Manchester, NH

Well, I'm back on the road again. This time I'm in Manchester, NH for a work conference. I'm pretty tired from a red-eye flight last night, so I haven't wandered around the town much. It looks like what you would expect an old New Hampshire mill town to look. Lots of brick.

Hopefully, tomorrow evening I'll get a chance to wander the city a bit. The light was really beautiful around 7:30 tonight - a lovely warm gold color.

In honor of the old photo I posted the other day of the unknown Ellinore, I decided to post a photo of my great-aunt Pat. I don't know who took the photo, where it was taken or the exact year but it was taken some time in the 20s based on her hat. She was apparently quite the heart breaker.

Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime

It appears that summer has finally arrived in the Pacific NW. After the lovely weather we experienced in Europe, it was rather grim to come back to the cold, the grey and the rain. Don't get me wrong...I hate it when people complain about the weather here. Most of the time, I don't mind it - rain down here means snow in the mountains much of the time. Plus, the moisty air keeps my complexion in peachy condition and makes for lots of healthy plants. There are times, however, when I just crave sunlight and the ability to walk around without a sweater close at hand. All that being said, I think I can embrace the sunshine without fear and the expectation that it will be snatched from me in the morning (for a while at least).

In celebration of the sun, I've taken a couple bike rides in my tank top (working frantically on my tan) and plan on hacking some blackberries in my overgrown yard. Later on I may even sit on the deck with a book and a beer - that is if I can mellow out enough to relax for a while. I've been spending a lot of time in my dark office working on photos - good for the amount of work I'm doing, bad for not maximizing my outdoors time. I've tried working on the laptop in the bright sunlight, but you know how successful that would be...

Last night, we went to Tacoma for dinner and a movie ("Buck" - worth watching - makes me miss having an animal in my life). Afterwards, we went down to the 11th Street bridge to take photos. The light had just shifted so I was a bit disappointed, but Mt. Rainier had its unique, rosy, end-of-the-day glow so I couldn't be too sad. The bridge is wrapped in large sheets of plastic because it is undergoing major structural work. It seems like the plastic wrap is gradually consuming the bridge. Here's one of the shots I took - not too great, but it's got a nice shot of Rainier framed under the bridge.

Yard sales, old photos and forgotten people

Today I stopped at a yard sale without any clear idea of what I was looking for. I was hoping to find some sort of funky tchochkes but the fellow didn't really have anything that interesting. However, I did find this ancient light meter that I picked up for $2 (in the original box with manual and warranty card):

I started thinking about the old photos you can sometimes find at yard sales and junk shops. I once found an old photo album from the 1920s in a junk shop in Seattle. From what I could guess based on the captions, the photos were taken in the Spokane, WA area during that era. At the time, it struck me as sad that there was perhaps no one in that family who had any interest in holding onto the book of photos and the memories of those people. Maybe there was someone who still wanted to know about their now-dead relatives, but because the book had been sold or given away and eventually arrived in my hands, they would never see those images.

I have many old photos from the early 20th century - my great-grandfather was a photographer (as well as a doctor) and took endless numbers of pictures of family and friends. Although I occasionally look at them and ponder who the people might be and what the heck I'm going to do with all the photos, most of the people pictured are lost to time. I don't know many of them and I know even less about their lives. I can only guess their histories by looking at how they dressed, how they presented themselves and the occasional, hard-to-decipher caption. I suppose it's sad but it's also the way of human existence. We might be remembered for a couple generations if someone bothers to pass on our histories. But, after a while, we'll be forgotten. Occasionally, someone (related or not) may see our pictures and wonder who we were, what we were like and how we lived. Then they'll move on to the present and we'll be forgotten.

Here is a question: in the digital age when so few people actually print pictures, how many physical photos will people in the future happen upon in the way that I did with the album from Spokane? The likeliness of someone retaining all my digital photos and actually looking at what I've stored electronically is extremely low. We live digitally in so many ways - email and text messages have replaced letters and postcards, television has replaced family time and conversations, and Facebook albums have removed the need for having physical photo albums. In the future, how will people remember their ancestors without the letters, the stories and the images?

Here is Ellinore on April 13, 1924 - I don't know her last name, her age, who took the photo or where it was taken:

A response to the Ode to Canon G9

Although the Canon G9 is a wonderful camera for all the reasons I stated in my previous post, I do have other photographic loves that cannot be denied. My Lubitel is one such love. Made in Russia of sturdy plastic, lacking a built-in light meter (I use a piece of paper taped to the side of the camera on which I've mapped out apertures and shutter speeds), and arriving with a poorly translated manual, it has become one of my absolute favorite film cameras. I find the lens to be fairly sharp though it creates a funky, swirly wash when shooting shallow. I have pre-visions of portraits made with this camera - beautiful color portraits with funky, old-fashioned backgrounds.

Best features: it is light and easy to travel with, it shoots in square format, it forces one to slow down while taking photos and it shoots film so you have to imagine what the images look like before you get to see them. All that for about $150. What a deal!

