Category Archives: iphoneography

iPhoneography: Cool Halloween stuff

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Has it been a year already? Can it possibly be the weeks leading up to our favorite geeky and spooky holiday?

It’s twue, it’s twue. It’s not all that long now until Halloween.

And that means it’s time for our first 2012 installment of iPhone photos of freaky Halloween stuff.

If you remember from last year, I snap iPhone pics of fun, cool and unappetizing Halloween costumes, masks and decor. Considering that I saw my first Halloween stuff in the stores in July this year, I think I’ve demonstrated remarkable restraint in waiting until September.

Anyway, here goes:

Let’s start with the Zombie Baby pictured above. Remember Zombie Babies? I saw them for the first time last year and was immediately taken (and taken aback) with how twisted they were. Really. A co-worker put one in another co-workers chair last year. This year I’m waiting to see if anyone is brave enough to surprise a new parent with a Zombie Baby (like Freaky Frankie here; yes they all have names) in a playpen. They make quite a strong visual impression.

Ah, the classics. You can’t go wrong with a Michael Myers motif, copying the killer from John Carpenter’s classic “Halloween.” The original was apparently a modified William Shatner mask.

And speaking of classics: This officially sanctioned by Universal Studies mask of the classic Frankenstein monster is beautiful. This photo doesn’t do justice to how detailed it is.

Another classic, more recent: Pinhead from the “Hellraiser” movies. The pins are rubbery, of course. No need to worry about what damage you’ll do to the couch when you fall asleep, still wearing it, after the party.

And classics, part three: For decades, Don Post masks have been Halloween standards. Tor Johnson, anyone? (Remind me to do a special Don Post … er, post … in the coming weeks.) This one – Old Lady with Scarf – isn’t top-of-the line Don Post, but it’s nice to see the brand in Halloween stores.

How about a black rubber fetish mask? (The zipper doesn’t work; sorry.) How about standing in a dark room, after everyone else has gone home, wearing a black rubber fetish mask? How about someone calling 911 for me?

If you’re interested in something a little more light-hearted, you could do the time warp clear back to the 1970s with these sideburns …

Or this tambourine. Be cool, man. Some of us were alive during the ’70s.

If you prefer something of a more recent vintage. I imagine Eminem fully sanctioned and licensed this “White Rapper” mask.

As I’m sure that Tupac’s estate approved this “Thug Life” mask.

Getting away from masks for a moment: This scary clown piece would be perfect to hang in the aforementioned dark room. Now with extra creepy!

Last but not least for this time around: Pizza face for your coffee table.

More next time.

iPhoneography: Knoxville

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We get down to Knoxville at least once a year, usually in the summer, and I always think about what a livable city it is. At a little less than 200,000 residents, the city has the bustling University of Tennessee campus, a pretty thriving downtown and the beautiful Tennessee River. It’s a natural for iPhone pics.

One of the highlights of the city’s downtown is Market Square, a large public square, surrounded by shops and restaurants, with a scenic fountain as well as space for arts performances.

 

If you walk around you’ll find some interesting sights, like the cemetery at First Presbyterian …

And if you stick around until dark you can enjoy the nightlife.

The Tennessee Theatre is a great indoor performing arts spot. And they still show classic movies there.

Go to Mast General Store while you’re downtown. They have an entertaining assortment of stuff.

Including the kind of old-time candy you don’t see much anymore. Gee, why would anybody think these were supposed to look like cigarettes?

 

 

iPhoneography: Zombie Walk

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Really, who doesn’t love a good zombie parade?

Today’s Zombie Walk in Muncie – sponsored by local groups to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank and Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) – was held around the Ball State University campus.

Several dozen people turned out for what was rather a brisk Zombie Walk. It was a lot of fun and made for good iPhone pictures.

There was a medical theme to some of the zombies. I saw at least one in surgical garb and this patient, complete with IV.

Zombie Jesus or Zombie Russell Brand? You decide.

Zombie Bandana Guy was properly freaky.

Some charming zombies ladies in dresses. I’m a fashion know-nothing. Are these supposed to be out-of-date old lady zombies?

You think you have problems, all you zombies out there. This zombie had two heads. TWO HEADS! Yet she seemed relatively upbeat.

This photo doesn’t properly show it off, but this zombie had a drooping eyeball. Great makeup.

If you’ve got zombies, you need some paramilitary human presence. Goes without saying.

You can tell the zombie kid to the left is thinking, “What’s the deal with the guy in the red bodysuit? I thought this was a zombie walk.”

The organizers put a green screen near the end and asked zombies to pass in front of it. Made for some great closeup pics.

