
as I describe the scene between Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In this superb 1975 suspense drama, Redford
plays a CIA “reader researcher” in New
York named Joe Turner. He and his colleagues at the
“American Literary Historical Society,” housed in a classy east side building,
spend their time reading books and feeding into the CIA
computers all manner of plots to be analyzed and compared to existing or
planned CIA operations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One day, Turner returns from picking up lunch for his
coworkers to find everyone has been assassinated. An attempt by his superiors
to safely bring him in goes badly awry in an alley behind a west side hotel
where he has been instructed to rendezvous with his section chief who has flown
up from Langley.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thus, at loose ends, able to trust no one, and badly in need
of a “safe” place to sort things out, he abducts Kathy Hale (Faye Dunaway’s
character) outside a shop and forces her to drive him to where she lives in Brooklyn
Heights.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hoping the evening news will shed some light on what
actually went on behind the Ansonia Hotel, where he narrowly escaped being shot
that afternoon, he waits for the news to begin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Director Sidney Pollack was in top form and this brief
interlude is poignantly effective. I might mention those old enough to remember
the once and former Eastern Airlines are treated to a delicious little
late-Eastern “time capsule.” Remember, it is winter – the film takes place
during the Christmas Season – and as Redford switches on the TV, a harried
looking guy in a raincoat on a New York street looks up…at an Eastern jetliner
soaring above (probably heading somewhere tropical and sunny) as an alluring
female vocalist asks “shouldn’t that be you there?” It was part of Eastern’s
“You Gotta Believe” campaign, one of their best…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Those familiar with these rambles will understand the
occasional musical or airline “tangent,” but that commercial before the news
serves a purpose, as Redford views Kathy’s stark black and white photographs on
the wall of her flat. Oh, did I mention she’s a professional photographer (a
character Dunaway would later expand on in “The Eyes of Laura Mars”)?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He asks his skeptical hostage, “Is this what you do,
photography?” As the Eastern commercial is replaced by a tender cue by the
film’s composer Dave Grusin, there is this dialog between Redford
and Dunaway:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Turner: Lonely
pictures.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kathy: So?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Turner: You’re funny. You
take pictures of empty streets, and trees with no leaves on them.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kathy: It’s winter.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Turner: Not quite
winter. They look like…November … not autumn, not winter, in-between. I
like them.</i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So there we are…Tangents, Thy Name is Thunderflakes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But a title I rather like for a new black and white
photograph I’ve become rather fond of. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Besides, I get to tell you about a favorite scene in a
favorite movie. And even if you don’t care a bit about Eastern Airlines
commercials…or lonely photographs of empty streets, check out “Condor.” It is
still one hell of a ride. And while you’re at it, enjoy how the superb actor
Max von Sydow turns a sinister European contract killer into a gentleman you
might just like and admire…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now, if you’ll excuse me, time for dinner…and the
umpty-umpth viewing of “Three Days of the Condor.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2015 Steve Ember</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">PS: You can view the photo without the Blogger clutter <a href="http://fc-foto.com/37367504" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: black;"></span><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></b></i></span>Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-35526497220763876902015-12-03T22:20:00.000-08:002015-12-03T23:30:25.984-08:00Loco-Chat<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></i></b></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GSruO18ecGQ/VmErKAKllUI/AAAAAAAACAQ/SHleffFF0Cg/s1600/Loco-Chat%2BSMALL%2BBlog%252BFB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GSruO18ecGQ/VmErKAKllUI/AAAAAAAACAQ/SHleffFF0Cg/s400/Loco-Chat%2BSMALL%2BBlog%252BFB.jpg" width="346" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">No doubt, you have already gathered today's ramble will have nothing to do with crazy conversation or, for that matter, chatty locomotives.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">It’s my
birthday today. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">As
regular visitors know, your loyal scribe rarely misses the opportunity to link
his birthday and trains, <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2012/12/birthdays-and-rumble-grumble.html" target="_blank">whether the full size or the model variety</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
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</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">I was
delighted to have my photograph “Loco-Chat” selected for inclusion in the
Maryland Federation of Art’s annual “Small Wonders” Show at the Circle Gallery
in </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Annapolis</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
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</span>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">“Loco-Chat”
was taken at Steinbach in eastern </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Germany</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">’s </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Erzgebirge</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> region, close by the Czech border,
along the Preßnitztalbahn narrow gauge steam railway.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Before
being attached to its train across the way at the Steinbach station, the little
steam locomotive is having all of her needs seen to by an attentive staff. That
means sufficient coal in her tender and ample water for making lots of steam.
