20
Dec
2009
Churchill & New York City
What a truly random combination of work, but it’s what I have to discuss right now!
As I prepare to prepare (yes, I’m that far behind) for my trip to Ireland, I’m doing my best to finish editing my NYC photos. It’s a fair bet, however, that while I may post them in my gallery on my website, nothing new is going to make its way to my prints until I’m back.
I encourage you all to take a look at the NYC photos I’ve posted thus far and will likely add to in the next week (so check back).
Mark Tisdale – Sept 2009 in NYC Gallery
There’s already some photos in there of which I’m very proud. And as is often the fact, I look at them and ponder when I might make it back to explore more of what I saw. Not tomorrow by any stretch, but someday I expect.
Lady Liberty Lifts Her Light
Knowing my sometime predictable luck, it should be no surprise that the boat ride on my first day in New York was as close as I ever got to the famous Statue of Liberty. Bad weather the morning I intended on visiting left this my best view, but it was not bad at all. The statue is a true treasure, and my photos that day gave me an excuse to do something a little more artistic, creating this many layered image to resemble an old color postcard.
New York Rhythm
This is one image I was quite taken with. It does require a small amount of explanation, though. I am quite near sighted and have an astigmatism. I would not get far in the world without my glasses. I was on a night tour of the city and took my glasses off for a second and glanced down a side street. This is more or less what I saw. And I loved the view, the city boiled down to its chaotic best. Lights without form! It suddenly occurred to me that I could reproduce this for my camera by putting it out of focus. So, you can see the world as I saw it. I played with this off and on the rest of the evening, and may post more but this first try was my favorite.
And now that you’ve seen some New York City, I can jump to Winston Churchill, because the connection is obvious isn’t it? Maybe you don’t know that the iconic prime minister of the United Kingdom, in fact, had American ties? His mother was born in Rochester, New York, and was raised in Brooklyn and New York City. So yes, there is a connection between New York and the famous British Bulldog. However, truth be told, there’s a different reason I’m posting this one. A couple of days ago, I was contacted by a would be buyer who really liked my photo of the statue of Winston Churchill silhouetted in front of London’s Big Ben. However, she had a special request that I fulfilled.
She wanted me to include the Churchill quotation that I have always included with the description of this piece on the print itself. And I think it was an excellent request! I’m really happy with the result and wanted to share it. I think it definitely helps anchor and explain the image and it was almost as if I left that massive base just for this purpose. I wish I could have been that forward thinking! Anyway, here’s hoping she enjoys it when she receives it!
4
Oct
2009
London Tate Modern
It took four visits to London to finally make a call on London’s Tate Modern. In my defense, I had visited the British Museum (twice), The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, and the Victoria And Albert Museum. I think I may be missing a couple in that list. The point is that London overflows with opportunity to take in the arts and the history of said human activity. I am less so a fan of modern art than what we would term traditional art, so it was not surprising that it took me so long to get to the Tate Modern.
Tate Modern
This is a view of the Tate Modern from the opposite side of the Thames. The Tate Modern actually occupies what was formerly the Bankside power station, a massive post-war building that embodies much of the modern in its blocky architecture. The power plant was shuttered in 1981 and in recent years converted into a wing of the Tate musuem, housing modern and contemporary art from 1900 and forward. Seen also in this view is the Millennium pedestrian bridge built to celebrate the 21st century.
Turbine Hall
The interior of the museum is as much a work of modern art as the extensive and revolving collection it houses. Stripped of much of the original and mammoth machinery this building once housed, you get massive spaces such as this, the Turbine Hall, in the middle of the structure. The lines of this place have to be seen to truly be experienced but I feel this print goes a long way towards conveying the proportions.
If modern art is not your thing, you’ll be forgiven for seeking out other places if you visit London with limited time, but if you have time to spare, or you are a fan of modern art, you must check out this place. As with many of the galleries and museums in London, the Tate Modern is free (temporary exhibitions are the exception).