Ode to my Canon G9

Oh, G9. Why do I love thee so? Could it be that you are a light and compact camera? Easy to travel with, yet a capable image capture device. Shooting RAW in low light and bright sun. Perhaps it is your macro function - a function I am just starting to use - that makes you so loveable. You may not be as mighty as a D5 Mark II, but you do the job and at a fraction of the cost.

Perhaps because you made it so easy for me to shoot 2GB of pics in less than an hour at the aquarium today. I don't know why I love you so. I just know I do. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

 Kelp and bubbles shot at the Seattle Aquarium. Aquariums are my new photo obsession.

An example of the macro function of the G9. I love the fact that the moth "fur" really comes out in these pictures.

Because it is "Cosmonaut Wednesday" (an event that occurs every Wednesday that I wear my Cosmonaut necklace), I thought I would add the little fella to the blog as well. Thanks Museum of Jurassic Technology for having such a cool gift shop!

Back home

It's always a mixed bag when returning from holiday. One one hand, I'm happy to be back home and no longer living out of suitcases and eating in restaurants. On the other, it's the end of a really cool vacation and a return to the daily grind. Seems like every time I go away, there's some sort of bad news when I return. Such is life, I suppose. The suckiness exists whether I'm on vacation or not, so it's better to have had the vacation first.

Here are the things I am taking away from the past couple weeks...

1) It's always good to try communicating in another language since it has an element of risk that I think is good for you.
2) I should underpack. Always. No matter what my brain tells me.
3) My Royal Robbins walking skirt was the best garment I wore this trip, with my Joseph Seibl sandals coming in a close 2nd.
4) Don't panic too much when you're trying to drive in Prague. No matter how bad it is, it's got to be better than driving in Paris.
5) Only bring one book...you'll probably not even get through that little paperback so you might as well skip the extra weight.
6) Keep a hand or foot (or butt cheek) on all bags at all times...thieves are thieves because they are good at thieving.
7) Drink lots of water.

Those are the only things that come to mind at the moment. I'm sure there will be other items that occur to me later.

For those of you who read the blog, I hope you enjoyed it. I've enjoyed writing the posts (well, most of the time) so I may continue posting periodically, though I may just leave it for traveling.

Amsterdam

Last day in Paris

The day started a bit cooler than it's been the past few days. Clouds rolled in and brought some morning showers that quickly cleared. It appears that we're staying just ahead of the rain that's coming to Paris and following right behind the rain in Amsterdam. It's been lovely to be reminded what summer is like in "normal" parts of the world - I've been able go entire days without wearing a sweater. It feels decadent.
After a morning run around the Place des Vosges park, we headed over to the Maison Européene de la Photographie and saw great photography. The museum is housed in an incredible building - a beautiful building that has the appearance of having been an historical house. Definitely worthwhile.
After the photo displays, we took the Metro to the Tuileries where we got a chance to work on our own photographs - there's an amusement park there with rides and games and colorful carny stuff to gawk at.
From there we walked over to the Musée d'Orsay and went to the Manet show. The crowds were a bit much for me but the art was great. I found a Camille Claudel sculpture of an old woman that I really liked. We had a little lunch in the museum restaurant which is incredibly beautiful - high painted ceilings with enormous crystal chandeliers. Definitely worth a visit - their chocolat chaud is super yummy.
We headed back on the Metro during rush hour so it was a squeeze of humanity. When we walked in the room, it appeared there was a bit of a haze in the room. When I looked at some of my possessions, I realized a layer of dust was covering all exposed surfaces. There was construction going on in the room next to ours and the hammering had sent dust into our room. I spent the next 20 mins angrily wiping down surfaces and shaking out clothes. I can't say I'll miss this hotel. It's very quiet but the room is really tiny (about 14x14). We'll find another place the next time around.
We head out via train for Amsterdam in the early afternoon. Bye bye France. It's been a lot of fun.

Musée d'Orsay

Paris Tuesday

Last night, we had dinner with some friends from Seattle. The restaurant was called Le Petit Marché and was quite yummy. Wine was flowing, chins were wagging - it felt quite French. After the meal we wandered down by the river in pursuit of ice cream (because, God knows, I need more food). By the time we finished ice cream and a stroll it was after midnight and some of the friends were pretty wiped (they had flown in that afternoon from home).
Today, we have plans to visit a museum or two and who knows what else (probably a nap because of the late night yesterday).

Where Brassaï and Atget meet

For all my photo pals

Levi's lunch

Lunch in the 13ème

Lunch in the 13ème

Lunch was marvelous. We went to Restaurant Le Temps des Cerises and had some tasty morsels. Levi had a pear stuffed with Roquefort and in a sauce of creme fraiche while I had chicken that had chevre under the skin and rice. We also had tasty Breton ciders (hard cider with creme de cassis).

Prior to lunch we went to jardin DES plantes which is also the site of the national museum of natural history (MNHN). It's an immense park with a zoo, gardens, zoological center, paleontology museum, entomology museum, etc. It was incredible. We're planning to return to see more of the museums.

When I returned to the hotel room, I thought I would be clever and play around with some iPhone photo apps that connect to Facebook. It appears I've managed to lock out my facebook account and can't reset it until I use an actual computer. Grrr! I'm hoping it'll resettle soon but I'm not sure it will. I'll just have to post photos here and live without FB (not necessarily the worst idea).