This kid was totally into it.

Zombie Blues Brothers. They’re on a mission from God.

iPhoneography: 2012 Indiana State Fair

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The Indiana State Fair brings summer to a close for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers, who go back to school and jobs not long after the fair’s run.

The fair is also an opportunity for good iPhone photography.

The midway carnival rides are a natural photo subject. I’m pretty sure the Vertigo ride is new this year.

I haven’t found anything online that tells me how tall it is. I’m guessing … pretty tall.

The Freak Out is among the new traditional rides at fairs at the county and state level. It’s apparently a variation on a European ride called The Frisbee.

The Screamer is another new favorite.

If you’re more of  a traditionalist, the Ferris wheel is for you. The first was built for the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. The book “Devil in the White City” has some very interesting background on the Ferris wheel.

Sometimes traditional rides operate under a variety of  variations and names, including the Matterhorn, also known as the Flying Bobs.

The Firestorm is a traditional ride …

So is the Cliffhanger, or hang glider.

If you’re in need of a more sedate ride, the state fair offers shuttle trams pulled by tractor.

And lest we forget that 4-H competition is a big part of any fair …

Working at the cow wash. Get it?

 

 

iPhoneography: Drizzly D.C.

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It was raining, or threatening to rain, most of the time I was in Washington, D.C., a couple of days ago. I was there for an awards ceremony, with work and home obligations bookending the trip, and there wasn’t a lot of time to waste.

I managed to see a few sights and take a few pictures with my iPhone. There’s nothing you haven’t seen before by thousands of other, better photographers. There’s something interesting about the city’s many monuments and buildings when it’s raining, however.

I never got near the U.S. Capitol, unfortunately. I checked out the White House from all sides but it was the least interesting building I saw.

I’m guessing that, in this post-9-11 world, Pennsylvania Avenue will never be reopened. It’s a shame, in a way, that you can’t buzz past the White House on your way somewhere (unless you’re on foot or on a bike). But the closed street makes for some nice photo opportunities.

One of the most mind-boggling, purely in terms of size, buildings I saw was the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, named after the former president but originally the headquarters of the nation’s military commanders when it was built in the late 1800s. My picture can’t do justice to its size. It is truly mammoth.

The Lincoln Memorial is majestic, of course.

The juxtaposition of the memorial to the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool makes it the most memorable place in D.C. The pool was drained for repairs while I was there, unfortunately.

Perhaps the most moving memorial in D.C. is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, including the Wall, designed by Maya Lin and featuring the names of more than 58,000 soldiers killed in Vietnam.

The rain only seemed to make the day more appropriate for viewing the wall.

Another element of the Vietnam War memorial is the statue of three soldiers.

The statue is realistic and hauntingly beautiful.

iPhoneography: County fair carnival rides

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What would summer be without a county fair? The fair gives us food that’s good and bad for us, carny games and carnival rides – and an opportunity for iPhone photos.

Here’s a look at this week’s Delaware County Fair, held in Muncie, Indiana.

The last couple of hours of daylight and the onset of twilight is my favorite time to take carnival pictures. You’ve got enough light to get some details but a strong source of light to make for dramatic backlighting. Then, within a few minutes, the sky darkens enough to create beautiful artificial lighting photos.

Here’s another shot of the Yo-Yo.

 

The Ferris wheel is always a favorite.

 

The Freak Out looks very different by day …

… and night.

Gotta love the games, including the ever-popular balloon-busting ones.

And the prizes. When I took this, a young woman operating the game said, “Are you taking a picture of my crabs?”

Night falls on the midway.

 

iPhoneography: Albany, Indiana

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The town of Albany, Indiana, several miles north of Muncie, has remained surprisingly robust during its history. While other Indiana and Midwestern towns have withered on the vine, Albany has maintained a population of more than 2,000 people. It has a thriving downtown and local businesses.

Here’s a summer 2012 iPhone look at Albany.

For much of the 20th century, the McCormick Brothers company was the town’s biggest business. Founded in 1907 and lasting until the last quarter of the century, McCormick Brothers made a variety of metal products over the decades, beginning with washboards, moving into metal kitchen cabinets and then products for the war and interstate highway efforts.

While other businesses have occupied the sprawling McCormick Brothers plant, the most notable landmark remains its water tower, seen above.

Albany has a number of businesses in its downtown, including C.J.’s Hardware Store. C.J.’s is an old-fashioned hardware store with wooden floors, rolling ladders to help the store’s employees reach products on high shelves and the kind of  broad but selective inventory that makes old-fashioned hardware stores fun to walk around in.

