One Tree - Four Seasons

                                         In Kessler Park just west of the Kansas City Museum. 
 

Three Seasons Of The Museum

Red In Red Out

In the Spring my Japanese Maple heralds the seasonal change with a bright red hue.... in fall, as it prepares for Winter slumber, it does the same... flora optimism.



I have a hard maple that was particularly pretty this year... almost missed it completely.
All shots with the Nikon D3 and either 14-24mm or the 70-300mm at 1000 or 2000 ASA (because I was too lazy to get the tripod out of the car). Levels adjustment and sharpening in Camera Raw but no color enhancement. All shots with exposure compensation of +1.

Firsts in Photography (Maybe)

Firsts in any field are important and usually treasured and photography is no exception. Occasionally, when talking to a group, I will ask if anyone knows roughly when the first photograph was taken. The answers vary widely generally according to age. Adults know that there are photographs from the Civil War and thus the process must pre-date 1861. Younger folks tend to not think in that way and will say anything from 1940 to the 50s. The truth is below... Frenchman Joseph Nicephore Niepce took the image below from the window of his upper-story workroom at his Saint-Loup-de-Varennes country house. It shows the the outbuildings, courtyard, trees and landscape as seen from the window. The year was 1826.Shot above is enhanced... original is shown in the two shots below. Talk about archival quality.

Exposure time was eight hours on a polished pewter plate coated with bitumen of Judea (a kind of asphalt). After the exposure the plate was removed and the latent image was rendered visible by washing it with a mixture of oil of lavender and white petroleum which dissolved away the parts of the bitumen which had not been hardened by light. The photograph which Niepce called a "Heliograph" is now in the collection of the University of Texas at Austin.

Below.... the first photograph of a person? Due to the very long exposures involved in making the early photographs, there exist almost no early pictures with people in them. The image below of the Boulevard du Temple in Paris was a ten-minute exposure of the street scene in April or May of 1838. Although there was probably much traffic both pedestrian and vehicular on the Boulevard the length of the exposure meant that anything moving would not be recorded. The exception is the man standing on the corner apparently getting his boots shined.... he stood still long enough to become a part of pictorial history.
The above image is a a Daguerrotype a metal plate coated with silver halide that, after exposure, was placed over a lightly heated cup of mercury which revealed the latent image.

The process was developed by Louis Daguerre together with Niepce creator of the first image above. The process was patented in 1839. Is this the first photograph of a living person? It certainly is for now. I can just imagine trying to photograph a two year old with a ten-minute exposure. Thank the Lord for digital.

Gallery Time

Kelly, The Kid, had some photographic assignments for her class to do... so while home on Easter break we headed to the Nelson Gallery of Art.... specifically the Photographic exhibits in the Bloch Building. Below is the ceiling in the garage... showing skylights.
Old and new above.... all new below..... the Bloch Buildings demands to be seen in black and white.


Despite the lack of crowds in the pictures the Gallery was full of people.... lots of little ones too.
Where 30's meets 00's....

Above the ceiling.... below, this one needed to be in color.
The Kid taking notes.... she has to write a review of the space for her Introduction to Photography Class.
Below, pondering in progress ;)

Man and photos in a photo.
Kirkwood Hall, above, Rozelle Court below.

Southern vista... we managed to dodge the rain for a few outdoor photos. Below, Butt and Bird.

The Gallery stands where the home of William Rockhill Nelson stood.... the founder of the Kansas City Star donated most of the money for the old structure... Mary Atkins provided the rest. Below... entryway lights.
$5 charge for parking in the underground garage... Museum itself is free.
Above..... leaving this post with these posts. Tomorrow we head for the West Bottoms. Just as a side note.... all these were taken with my newly repaired Nikon D200. Thank heavens it seems to be working fine. I guess we're all better after a trip to the West Coast :)

A Garden at Dusk

Photographed a bride in Kauffman Gardens Thursday evening. Took a few shots afterward. The flowers lose their deep coloration, but it is a very peaceful place.

Power and Light

In the West Bottoms that is......

Riverview

Mighty Mo looking west from the foot of Main Street.

Star Descending

Photographed last summer. The final moments of a pretty sunset. Taken from above the Cliff Drive Scenic Byway next to Corinthian Hall (Kansas City Museum of History and Science) on Gladstone Boulevard.

Twenty And Still Going Strong

Today is Daugther's birthday. 19 years ago she was just learning to navigate on the neighborhood sidewalks. Happy 20th Birthday Kelly!