The water spout has been pulled away, having done its job, and the engine
driver and his colleagues are confirming that all is “in Ordnung.” </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">I love
shooting steam trains in the snow, and while this particular photo doesn’t
speak to it, the afternoon along the narrow gauge route from Steinbach, through
the pine forests to its other terminus, Jöhstadt, was intermittently alive with <span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://fc-foto.com/22437767" target="_blank"><b>huge swirling snowflakes</b></a>.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">The </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">MFA</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> “Small Wonders” show takes place
during the Holiday Season each year, featuring smaller than usual items in the
Gallery that just might appeal for gift giving.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">So, if
you have a steam train lover on your list, this one might make for a nice
surprise; and, measuring only 11 inches square, it would not require moving the
Rembrandt from its place of honor. The photograph is available for purchase during the show<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, either at the MFA Circle Gallery or by visiting the MFA web site: www.mdfedart.org, and, afterwards by contacting me directly via my web site SteveEmber.com.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">The show
will be on view through Christmas Eve. The gallery is just across </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">State Circle</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> from the State House<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can see a fuller rendition of "Loco-Chat" <a href="http://fc-foto.com/37250057" target="_blank">here</a>; and, if you remember the children's story "The Little Engine That Could," there is <a href="http://fc-foto.com/23271485" target="_blank">another version of the photograph</a>, especially for the young and young at heart.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alle Einsteigen - All Aboard!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2015 Steve Ember </span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><b><i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></b></span>Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-74482667461535504962015-11-25T13:00:00.000-08:002015-12-21T20:18:21.135-08:00Between River and Mountain<b><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...<i>my latest audio book</i></span></span></b><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Earlier this month, I completed production of my latest
audio book. “Between River and Mountain,” an historical romance, by Sally
Walker Brinkmann.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I’m happy to say the book has just been released in time for
holiday season downloading<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and gift giving.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The book is set during the American Civil War. Sally
Brinkmann, born in Washington but a resident of West
Virginia for more than half of her life, populated
her story with a very large cast of characters whom she skillfully weaves in
and out of the sprawling three hundred page novel. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The area in which Sally Brinkmann chose to live, as well as
her strong interest in its history, strongly informs the narrative. The portion
of Virginia that would become West
Virginia, especially Morgan
County, was a turbulent area on the
border between North and South, its residents having conflicting loyalties,
often paying dearly, during or after the war, for being on the “wrong side.”
While the novel begins in this hill country, it also takes place in other parts
of Virginia, including Richmond, as protagonist Rob Johnson’s activities
include the transport of slaves northward via the Underground Railroad.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">As a voice actor, I found it an irresistible challenge to
delineate and bring life to the rich mix of characters. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, I remember telling Sally as I was
working on the final chapters that I was going to miss this project when I
finished it, as I genuinely liked so many of the characters, their strengths,
their flaws, their grit, their special, often endearing, quirks<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">The
project was something of a departure for me. As I read the audition script, it suggested
to me that the narration might be voiced as if contemporaneous with the events.
I chose an old </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Virginia</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> flavor, sort of on a lark, and with some amount
of trepidation, as </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Virginia</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> has many different regional sounds, to say
nothing of the hill country regions that would become </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">West Virginia</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">. When the rights holder informed me that the
author liked my read on the audition, the course was clear as to how I’d
proceed. I hope this approach, as well as the portrayal of the wide range of
characters will create some effective “theater of the mind” moments for those
who purchase the audio book. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is a longer clip.<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">This second montage <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">begins</span> in the Point Lookout prison camp in Maryland,
where a wounded Rob meets Irishman Tim Foley, who will arrange an
escape. It also includes scenes subsequent to their escape as they
return to Confederate territory and are initially taken for deserters.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/235298268&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The two month project even affected me as a photographer, as
the narrative was so rich in descriptions of the terrain and the different
kinds of light that mark the seasons in this hill country. I know I will enjoy
exploring it with the cameras<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The audio book, which runs 10 hours 45 minutes, is available
on Audible.com, and, by the time you read this, should also be available for
download on Amazon and iTunes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">If you are at all attuned to audio quality, I should mention
the following. I’ve often been known to cringe at some of the brutal audio
compression that appears on certain web sites. This is usually done in the name
of the quickest loading, but, speaking personally, it does nasty things to my
voice quality. Thus, while the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">audio book
itself</i> has none of that “compression nastiness,” if you’d like an idea of
what the production actually sounds like before making your purchase, please
use as your guide the embedded player above (or go to my SoundCloud page,
accessible through my web site) to listen rather than the audio clip that
