Memorial Art Gallery [Sky Watch Friday]

Rochester has a variety of outstanding museums that attract visitors from all over the world. These include the Eastman International Museum of Photography, the Strong Museum of Toys, the Susan B. Anthony House, and the Memorial Art Gallery. It was to the latter that we paid a visit this afternoon, specifically to see the newly opened Max Escher exhibit. The exhibit was fabulous [open until the end of January], and I would recommend it highly. Since photography was not permitted, I cannot show you examples of his unique and brilliant works. However, there were photo-ops outside the museum, including the buildings, as well as the extraordinary sculpture garden containing stone and metal figures.

Today we hit a record high temperature in Rochester, so it was fun to wander around the garden; here are some sample images of these unusual and humorous figures.

Rochester Skyline at Sunset [Sky Watch Friday]

I have posted many images of Rochester sunsets and skylines, and I thought I had seen it tall. But, several days ago, my wife and I went out for dinner in the heart of downtown. As luck would have it, the garage was fairly crowded and we had to park on the sixth level. As we began walking to the elevator, I saw this amazing view. I used my cell phone to try and capture what was left of the sunset along with several iconic buildings silhouetted against the sky. 

Image City Gallery Assignment

Once a month a group of amateur photographers meets with two professionals at Rochester’s Image City Gallery to share photos and engage in discussion of our work. Since its inception several years ago, I have learned a great deal about creating, looking at, and critiquing images. What is especially fun is getting a specific assignment as to the nature of the photos we are to bring in. For example, for this November's meeting, we were to bring in three shots we took in which our feet had to remain planted; i.e. we were allowed to turn our torso in any direction, but without moving our feet. This was designed to slow us down as we surveyed our surroundings and thought about what it was that we wanted to shoot. Perhaps more importantly, by looking around, we might discover a more intersting shot to make than the one we initially saw.
Here are my three images, taken in the Wilson Commons at the University of Rochester. These were taken from a second floor balcony, a great vantage point with nice views in several directions.
The image below is that of he Rush Rhees Library rotunda, looking up and to my left.

 

This next image was shot straight down looking into a portion of the cafeteria. This one is my favorite image of the three. I find all the diagonal and vertical lines particularly appealing.

 

This last image was shot to my right. As it was fall break, there were relatively few students on campus. Otherwise, all the tables would have been occupied.

Webster Beach Park sunset revisited [Sky Watch Friday]

Two weeks ago I posted several sunset shots taken at Webster Beach Park. Looking back through my archive, I found several images from that locale that I had not shared previously. So, here they are.

Downtown Rochester [Sky Watch Friday]

On Saturday Oct. 1, around the globe, thousands of photographers were out shooting in their hometowns/cities as part of Scott Kelby’s 2016 Worldwide Photowalk. I was one of several dozen participants in Rochester, NY. As luck would have it, the weather was not cooperative; viz. we had a bright gray sky [followed by rain just as the walk concluded]. Still, I managed to obtain a number of satisfactory images, shown below. Since I have posted many of shots taken downtown, I will try to avoid redundancy.

After the walk was over, a group of us gathered for lunch in the Genesee Brew Pub. Service was slow, but the sandwiches were great. While waiting, I got off my best shot through the rain-drenched window. I converted this to B&W in Lightroom.

Webster Park Beach sunset [Sky Watch Friday]

 It is more than a year since I last posted sunset images shot from Webster Park Beach. Located some 10 miles north of Rochester on the shore of Lake Ontario, Webster Park Beach is a popular destination of many photographers, as well as those who just want to enjoy the view of sky and water. After my wife reminded me recently that we had not been up there for some time, I looked up and saw a promising array of clouds that could make for a good sunset. Below are several images from our visit.

World of InfraRed 10: Santa Fe (ii) [Sky Watch Friday]

While most photographers prefer to shoot during the so-called ‘golden hours’ of light, shooting in infrared is best during the bright mid-day. Blue skies are darkened and vegetation can appear white [a variety of factors influences the latter]. Here are several more shots I made during our recent vacation in Santa Fe, NM.

World of InfraRed 9: Santa Fe (i) [Sky Watch Friday]

It is a year since I last showed infrared images shot with my IR-modified camera [see my June/July/Sept. 2015 posts]. However, I was bitten with the desire to shoot again in infrared. So, during our recent trip to Santa Fe, I took both regular shots with my Canon 60D camera and IR images with my modified Kodak ZM1015. Images from the former have been posted here in the last two weeks; today I begin with the IR shots. Because of the particular camera I had modified, I have not been able to generate IR color images in Lightroom; but, I am quite happy with the B&W conversions.

The top two images below are those of St. Francis Cathedral; the bottom two images are some of the adobe buildings I also shot and posted in color.

Santa Fe (ii) [Sky Watch Friday]

There are many attractions in and outside Santa Fe. In the former category are the numerous museums [especially the Georgia O’Keefe Museum], churches/chapels [especially St. Francis Cathedral], art galleries [especially the mile long Canyon Road], and squares/parks. Below are several representative shots from this group.

                                                           St. Francis Cathedral

                                        One of my favorite Canyon Road Gallery sculptures.

                                     Portion of a sculpture in the Botanical Garden.  

A must visit is outside Santa Fe; viz. Bandelier National Monument. Thousands of years ago, it was home to the ancestral Pueblo Indians, who carved caves into the soft rock cliffs.

                        Finally, a sky-scape shot upon our return to Santa Fe from Taos.

Santa Fe (i) [Sky Watch Friday]

This year has been a busy time traveling for us [see postings on Morocco and German cities]. However, our latest trip was a domestic one; viz. to Santa Fe, NM. We had stopped there briefly in Aug. 1980, as we were driving back to Rochester after a year long sabbatical in Salt Lake City. Those few days were enough to want to return for a longer stay. For me, the adobe buildings, characteristic of the Southwest, were particularly appealing. Below are several examples of this style. Interesting to note here is that the color of the adobe is, as you might guess, highly dependent on the light.

Berlin Skies [Sky Watch Friday]

Our Germany trip concluded in Berlin, one of our favorite cities, which we have visited many times. Among the most photographed sites is the old Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, which was was largely destroyed  in an air raid in WWII. However, part of the spire and much of the entrance hall survived. The remains stand as a memorial. A modern church has been constructed adjacent to the old one; you can see a portion of it in the lower left hand corner of the bottom image.

The Brandenburger Tor [Brandenburg Gate] is an 18th-century neoclassical monument and one of the best-known landmarks in Germany. During the years of the Berlin Wall in 1961, it was located in the East German sector. In the shots below, I took advantage of my 16-300mm telephoto lens to zoom in on the quadriga atop the gate.

 

Two other sites that we return to are modern constructions; viz. the Jewish Museum [designed by Daniel Libeskind] and the Holocaust Memorial [designed by Peter Eisenman]. I have posted images from previous trips and will confine myself here to just a single shot of each. Below is the museum characterized by its slashing windows and lines. It was designed to make one feel uncomfortable and succeeds both outside and inside.

The Holocaust Memorial is an open air field of rows upon rows of stalae [concrete pillars] of varying height/width that are arranged in grid-like formation. All told, there are a total of 2,711 pillars. Following its opening, there was a great deal of discussion as to how visitors were expected to comport themselves within this somber site. Today, one sees every possible emotion, from stunned silence to playful gaiety. The latter is illustrated in the image below [another shot made possible with my zoom lens].

Something has gone awry here at my site...I seem to have lost the Add Comment link, and I have no clue what might have caused it. In the meantime, my apologies...Thanks to Linda W., all you have to do is click on the title.