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Vegas Street Art, Volume 4

28 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Street Art

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Art, Downtown Vegas, Las Vegas, Murals, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Street Art, Street Photography

IMG_20160604_083252So, it occurs to me that I’ve actually got quite a backlog of street art pics from Vegas. I’ve been collecting them for a couple years now without really doing a specific blog post on the topic. I’ve posted street art from Vegas before; here, here, here, and here. Oh, and here (a ways down the post)! I also included some murals in my original posts on the Erotic Heritage Center. but I notice some of those murals are covered now. In any event, I think it’s well past time for an update.

If there is any difference between this stuff and the murals I posted a couple years ago, I would say that I am seeing more large projects done by some well known artists these days. I’m still a fan of the lesser-known words tucked away in corners here and there, but it’s interesting to see the paintings moving closer to downtown and onto bigger buildings.

Anyway, here tis!

(Click to embiggen!)

Fear and Street Painting
Fear and Street Painting
As I took a picture of this a guy came up and asked if it was legal. ...Heh!
As I took a picture of this a guy came up and asked if it was legal. …Heh!
Bunny-Fangs!
Bunny-Fangs!
Evil in her Ear
Evil in her Ear
Just Cool
Just Cool
Moar Coolness
Moar Coolness
A Dash of Color
A Dash of Color
Looking UP
Looking UP
Sadly, this has been painted over.
Sadly, this has been painted over.
WIde-angle
WIde-angle
Seen this on a few blogs
Seen this on a few blogs
Serene
Serene
Street Cartography? 2 points!
Street Cartography? 2 points!
Hm...
Hm…
Diamonds Escape!
Diamonds Escape!
You can see this one at the beginning of a tour in the Neon Museum. It's on a neighbors wall, visible from within the Neon Museum itself.
You can see this one at the beginning of a tour in the Neon Museum. It’s on a neighbors wall, visible from within the Neon Museum itself.
Part of a Big Mural
Part of a Big Mural
Catching Water
Catching Water
Gasmask
Gasmask
Concentric Ecothemed Mural
Concentric Ecothemed Mural
Back of the beauty bar. This replaced an earlier portrait of a young woman.
Back of the beauty bar. This replaced an earlier portrait of a young woman.
Ladder
Ladder
Sideways is artways
Sideways is artways
I have a feeling, I should know the sub-reference here.
I have a feeling, I should know the sub-reference here.
Eyes
Eyes
Horns
Horns
Colorful
Colorful
Reclining With Stars
Reclining With Stars
Creepy Birds
Creepy Birds
This one cracks me up.
This one cracks me up.
A day in bed with the bunnies. ...out on the street.
A day in bed with the bunnies. …out on the street.
Horny Mural
Horny Mural
Dig these guys!
Dig these guys!
Girl in Blue
Girl in Blue
Voodoo on the Tattoo ...parlor.
Voodoo on the Tattoo …parlor.
Twins
Twins
Elaphant
Elaphant
Iconic
Iconic
Just one now
Just one now
Back of the Buffalo Echange
Back of the Buffalo Echange
DiskHead
DiskHead
Pointing Down
Pointing Down
Behind Bars
Behind Bars

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A little Sea Ice

21 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 42 Comments

Tags

Alaska, Arctic, Ice, Nature, Ocean, Photography, Photos, Sea, Sea Ice

SeagullI’ve been back in the arctic for a little over a week now. I didn’t really expect to see ice along the coast at this time of the year. I’ve seen it before, but it’s a little surprising. Still, the coast has been littered with the remnants of the melting ice pack the entire time I’ve been here. Thought I’d share a few pics.

It’s odd, I suppose. Over the years, I find myself taking fewer pictures of Barrow. I keep thinking things like ‘that’s old’ and ‘my friends have already seen that’, but I suppose that’s the same thinking that left me with so few images to show for a decade in northern Arizona. Anyway, that’s one thing I like about about getting away. You come back home and remember what’s cool about it.