appears on the Audible site.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">©2015 Steve Ember</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/238609077&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe> </span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-84162996012505275002015-11-17T22:29:00.000-08:002015-11-18T21:46:04.109-08:00The “Enigmatic” Serendipitic Connection ‘twixt Surgery and “A Sea Symphony”…<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">…or<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">do you really gotta</span></span> have surgery to hear the Sea
Symphony?”</span></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iOi7nualakk/VkwTCE9BeHI/AAAAAAAAB_M/E76SDHrg9dY/s1600/English%2BShips%2Bin%2Ba%2BLight%2BBreeze-Blog%252BFB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iOi7nualakk/VkwTCE9BeHI/AAAAAAAAB_M/E76SDHrg9dY/s400/English%2BShips%2Bin%2Ba%2BLight%2BBreeze-Blog%252BFB.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"English Ships in a Light Breeze" (oil painting by Charles Brooking) from my EMI recording</span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Two of my very favorite works <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of</span> British symphonic music are
the Enigma Variations by Sir Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams
magnificent “A Sea Symphony.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">The latter is a work involving a large chorus, two soloists in verses by Walt Whitman,
and a very large orchestra. When performed in a great concert hall, it is a stunning
experience. Whether experiencing it live or on a fine audio system, it is most
definitely on my special list of “goose-bump-raisers.” Perhaps because of the
large forces required, one does not get the chance to enjoy it live all that
often (at least not around here). </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Or maybe it’s just the fact it’s not by Mozart or Beethoven?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">The wonderful Enigma Variations enjoys <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a bit</i> more frequency in terms of live performance <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">hereabouts</span>, but
still not often enough for me. Oh, well, that’s why we have CDs, LPs, and large
stereo amplifiers pushing fine loudspeakers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">While I’d loved “A Sea Symphony” for years (and played it often
on my programs when I was hosting classical music on the wireless), it wasn’t
until 2004 that I got to enjoy it live in the concert hall.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">In April 2004, I underwent surgery to rebuild my left thumb
joint. The operation, I’m happy to say, was a complete success, and as I was
recovering and still several days away from having my big ha<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">n</span>d cast sawed off, I
heard radio spots for an upcoming performance at the Kennedy
Center of the “Sea Symphony.” </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Fortunately, it was April, so no bulky overcoat would have
to be negotiated with the “Royal Blue Monster Claw.” Thus, as quick as one
could say “Vaughan Williams,” I was on the phone to the Kennedy
Center to reserve my seat for that
Sunday afternoon performance. Even splurged on a Parterre Box seat up front on
the left side of the Concert Hall to get as “up close and personal” with the
orchestra, chorus, and soloists as possible for this first live hearing of this
monumental work. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">What a memorable concert, and a very nice treat I gave
myself as a post-surgery present!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">In the years that followed, I always kept an eye out for a
performance of “A Sea Symphony” (also known as the Vaughan Williams Symphony
No.1). But, unless I missed notice of it, as far as I know, it lay dormant, at
least in terms of a Washington or Baltimore performance.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now, here is the “Enigmatic” serendipity…</i></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">It’s eleven and a half years later, and I’m a couple weeks
into recovery from an operation to repair an inguinal hernia. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">You guessed it, didn’t you? Radio ad for a performance this
Sunday<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">by <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">T</span>he Washington Chorus</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"> of “A Sea Symphony” at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Not only “A Sea
Symphony” but the chance to enjoy - on the same program! - a performance of
Elgar’s masterful “Enigma Variations.” It too, especially the (highly Elgarian!)
final variation is on the “GBR” list.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Care to guess where I shall be this coming Sunday<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> evening</span>?
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">And a special thank you to Dr. Martin Paul at Sibley
Memorial Hospital<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> in Washington, whose </span>deft laparoscopic surgical <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">touch</span> earlier this month <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">would</span> ensure I’d not miss this
“traditional” post<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-</span>surgery musical treat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Oh, yes, if you’re wondering what I meant by the goose bumps
reference above, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">why not sample a bit of</span> this special treat from the 2013 BBC
Proms performance at the Royal Albert Hall as Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo (who, you can tell, really enjoys British music!)
conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC
Symphony Chorus, BBC Proms Youth Choir and
soloists Sally Matthews & Roderick Williams. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This</i></b> is where I want to
be <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">when next</span> I immerse myself in “A Sea Symphony!”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Gee, d’you suppose I might be able to do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">without</i> the surgical prelude?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">©2015 Steve Ember</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6qw-3jdtfro?rel=0" width="560"></iframe> </span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-47423637936191441622015-10-31T19:27:00.002-07:002015-11-01T19:25:33.793-08:00Out of the mouths of...Trick or Treaters<i><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Halloween 2015</span></span></b></i><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0VVPoWWJRww/VjV1IqbiNpI/AAAAAAAAB-s/FEX3gewYVhc/s1600/Criscis%2BHalloween%2BCat%2B%25284184%2529%2B10-31-15%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0VVPoWWJRww/VjV1IqbiNpI/AAAAAAAAB-s/FEX3gewYVhc/s400/Criscis%2BHalloween%2BCat%2B%25284184%2529%2B10-31-15%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-size: xx-small;">And I thought I had a big cat</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">My doorbell was rung this Halloween evening by a grand
procession of little ghouls, goblins, super-heroes…and a princess or two.
