Summerfesting

Occasionally Hyper ventures forth for culture. I happen to like it you know. Today I went to St. Mary's Episcopal Church at 13th and Holmes to hear the Summerfest Musicians.
Truly an awesome combination of history, architecture and music.

Today's concert featured composers Vivian Fung, Paul Hindemith and Franz Schubert. The musicians were Mary Grant, Dorris Dai Janssen, Alexander East, Edward Paulsen, Shannon Finney, Jane Carl, Barbara Bishop, Kelly Cornell and Melissa Rose. Many also play in the Kansas City Symphony.
After each concert there is a reception where audience members can meet and talk with the musicians. Normally at St. Mary's that is held in the adjacent hall.... but it has been undergoing extensive renovation..... above... only the floor remains to be finished and it will be ready for next week's concert.
It's a beautiful venue with great acoustics.



Taking a bow above and below.... about 150 were in attendance this week.

Above: six frames were shot to maintain proper exposure in both the windows and the interior..... thus the crowd moving toward the food :) creates an eerie scene. The church does have a ghost.... he may even be in the photo above .

This is the 20th year of Summerfest Concerts..... you still can hear great music... just go to

www.summerfestconcertsinc.com for the schedule. It's a splendid way to spend part of a Saturday or Sunday.

Trevor and Rachel

A few from my last wedding. My Niece Rachel married her long-time boyfriend Trevor... they met at Applebee's, Table 47 (true) where they both worked. The service was at Maywood Baptist Church in Independence.


Her Sister Donna was her Maid of Honor.

Mr. Justin, ring bearer, is always up for a picture.

Hyper daughter is far left.... Kelly, Olivia, Rachel, Donna and Amanda.















Reception was at Harrah's.

Rachel made her own cake too....... and a special groom's cake below signifying their first meeting......

To those who also photograph for a living... this wedding saw the first time that the thermal switch on the SB900 shut the flash down.... high ambient temperature I'm thinking. Had to switch flash... back to the SB800 and keep shooting. Now have SD9 battery pack on order.... can't be dealing with unpredictable flashes... the battery pack utilizes 8 batteries and so should eliminate the heat load on the 900 even in our new Missouri summers.

Fall Photo Forgotten

Fond memories of cooler times. This photo, which I forgot about, was taken last fall and shows the skyline view from the northeast. Pretty clouds that day.

The Cosby Hotel Is Saved

Thanks to the efforts of local private business leaders and preservationists statewide the Cosby Hotel is off the chopping block.

Here's a link to the STAR story: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/20/2097070/campaigns-to-prevent-cosby-hotel.html

What we need to learn from this is that Dangerous Buildings and Codes... both departments in Neighborhoods and Communities need examination. Hyper called for a second opinion on the "dangerosity" of the building and, fortunately, one was sought. That opinion from a structural engineer was the opposite of the one put out by Dangerous Buildings. A third opinion confirmed the second.

We lost two historic structures in Pendleton Heights here in Northeast under identical circumstances. When it comes to those kinds of buildings it's time to reign in Dangerous Buildings.......

Lots of Flocks

A banner year for flocks. Sun, heat, lots of moisture all make for happy sun flowers .... not to be confused with sunflowers. These are next to the patio. I used to have just pink and white... but somewhere along the way nature took it's course and a merger occurred... above and below are Merger Flocks.




Alright.... this (above) isn't a flock... but it was pretty so it got photographed. I wanted to do a lot more images but I was starting to melt....