…in this case literally.

(Click to embiggen!)

Taking off!
Taking off!
Pretty sure that's a sealion begging for a fish
Pretty sure that’s a sealion begging for a fish
Didn't even notice the seagull till I got home.
Didn’t even notice the seagull till I got home.
Precipice
Precipice
Precarious
Precarious
Seats two
Seats two
Just Ice
Just Ice
Like Styrofoam packing
Like Styrofoam packing
Ice again
Ice again
That small line of ice was moving kinda fast in the current
That small line of ice was moving kinda fast in the current
Sharp!
Sharp!
Oh look! ...Ice
Oh look! …Ice
Yeah, ...definitely ice
Yeah, …definitely ice
Greyscape
Greyscape
All that and a barge too!
All that and a barge too!
Grey sky
Grey sky

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Route 66 Under the Tires and on the Screen

01 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Movies

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Arizona, Cars, Driving, New Mexico, Photography, Road Trip, Route 66, Tourism, Travel

Cars_2006So my girlfriend has this theory that the Pixar movie, Cars, did a lot to help revive the tourist trade along Route 66. I don’t know how serious she is about this theory, but it’s as good an excuse to talk about Route 66 as any, and about Cars, so here goes…

What has Monica talking about Cars? We’ve taken a couple trips along I-40 this summer and last. This year, we’ve taken a few of the detours off I-40 to see what we can find along Route 66. It’s nostalgia for me. I’ve driven large parts of the southwestern route enough to get to know quite a few of the stops quite well. Having someone unfamiliar with it all is interesting though, because I get to see these old sites through her new eyes.

Also she gave me an assignment.

…to watch Cars.

I’ve certainly done worse duty. The movie is cute, perhaps a little too cute. I should probably gruff it off, but I actually enjoyed it. Funny though, I spent the first half of the movie thinking the judge-car (Doc Hudson) sounded an awful lot like Paul Newman. Couldn’t figure out who else it could have been until I mentioned it. Turns out the voice for the car is Paul Newman, and the film turned out to be a little older than I thought.

It’s fitting that Newman would appear in Cars, because I think The Hustler is pretty much the prototype for sports movies. I know, straight pool is a bit of a stretch for a sport, and perhaps a cartoon race-car is an odd subject for a sports film, but I’m sticking to my guns on this one. It’s a story of a prodigy in a competitive field, one who needs to get his priorities straight. That’s almost every sports movie I can think of, and the voice of Fast Eddie Felson (Newman’s character in The Hustler) haunts them all as far as I’m concerned. In this case Fast Eddie’s voice sounds a bit aged, but it’s literally there. And this is certainly a film about a prodigy that needs to get his priorities straight.

…which is an interesting theme through which to explore the relationship between I-40 and Route 66.

***

…er spoilers!

There are no people in this movie; just cars, cars that seem a lot like people. The film’s main character is a race car named Lightning McQueen. Lightning is a talented race-car who is tearing up the tracks during his rookie year on the circuit. He is one of three contenders for the annual Piston Cup award, which would effectively make him the biggest champion of the year. Unfortunately, Lightning’s ego alienates his pit crew and so they leave him just before the final show-down, a race against two great rivals to be held in California. Lightning plans to win the race all by himself, but first he must get to California. For reasons best watched for yourself, Lightning ends up stranded in the tiny southwestern town of Radiator Springs. Having accidentally destroyed the towns main road (a section of Route 66), McQueen finds himself sentenced to repair it before he can go.

Radiator Springs is very much in decline. It had its heyday in the fabled days when Route 66 was alive. The creation of Interstate 40 effectively rerouted the traffic just a few miles off the old route, and in this case, that few miles proved enough to be the undoing of the town. Its inhabitants can only hope to catch the attention of an occasional tourist, but it gets precious few of those.

…even before Lightning comes disastrously to town.