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">But the ones I think I’ll remember the longest were the
unlikely pairing of Spiderman and a pretty little princess. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">I had just told Spiderman how scary he looked, as I dropped
some treats in his bag and was about to tell the princess how pretty she looked…ah,
but before I get to the punch line, I must describe my house as it likely
appears, by night, to any passing Halloween Lilliputians. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">The house sits on a fairly steep hill rising from the
sidewalk. The car port, where Big Kitty sleeps is, as you might expect, well
lighted. And the front door has a, well, adequate light beside it. But my lamp
post is… absent. A few years ago, I discovered that when I turned it on, it was
tripping the circuit breaker. Nothing wrong at the lamp post itself, except
that it was pretty nasty looking. But the underground conduit had apparently been
crunched over time, causing the short circuit. So, I had the unattractive and –
worse – dysfunctional lamp post taken away.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Well, now that I am a member of the leisure set, guess I’m
running out of excuses for getting a new lamp post and a new electrical line
run deep under the grass.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">So, not exactly a House and Garden Beacon of Welcoming Light
with little twinkly white lights setting off the walkways…Oh, and no Halloween
decorations. Just a modest harvest arrangement on the front door…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Back to the Little Princess…So, I’d just told her super-hero
companion how scary he looked and was about to tell her how pretty she looked
when she ups and says, “Not as scary as your house looks with no decorations.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Out of the mouths of…</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">I guess I just didn’t have the heart to tell her how scary
it looked before I filled in the moat and turned the moat monsters loose in the stream
down the street…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Ah, but if I don’t have Halloween decorations, I can (and
do) bask in the glow of my next door neighbors’ display.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JuBVQrhpBOc/VjV3L9dE4HI/AAAAAAAAB-8/SGDzdNJNT_0/s1600/Criscis%2BHalloween%2BCat%2B%252B%2BPumpkins%25284173%2529%2B10-31-15%2BPSP%2BEdits%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JuBVQrhpBOc/VjV3L9dE4HI/AAAAAAAAB-8/SGDzdNJNT_0/s640/Criscis%2BHalloween%2BCat%2B%252B%2BPumpkins%25284173%2529%2B10-31-15%2BPSP%2BEdits%2B%25C2%25A9%252BSig.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I came outside last evening and was stopped in my tracks by
a huge black cat with glowing eyes, his head scanning Carrleigh
Parkway for any Mousemobiles upon which he could pounce.
Next to the cat was an imposing pillar of glowing pumpkins from which was
emanating the Halloween classic “Monster Mash.”
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yes, Jeff and Cheryl know how to “do” Halloween. Guess it
has to do with their being young at heart. Oh, yes, and the fact they have a
two year old grandson living nearby. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Couldn’t tell who looked more excited as the inflation of
cat and pumpkins finished, Jeff or little Dante, who had encouraged Jeff to “blow
up cat.”</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dante and his Mom, Alice, have a black cat too; but I suspect Jake
is giving the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">big</i> black cat a very
wide berth…</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Probably well, advised, as, when I came out this morning,
there were four Mini wheel covers on the sidewalk…but no sign of the Mini. Just
a big black cat with a Cheshire
grin and, every now and then, a contented burp.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Guess my house does look “scary” by comparison, but what a nice
Halloween.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">PS: A sad note this Halloween, but one with lovely memories.
As a young aspiring broadcaster, I listened regularly (from Baltimore)
to the great old-line NBC radio station WRC in Washington.
Back then, WRC simulcast its programs on AM and FM, and the FM station came in
beautifully 40 miles up the road in Baltimore.
