RON"S ANCHOR

Anchor From USS Oklahoma

Happy to say the temporarily lost anchor has been located in a small park between NW 12th and 13th Sreet on Broadway! In an earlier post our blog leader Ron showed us a scanned newspaper clipping of him at 5 along with his Dad. Both were in uniform as they viewed this anchor on Pearl Harbor Day. With all the changes over the years the location was lost. The next two pics will give the history of the anchor including it's many relocations over the lost years. 

A fresh coat of paint along with a solid Oklahoma granite base, makes a fitting place for its new home!

I feel this Quote honors the many men who lost their lives in Pearl Harbor while serving on the crew of the USS Oklahoma that fateful day!

OLD TRINITY OF PASEO

Tom Lee's Photography Studio

Old Trinity Anglican Church began life in 1842 in Blackville, New Brunswick, Canada. So, how did it end up in the Paseo Arts District in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?

The late photographer and entrepreneur Tom Lee found it for sale on the internet and bought it sight unseen!

After arranging for dismantling and transporting, Old Trinity arrived in the Paseo in November of 2000. Seven months later after being reassembled it was once again ready for use. The men that brought this old church from Canada were said to be the great grandsons of the man who donated the land where the structure stood for all those years.

The land where it now resides had never been built on. Built back on an East-West alignment just as it was in Blackville was fitting. Father Dale Petley of All Souls Episcopal Church in OKC began his ministry at Old Trinity in 1982 when it was in Blackville. He was present for the opening and completion of his relocated first church, now residing in the same city as he. Father Dale gave his blessings for the New Purpose of this building, Tom Lee's Photography Studio!

Tom Lee was a well known and admired Photographer in OKC and the State. An Oklahoma Treasure claimed by the Governor, and I agree. Confined to a wheel chair at an early age by a car wreck, He did not let that stand in his way. Tom hang up his camera in 2010, but not before leaving a portfolio of fine images and this beautiful, relocated with care, structure in the Paseo!

Tom Lee loved this Church turned Studio. The lighting and the shadows, plus the shear openness was in sync with his lens. There was room for him to move about while shooting portraits. I had the opportunity to view some of his works at a showing a few years back, little did I know then that I would be kickn' around taking snapshots of his studio and beloved Paseo!

Kickn' Along the Sidewalks

part 9

Should have headed South!

Found this small group of Canadian Geese at the head of Hardy Bay. They didn't look so thrilled to still be here...

Took this with the Sigma 120-400 at 400mm

PASEO STROLL

Standing On The Corner

No! Not that corner in Winslow,Az. that the Eagles hold claim to, but a corner in the Paseo. I think this is a wonderful way to have an entrance to your building that stands on a corner lot!



The Virgin

Keeping watch from a window!

No two buildings are built alike. Each have their doorways and entrances making their own statements.

Other than sharing an interior wall between neighbors, the many colored original clay tiled roof shingles which covered the slopes, was the only shared feature.

A Penitente ?

I do not have a clue who this Padre fellow is, but he is intently standing guard, with his bundle of switches in hand, over the colorful knitted items for the girls!

Kickn' the Sidewalks

part 8

K9 on HDR.

I took this shot few days ago when I saw this dog chasing a ball with his owner in the park nearby my house.  I could not freeze the motion because I didn't have time to set my shutter speed accordingly for overcast day, and put my camera on the tripod.

Finally some sunshine!

Finally got a partly sunny day! It's been overcast and rainy here on the North end of Vancouver Island for the past number of weeks, kind of wears a fellow down... Soon as the sun came out the my wife and I were out the door with the dogs and cameras!

Found this rainbow at the head of Hardy Bay (Port Hardy). Except for resizing this is straight out of the camera.

Utah

I think I need to go get my eye check.  Recently, I could not justify the colors on my pictures, and I want to turn everything into B&W.  May be I'm getting old! :)

Kauai

Found these old pictures from my attic.  :)

Best Guess... What is it?

Just for Q, Laser fire 101

It wasn't a big fire Q, just big enough to need some new parts and teach me a lesson!

The 950 cfm exhaust fan pulled most of the flame down and away from the working parts of the laser which probably saved me a whole lot of money!

Everybody has their ten minutes of fame

I don't remember where it's at Parker. It's been a long time since I was there. Not as long ago as this photo from the newspaper (50 years) but it has been a while. This is me and my dad at the anchor when I was five. My mother sewed the sailor suit for me so I could be like my Dad.

Rush Hour Traffic?

I am once again digging into the old files. I caught this helicopter flying through the Arch in St. Louis a few years back. I was suprised they let them do that but nobody seemed to mind too much. This was shot "on the fly" so to speak on a cloudy day about an hour before sunset so it's not the ideal photo. I'm just running out of things to post!

I apologize for my long absence from the blog. I had a house full of people from Christmas until New Years and then I got buried in work and then I had a small fire in my laser which put me out of business for a few days while I waited on parts and then I was behind even more and on top of that I have developed a sinus infection and have been sick the last three days. Yea, I know, wah, wah, wah! LOL

I promise to have new pictures after the vacation. There may not be very many underwater shots as the doctor discouraged me from scuba diving with my sinuses the way they are. He even tried to talk me out of flying but I smiled and very nicely told him that he was nuts! Nothing is going to stop me from going on this vacation!

