From the chicken to the dinosaur

I've been having fun playing with semi-surrealism with recent iPhone images; last week's "ominous chicken talk" shot was featured in Mobiography's weekly showcase...and then today, WeAreJuxt's weekly "1000 Words" showcase came out...including this:

"When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there..."

On a busy, otherwise prosaic, intersection near where I live in Tucson, a dinosaur sculpture presides over the traffic whizzing by fast food, a gas station, and an oil-change joint…The words of Guatemalan author Augusto Monterrosso come to mind when I pass this seemingly gratuitous T-Rex reproduction–in one of the shortest short-stories in any language, he wrote: “Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.” (“When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.”) That’s it, just that one sentence; enigmatic, allegorical, and surreal…Juxtaposition within one short sentence that illuminates the juxtaposition of a prehistoric-reptilian-statue in the middle of the automobile-centered cityscape of the American West…

I took this with my iPhone5. Initially I used the Perspective Correct app to straighten the traffic light next to the sculpture. Then I used Snapseed to crop and even out the exposure. The grid/fold overlay is from ScratchCam–but to get the ‘folds’ to line up where I wanted them to, I placed the photo in one of the options in the PicFrame app, estimating where it would line up in ScratchCam before I would crop it again. The surreal color-gradation from ‘prehistoric’ red on the right to dream-like green sky on the left is also from ScratchCam. To add a bit more texture, I used DistressedFX, and then the final vignetting was done in snapseed. (For my ‘signature’ in the bottom corner, I used iWatermark.)

Honored to be included again!

(Another 'surrealization' of a Tucson landmark 

was featured back in March.)

"Ominous Chicken Talk"...streetscape

In this week's "Capturing the Moment" showcase by Mobiography, this was one of the featured photos:

 "Ominous Chicken Talk"

(Honored to be included, and yep, I had fun with this title...)

I drive by this street corner in Tucson very often. Finally, on a recent Sunday morning, the parking lot deserted, I pulled over to take a few photos. The juxtaposition of these oversized animal sculptures next to an otherwise nondescript strip-mall makes me smile every time I pass them--Is it whimsical? Gratuitous? Intentionally surreal? Mere kitsch, or knowingly dadaist? 

I went back and forth between the snapseed and scratchcam apps to edit this scene, which I took on my iPhone5. I liked the rectangular 'fold' overlay on this scene because it frames the chicken in a way to make it seem that it's talking to the giraffe. But WHY does the chicken pay more for gold? And WHY is the giraffe even there? (is there a giraffe-ransom involved?) And why would I want to come here to sell my gold? Endless questions...

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And, for breaking out of a creative slump, check out this recent article, "Breaking out of the Photographer Slump," from We Are Juxt...and in it you'll find some images and a few words of mine among others' useful comments and photos:

A few hours in Palm Springs--mountaintop and Marilyn...

Last weekend found us in southern California for a quick trip...

...on the way back to Tucson, we decided to get off I-10 and spend a few hours in Palm Springs.

The giant windmills beneath San Gorgonio Mountain are surreal...

...then heading up into Chino Canyon...

...to take the Swiss-built rotating aerial-tram up to the snowy and forested Mt. San Jacinto wilderness...

From the lodge at the top, a view over the Desert Cities over and across the San Andreas Fault to the low mountains of Joshua Tree National Park...

The contrast between the barren desert floor and the wintry evergreens at the stop is striking; the magic of elevation-and-climate in the desert...

Back down in Palm Springs--

downtown at the corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way:

Twenty-six feet tall, seventeen tons of steel, aluminum and paint--"Forever Marilyn" by artist Seward Johnson, inspired by this famous photo from the film "The Seven Year Itch."

...and I couldn't resist this shot--the triangle of the toddler, reclining guy positioned just so, and the statue's (whimsical? voyeuristic?) backside: the toddler (whose face I've respectfully blurred) seemed to be staring at the guy lying on the lawn, accusing him: "really, dude? You're napping right there, staring at the statue? Kinda creepy..."

Incidentally, the new issue of The Atlantic has an insightful essay on Marilyn Monroe's celebrity-hood... 

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...and back home in Tucson--
looking over Bear Canyon, on a trail run the other evening: 

 
After last week's snow--back up to 80-degrees now in Southern Arizona...

two-fingered end-of-the-school-year fun...astronomers in L.A....a Uruguayan's tower

           

A student of mine was having finger-art fun--and I just had to take a couple of photos.

The left might just elicit a 'huh?'...but cross those fingers, and drama ensues...

(Gracias, David!)

Just another week with kids-in-the-classroom...

Now, a scene that's been 'stuck' in my iPhone for about a year and a half:

(drama-filter and center-focus vignette)

In the hills above Los Angeles, near the Hollywood sign, Kepler, Galileo and Copernicus look out over the city of 'stars'...Dominating the lawn in front of Griffith Observatory, this Astronomers Monument dates from the 1930's; the Depression-era Public Works of Art Projects gave work to artists and beautified public spaces. (Nearby is another piece of statuary: a bust of James Dean--the "Rebel Without a Cause" monument, commemorating the film in which Griffith Observatory played a large role.) There's no better place in L.A. from which to see the city lights at night...or to look up at real stars through the free public telescopes in the observatory itself.

And a bit of architectural contrast from Seoul:

One of the most distinctive buildings in central Seoul is the 33-story Jongno Tower, a triangular glass and steel tower topped with an oval floating above seven stories of emptiness.

Across the street is the traditionally reconstructed "Bo-shin-gahk" belfry, housing a large bronze bell. During the Joseon dynasty, the bell would be rung 33 times every morning, (symbolizing the 33 heavens of Buddhism), to open the city's gates. At dusk, the bell would be rung 28 times (linked to the locations of constellations) to signal the shutting of the city's gates.The original bell is now in the National Museum, but a reproduction still hangs here, and every December 31st, it's struck 33 times to ring in the New Year.

Here's the original iPhone shot--the colorful underside of the Bell Pavilion's roof was in almost total darkness. Using the selective control point, I was able to bring out the colorfully painted eaves...

(More about the architect--Uruguayan Rafael Viñoly--and his design:

http://www.rvapc.com/works/341-samsung-jong-ro-tower)

from a far shore

Last summer, during the month I spent in Korea, I traveled from Seoul to the opposite coast--to the port of Sokcho, on the NE coast of the country. After spending several hours sitting on the bus, I was eager to walk around and explore--iPhone in hand, of course--and one of the first photos I took is being featured this week on the homepage of the travel website afar.com: 

This snapseeded iPhoneograph won last week's 'rendezvous'-theme competition, which means I'm a finalist in the competition for a trip to India! The full highlight is below, followed by a link with more information about the contest..

For more information about this afar.com travel photo/highlight contest, click on the link below: