Category Archives: iphoneography

iPhoneography (and otherwise) Falls of the Ohio fossil beds

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The Falls of the Ohio State Park, on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, is a beautiful place. The river runs between the park’s starkly modern interpretive center and downtown Louisville.

Along the river are 390 million year-old fossil beds dotted with millions of tiny animal and plant remains embedded into rock as well as tiny tidal pools full of water from the river.

There’s an otherworldly feel to the landscape, with driftwood piled high on the Indiana side and the locks of the river on the other.

I’ve been a couple of times now and here are a few pictures, iPhone photos and ordinary digital pics.

Above is a digital shot of sunset along the river.

I love the contrast of tidal pools and the city in the background.

 

iPhoneography: Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville

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I love cemeteries. Pioneer cemeteries that stand isolated in farm fields, huge, old city cemeteries, they’re all beautiful, peaceful places. And good subjects for iPhone pictures.

Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the Midwest. Located on 300 acres of land in the heart of the city, Cave Hill has rolling hills, soaring monuments and more than a little quirkiness.

Many of the cemetery’s monuments are fairly traditional.

Some less so, including this one with a beautiful stained glass inset.

One of the best ideas I’ve seen at any cemetery was at Cave Hill, where families can plant trees to remember their loved ones. I really enjoy that this one was for a fan of “The Big Lebowski.”

Two of the most visited graves at Cave Hill are for gentlemen that have a common history in food.

One is Harry Leon Collins, a professional magician who, according to Internet sources, was a longtime spokesman for the Frit0-Lay snack company.

Apparently in performances he would often, instead of saying “Abracadabra,” say, “Frito-Lay!”

The most notable celebrity at Cave Hill is undoubtedly Col. Harlan Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

A yellow line along Cave Hill’s interior roads leads tourists to the colonel’s grave.

And believe me, the tourists show up to pay homage.

Aside from the pop culture elements of Cave Hill, there’s a lot of truly beautiful work there.

 

 

 

iPhoneography: Winchester, Indiana

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Here’s another of our periodic looks at communities as seen through my iPhone.

This time: Winchester, Indiana.

The county seat of Randolph County, Winchester has about 5,000 residents. It’s downtown has fared pretty well compared to many Midwestern towns. There’s a restored – and renovated – courthouse (above) and a fairly vital downtown core around the courthouse square.

The courthouse square is decorated, like many others, with memorials to veterans and past wars.

Some of Winchester’s memorials are beautiful.

And dramatic, like this doughboy statue.

There’s some slightly more modern weapons of war on display.

Inside the courthouse, a memorial to famous Randolph County residents. To me, the best known is probably director Robert Wise, who made “West Side Story” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.”

So it’s especially nice that downtown Winchester still has a working movie theater.

 

Today in Halloween: More creepy costumes, decorations

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It’s spooky how close we are to Halloween. So it’s time for more iPhone photos of cool Halloween masks, costumes and decor.

Above is one of the coolest pieces of decor I’ve seen this year. There’s plenty to find creepy about clowns. But this freaky skeletal horror clown is enough to give anybody nightmares.

Aww, it’s a … Halloween vampire jack-in-the-box featuring a vampire. Hmm.

What would we do for a cheap Halloween costume without Michael Myers masks? Or should I say William Shatner masks?

Here’s a strange one. Slobbering dog. You provide the slobber, buddy. I guess this is for those parties where you want to be called a “dawg.”

Oh my god! They’ve killed and scalped the Hulk! Oh the humanity!

While we’re in the cranial portion of the Halloween costume shop, how about them zombie brains? How have them zombie brains been treating you?

If you’re a fan of Marvel Zombies, I’d suggest pairing the zombie brains above – and a loin cloth – with this mask for your pal: A zombie chimp. You could go as Zombie Tarzan and Zombie Cheeta.

Finally, werewolf hands. As in, “Get your damn werewolf hands off me.”

More next time.

iPhoneography: Fall colors

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I dread the onset of winter, but I really like a lot about fall: Halloween, crisp colors and the colors of turning leaves.

So here are a few fall pics I snapped with my iPhone while on a walk tonight.

 

Close up or at a distance, the colors are so warm they belie the cool weather.

 

Jet trails make a nice contrasting image.

 

iPhoneorgraphy: More from the Halloween store

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It’s time for another look at fun stuff available this Halloween, courtesy of my iPhone.

This time I thought I’d mention some trends I’m seeing.

Political masks like the one above are a staple of Halloween dress-up, although never more so than in an election year.

I know 7-Eleven does  a straw poll each election year predicting (pretty accurately) the winner by how many straws representing which candidate are taken by customers. I’m not sure you could do this with masks, though, because the best-selling mask might not indicate support. Anyway, with a suit or – better yet – a dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves, symbolizing sympathy with the masses, these masks would make suitable costumes.

I was thinking of Halloween treats that have fallen in popularity recently and thought of popcorn balls. I see them for sale as trick-or-treating items sometimes but I’ve noticed them more this year than other years. Some kind of trend?

