December 2010

Wallace Blackwood 1921-2010
Wichita, Kansas

My father, Wallace Blackwood, passed away early this morning. I don’t know why I’m even bothering posting a POTD at a time like this except that he always enjoyed them, so this is a fitting tribute in a way. As such, it is totally inadequate as a means of expressing what this man meant to me and how wonderfully he shaped my life, but it’s the best I can do. I took this photo just the day before yesterday when I was in Wichita to help my parents get ready to move to assisted living. Like most photos, this one does not tell the whole story of his situation at the time, but those who knew him will not be surprised to see that in spite of his pain and discomfort the last photograph of him was with his nose buried in a book, in this case a book of Sudoku puzzles that he couldn’t seem to put down.

POTD is going to be on hiatus for a few days. It will return when acting normal seems to be the best medicine for me.

Neenah Paper Plant
Neenah, Wisconsin
2010

This is one of the processing plants belonging to the Neenah Paper Company, but that’s beside the point as I took the photo because I like the graphical arrangement and lighting of the shapes of the building’s various components, independent of its owner or function.

Black Mesh
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

I think this is the last image of Asheville I’m going to post. This series is kind of going out with a whimper rather than a bang, but I kind of like the repeating pattern of the black mesh table tops. On a nice day, these tables would be filled with people enjoying the street scenes of downtown Asheville, but on this day it was rather blustery and cold and people were more likely to be found doing what we had just finished doing–enjoying a warm cup of tea in a cozy coffee house. In fact the only people we saw sitting outside anywhere were those pariahs of modern American society, cigarette smokers.

Big City Wannabe
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

This building takes both the shape and the name of the much more famous Flatiron Building in New York City. The big city envy is even more obvious when you realize that the building sits on Wall Street in Asheville. I’ll add my own envy to the situation by admitting I wish my Asheville Flatiron photo was as good as Edward Steichen’s rendering of the New York City namesake. Below is a poor reproduction of Steichen’s image (all that seems to be available on the web); I have a photogravure print of it taken from the original negative and it is stunning.

The Flatiron (Evening)
Edward Steichen
1906

The Crown of Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

At last, a sample of the art deco architecture Asheville is famous for. This is the centerpiece of that architecture, the Asheville City Hall.