And The Winner This 4th of July Week

In the hay day of Detroit's auto prowess, it wasn't common knowledge, but loyalty customers to a brand could go to a depot lot to select their new cars after their dealer made the appointment.  An example of that process went something like this: You are at your dealer. You want to buy or lease the latest of Detroit's hot new car. The dealer says that it will take 12 weeks to order that car and that doesn't include shipping. But if you were a loyal customer to that dealer, he would send you to a depot lot after making your appointment. You go to the depot lot. They ask what color or what model you were looking for and then load you up in a golf cart and drive you "out back". Out back was a lot about the size of the Nebraska Furniture Marts store and distribution center that opened in The Colony, Texas. That's Texas style. That is about 22-football fields in size. So you say you want a blue car with 4 doors. The cart takes you down to row 47B and as far as the eye could see (so-to-speak) all you could see were blue cars with four doors. In short. on a depot lot, you are going to find what you want. Guar-an-teed.

It's the white one....oh, wait....

Or, the red ones.....

Oh, it's blue........ What's it's a KW,no it's a  Peterbilt. OH, so many colors, so many makes.....thank goodness I didn't find the Diamond Rio dealer!.They are all winners!!

It's been a while since I enjoyed the thrills and excitement of such an adventure. Egos ran higher then than they do today. But during the last month going down to the bridge complex to check on the water levels of the Trinity River, that  old excitement began to return.  Trip after trip I would pass this stretch of roadway. That is where I would slow down, stay out of traffic and just gaze at what I was seeing. It was awesome.

Yesterday, I make that trip again to see the waters finally receding after a month since Mother Nature turned off the taps. That stretch of roadway is Irving Boulevard beyond the renamed part known as Riverside Drive. It's beyond the Market District. It's beyond the Medical District. It's about midway between downtown Dallas and downtown Irving, but oh, it's that "Miracle Mile" of big trucks.

That miracle mile of logistics inhales and exhales commerce on such a big scale, it virtually goes unnoticed as cars whiz by on this stretch of road.  Only old marketing executives could appreciate finding such a gold mine and that creative approach to business stirs again from  terrain memory.

Aviation History at DFW Today

Aviation history was made today on the taxiways, runways and a final approach to 18R for the world's largest airline, American Airlines. The moment would have gone unnoticed had it not been caught by a few photographers and aviation buffs in Founder's Plaza.

The historic moment  happened when brushed aluminum with the Astrojet eagle wings in a red circle above the red lightening bolt neared landing while both the two logo liveries that came after the red circle and wings wait on the taxiways for clearance. All three can be seen in a single photo while all three were in active service.

The image can be viewed on the live news rotation cycle at  http://www.Alamy.com or you can click on the black "a' and when it opens in a new window, click on the black "a" a second time  The final step will be to click on the drop down box in the search box where it says "Images"  Easy as 1-2-3.
The image is rights managed and under copyright protection. There are 5 images on the news cycle currently.

For the A-380 buffs, The Emirates has the London 2015 rugby logo livery on the side. Nice billboard if you can get it!

Shinola Detroit

If you haven't yet heard about Shinola Detroit, like me, you have missed a lot. It was by accident that I stumbled upon the most amazing shop to open in the Dallas area in sometime. Oh, Uptown has some interesting shops. The upscale malls have their gig as well, but even when you are outside,looking in, the romance of the Shinola Detroit shop draws you in. The gravity pull is a delight because once inside, you are not disappointed. Not even the slightest.

The staff were friendly, warm and welcoming. There wasn't that bottom-line mentality, although with this fairly new start up in major cities, the bottom-line mentality does come into play. The shop is spacious. Floor space is airy and vaulted. The 38-star American Flag, which probably should be in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn hangs respectfully from the second floor to the first floor with only inches to spare. I was informed that the owner is willing to sell the flag to a collector. It should not be a hard sale.

The shop is unique because the products are all made in American and if not made in Detroit, they are at least assembled there. Those familiar with Detroit will recognize the Midtown Cass Corridor near Wayne State University.  Bikes, watches and leather goods seem to make up the collection in the store that I discovered in downtown Plano.It was the bicycles that caught my eye because I am of the generation when those bikes were common place. One of the staff explained the watch and when I ask about the clothing in the one-story room, the explanation was once again delivered with class and dignified explanation. In short, this shop; this concept; this product line; this desire to announce that you were fanning out from the once great, yet declining and mismanaged city that  lost nearly half its original population of over a million proud people and yet stands ready again for greatness, is not only gutsy, its a quality American greatness was built upon. Hip.Hip Hurrah. Hip,Hip Hurrah. Hip,Hip Hurrah, for Shinola Detroit. May you grow and be well rewarded for your courage.

One of the store windows at Shinola Detroit.

Diagnosis: Moment in Maine

It was an October morning, on the coast of Maine in 1975, when I first noticed the symptoms. Two weeks later, the symptoms returned.  Over the next thirty years there were moments that came and went and I continued to ignore the symptoms until 2005. By then, it was a full blown disease.  I live with it every day, now. I can still recall that fateful morning sitting on a cliff before sunrise in the mist and fog hearing lobster boats put,put,put as they went about their daily trips of putting out lobster traps. The sun's glow began to light the morning sky before  that beautiful ring  of nuclear  fire crested in that rainbow-like arch and I could feel the heat on my face.I know now that it was then, that the disease had entered my bloodstream.

In 2005, the time had come to acknowledge the disease. It was a difficult thing to do. But someone had already made the statement that I was feeling. Although it was an Anonymous statement, it said exactly what I already knew about that Moment in Maine. So I can use that Anonymous statement :

"Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease." --Anonymous

Yes, the disease is photography and I work at it daily to keep my eyes sharp. With that said, I will begin to post on the side bar a column from some of the best photographers that have this disease, also. It is to be hoped that you will enjoy reading their quotes.

A Man Takes Time on a Hot Roof to Smile for the Camera

Under the Pink Umbrella--Life is Good.

A New Adventure

The Great Trinity Forest by sam6372
Check out these Fabrics at Zazzle
Here's hoping that this will grow.

Neckties and bolts of cotton material for quilting. For now, at least.

The neckties came out really well.

A Little Rough Around the Edges

Yes, sometimes beauty can be found even though the beauty is  surrounded by a little roughness along some edges. That's what art really is--when  beauty outshines its surroundings. Two examples are found here.

Church  Windows in a Bar

Colorful roof tiles on an old deteriorating building

After the Floods----

the water is finally beginning to go down, nearly a week after the last rain drops stopped falling.  That kind of indicates how much like a sponge the earth really was with 24 of 31 days of rain. Still, there are areas where acres of standing water exist, but the lakes are being opened to anxious boaters and their wakes will not rush water into someones living room like before. There was plenty of that as it was.

With so much rain, it has given me plenty of time to play with camera settings and  the mastery of what I have learned is paying off. Every thing in life is a trade off, however. Officially, Texas is out of a five year drought in less than four weeks, but now, with the rediscovered sunshine, temperatures are filling the next seven days with low 90 degree readings. It is June already for sure. Temperatures in the low 90s happen this time of year down here. Here's hoping that the evaporation, which does cool the air, will keep the temperatures out of the triple digits during July and August! 

Who would think that a cactus could be so pretty.

This is a beautiful bud just ready to open.

The blooms are awesome!

So, since I have worked so hard to refine the macro of shooting, I did fine some subjects that were a test  and some came out well, others came out alright. I'll show you the alright ones here.

Make sure you click on one of the images to get the HD version.