Aloft

In the Spring of 2005, I moved into a small studio apartment in Birmingham's Southside. I stayed there until mid-2008, at which point it had become the residence in which I had lived the longest since I was eleven years old; and for another few months, that will remain true of that place. The apartment was only a couple hundred square feet; it was on the fifth floor, with no elevator; and the hundred-year-old building stank of a century of humanity. But it was an important time and place for me. I did a lot of writing, and growing, and becoming the person I am (for better or worse) while living there. This is that building's basement.

Canon A-1, FD 20mm f/2.8

Capturing Antiquity :: Extraordinarily Old Literature from Copenhagen

I spent a few days alone in Copenhagen, Denmark, in July of 2004. And here are the sprinklings of memory that I have of that delightful city: a sculpture of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid; writing my first ever short story, "Children the Grass Grew," while sitting in a park beside an inlet from the river (below, from which the bikes had just been salvaged-ish); writing my second short story, "Jolene," the following day in the same park [BRIEF ASIDE: I deliberated a great deal on whether or not to include the stories, as they are assuredly no great literary works, but eventually settled on doing so. Why not? If you care to read them, just click on the hyperlinks above; they will open PDF's containing the stories. And please, do not set your expectation bar too high. And one more foreword: the stories are a bit dark.]...

Canon A-1, FD 20mm f/2.8, Fuji Provia 100F

visiting the star-shaped fort Kastellet, where they were having live field exercises; walking through the very colorful Nyhavn Harbor and taking the requisite tourist photo (below); touring traveling solely by foot...

Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4, Fuji Provia 100F

and attending open-air book sale at a church. This last even was the inspiration for this post. I picked up two things while there: a copy of the Bible printed in 1874 and wearing its age fairly well...

Canon Rebel T2i, Tokina AT-X 35mm f/2.8 Macro

and Jean Jacques Rousseau's Les Confessions printed by the Library of Paris sometime around the 1830s. The photograph below comes from its binding.

Canon Rebel T2i, Tokina AT-X 35mm f/2.8 Macro

Berlin! Berlin! Wir fahren nach Berlin!

I still haven't had a chance to get out and photograph anything recently, so I'm reaching back into the Europe bag one more time (at least). My favorite big city in my 2004 trip to Europe was Berlin. I was really intrigued by the city: the West looked like so many other European cities, but the East was a contrasty enigma; everything was either run-down and concrete from the Soviet Era, or sparkling and new, having been built in the previous fifteen years. Remnants of the wall that severed the city for four decades still remain, and the photo below has become my favorite from that city because of the inherent symbolism.

Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4, Fuji Provia 100F (Orange Filter)

In thinking about this post, I looked up some quotes about Berlin that I could incorporate. Ultimately, I decided against that, but there were some gems that I felt compelled to share.

• "Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin." - Nikita Khrushchev (1963)
• "Berlin is the newest city I have come across. Even Chicago would appear old and gray in comparison." - Mark Twain (1892) [As a side note: at that time, Chicago was a young and burgeoning metropolis, earning a reputation as the country's Second City. For an incredible read about Chicago in and around 1892, I suggest Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City.]
• “We want that Berlin becomes richer and stay sexy.” - Mayor Klaus Wowereit, during his 2011 municipal election campaign (2011)
• And finally, the post title, "Berlin! Berlin! Wir fahren nach Berlin!" ["Berlin! Berlin! We're going to Berlin!], was a chant during the 2006 World Cup.

on to the Greek Isles

In order to keep going what appears to be a theme in European travels, due in large part to my recent inability to get out and take photographs, I present photos from the Greek isles of Santorini and Naxos.

Santorini, Greece :: Greek Orthodox Church :: Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4, Fuji Provia 100F

One of the most interesting parts of our 10-week trip in 2004 occurred while we were on Naxos. All of Europe was engrossed in the EuroCup. Greece had never advanced in international competition, having previously only made the field in two - the Euro in 1980, and the World Cup in 1994. On July 4 (as it turns out, nobody else cares about American Independence Day), Greece defeated Portugal in the Finals. As the match wound down and it was apparent that Greece would win, my companions and I went to the town square. Our efforts were gratified, when Greece won and who island erupted into bodies painted white and blue, fireworks, and people hanging out of car windows and flooding the streets. It was easily the most exciting event I've ever witnessed. 

Naxos, Greece :: Ruins :: Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4, Fuji Provia 100F

Naxos, Greece :: Star Trails on the Beach :: Canon A-1, FD 20mm f/2.8, Fuji Provia 100F

Each of these photos can also be found at my website: Europe.