Pressed for time, Lightning struggles first to escape and then to finish the repairs in time to make his final race. In the interim, he must contend with a small cast of character-cars (most of whom were based on actual people living along route 66), including a love interest (a lovely little Porche). He wants out badly, of course, but in time Lightning grows to appreciate the town and its four-wheeled denizens. Having finally grown to appreciate the human side of things, …or at least the personified motor-car variant thereof, Lightning finds himself both a better race-car and a better person car for it. In the end, he doesn’t merely repair the damaged road and make a good showing the race (I’m not going to tell you who won, ha!). Lightning also revitalizes the town, establishing it as a thriving tourist trap with a promising future.

***

So, what does this movie have to say about Route 66? Well, I think one of the best lines about that topic comes from Sally (Lightning’s love interest). She tells Lightning that people moved through the landscape differently when it was Route 66. Asked how, she says:

Well, the road didn’t cut through the land like that interstate. It moved with the land, it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn’t drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time.

So there it is, the claim this movie makes about Route 66. It represents the rich experience that travel can be in direct opposition to a modern strictly utilitarian form of transportation.  The question is which matters more? The experience of traveling across the landscape or simply getting there? This theme smacks of nostalgia, of course, and I can’t help but begin to imagine counter-examples (great road-trips on I-40 or the near certainty that at least some people must have taken to Route 66 for the specific purpose of getting somewhere fast). If there is a concrete difference between the actual roads, it also lies in way the old route goes through small towns while the new one goes around them. Which approach is more welcome may depend a lot on why one is behind the wheel, and how much time one has to get where they mean to go. Still I-40 does nudge things a bit in the direction of getting from point B to point A with a bit more efficiency, and that does come at the cost of seeing a stretch of small-town America.

This nostalgic moment has its own creative force. Many of the small towns along Route 66 have indeed made precisely the transformation depicted in Cars, turning themselves into tourist-traps in the hopes of diverting people off the main highway. As far as I can remember, references to Route 66 have always lured tourists off the main highway along the route, but I can’t help thinking the scale of Route 66 marketing has gone up a notch in the last decade or so. Perhaps Moni is right. Maybe that’s a post-hoc fallacy sweetened with a dose of confirmation bias on my part, but I was rather surprised to see just how much draw some of these towns seem to be getting out of the subject. Whether or not people used to drive Route 66 to have a great time, many do seem to be pulling off onto the small detours now for precisely that reason. No doubt, such traffic brings a few smiles to the faces of locals to match those of those taking in the sites.

Moni and I couldn’t help but notice at least one person who wasn’t so happy about all the traffic. Sitting in gridlock traffic in the middle of downtown Williams, Arizona, neither of us could quite tell what the woman a few cars ahead had been ranting about. The words; “Oh my god, Get out of my fucking way!” clarified things a bit. We watched as a tourist slowly decided to take advice from a green light and the exasperated local finally got around him and made a little headway along main-street. A few minutes later, I heard the same woman shouting “One way street” as she walked along behind a vehicle making a rapid and quite unplanned side-turn.

Yep, there are definitely definite down-sides to tourism.

Didn’t stop Moni and I from taking pictures.

(Click to embiggen; it’s what Fast Eddie Felson would want you to do.)

Seligman *
Seligman *
Williams *
Williams *
Williams again *
Williams again *
Willaims ^
Willaims ^
Nuther Sligman Pic *
Nuther Sligman Pic *
Seligman Again *
Seligman Again *
Ruins Somewhere East of Flagstaff
Ruins Somewhere East of Flagstaff
Seligmania *
Seligmania *
Aging Perpendiculars
Aging Perpendiculars
WIlliams is probably more than a 1 horse town, but it has 1 for sure. *
WIlliams is probably more than a 1 horse town, but it has 1 for sure. *
Seligman Bison *
Seligman Bison *
Ruins East of Flagstaff
Ruins East of Flagstaff
Moar Ruins
Moar Ruins
Whole Lotta Ruination Goin On!
Whole Lotta Ruination Goin On!
Mural Holding Up Well Actually
Mural Holding Up Well Actually

 

* Pictures marked with a star came from Moni’s camera. She also helped me find a source or two, and of course it was Moni’s request that we take some of these detours that led to this post in the first place. She also reminded me to give a fuck to a certain quote, so to speak. Moni is solely responsible for the good parts of this post. I of course am the devil messing up the details.