Pictures coming.

Paris - Monday

I've realized that I often when i am sending photos and text the text gets stripped from the post. I think this has to do with the wifi bandwidth. Anyhow, I will just send text and photos separate.

Yesterday we walked to Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. It was a bit of a trek but we got to see a lot of non-tourist Paris. One section we wandered through appeared to be a China town that became more of a blended international district. I didn't bring my camera since we were run/walking there. Too bad since there was a lot to ogle. The streets were tight with people, which I find quite challenging since I'm used to a lot of elbow room.

All the park's green space was packed with sunbathers and picnickers relaxing on a Sunday. One hing I'm learning is that the Parisians really know how to chill out. They hang out in cafés blabbing and people watching. They linger over dinner for hours. They sit on park benches watching and thinking and socializing. We passed a couple of men sitting in a café, a copy of Simenon on the table, having a heated discussion about some sort of philosophical question. Ah, France. You wouldn't see that scenario very often in Starbucks. I have a hard time relaxing on that level. I always feel compelled to be doing something (though most of the time I look like I'm doing something I'm just being my usual frenetic self).

I don't really know what we'll do today. The museums are closed for the day so it may be wander around day. We walked through the Marais last night taking photos so there may be more of that. We meet our friends Matt and Stuart tonight for dinner so that'll be fun.

Paris Sunday

When we arrived in Paris, there were hordes of people in the train station. "Teaming with life" was the phrase that came to mind. Levi asked for directions to the Marais from an information person. By the time the fellow got to the 3rd transfer, I decided we'd take a cab even if Levi thought otherwise. Fortunately, we were in agreement on the issue. 

The hotel is in Place de Vosges which is lovely. However, it too is teaming with life. Actually, the entire city was busy and humming with people shopping, eating in cafes, sunning in parks, and anything else having to do with sauntering in the sun. 

I just realized I'm completely wiped out. I'll continue tomorrow. 

Night.

Paris

Bye bye Lyon the post

As I write this, we are speeding along at 100 mph on a train which is en route to Paris. Every now and then I see a flash of sunflower fields as we rush by. 

Our train left at 8:00 and is scheduled to arrive at 10:15 at Gare du Nord. Unfortunately, that meant rising early after going to sleep around 1 am. I was thinking I'd sleep but I'm not sure if that'll happen. 

Our last day in Lyon was a great one. We started by traveling by metro and bus to the Museum of Contemporary art where we saw an exhibition by Indian artists. One of the most amazing pieces was a full size truck made of shiny metal buttons that included numerous passengers riding in the bed of the truck (this was no Toyota pick up but a large construction type truck). After the museum, we went to the Parc Tête d'Or, which is apparently the largest city park in Europe. After we wandered around a bit, we came across the weekly Saturday event in the park. Music, food, art, displays and people sitting around in groups discussing the problems of the world. It was amazing - each group was open for anyone to join in the discussion - politics, city planning, solar power, what it means to be human, how traditional cultures in Ecuador are trying to survive in the modern world. You'd never see that on the same scale at an American park. 

After the fun trip to the park, we went to the Tzigane (Roma) circus near the amphitheater. The circus was made up of what appeared to be an extended family with a few performers hired in. The primary focus was ariels - there were long curtains and ropes that hung from the riggings of the cozy tent. There was live music that seemed to get the crowd engaged in the whole performance. 

After that we went to dinner in Vieux Lyon. My eyes being bigger than my stomach I ordered a 3 course meal that was way too much for me. I couldn't finish it all. Next time I'll just order an entree and leave the big eating to the French. 

Our next hotel is Hotel Place des Vosges in the 3ème arrondisement, the Marais district. 

Later.

Bye bye Lyon

Lyon - what's not to like?

One of the best things about Lyon is the lack of American tourists. Really, aside from a random Brit or two and a couple busloads of Asian tourists, most of the tourists are actually French. It's hard to know why since it has much to offer: great food, low-key atmosphere, Roman ruins, old French architecture, cool museums and cafés and more shopping than you would ever dream possible. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'm glad to be one of the few Americans trolling around (oddly enough, we sat next to a family from Yakima at our hotel breakfast this morning - weird). I'd recommend a visit to Lyon for anyone looking for a nice vacation spot in France - I'd come back again for sure.

We were fortunate enough to meet up with my co-worker Olivier, his wife and their very cute daughters for a pastry and coffee at Pignol by our hotel. He is from Lyon so it was good timing to be here at the same time as they were.

Before coffee, Levi and I went to the museums of textiles and decorative arts and were amazed at the crazy detailed embroidery on the Louis XIV era costumes. Very worthwhile. This evening we took the funicular up the hillside to see La Musica Nuda at the Roman amphitheater by the cathedral. Great duo - bass and vocals. Very entertaining.

Tomorrow we may hit a couple museums and then the Gypsy circus in the evening. We're hoping to go to a restaurant that comes highly recommended by Olivier. It'll be our last day in Lyon before heading off to Paris for the last major bit of the vacation.

View of Fourvières from downtown Lyon