Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Holiday | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Nature, Skywatch Friday | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Animals, Businesses | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Maxie B's, according to their website, "is a locally-owned bakery and dessert cafe in Greensboro, NC." They have fabulous cakes, cupcakes, coffee, and frozen yogurt. Robin, the proprietor has been so generous with the community, donating cakes to great causes. We love to go there for a late afternoon coffee, a great pick-me-up after a busy day!
This picture has a muted sea-side appearance in color; however, once in a while we like to offer a sepia and this one just screamed "early 20th century Paris" and sepia just fit.
Sorry this text got posted a day late but we have been away. We finally re-found the monochrome meme, now called, "Monochrome Weekly Theme" where you can see some fabulous non-color photos. Absence of color makes us focus on theme, composition, and range from dark to light (hopefully, like above).
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Businesses, Food and Drink, Monochrome | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
St. Paul's Catholic Church is the visual version of surround sound. Technicolor abounds. Here, is an example of four of the many stained glass windows on the rounded exterior walls. People may question the architect when viewing the exterior of the church. However, on the inside, the sanctuary is breathtaking. As you can see from the above windows, the one on the left is more washed out, indicating that the sun is beaming directly through that window and it has already passed the other three all of which seem darker.
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Glass, Religion, Visual Arts | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Community Resources, Food and Drink, People | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Here is a slice of the sky near our house on Saturday, May 9, 2009. At first glance, Greensboro is not a particularly colorful city. However, the more we photograph our city, the more color we find. For Skywatch Friday, we wanted to capture a silhouette in combination with something other than the bold blue that permeates our sky shots. On this day, we found just what we were looking for. The color range became even more intense when we decreased the exposure a stop or two. We are struck by how unattractive the tree on the upper left is by day and how fabulous it looks as a silhouette.
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Nature, Skywatch Friday | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack (0)
If you are regular readers, you know we at GDP love our local library system. Here we see people of all ages hanging out at the Reading Railroad, Greensboro Public Library's bookmobile. Unfortunately, in the current financial crisis, the Reading Railroad is at risk of being parked. For over six years, this bookmobile has served many local daycares and centers, serving children who might not able to visit a branch library. We tend to take close ups which "flatten" objects; however, the linked shot gives you a better idea of the appearance of this Thomas built bus (a local company). Look how cute the "coal" car looks in the photo above, overflowing with letters of the alphabet. From the neatly arranged shelves, the fabulous engineer and conductor of the bus, Carolyn Powell and Geneva Headen, to the brightly colored exterior, the Reading Railroad is a treasure that deserves to keep on delivering. Do you have any memories of using a bookmobile? Do they have one in your city?
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Community Resources, Street Scenes | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Here we are at the corner of Friendly Avenue and Elm Street. This photo could serve as an introduction to our city. From it, we learn the Greensboro is at least 200 years old (201 to be exact). The banner is thanks to nearby VF Corporation, a company that "blends the art and science of apparel." To the left is Center Point which bills itself as "sophisticated living entwined in an urban lifestyle." It shows that Greensboro has some tall buildings-- a shock to fellow daily blogger cieldequemper the first time we published an urban shot!
From a photographer's perspective, we like the cool colors (blue, purple, gray, white, black) and the Cubists' repeating rectangles motif. We like the fact that Friendly "one way" Avenue is visible. This road leads us through the city, past Friendly Center, past Guilford College, to the airport, and beyond. Perhaps our city's motto should read, "One way, Friendly!" We took three pictures of this view. One with the light green, yellow, and red on the traffic light. It wasn't until the pictures were all in front of us that we realized red and yellow were way too warm for this cool-colored photo. So, there you have it, a little bit of scientific, artistic and geometric thinking behind the photograph for all to ponder.
Finally, the photo was taken on a cold, rainy Sunday morning when nobody was walking around downtown.
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Architecture, Buildings, Street Scenes | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
If you know the location of Downtown Hounds, you really know our city well. The business, located at 308 Church Court behind the Wrangler Bldg., bills itself as "the canine social club that cool dogs dig." The grooming and daycare facility takes care of canines while owners work. The building is hard to miss with its lime green and royal blue facade. When is the last time you've seen a building painted this color?
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Animals, Buildings, Businesses | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Arts and Crafts, Decorating, Monochrome, Signs | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)
On this Mother's Day Sunday, we reflect on Mary, Mother of Jesus, the most widely portrayed mother in history. The above Madonna and child was painted by Mario Skori and comes from the private collection of renown portrait painter Marcus Blahove (b. 1928). Blahove, originally from Ukraine via Argentina, lived in Greensboro for several years with his Spanish-teacher wife, Maria Raisa and their family.
We like the intensity of the eyes painted in the above picture. The baby's eyes are blue and the mother's eyes are dark brown. Both are pensive; neither is looking directly at the painter. We wonder just what they are seeing, pondering... The baby appears to be incomplete, a work in progress-- perhaps a metaphor for motherhood in general. Our understanding of the word mother changes as we move from infant to toddler to adolescent to adult to parent. At this point in your life, what does the word "mother" mean to you? How will you remember your mother on this Mother's Day?
(Note: The above painting remains in a private collection in Greensboro. The owner would love to know more about the history of the painting and the artist. If you are in contact with the Blahove family, please direct them to this blog).