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The Eagles of Metlakatla

04 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Animals, Bad Photography

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

Bald Eagles, Birds, Eagles, July 4th, Metlakatla, Photography, Sea, Travel, Wildlife

IMG_20160702_101108So, I spent most of June on the Metlakatla Indian Reserve on in Southeast Alaska. It’s easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Its eagles were one of the first things I noticed about the place. It seems to have a lot of them. Locals seemed amused to see me clicking away at the local equivalent of pigeons, but to me they were damned beautiful pigeons, and so I clicked on. These are lazy eagles, or so one my students told me. They don’t hunt as much as eagles out and away from the harbor. These guys obviously get a lot of easy meals off the boats, I’m sure. And still, that doesn’t make them any less majestic looking. So, again, I clicked away.

When an eagle looks back at you, it’s hard to escape the notion that one is being judged. Yeah, judge me if you like dude; I got your picture, so there! It’s really hard  to get a decent picture of these guys in flight. I tried hard and almost managed it a time or two. I definitely prefer it when they perch in a tree and pose for me. They can judge all they like, just so long as they give me time to zoom in.

So, I figure, what could be more fitting for an Independence Day post than a bunch of eagle pics? Anyway, have a look!

(You may of course click to embiggen.)

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DSC07926

 

Metlakatla is the only Indian reservation in Alaska. It began when William Duncan, an Anglican missionary separated with his church and brought a portion of his Tsimshian congregation from old Metlakatla to Annette Island, thus founding the community of New Metlakatla. It is still predominantly a Tsimshian community, though Tlingit and Haida, and a whole host of other peoples live there as well. Father Duncan’s faith isn’t the only one here anymore, but with half a dozen churches in a town of 1300, it is still very much a Christian community.

The town has a casino, but that didn’t get a lot of action while I was there, or at least I didn’t notice it. They also have a tourist ship, which seems to get a little business. (At least they did from me.) They also have a cannery, and this meant lots of outsiders showed up as the fishing season started. …Suddenly Russian could be heard all over the place. All in all, it was an interesting place.

(Click to embiggen. You know you wanna!)

20160619_202935
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Boat at Night

I recall talking to someone before I went about activities on the island. She said, there were plenty of good hiking places. I asked if it was dangerous, and was told in reply that there were no bears on the island. So, I hiked a good 5 miles or so away from town out on the beach. Later someone told me they do have wolves.

…good to know.

Funny thing about beaches. It’s no real surprise that refuse washes up on shore and sometimes people leave stuff. They should know better, yes, but they do. What’s not so obvious is just why so much of it gets hung up or stuck on a tree branch.

(Don’t click to embiggen this stuff! Seriously, just don’t!)

DSC08278
DSC08400
DSC08394

One day, I had the oddest exchange. It went like this:

Stranger: Sorry to bother you, I had to check on my log.

Me: Your log?

Stranger: My log.

The mystery was somewhat resolved when a boat came to haul it away. The skipper told me it was going to be a totem.

CmKyLJvUkAE8zKx

For most of the time I stayed on the island, local fisherman used drift nets, but the very morning I left, they shifted to seine netting which was a bit more interesting cause you can see the floats.

(Click to embiggen!)

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The eagles certainly found these nets rather interesting. They were very interested in seeing the results.

DSC09019

Happy July 4th everybody!