So I got to listen to such superb music broadcasters as the great Mac McGarry…and Ed
Walker and Willard Scott, who called themselves “The Joy Boys.” Ed and Willard
always were in top form on Halloween, with lots of special music and live skits
with music, sound effects, etc. What a talented pair they were…and always
cordial and welcoming to young rookies like myself. They loved radio – at a
time when radio was genuinely worth loving – and embodied a professionalism
that was once to be admired and emulated. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sadly, we lost Ed Walker just a few days before Halloween. In
my many boxes of open reel tapes lurk many an air-check of Ed Walker and Willard
Scott, including on Halloween, made by the star struck young broadcaster on his
Ampex 1260 tape deck. I hope I’ll find one to play next Halloween. Thanks, Ed, for lots of great memories...and great Radio.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">©2015 Steve Ember </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A quick look at Ed (and Willard!) at work. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q9IxNqYIbUE" width="420"></iframe> </span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-53658528724206083782015-08-19T15:17:00.002-07:002015-08-23T21:53:19.033-07:00It's a Toddlin' Town<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>...from a photographer's notebook</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NMQWOBIegWU/VdT7zap_AQI/AAAAAAAAB9s/z3c2DwWc7BE/s1600/CH-CV-Hist%2BState%2BSt-Great%2BSt%2Bw-Oriental%2BTheater-Beatles%2BBlog-1024-%25C2%25A9Line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NMQWOBIegWU/VdT7zap_AQI/AAAAAAAAB9s/z3c2DwWc7BE/s640/CH-CV-Hist%2BState%2BSt-Great%2BSt%2Bw-Oriental%2BTheater-Beatles%2BBlog-1024-%25C2%25A9Line.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: x-small;">1964 - Looking west on Randolph from State Street. Remember whose music was topping the charts?</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>[As originally posted August 2014]</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/220605246&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve always liked that line in “The Package,” where Tommy
Lee Jones tells his nefarious associates he’s not going to hang around with them, but
instead plans to head into town. It must be said, if anyone can make an
assassin oddly “likeable,” it’s Mr. Jones. If you don’t believe me, just rent –
or better yet – purchase the <st1:stockticker>DVD</st1:stockticker> of this
Andrew Davis Chicago-set thriller from 1989. I’ve a hunch you’ll want to watch
it more than once.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, the most familiar iteration of “toddlin’ town”
doesn’t have the “it’s a” in there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rather, as Frank Sinatra sings the Fred Fischer tune</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chicago, Chicago, that
toddlin’ town…<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chicago, Chicago, I will show you around, I love it...</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Naturally, being a fan of both Chicago and vintage Sinatra,
I found good use for the tune in one of the last <a href="https://soundcloud.com/steve-ember/podcast-this-is-america-chicago" target="_blank">“This Is America”</a> programs I
produced for VOA Learning English. There were only so many photos I could post
in the web presentation of the story, and I wanted to stick with aspects of <st1:city>Chicago</st1:city>
contained in my audio production. But I felt a bit remiss at not having space
to illustrate what Frank is alluding to when he sings</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>On </i><st1:street><st1:address><i>State Street</i></st1:address></st1:street></b><i><b>, that great street...</b><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Nonetheless, I did manage to dig up some slides from a
couple of very early trips to the </span><st1:place style="color: #9fc5e8;"><st1:placename>Windy</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>City</st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"> (and, of course, some from
</span><a href="http://fc-foto.com/33655093" target="_blank"><span style="color: lime;">more recent visits</span></a><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">). I thought I’d share a few…</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6y75iGs83AE/VdT-AapO2vI/AAAAAAAAB90/WEnJyQo9tdY/s1600/CH-CV-Hist%2BState%2BStreet%2B1964%2B%252811EH-27%2529%2BSMALLw-%25C2%25A9line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6y75iGs83AE/VdT-AapO2vI/AAAAAAAAB90/WEnJyQo9tdY/s640/CH-CV-Hist%2BState%2BStreet%2B1964%2B%252811EH-27%2529%2BSMALLw-%25C2%25A9line.jpg" width="430" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: xx-small;">State Street - Marina City, Marshall Field's iconic clock, and a couple I knew very well (1964)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The picture above is how “that great street” looked in
March of 1964. Oh, yes, that classy looking couple on </span><st1:street style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">State
Street</st1:street><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> crossing </span><st1:street style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Randolph
Street</st1:street><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in the foreground would be my Mom and Dad,
as the rookie kid photog aimed his…what would it be? … ah yes, the old Yashica
J-3, my very first </span><st1:stockticker style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">SLR</st1:stockticker><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">…up State toward the
Corn Cobs, Chicagoans’ apt name for the twin towers of (then new) Marina City.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Talk about a time warp…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The State Lake Theater is treating its patrons to Peter
Sellers and David Niven in “The Pink Panther.” Remember Henry Mancini’s
sly-catchy theme? Couldn’t miss it on the radio back then. Let’s see, Gregory Peck is on the Chicago
Theater’s big screen – not sure which film that would have been – Bergman’s
“The Silence” is in the way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And would you look at that big sign at upper right...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you boarded a flight for <st1:city>London</st1:city>
at O’Hare International Airport (or O’Hare <i>Field</i>,
as Chicagoans of a sentimental leaning still call the sprawling complex today),
your four-engined “Speedbird” would not say British Airways on its aluminium
skin, but rather the stout and steaky livery of B-O-A-C – British Overseas
Airways Corporation, don’t you know…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, and that massive and iconic clock suspended over the
“great street” belonged to the venerable Marshall Field’s Department Store.