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Happy May Day, International Workers' Day/Labor Day. This picture shows spring in Greensboro, a little over a week ago. Today, the tulips are long gone, the azaleas are past peak. The trees have greened. Today happens to be Skywatch Friday and Theme Day for the City Daily Photo group. The theme this month is shadows. Ironic as we try very hard to take shadowless pictures. The above picture shows the harshness of the mid-day sun and the SMALL shadows cast by the petals of the yellow tulips back onto the petals to the right.The original intent of the photograph was to document spring in our front yard, showing the layers of color. If you lived nearby, we would pick you a bouquet!
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Nature, Skywatch Friday | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack (0)
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Tuesday night, about an hour before sunset, we felt like we were in the Land of Oz! Retrieving the mail, we saw this rainbow hovering above our house. Actually, it was a double rainbow. By the time we found the camera, the sky began to darken. At least we caught the rainbow's last hurrah. Every photographer deserves to capture a rainbow at least once. Tuesday was our night! If you haven't had your chance, we hope it will come your way soon. Some rainbow trivia.........
A rainbow's arc is directly opposite the sun. In a double rainbow, color order is reversed. To see a rainbow, the angle of light refraction needs to be 42 degrees from the observer's eyes. Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow. You can only see a rainbow if the sun is behind you. New York is the US state with the most number of families with the surname "Rainbow." Finally, if you have three and a half minutes, we encourage you to listen to the now-deceased Hawaiian Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole's version of "Over the Rainbow." The combination of his voice and ukulele playing is heavenly. If our You Tube link doesn't work, please search out the video where he sings; not just the instrumental-tribute.
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Nature, Skywatch Friday | Permalink | Comments (38) | TrackBack (0)
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The above bilingual (English/Spanish) mural is a multi-level project painted Summer 2008 by the African American Atelier Community Youth Program. As seen in the pink lettering above, the artist-instructor was Brittain Peck. Peck's work, "All City All Star/ Las Estrellas de la Ciudad," is an illustrated, narrative saga of two children whose houses have been crushed by the feet of a robot. Their story is told though dialog clouds in English and Spanish. "Wow! I am sliding up! Wow! Estoy deslizando arriba!" says the skateboarder. "Yucky! The air smells bad. Asqueroso! El aire huele malo." Fear not, the ending is uplifting mainly due to the upbeat attitude of the children.
We have several pictures of this fabulous mural to share at a future date. However, the above picture was chosen because it is a good introduction to the color and complexity of the project. If you come to Greensboro or already live here, you can find the project on the Church Street Parking Deck in the stairwell nearest the Central Branch of the Greensboro Public Library. While many names are associated with the vertical mural, the other one we want to include is Delois Bynum, assistant to Mr. Peck and Atelier staff member. Chatting with Ms. Bynum is like talking to your wise auntie. She has a gentle way of educating you and making you feel welcome at the same time.
Posted at 05:20 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Arts and Crafts, Buildings, Community Resources, Decorating, People, Visual Arts | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Here we see a picture of the clay corner at Artquest, the hands-on studio located in the Cultural Arts Building on Davie St. Artquest is just one of many facets of the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art. Artquest is a fabulous studio where people can paint, weave, draw, make a collage, mold clay, and hone visual/spacial skills with twelve art stations designed by North Carolina artists. Additionally, Artquest is a great place to go for a field trip or for a birthday party. If you are looking for summer activities, they have reasonably-priced camps. Artquest is fun for children because it is so interactive and visually stimulating. It is fun for adults because you can dabble in art without being intimidated. It brings out the artist in everyone! Finally, the studio adjoins the Green Hill Gallery so you can saunter through the gallery, seeking inspiration from professional artists, before making a work of art yourself! Take advantage of a great community resource.
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Arts and Crafts, Community Resources, Pottery, Visual Arts | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Here we see one small part of the O. Henry Monument at 301 N. Elm Street in downtown Greensboro. O. Henry, pen name of William Sydney Porter, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862-- at the time of the Civil War in the United States. O. Henry will always be remembered for his great short stories with clever endings (aka, the O. Henry ending). This human-sized book, dubbed "O. Henry's Book" by the artist Maria J. Kirby-Smith, was placed at the U.S. Trust Tower Plaza in 1985. In futures posts, we will see more delightful sides of the book as well as a statue of the author himself and his little dog, just a few paces away. In the meantime, if you are curious to learn more about the author or to see a picture of him, please follow the Wikipedia site linked to his name (above).
This must-see, ensemble/tribute is posted in black and white today as part of the Monochrome Monday theme day. Since the overgrown azalea was removed a few years ago, this view of the monument is actually well suited for black and white.
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Posted at 12:15 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Architecture, Buildings, Community Resources, Skywatch Friday, Visual Arts | Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack (0)
Yesterday, we posted a sign about the Cone Brothers. Today, we post this little hut that must have been some sort of guard house on the property of Cone Mills. It is located on Yanceyville Street, just up the hill from Revolution Mill. We will feature the repurposed Revolution Mill Studios in a future post as it is a spectacular venue featuring everything from offices to on site housing and recreation. However, we also like to document these little snippets of history before they get razed to the ground. Also, we were in search of signage, public displays of the Cone Mills sign, as well as signs with "Greensboro, NC."
If you know about this little hut, please post a comment and share your memories.
Posted at 05:30 AM in 2009, 2009: 2nd Quarter, Architecture, Buildings, Businesses, History | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)