Albany has a five-and-dime store. For many years, McCord’s Five and Ten offered bulk candy, nuts, household goods and some curious items. The sign is still on display inside the store. Under new ownership now, the store still has what might be the area’s biggest selection of hairnets.

The great old-school packaging makes the hairnets look like leftovers from the 1960s, but the store still sells hairnets to food service workers around the area.

Mood rings, anyone? They have ’em.

One of the town’s churches was getting a new roof the day I was there.

This “ghost sign” for Colonial Break decorates the end of a building.

I’ve seen this sign, on the side of a building, before but never understood it. Would it light up, ring and alert passersby and police if a burglar alarm had been tripped? I’d like to know more about it.

One of Albany’s most popular restaurants, the Dairy Dream.

Not a professional photographer: Shapes and angles

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I like taking pictures, with my iPhone and my digital camera, although I don’t have really expensive equipment or much formal training.

I love taking pictures of lonely spots, places only sparsely populated at the time I’m there, and among my favorite pictures in those moments are those that emphasize angles and shapes, either architectural or natural or created by light and shadow.

One of my favorite photo opportunities came during a 2009 tour of the former BorgWarner automotive plant here in Muncie, Indiana. The plant had closed just a few months before and equipment, tools and other bits and pieces of the plant’s history were being sold off.

The photo above is one of my favorites, of the cavernous interior of the million-square-foot plant.

Above is a selection of fans that, for decades, cooled workers in the stifling factory.

Another work-related assignment led me to take pictures in the soon-to-be-renovated Canopic Apartments in downtown Muncie. I was really intrigued by the light well at the center of the apartment building.

Nature-made shapes can be cool. (Heh.)

Then there’s the modern-style stained glass windows at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Louisville.

Lastly, two photos I took today with my iPhone.

They’re of the bell tower at Ball State University here in Muncie.

iPhoneography: Cammack, Indiana

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The town of Cammack was typical of many Indiana towns of its size. Life once revolved around a bustling rail line and grain elevator that served farmers in the area. A small downtown catered to the needs of farm families.

While the town has changed, time — and redevelopment — have been kinder to Cammack, in Delaware County west of Muncie, than many other towns.

While the grain elevator has fallen into ruin and the only rail line through the town carries freight trains that no longer stop, Cammack’s population hasn’t deserted the community. A good percentage of the relatively small population remains. A handful of businesses still operate and the American Legion post is still busy.

And recent efforts by developers to build new but historically accurate housing in the town have resulted in some beautiful houses.

At the center of town, the former grocery store and gas station has been remodeled into a restaurant and the former hardware store has businesses in its storefronts.

Here are some iPhone photos of Cammack from June 2012.

Above is the grain elevator, the focal point of the town but no longer in use. The wall of one section has collapsed/been knocked down.

The grain elevator’s tower in shadow looks kind of ominous.

Less so when well-lighted.

Rail lines served the grain elevator and conjure up an image of Indiana that’s familiar but endearing.

This rail siding isn’t used anymore, obviously, and is barely visible through weeds and other growth.

Several colorful tractors sit near the town’s center, emphasizing the area’s long agricultural history.

Cammack Station, the town’s relatively new and busy restaurant, is decorated with vintage advertising signs.

Better days: Muncie’s Ski-Hi Drive-In

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From the early 1950s — one source says 1952 — until just the past few years, the Ski-Hi Drive-In just north of Muncie, Indiana, entertained a couple of generations of moviegoers.

Beginning in the 1980s, drive-in movie theaters — which had always provided an alternative for moviegoers looking for exploitation movies, the offbeat and the inexpensive — faced a threat that couldn’t have been imagined just a few years earlier: Home video.

Movie fans could watch the odd Roger Corman movie from the comfort of their home. Within a few years, drive-in theaters were being razed, their real estate developed for some other use, or — even worse, in some ways — they were abandoned to fall to pieces.

The Muncie Drive-In was lost a number of years ago. All that remains now is the barely recognizable sign, now advertising another business, on Ind. 32 on the city’s west side.

The Ski-Hi Drive-In, at Ind. 3 and Ind. 28 north of the city, is still recognizable for what it was. The photos on this blog were taken by me this Memorial Day weekend.

Unfortunately, while the Ski-Hi is recognizable, it’s a shell of its former self. The screen tower has gaping holes. The area where cars and speaker poles once dotted the landscape is covered with high weeds. I can’t say what shape the concession stand is in; I didn’t venture into the property.

Various revitalization attempts have been mounted over the years and I’ve heard another is underway. With any luck, this one will succeed.