And Now for the City of Lights

Since I posted about London the other day, I thought I ought, perhaps, to post photographs from the other European city which I have visited an equal number of times, Paris, France. Most of these will be equally touristy, and revolve largely around that city's more infamous landmarks.

Above: Arc de Triomphe
Below Left: Eiffel Tower in Fog         Below Right: Eiffel Tower across the Seine River

Above: Moulin Rouge
Below Left: Arc de Triomphe                            Below Right: Mona Lisa

 

Palace of Versailles, Hall of Mirrors

These and other photos from my trips to Europe can be found at my main site, here. All of the above photos were taken with a Canon A-1 and either of these lenses: FD 50mm f/1.4 or FD 20mm f/2.8.

Dreaming of London

For whatever reason that people dream dreams, I dreamt last night that I was on a little vacation in London. I have been a couple of times, but it's been a while. So I thought I would post some photos that I took on visits there.

   

All of the above photos were shot on a Canon A-1 with either an FD 20mm f/2.8 or FD 50mm f/1.4.

Abstract from Puerto Rico

How about an oldie for nostalgia's sake. This was my favorite photo taken in Puerto Rico in 2008. This was taken at El Yunque National Forest.

Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4

The Last First Day

For all of us 3L's, today was the last first day of law school (or God willing, any school) for the rest of our careers. Here's looking up from Lucille's basement.

Lucille Beeson Law Library, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University

Formerly in Disrepair

Decrepit homes scar Highway 31 from Birmingham to Warrior, like pock marks on a face. Over the years, I have photographed a number of them. All of the ones featured here have since been removed, some within days or weeks of my having photographed (one of them, I think, as a direct result of my having stopped to photograph it).

Canon A-1, Fuji Neopan 400

Holga 120, Fuji Acros 100

Canon A-1, FD 20mm f/2.8, Kodak Gold 200

Panasonic LX3

Canon A-1, Kodak Gold 200

Panasonic LX3

Here's Your Sign

Sonoma, California :: Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4, Fuji Neopan 400

Gardendale, Alabama :: Holga w/ Fisheye Lens, Fuji 100 Acros

Jamaica :: Canon EOS 3, EF 24-85mm, Fuji Provia F100

Birmingham, Alabama at the Vulcan :: Holga, Ilford XP2 Super

Blount County, Alabama at Horton Mill Bridge :: Canon EOS 5, EF 50mm f/1.8, Ilford XP2 Super

Gardendale, Alabama :: Mamiya M645, Sekor C 45mm f/2.8, Ilford Pan F Plus

Birmingham, Alabama at Morris Avenue :: Canon T2i, EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5

Fultondale, Alabama at Black Creek :: Canon EOS 5, EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, Ilford FP4 Plus

Gardendale, Alabama at Shady Grove :: Canon EOS 3, EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, Ilford XP2 Super

After the Fog Rolls in

Canon A-1, Fuji Neopan SS

 Unreal City, 

Under the brown fog of a winter dawn

When T.S. Eliot penned those words in The Waste Lands, he so adeptly captured

the essence of the transformation which a city undergoes, when the fog sets in.

____________________________

Even the simplest, most innocent structures become surreal, eerie,

almost compelling you to look for something sinister in their midst.

Calumet 4x5, Schneider-Kreuznach 135mm f4.7, Ilford Delta 100

Holga, Arista EDU Ultra 400

And nature is no different. Peaceful mornings among the rudimentary, ancient woods that predate our own habitation, take on a different tone. One of isolation and solitude, whose connotations are of loneliness rather than a voluntary, if temporary, distancing.

Panasonic LX3

Panasonic LX3

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Carl Sandburg's Fog

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Holga, Ilford Delta XP2 Super

Ode to Morris Avenue

Morris Avenue, due to its close proximity to the rail lines that run through the middle of Birmingham, became one of the Magic City's earliest commercial and warehouse districts.

Panasonic LX3

Panasonic LX3

Morris Avenue contains Birmingham's last cobblestone street, which seems nice for nostalgic purposes, but isn't terribly pleasant to traverse.

Panasonic LX3

Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4

In more recent years, the buildings along Morris Avenue have been restored and converted into lofts, offices, and storefronts. It is also a hotspot, on any nice weekend day, for engagement pictures.

Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.4, Fuji SS 100

Panasonic LX3

Additional information and history pertaining to the district can be found at BhamWiki.

Panasonic LX3

Canon A-1, FD 100mm f/2.8, Kodak Gold 200