 

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Northiness Finds a Photo Filter

10 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

Alaska, Anchorage, Barrow, Instagram, Nature, North Slope, Photography, Photos, Pictures

IMG_20151012_115503There is a reason I put my picture posts for this blog in the category of “Bad Photography.” I really don’t know what I’m doing. I started taking pictures when I realized I lived in a place full of amazing sights I am very lucky to witness. As I’ve traveled more, I’ve found even more reasons to take pictures. What I haven’t done is learn enough about the settings on my cameras to make any intelligent use of them. Neither have I made much use of post-production technologies. Most of the pictures on this website are thus straight out of the camera using the most basic settings available. This summer, I began using Instagram, however, and with a little badgering from Moni, I finally starting using some of the filters available on that service. It’s still bad photography, of course, I wouldn’t produce anything else. (I do have principles, you know!) But I do think a few of these images are an improvement, so I thought I’d share a few of the Alaska-themed pics in a new post.

…er, this is that post.

(Click a pic to embiggen it. You know you wanna!)

2am in May (Barrow)
2am in May (Barrow)
Whale Skull During Spring Thaw (Barrow)
Whale Skull During Spring Thaw (Barrow)
Prudhoe Bay
Prudhoe Bay
Snow Flurries (Barrow)
Snow Flurries (Barrow)
Sunset Over Melting Sea Ice (Barrow)
Sunset Over Melting Sea Ice (Barrow)
Nalukataq (Spring Whaling Festival, Barrow)
Nalukataq (Spring Whaling Festival, Barrow)
Snow Sculpture (Part of Contest one Spring, Barrow)
Snow Sculpture (Part of Contest one Spring, Barrow)
Bears on Barter Island
Bears on Barter Island
Ducks on Ship Creek in Anchorage
Ducks on Ship Creek in Anchorage
Eskimo PSA (Barrow)
Eskimo PSA (Barrow)
Part of a Home in Point Hope
Part of a Home in Point Hope
Jigsaw Dumpster (Barrow)
Jigsaw Dumpster (Barrow)
Arctic Palm Trees (Barrow)
Arctic Palm Trees (Barrow)
Is that ship levitating? (Barrow)
Is that ship levitating? (Barrow)
Not Quite Ready for Winter (Barrow)
Not Quite Ready for Winter (Barrow)
Dumpster Fauna (Barrow)
Dumpster Fauna (Barrow)
Bear patrol springs into action! (Kaktovik, Barter Island)
Bear patrol springs into action! (Kaktovik, Barter Island)
Anchorage History on a Wall (Anchorage)
Anchorage History on a Wall (Anchorage)
Anaktuvuk Pass (Damn, it was cold that day!)
Anaktuvuk Pass (Damn, it was cold that day!)
Beach in August (Barrow)
Beach in August (Barrow)
Wainwright
Wainwright
Ice wall piled up after a storm (Barrow)
Ice wall piled up after a storm (Barrow)
Antfood Strikes! (Barrow)
Antfood Strikes! (Barrow)
Dew Line, Early Warning System (Barrow)
Dew Line, Early Warning System (Barrow)
Ship Creek was a natural bluescape that evening (Anchorage)
Ship Creek was a natural bluescape that evening (Anchorage)
Midnight Sun (Barrow)
Midnight Sun (Barrow)
Ice wall on the shore (Barrow)
Ice wall on the shore (Barrow)
Sea ice (Barrow)
Sea ice (Barrow)
Noon Flight out of Barrow (this doesn't quite capture the high winds)
Noon Flight out of Barrow (this doesn’t quite capture the high winds)
Melting! (Barrow)
Melting! (Barrow)
Turn! (Barrow)
Turn! (Barrow)
Poor Lonely Cold Light on a Dark Night! (Barrow)
Poor Lonely Cold Light on a Dark Night! (Barrow)
Abstract Alley (Anchorage)
Abstract Alley (Anchorage)
Eagle River as I Recall
Eagle River as I Recall
More Sea Ice (Barrow)
More Sea Ice (Barrow)
Museum in Anaktuvuk Pass
Museum in Anaktuvuk Pass
Northern Lights (Barrow)
Northern Lights (Barrow)
Chena River from Pike's Landing (Fairbanks)
Chena River from Pike’s Landing (Fairbanks)
Dew Line from a Distance (Barrow)
Dew Line from a Distance (Barrow)
Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay)
Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay)
Sunset Over a Pond (Barrow)
Sunset Over a Pond (Barrow)
Early Spring Thaw (Barrow)
Early Spring Thaw (Barrow)
Kivgiq Performance (Messenger Feast, Barrow)
Kivgiq Performance (Messenger Feast, Barrow)
Waignwright
Waignwright
Unusually open water in mid winter (Barrow)
Unusually open water in mid winter (Barrow)
The jellyfish invasion did not go as planned (Barrow)
The jellyfish invasion did not go as planned (Barrow)
Barrow
Barrow
Someone yarn-bombed a tree (Anchorage)
Someone yarn-bombed a tree (Anchorage)
Eagle River again
Eagle River again
Umiaq race on July Fourth (Barrow)
Umiaq race on July Fourth (Barrow)
Eagle River again
Eagle River again
Selfie (Anchorage)
Selfie (Anchorage)
Barge (Barrow)
Barge (Barrow)
Sea ice (Barrow)
Sea ice (Barrow)
This is a float-plane runway (Anchorage)
This is a float-plane runway (Anchorage)
Contrails point accusingly at seagulls. They say 'Bad Seagulls!' (Barrow)
Contrails point accusingly at seagulls. They say ‘Bad Seagulls!’ (Barrow)
Old Arctic Hotel (Barrow)
Old Arctic Hotel (Barrow)