It’s now another Macy’s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve got to get back to <st1:city>Chicago</st1:city>
real soon…and shoot from this same vantage point. It will no doubt look quite different,
especially the area beyond the State-Lake L station. Like any big vibrant city,
<st1:city>Chicago</st1:city>’s skyline and cityscape is
in constant evolution. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But what fun to freeze time for a moment and view some
slices of the “<st1:place><st1:placename>Windy</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>City</st1:placetype></st1:place>”
through the eyes of my teen rookie photographer self!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, oh my! After the elation in seeing that my <st1:city>Chicago</st1:city>
slides from that 1964 visit had held up well in their long-neglected drawer of
slide boxes, came the sudden realization – or was it shock? - Whoa, that was
f-i-f-t-y years ago!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. As
director Andrew Davis said in his commentary track for “The Fugitive,”</span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Love you, Chicago.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yeah, me too. I’m Steve Ember</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">©2014 Steve Ember</span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-20138718366355259932015-08-06T23:55:00.001-07:002015-08-07T00:45:41.129-07:00Franz Allers...<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">from a photographer's (and music lover's) notebook</span></b></i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ozdyh4UBW3o/VcRUZVKFaDI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/5PbmIuRfKwc/s1600/Franz%2BAllers%252C%2BMunich%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ozdyh4UBW3o/VcRUZVKFaDI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/5PbmIuRfKwc/s400/Franz%2BAllers%252C%2BMunich%2BSMALL%2BBlog-FB.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">August 6, 2015</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Sometimes, there is a very special kind of serendipity when
some long-procrastinated-over cleaning up reveals amidst the mostly disposable
detritus…a color slide, long unseen, but fortunately protected in a sleeve,
from years earlier…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">During the years I was a fine arts/classical music
broadcaster, especially from around 1980 to 1986, I probably had more fun than
was legal. Certainly, more fun than would be possible now given the current
state of radio.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I still sort of pinch myself at the recollection that I was
actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">getting paid</i> to present the
music I so loved and to meet and interview so many of my musical idols –
composers, lyricists, performers, and conductors, many of whom were legends in
their time. And, you know something else? Most of them were lovely individuals,
genuinely nice to talk to. And talk at length we did, face-to-face with my
trusty Sony TC-D5M capturing every word and nuance picked up by my pair of
Beyer M-500 ribbon mics, as we’d sit across a table. No Skype back then, of
course. And no sticking some handheld device in somebody’s face. I like to say
I did it right and with the respect my guests deserved.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">No, this is not going to be a recitation of all the famous
figures in music and the arts that consented to spend time with me for in
depth, on-location interviews whose purpose was never to merely generate “sound
bites.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Just one very special gentleman, who (and here's where that serendipity comes in) was born exactly one hundred
ten years ago today.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">The station I was working for during this period, WETA-FM in
Washington, gave me <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>uncommon latitude in terms of programming. OK,
it was only for two hours, every Sunday and a few times during the week; the
rest of the time, our bread and butter in terms of music was purely classical. But
that was fine – I love much classical music and actually built my “first
career” as a classical music host/presenter.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">But the thing was, I had an equal love and passion for some
other forms of quality music that were “just outside” the often hidebound
strictures that say classical is the only “serious” music. Areas like the Great
American Popular Song Standards, Musical Theater, Symphonic Film Scores,
Gilbert & Sullivan…and (great gemütlich sigh, here!) Viennese and German
Operetta. All of it good music…just not quite “classical.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">The man I’m going to write about here once delighted me with
a story, related in his wonderfully mittel-Europa raconteur-par-excellence
style.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Said he: “…and you know, Steve, even Beethoven wrote some
music that wasn’t so serious. A group of village musicians once came to him and
said ‘Great Master, wouldn’t you write something for us [to perform]. He was
working on one of his great serious masterpieces at the time, but he said “Ja,
sure I’ll write something for you. And the result was the Dances from Mödling, which
is a suburb of Vienna…”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">His point in telling me the story was to relate his absolute
disdain – as a classically trained musician – for the often arbitrary
classifications and snobbery surrounding what can be called “classical” music.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">This man made his career in ballet conducting, opera houses
in Europe and elsewhere, the Broadway Theater, and in theaters, opera houses,
and festivals presenting the operettas of Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehar, Carl
Millöcker, and so many others in Viennese operetta’s gold and silver ages.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of all my musical idols, my admiration for this man was the
earliest to begin and, consequently, the longest running.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">As a young teenager, in 1961, I had the great good fortune
to attend a performance of Lerner and Loewe’s musical “Camelot” on Broadway.
The original cast was still intact – that is to say Richard Burton as King
Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guinevere, and Robert Goulet making his Broadway debut
as Lancelot…to say nothing of Robert Coote, John Cullum, and Roddy McDowell.
Not only that, but my seat was dead center in the
Orchestra, only three or four rows from the pit.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">I’ll always remember the excitement transmitted by the
opening notes of Frederick Loewe’s stunning overture and all of the soaring
melodies contained in it, and being so immersed in it from being so close to
the orchestra. But there was an added visual treat, as, from my magical seat, I
had a clear view of the lively and distinguished looking gentleman conducting the orchestra and bringing forth such an engaging sound.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">The program said his name was <span style="color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Franz Allers</b></span>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5AR9mk83VQ4" width="420"></iframe><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">More to come... </span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-46092580078542011782015-07-19T10:35:00.000-07:002017-08-20T12:06:52.080-07:00California Dreaming...<span style="color: #76a5af;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>...from a photographer's notebook</b></i></span></span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The title hasn’t much to do with the lyrics of the Mamas and
Papas song…just the fact she was wearing California plates and – of course –
had me dreaming…or at least dreamy.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On the way home from mounting my <a href="http://thunderflakes.blogspot.com/2015/07/scoping-out-scapes-my-new-show.html" target="_blank">'Scapes exhibit</a> and later exploring some <a href="http://fc-foto.com/36483179" target="_blank">beachy stretches along the Severn</a> on a great summer
late afternoon, I realized I was running on fumes – not the car, the tummy.