THE PASEO ARTS DISTRICT

Touted as the first shopping district North of Downtown in 1929, Paseo is now the home to the Arts District in OKC.

Stuccoed buildings in the Spanish Revival style are all colorfully painted in pastels. Windows and doors are particularly interesting .

These original buildings, turned into Studios, hosts an array of artists in several mediums. If so desired , lessons and workshops are offered by many of the artisians.

It was around 1:30pm with the sun shining brightly and no clouds when these pics were shot. A perfect time to catch some nice reflections in the windows and doors. Like shooting both sides of the street at the same time!

Kickn' Along the Sidewalks

part 7

Nikon D4.

Success has a new name

Enter the new flagship of Nikon’s D-SLR lineup: D4. Engineered for professionals, D4 strikes an ideal balance between resolution, sensor size, image processing and ISO range. Its newly designed FX-format sensor and EXPEED3 processor enable image capture up to 10 fps with full AE/AF performance and Full 1080p HD video. Combine that with cutting-edge metering and AF systems, intelligently designed controls, an ultra-rugged body and multiple connectivity options, and D4 liberates the world’s top-notch photographers and multimedia artists like never before

OMG!

Amateur photographer

There it was, the elusive fishing bird that I had sworn to try to capture with my camera while on this trip to Hawaii. Ever so slowly I edged closer to the bird being careful not to startle it into flight. At about 50 feet I stopped and fitted the Sigma 120-400 to my camera body and started shooting. Patiently my wife waited behind me while I captured these precious images.

When I was finished and putting my camera gear away my wife announced that she was going to take the birds picture. Sure enough she walked over and took a couple quick shots with her point and shoot!

Slowly I looked around to see if anyone had been watching the "Stupid Tourist" with the camera and big lens! LOL

GOT MILK?

Located just off 23rd and Classen is this little speck of real estate. A triangular piece of  property with no front yard, back yard, or side yard it can call it's own. But it does have a Milk Bottle on the roof!

Built in 1930 when Route 66 traffic passed by, it was a small grocery. In 1948 the milk bottle was added as a gimmick for the milk industry. Townley's was the first name I remember from the fifties. Many buisnesses have occupied this 350 sq.ft. wonder over the years, but the bottle has always advertised Milk to the highest bidder! Today, Bahn Mi or Baguette style sandwiches are offered by 'Saigon Baquette'. Try the deluxe.

Kickn' Along the Sidewalks

part 6

THE RED STAIRWELL

As I was wandering around all the construction area surrounding the Devon Tower project, these red stairs, along with the reflections in the glass caught my eye. I have no idea what part this new building will play in the scheme of all these new structures being built around the tower.

It was getting to be lunchtime when I started to see workers appearing on the streets.

Food Trucks were arriving! Windows were popped out and the smells of hot meals was in the air.

I was suprised by some of the gourmet type dishes that was served by these trucks. Must have something to do with the Reality TV Shows that feature street food. Although I did not want to disturb lunch by poking my camera in the middle of everything, this was a busy place for the next thirty minutes. Food Vendors were set up in several locations in the area.

note to self; bring long lens next time!

Kickn' Along the Sidewalks

part 5

Colorful Koi

Yet another picture from our most recent trip to Waikiki. I'm using this photo for the screen saver on my computer, I like the contrasting colors between the Koi and the tiles below.

STANDING TALL

Reaching high into the blue skies of Oklahoma City is The Devon Tower!  The new home to the Devon Energy Corp. A fine neighbor to OKC and the State.

850ft. and 50 floors makes this the tallest in the state. Scheduled to be completed at the end of this year, it is an impressive site towering over the downtown area. Twenty some miles to the west in my hometown of Yukon, when driving over the I-40 bridge looking east, this new Giant on the Plains is quite a sight!

Kickn' Along the Sidewalks

part 4

Frozen Still-life.

I shot this one on Nikon D3 with 105mm f2.8 macro lens, and post processing on Nik software.  Camera setting it was on A mode at f/16.

1. First, you 'll need to find a suitable subject.  Leaves are the most obvious subject to freeze, being something that you might find natural frozen in a puddle, or the edge of a lake at this time of year.  A maple leaf caught my eye, thanks to its colors and interesting shape.  However, you may well have other ideas, and just about anything will work, from a feather to a pine cone.

2. Pour some water into your dish and place it the freezer-ensuring it is lying flat so that it freezes evenly.

3. Once the water has frozen, you can begin snapping.  You could shoot it indoors, using a lightbox to backlight it, but it opted to take it outside, so I could use the softness and warmth of the natural light.  Using a tripod, I positioned my camera overhead, composed my shot and released the shutter.  However, the brightly-lit ice fooled my metering system into underexposure.

4. To solve the problem, I knew I needed to apply a degree of exposure compensation.  As with most DSLR's, my camera has a dedicated exposure compensation facility.  Using this, I selected a compensation of +1stop.  I took another photo and, having studied the result (and corresponding histogram) on my camera's LCD, I knew that the exposure was now correct.

The final image:  Ice thaws quickly under direct sunlight, so work quickly.  With the exposure now correct, try different compositions.  I tried horizontal and vertical formats, and went in close to isolate specific detail as well as including the leaf in its entirely.