Happy Halloween

A scary witch especially for today!

Frolicking Ghosts

Halloween is almost here. Ghosts are out frolicking around town.

This is a very clever holiday decoration

Yellow Glass

One more yellow photo to go with the impromptu theme of the week. Here is another archive shot from the Chihuly: The Nature of Glass exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens. I pulled this one out of the photo file to add to my other yellow photos this week. That's the last of the yellow series, I promise. Tomorrow we will have some Halloween fun.

Yellow House

I've started a little impromtu theme of yellow this week. Today’s photo is of a yellow house in the Medlock Historic Neighborhood, another one of the many historic districts in Phoenix. I think the red cushions on the chairs on the porch are just perfect for this little house.

More Yellow

Yellow truck yesterday, yellow flowers today!

International

I’ve been waiting for a chance to get a picture of this yellow truck. It is always parked in a narrow carport a few houses away from me. On Saturday I saw it parked on the street and thought it might be good opportunity to get the shot. I have no idea what year it is but I would guess the late 50’s. It certainly has been lovingly restored.

One Voice

The event I attended Saturday night at the Arizona Biltmore was a fund raising event for an organizaiton called "One Voice". It was a brilliant fashion show with all kinds of beautiful clothing to enjoy. It was great fun to be enjoyed with wonderful friends.

Wright’s at the Biltmore

The elegant dining room at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel is named for Frank Lloyd Wright. I took this photo in the early afternoon before the dining room had opened for the evening service.

The food here is described as “American Lodge Cuisine”, a term I had never heard before. They describe it as innovative and characterized by fresh, local ingredients. I’ve eaten here and always found the food to be excellent.

I’ll be at the Arizona Biltmore this evening for an event. Maybe I can catch another interesting photo for tomorrow’s post.

The Arizona Biltmore

The Arizona Biltmore Resort was designed by Albert Chase McArthur, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and the influence of the teacher can be seen everywhere within this beautiful place. One of those features is the “Biltmore blocks” the specially designed concrete blocks that make up the buildings of the resort.

I told this story over a year ago, but I’ll repeat it for my newer readers. In the foreground of the above photo and in the photo to the left are two statues called the Biltmore Sprites. They were originally created by Frank Lloyd Wright for Midway Gardens in Chicago which closed in 1929. The building was demolished and pushed into Lake Michigan as a breakwall. It is said that the sprites were rescued by a member of the wrecking crew who held on to them at his farm for many years. They passed through many hands over the years and were eventually donated to the Arizona Biltmore by the Taliesin Associated Architects.

Entrance: The Arizona Biltmore Resort

Just a few feet away from the Adobe Restaurant and Pro-shop and the golf course I’ve featured over the past few days, is the entrance to the resort. I’ve featured photos from here before, but it was more than a year ago.

When green meets blue

The brilliant green of the golf course against the blue sky of an October morning entices the camera.

Arizona Biltmore Golf Course

Yesterday’s geraniums were planted around the Adobe Restaurant and Pro-shop at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. There is something about the bright morning sun on emerald green grass that is very attractive.

Geraniums

All in neat rows and soaking up the sun. Tomorrow I’ll show you where these neatly planted geraniums were growing.

Plant Sale

The Desert Botanical Garden had their fall plant sale on Saturday and there were lots of people shopping in the unseasonable heat. We Arizonans thought fall had arrived, but Friday and Saturday brought back some of the summer heat. Hopefully, it will pass soon so we can comfortably enjoy the outdoors.

There were a lot of cactus (and other plants) to choose from.

You could even get some rather large plants if you had the room. I think you might need some professionals to transport and plant these cactus.

Sliver of Moon

I'm a little late posting today. Sorry!

I was up very early yesterday for a work related event and noticed this little sliver of moon just above the horizon.

Nature in the city

One more photo from the beautiful oasis I featured yesterday. In this shot I was able to catch the great blue heron flying low over the lake. You might have to enlarge to the photo to see it.

Oasis

When I reach the corner of 24th Street and Camelback, I pass quite a few things I’ve shown you in the past like the Biltmore Shopping Center and the Esplanade Offices. One thing I haven’t shown before is this little oasis in the heart of the city. It’s part of an office complex called Camelback Lakes and I never fail to glance in this direction and see the rising sun cast shadows on the grass and reflections in the water.