Easy to forget eating when otherwise so occupied…so stopped at an AppleRubyFriday’s
type restaurant to fill my long empty tummy-tank…great big salad, a rack of
ribs, some high octane iced tea of the Long Island variety, and a fudge brownie
and ice cream concoction for dessert. Sweeet…no longer hungry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But what was quintessentially “Shweeeeeet” as I stepped
outside was this iconic example of mid-‘60s Detroit Iron that yanked at my
eyeballs like a high powered electromagnet turned full up.</span></span></div>
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: small;"><i>We should all look as good at 50! See her without the Blogger clutter <a href="http://fc-foto.com/36507634" target="_blank">here</a></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There, next to the restaurant’s parking lot – with a nice
dark glass building as a backdrop! – was this 1965 Chevrolet Impala SS (Super
Sport) convertible, obviously lovingly maintained. Naturally, I had to shoot
her from every angle (if the owner had been present, I’d have asked for a look
under the hood!), and I’ll share some more images with you down the road…</span></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzX1fpEzotQ/Vavr5T8cQwI/AAAAAAAAB8w/skonOcbSYk8/s1600/California%2BDreaming%2BNo-2%2BChevyImpalaSSConvertible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzX1fpEzotQ/Vavr5T8cQwI/AAAAAAAAB8w/skonOcbSYk8/s640/California%2BDreaming%2BNo-2%2BChevyImpalaSSConvertible.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Ahh, yes...she left me dreamy! See her in higher definition <a href="http://fc-foto.com/36501900" target="_blank">here</a></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Call me sentimental, but as I edited this image, I could
hear a heady audio mix, comprised of the gutsy rumble of her 396 cubic inch V8
engine through dual exhausts at idle and wafting from her radio into the air of this lovely summer evening, Bert Kaempfert’s “Strangers in the Night.”</span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ahhhh…</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">©2015 Steve Ember</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N85cwvwGBak" width="560"></iframe></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8lNw-_SGRsk" width="420"></iframe> </span></span></div>
Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-69509966911878833622015-07-05T20:31:00.001-07:002015-07-06T17:20:45.413-07:00The Scoop on 'Scapes (My New Show)<b><i><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">...from a photographer's notebook</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></i></b><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWv_nWt-2xE/VZn2c2Iz2NI/AAAAAAAAB7s/neDEsfv58wo/s1600/Scapes-QWP-PostCardFront-SM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWv_nWt-2xE/VZn2c2Iz2NI/AAAAAAAAB7s/neDEsfv58wo/s640/Scapes-QWP-PostCardFront-SM.jpg" width="427" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I'd like to invite you to my new exhibit, opening this week.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">‘scapes</span></span></b></span></span> (short for landscapes, cityscapes, nightscapes, dreamscapes, and escapes) will be on view through August 23 in the Garden Gallery, in the Visitors Center at Quiet Waters Park, a lovely nature preserve along the South River in Annapolis, Maryland. The Opening Reception is this Sunday, July12 (see below).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘scapes</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span>makes stops high in the Bernina Alps of
Switzerland’s Canton Graubünden, and in the Valais Alps – including from the
10,300-ft aerie of the Gornergrat, looking across to the mighty Matterhorn
rising out of the cloud deck into the Alpine high altitude sunshine, and down
at the rugged expanse of the Gornergrat Glacier. It rides the narrow gauge
rails of the Rhätische Bahn’s rugged Albula Line…soars to 12,000 feet on
L’Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps…relaxes on the shore of glacial-turquoise
Moraine Lake and climbs to the autumn-gold Larch Valley in the Canadian
Rockies…explores the rough-hewn village of Nesso, along Italy’s Lago di
Como…visits the Scottish Highlands, and navigates to New York, Washington, London,
Glasgow, and Paris, including by night. Some inviting destinations in the
Chesapeake Bay Region, too, including autumn images taken last October in Quiet Waters Park.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">About the <span style="color: white;"><b>"escapes"</b></span> mentioned above...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">If the early onset of the hot summer steamies has been getting to you, I've made sure to include, in addition to those high altitude alpine images, some "escapes" into a world of icebergs and glaciers. And if that doesn't work for you, there will, of course, be cold libations!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b><span style="color: white;">Dreamscapes?