 

 

 

 

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Sometimes the Ocean Takes Liquid Form

18 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Beach, Blue, California, Newport Beach, Ocean, Photography, Photos, Sea, Travel

DSC04626

The Ocean through Moni’s Lens

This last December, I underwent a brief bout of Southyness. One of my favorite moments came when my gal took me to Newport Beach.

The thing about the beaches in California is you can actually swim in the water. I mean, I didn’t, but other people did and I saw it with my own two eyes. You can actually swim on those beaches. Right now, you can swim right in that water. Totally true story!

Right now, we can walk on our water.

No miracles necessary.

(Click to embiggen.)

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I think Moni took the big orange shot of the beach with my phone while I zoned out with the camera. I must have snapped over a hundred pictures of that silhouette family. Presumably, they have full bodies in a different light scheme. The mother kept taking pictures of her child and I just kept taking pictures of her doing it. Hopefully, she doesn’t mind.

…and hopefully, she isn’t really a shade, because then I’d be in big trouble.

All in all, it was a beautiful evening.

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Image

Workin’ it for the Camera!

20 Wednesday May 2015

Tags

Amusing, Animals, Chipmunks, Funny, Humor, Photography, Sex, Squirrels

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Who’s a sexy girl?

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Posted by danielwalldammit | Filed under Animals, Bad Photography

≈ 10 Comments

The Dumpsters of Atqasuk

15 Friday May 2015

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Alaska, Art, Atqasuk, Dumpsters, Garbage, Murals, Photography, Street Art, Travel

128Since I seem to be sharing dumpster art these days, I thought I’d post some pictures from a trip to the village of Atqasuk. I spent some time there last April, I think. It’s a small village of a little over 200 people located on the Meade River.

Naturally, their dumpster graffiti features prominently in my pictures from that trip. This community appears to be a little more interested in public service announcements than artsy murals, but some of the announcements have an artsy side of their own.

(Click to embiggen. you know you wanna!)

Dumpster Goodness!

Slightly want to rearrange these two
Healthy!
Good Idea!

John 3:16 + 1.
Just fine, and you?
Gotta represent the Numbers!

Kinda Cool!
Love is so distant!
Tic Tac Toe

If you insist!
Important value
Good advice, …maybe not outside.

General Images

Playground
It was cold!
Satellites

A little tech makes the winter more cooler!

Planography!

Coastline
Ridges in the ice
Moar Ridges!

