Tag Archives: iPhone photos

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.

 

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: 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?