</span></b> Well, sometimes, usually late at night, when the world seems a bit too literal, I'll summon my "digital genie" from her ever-present bottle as we conspire to transform certain of my images into...well...varying dimensions of (sometimes, un-)reality. A few of these are included in the show amidst the more literal 'scapes. <a href="http://fc-foto.com/24568657" target="_blank">Here's one of them</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The exhibit will include lots of new work created in the past two years since my last show, as well as some old faves, both in color and classic black and white. There will also be a selection of smaller matted work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">More information:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tgb6SP2oJHA/VZn8vQXtZBI/AAAAAAAAB78/F9txX0CYgO4/s1600/Scapes-QWP%2BPostCardBack-SM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tgb6SP2oJHA/VZn8vQXtZBI/AAAAAAAAB78/F9txX0CYgO4/s640/Scapes-QWP%2BPostCardBack-SM.jpg" width="448" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I hope you can stop by for the Opening Reception or any time during the run of the show. Please do note that the Visitors Center closes at 4 PM and that the park is closed on Tuesdays. You may also like to explore some of the park's many scenic trails while there!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">©2015 Steve Ember</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">
</span> Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655284044962869380.post-56792148067229680842015-06-27T18:06:00.000-07:002015-06-28T11:34:40.198-07:00A Happy Day for "Lower Broadway"<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">...from a photographer's notebook </span></i></b></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f15Ssq3KPWI/VY9VCJA1dEI/AAAAAAAAB7I/nY4l6cdCccQ/s1600/Lower%2BBroadway_no-1_SMALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f15Ssq3KPWI/VY9VCJA1dEI/AAAAAAAAB7I/nY4l6cdCccQ/s640/Lower%2BBroadway_no-1_SMALL.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><i>"Lower Broadway" ©2015 Steve Ember</i></span></td></tr>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No, not a song title, but a felicitous confluence of events for a
photograph of which I’m quite fond, and which made Friday pretty special for me.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Lower Broadway,” a black and white study from my first
explorations of New York’s Tribeca
neighborhood, was shot along that thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan
on a June afternoon in 2013.</span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Min Enghauser, who has over the years brought much of my
work to life, whether in the darkroom or as a master printmaker in digital fine
arts media, produced a stunning 24 x 36 inch archival pigment print of this and
a <a href="http://fc-foto.com/34390112" target="_blank">companion image</a> from my Tribeca explorations. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The interval since the photos were taken was a very busy
period which included my career transition to…freedom!...so, while both images
have been seen on my Foto-Community pages, Min’s lovely prints were under wraps
until recently, when I decided it was time to get them out there in the real
world, beyond their electronic incarnations. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I learned earlier this month that “Lower Broadway” was selected
for inclusion in the Maryland Federation of Art’s “MD Art @ College Park” Third
Annual Fine Art Juried Exhibition, so it was time to get this big fellow ready
for display. Paul Nee and his associates at Capital Framing in Fairfax
did their usual lovely work for me, nicely setting off Min’s exquisite print.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Lb3Xfx88bI/VY9SkvFG6bI/AAAAAAAAB7A/FivvDMkVFXE/s1600/SE%2Bw-LowerBroadway%2BMDArt%2540CP%2B6-26-15%2BSMALL%2BBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Lb3Xfx88bI/VY9SkvFG6bI/AAAAAAAAB7A/FivvDMkVFXE/s400/SE%2Bw-LowerBroadway%2BMDArt%2540CP%2B6-26-15%2BSMALL%2BBlog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #cccccc;">At the Opening Reception Friday evening</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">At the exhibit’s opening reception Friday evening, I was
delighted to find that the photograph had received a Juror’s Choice Award from Yumi
Hogan, Maryland’s First Lady
and artist as well as art professor at the Maryland Institute
College of Art, Baltimore.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The other happy bit of news attaching to this photograph was
that, a couple of weeks ago, a fellow photographer had proposed “Lower
Broadway” for the French Foto-Community Gallery. And a couple of hours before
leaving for the reception, I received notification that the photo had been
voted on by this peer group and accorded the <a href="http://fc-foto.com/36273416" target="_blank">F-C Gallery Star</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, happy day indeed for a favorite image. And a big thank
you to Taras Matla of the University of Maryland Art Gallery, who was
responsible for hanging the show, for according my photograph a wall
of its own, which, along with the fine lighting, made for a lovely gallery
debut for a favorite NYC image of mine. And thanks also to Executive Director Joann
Vaughan and Hannah Sturm of the MFA for
coordinating this expansive exhibit.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The show will run through August 1. The Art
Gallery is located in the Art and Sociology
Building, University
of Maryland at College
Park. For more information, please call the Gallery at
301-405-2763 or the MFA at 410-268-4566.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">©2015 Steve Ember </span></span></div>
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<![endif]-->Steve Emberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515725046043474804noreply@blogger.com0