Ridgy Goodness!

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An Uncommon Sunset

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Uncommonday

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Cars, Hawaii, Humor, Monday, Nevada, Odd, Photography, Sunsets, Travel

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I came across this vehicle last summer in Henderson, Nevada.

 

 

Since I feel a little bit bad about the bait and switch, how about this one from Hawaii last May?

(You may click to embiggen)

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The Crystal Gallery Ice Sculpture Contest in Anchorage, A Review

08 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Alaska, Anchorage, Art, Humor, Ice Sculpting, Photography, Sculpting, Winter

Last year I was in anchorage in early December, just a bit too early to catch the completed ice sculptures of this annual competition. I still got some interesting pics, but as I didn’t get the final products, what I got never quite found its way into the blog. This year, I’m stoked, because I’m in town later than before, and that means I get to check out the completed work.

Yeah-boyee!

So, let’s have a look at the completed projects for this year’s Crystal Gallery Ice Competition.

(You may of course click on an image to embiggen it.)

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We can begin with this spectacular bit of minimalism, well placed in front of a colorful tree. It takes courage for an artist to run with an idea like this. Such a simple composition and so profound, all of it beautifully executed.

I really like this one.

Seriously, I am so excite to arrive in time to see the completed works here. This is really a treat!

??????????????????????????????? Now this piece, here is some real talent. I mean, the symmetry of it all, and I really like the use of color. I mean, you wouldn’t think that would be a factor in an ice-sculpting competition, but seriously, this piece has some real color going for it. Also, it’s very blocky. Yes, it’s quite block-like.

Why don’t these pieces have titles anyway? I would have entitled it “Colorful Block of Ice.” The artist should totally go with that!

???????????????????????????????This array of rough hewn blocks in front of the tree has a definite, um, ethos. Reminds me of Santa’s Reindeer, the way they are all stretched out in a line like that. I don’t know who the artist is, but hey art guy, if you’re looking for a title, I would suggest; “Reindeer in Front of a Tree.” It really is an excellent piece, but my one quibble would be that you know there are supposed to be more of them, 8 I think, or is it 9 with Rudolph? I forget the exact number, but I’m pretty sure that you need to add more.

…also, they are kind of blocky.

…for Reindeer, I mean.

DSC00731These guys over here look kinda lonely. I don’t think they made the cut, really. Better luck next time guy! If you don’t mind a little suggestion, perhaps, you could do something a little more intricate. Please don’t be offended. It’s just…

I mean, I know I’m not an artist. I just think, well, you know. Anyway, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t presume. I mean it’s your vision, and I respect that. It’s just.

I dunno.

???????????????????????????????

I think this one is some kind of ironic commentary on the public facilities around Anchorage, which I think is way cool. I mean, I know some people don’t like it when art gets too political, but personally, I like the edgy feel of it.

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Yellow on blue? Okay, I simply love the way some of these guys work with colors! That really was a surprise here. Maybe some sort of study in contrasts or a meditation on the color green. I don’t know.

I just can’t help feeling the sculpture could have put more effort into shaping the piece.

No, nevermind. That’s just conventional thinking on my part. Who am I to question this guys vision? You rock-on block-carving ice-sculpture guy.

Rock on!

???????????????????????????????Now this is shear brilliance! It totally has my vote for ‘best in Show’. Do we get to vote? I mean, is the public part of this? Or is it, just professionals? I mean, well I don’t know. You just, you really gotta hand it to this artist. He has the shape of the blocks down perfect. So symmetrical, and so boxy! I mean, others seem to be exploring similar shapes, but I really think this piece nails it perfectly.

I’m also kinda hoping, we can move on to some more ideas here soon, because honestly, how are y’all gonna top this? You can’t really. Once perfection has been perfected, you just gotta go find your own bliss.

…preferably not in a block.

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I just, I dunno.

These guys really aren’t listening.

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Fuck it! I’m going to Humpy’s.

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