22
Sep
2009
Atlanta Icons – Architecture of The City
This is the second in my series of Atlanta Icons, while the first focused on Restaurants, this one will be all the rest of the Atlanta area scenery that I captured while working on this body of work.
Checkmate
In my opinion, a couple of the most recognizable buildings in Atlanta will be familiar to any commuter on the north side of the City. These towers, officially Concourse Corporate Center V and VI, are known to the locals as the King and Queen towers due to the stylized decorations at the pinnacles of each building. These buildings are located in Sandy Springs just north of I-285 and east of Georgia 400. They were completed in 1988 and 1991 and have the distinction of being the tallest towers in a suburban setting in the USA. This photo captures them against a vibrant winter sky just before dusk.
Fabulous Fox
There’s a joke that every street in Atlanta has the word “Peachtree” in it. And it’s no joke that there are a lot of Peachtree courts, and avenues, and boulevards named for Georgia’s official fruit, but there’s only one Peachtree Street and only one Fabulous Fox. The Fox Theater was one of several old movie houses in the city and one of the last of the grand ones left. It opened in the 1920’s and came close to being destroyed in the 1970’s. But the local populace, having watched one movie palace after another razed, fought to save the Fox for future generations to enjoy.
Fox On Peachtree
One photo of this old dear on Peachtree was not enough! This one, taken with a fisheye lens, allows you to really take in the full street scene and almost feel as if you’re standing there right in front of the marquee for the Fabulous Fox. This was actually taken not long before I bid farewell to Altanta on a final walk through the city.
Atlanta Roxy
The Roxy Theater in the Buckhead neighborhood in Atlanta started life as the Buckhead Theater in 1930, so it’s a bit younger than the Fox, but in that same general age range. It, however, was built for movies with their own soundtracks rather than subtitles and organ music. It changed names a few times over the years and eventually settled into life in the Buckhead Bar district that grew up around it, becoming a venue for live music. The city eventually squashed the bar scene in Buckhead when the headlines around it became a bit too big. The last I heard the Roxy was being renovated and possibly redeveloped for other uses.
The Future Is Today
I’m not sure if everyone would put this into the icon category, but for me the title fits. This is the rooftop lounge at the Atlanta Hyatt Regency Hotel. It’s been diminished by the buildings surrounding it, but when it was built, this space age restaurant sat at the top of Atlanta’s skyline and its said that it was the place to gofor noon meetings. The building was designed by John Portman, and this modernist gem features the first use of a full atrium in a hotel – a now common feature of hotels all over. Much of Atlanta’s modernist architecture has met with the wrecking ball, but one hopes this one will stick around.
The High
Atlanta has a pretty long history of supporting the arts. What we know today as the High Museum began life in 1905 as The Atlanta Art Association. It came to be known as the High when the High family donated their home on Peachtree Street to house the growing collection in 1926. It’s changed a lot since and continues to evolve. The current modern buildings began in 1983 and were expanded upon in 2002. The High continues to be one of the leading museums of the Southeastern US having a diverse and growing collection as well as working with museums around the world to bring temporary exhibitions such as works from the Louvre and the Terracotta Army from China in recent years.
To see even more of Atlanta and prints from other cities around the USA, please check out my Urban America Prints. For part one of this series, please check out Atlanta Icons – Let’s Eat.
20
Sep
2009
Atlanta Icons – Let’s Eat
Once upon a time, I started a series of photographs of what I thought were Atlanta’s iconic places. I was inspired because I had been traveling and kept coming back with what I though (hoped) were icons of the cities I visited. And until the recent idea of staycations, it wasn’t so common that people took the time to visit the things in their own backyards. My energy for the series eventually waned and unless I move back to Atlanta one day, it may be done, but I’m still proud of the images I did for this series! There’s no doubt that there are iconic places absent, but I think I hit some of the highlights (some more than once).
What'll Ya Have?