Did you watch “American Horror Story” on FX last season? That was a strange show, to say the least. It’s inspired the sale of black rubbery fetish suits.

I’ve seen a lot of big ol’ spiders in stores this year.

Big hairy ones.

And grisly heads on hooks appear to be a thing this year.

Yeesh. In case you need a two-pack.

And I don’t think this Gothic Minx costume represents any particular trend. I’m just posting it because my wife said she would punch me if I ever called her a “gothic minx.”

 

iPhoneography: Halloween at the dollar store

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It’s hard to believe we’re about a month out from our favorite holiday. So it’s a good time to take a look at some iPhone photos of Halloween stuff.

This time: Halloween at the dollar store. Because of the “everything for a dollar” pricing of dollar stores, Halloween masks, costumes, accessories and decor are decidedly more limited. But what these items lack in scope they more than make up for in creativity.

Take the product above for example. Body parts! And they’re artificially flavored. Uh … thank you?

Halloween and superheroes go together. And now you can buy candy cigarettes just like Superman and Batman smoke. Although I believe the candy cigarettes like Shaggy smokes are only available from specially licensed sellers.

How about these Boogers? They’re tangy!

And the box tells us the flavors! Mmmm … Snottermelon!

Okay, if you’ve had enough candy, how about some decor? I really rather like these little perched figures.

Last but not least, a staple of Halloween items at the dollar store, the bloody cloth. Although if you spend enough time digging for Halloween boogers, you can probably produce your own bloody cloth.

‘Til next time!

iPhoneography: Hartford City, Indiana

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It’s time for another look at one of East Central Indiana’s cities as glimpsed through my iPhone.

Hartford City, county seat of Blackford County, was settled and platted in the mid-1800s, sent soldiers to fight and die in the Civil War and saw a growth spurt during the late 1800s natural gas boom.

Curiously, there’s not a lot of recognition of the gas boom in Hartford City – unlike Gas City, just to the north, where some street sign posts are shaped like natural gas wells – but the community’s remembrance of its sons’ Civil War service is very noticeable around the courthouse.

The top photo is a view of the Blackford County Courthouse’s 165-foot tower.

The courthouse was the county’s second, built 1893-95, as a historical marker helpfully tells us, and is an example of Richardsonian Romanesque style.

The tower is very eye-catching and helps the courthouse dominate the downtown square.

The courthouse square has war memorials on each corner. This is the Civil War memorial.

In Hartford City, they keep their cannon balls handy. And shiny.

Among the other memorials is one to World War I doughboys.

Inside the courthouse, this tin ceiling is a nice architectural detail.

Like many smaller cities and towns, Hartford City has struggled to keep its downtown alive. Hartford City has some truly impressive and historic buildings surrounding its courthouse square, though. One of them is the Tyner/Knights of Pythias building.

The Tyner building, built around 1900, was home to professional offices for decades and was, in the 1920s, home to the Ku Klux Klan. At the time, the KKK had a huge presence in Indiana and all but constituted a shadow government.

Then there’s the Hotel Ingram, which online sources date to 1893. It’s a beautiful building in Romanesque Revival style but has seen better days.

One of Hartford City’s grandest buildings surely was the Weiler’s Building, once home to a large department store. Weiler’s store was opened by four brothers from Germany. The town’s elders bragged that Weiler’s rivaled any big city department store.

Lastly, a look at a ghost sign. I enjoy finding these on the sides of downtown buildings. I’m posting this even though the sun’s rays really weren’t in the right spot for this shot. But there is a ghost sign there, believe me!

 

 

 

 

iPhoneography: More Halloween stuff

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Not to sound like the earworm jingle from “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch” here, but the days are quickly counting down to Halloween.

That means it’s time for another set of iPhone photos of cool Halloween costumes and decor.

How much do we love zombies? While you’re counting down an even fewer number of days until the return of “The Walking Dead” on Oct. 14, how about some seasonal road decor like that warning sign above?

And we all know that leggings are popular with the kids. (Or were they popular three years ago?) Anyway, who knew that they were popular with zombies too?

I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for zombies to wear leggings. Or tights.

(Cricket noise.)

Here’s a sure-fire accessory for your Halloween practical joking needs. Just place a Bloody Hand with Sleeve so it’s sticking out of the trunk of your car and you’re all set to amuse and horrify your friends and random motorists.

Next time I’ll show you the same company’s spin-off product, Bloody Nose with Handkerchief.

You know what freaks me out about this costume? It’s for a kid. Imagine seeing this coming at you down your hallway.

Time for some decor. I like this black cat. Here’s a reminder: Keep your kitties indoors during Halloween season.

I like these little skulls. They’re nicely creepy.

I’ll leave you with some costume accessories that are more amusing than scary. This bottle hidden in a Bible won’t offend anyone, I’m sure.

Nor will this Sarah Palin costume. Fully authorized, I’m sure.

More next time!