Without a doubt, my most popular print from the series is this of the sign for Atlanta’s Varsity Restaurant. This striking sign is visible from the I-75/85 Connector that bisects Atlanta’s downtown. The original Varsity (it’s now a chain) was opened by Frank Gordy in 1928 to serve students at nearby Georgia Tech. It eventually became the world’s largest drive in restaurant at more than two acres in size! If you go inside ot order, the inside is a bit of a madhouse as the cashiers are all yelling “what’ll ya have, what’ll ya have?”
This photo won an award for Best Use Of Color in the 2006 Atlanta Celebrates Photography’s annual competition – the theme for that year was “My Atlanta.” It was a perfect marriage of their theme and the series I had just started.
The Big Chicken
Next on the menu, one of the best known landmarks in Atlanta’s suburb of Marietta is The Big Chicken. Directions around Marietta tend to include the relative location of your destination as compared to the Big Chicken. For instance, turn right at the Big Chicken, or 1 mile north of the Big Chicken, etc. The Big Chicken came into being as the signage above Johnny Reb’s Chick, Chuck and Shake restaurant in 1963. It features a moving beak and rolling eyes. In 1974, it was bought out by KFC and despite one time thoughts of moving it, the public uproar quelled that idea and the Big Chicken seems to be there to stay. This photo was processed to appear like a vintage Polaroid image. I felt the vivid colors from the afternoon sun fit this take on Marietta’s Big Chicken.
Open Wide
Atlanta’s oldest bohemian neighborhood is Little Five Points where Moreland Avenue meets Euclid. When I moved to Atlanta, it was a place I had to see, and it’s a wonderful place for people watching. One of many colorful restaurants is the Vortex, which makes a mean hamburger and one of the few places I would rarely think of getting a plain jane burger. The main entrance to the Vortex in L5P is the mouth of a giant Skull. It’s truly one of the most unsforgettable sights on Moreland. This ismage captures the feeling of entering the skull.
For more of Atlanta’s Icons and images from around the states, please check out my Urban America Prints.
17
Sep
2009
St Pauls Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral is certainly an icon of London. The images of the great dome standing above the smoke of WWII is certainly one that will live in our collective conscious for years to come. Officially the Cathedral Church of Paul the Apostle, the church is at least the 5th St Paul’s to sit on this site. The first according to Bede was built in 604 AD.
Crossing Over
This photo was taken from the pedestrian bridge that connects Bankside with the City of London. It’s taken at a very shallow depth of field in order to accomplish the dreamy feel of this image. The only thing in focus at all is the dome and the mass of humanity before it become little more than a blur. This church was built after the last was destroyed by the great fire in 1666. The fire leveled the city but remarkably took no human life. The fire shaped everything about the city we know today, built in stone to lower the risk of fire consuming it. The dome was a point of much debate. The architect, the renowned Sir Christopher Wren was determined that the new St Paul’s would have a dome like St. Peter’s in Rome. Several iterations of the design were rejected before Wren decided not to show any more models to the public for criticism. When it was completed in 1708, some loved it, some hated it, and others couldn’t care either way. Today it’s hard to imagine the sky line of the old city without it.
Old And New
Another view of St. Paul’s From Bankside. The view is much changed since WWII. The buildings adjacent to the Thames were destroyed in the war and newer generations of buildings have grown up between the River and the cathedral. And more recently, the millennium bridge was built as a pedestrian walkway to connect the City of London with Bankside on opposite sides of the River Thames. London as a city has never gotten stuck in a particular style. As a growing metropolis, new and exciting architecture is always fighting for space beside the classics. Much as the classics, these are sometimes met with mixed reactions. When the Millennium bridge was completed in 2000, there was a noticeable wobble and the bridge was closed, repaired and reopened in 2002. This led to its nickname The Wobbly Bridge.
Iconic St Paul's
Another black and white image of St. Paul’s. The depth of field and processing was intended to provide a little of the feel of the old images of St. Paul’s amidst the smoke from the Blitz of WWII.
To see more of London and Great Britain, please check out my Britain Prints Gallery.