I went here to take pictures on a Sunday morning and was surprised to find this great blue heron sitting at the side of the water. This place is in the heart of the city on one of the busiest streets and yet this beautiful bird has found this quiet spot to do some morning hunting.

Handwriting

I can’t help wondering about this business as I pass it on my way to work. Is there enough need for handwriting research to keep a place like this in business? There must be. According to their website, they’ve been in business since 1983 and they do all kinds of work like applicant screening, investigations, and personality analysis. Their sign with the pastel chess-piece men always catches my eye.

Barber Shop

On my usual route to work in the morning, I pass this quaint little barber shop. This place seems to be from another era altogether. It is reminiscent of a small Midwestern town and is somehow out of place in its modern environment.

Asi es la Vida

I round a corner on to 24th Street and I’m greeted by the lime-green awnings of another restaurant called Asi es la vida which translates to “such is life”. In fact, this restaurant used to be named “Such is Life” and a few years back it changed to the Spanish translation. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was more appropriate for the authentic Mexican food that is served there.

Sophie’s Bistro

The next thing to catch my eye on my drive to work is one of my favorite restaurants, Sophie’s Bistro.

As I pass the sign and see the tops of the patio umbrellas, I can reminisce about the many wonderful meals I’ve enjoyed here in the company of good friends.

Crystal Point Tower

Just across the street from the line of palm trees I featured yesterday is Crystal Point Tower, a condominium tower that was built in 1990. It was designed so that very few 90 degree angles exist in the 63 individual homes within this building. It’s unique design was created by Dwayne Lewis Architects, a Scottsdale Arizona firm. This tower has been considered a luxury residence ever since it was built. It dominates the skyline as I head east down this street.

Hiding the Golf Course

A little further down the road, is a long stretch of thick oleander bushes and Palm Trees that are designed to camouflage the Phoenix Country Club Golf Course just on the other side of this thick green wall. There is no sidewalk on this side of the street so if you are driving in the outside lane you are right next to all that foliage. Did you notice the 3300 Tower that I featured on Tuesday at the distant end of the street in the above photo?

I took these pictures on a Sunday morning and I was surprised to see a large crew of workmen trimming all the trees and shrubs along this stretch. They were just in time for my photo as well as just in time to stop the branches from extending any further into the street. Now when I drive past here I get vivid glimpses of the lush green grass of the golf course hidden on the other side.

The Mysterious Advertising Agency

I pass this building every morning and on most evenings I pass it again on the way home. I even pass it on weekends sometimes two or three times when I’m out running errands or searching for things to photograph. I have never seen this building with the gates open. I don’t know when they actually work here, but I think I’d like to have their work hours. I'm also very curious to know what kind of car that is all covered up in the parking lot. I peek through these gates everytime I pass hoping to see some type of activity.

The business does exit. I found an active website. In fact, the site has a rather clever opening segment. Click the link to see it.

And, on my left

I’m still at the same intersection and this time I glance to the left and see the Meridian Bank Building. On bright, sunny days, the 3300 Tower that was featured yesterday is reflected in this building. Today was one of those days.

On my right

While waiting for the light rail to pass and the traffic light to change, I glance to my right and see this tall skyscraper. This is the 3300 Tower and it sits right in the heart of the Mid-town business district. On days when there are clouds in the sky, they are beautifully reflected in all the mirror-like glass.

My drive to work

Many times readers have asked “where are all the people” in some of my city center photographs so I thought I would explain that Phoenix is a city synonymous with the term “urban sprawl”. Phoenix is actually larger than Los Angeles in land size even though it is a little over a quarter the size in population. That means that everything is spread out making transportation by vehicle a necessity.

You have no idea how much I envy my fellow photo bloggers who reside in cities where walking is the norm. As a photographer, there is so much more to see and photograph when your commute provides you the opportunity to walk at least part of the way. That isn’t to say that I don’t see interesting things every day. I do. The problem is that when you are driving a car in very heavy traffic, you just can’t stop whenever you want to take a photo or two.

For the new few days, I’m going to take you along on my morning drive to work. You won’t exactly be sitting in the seat next to me staring out the windshield at the unavoidable sea of taillights ahead of us. Instead, you will see some of the things I see when I am able to glance from right to left. In order to accomplish this, I have been setting out on weekends to retrace my daily work route and stopping at the various places of interest that I notice along the way.

Today’s photo was taken at the intersection with Central Ave. where the light rail runs. It was Sunday morning which explains why there are so few cars. Usually when I wait at this intersection, there are cars in all lanes in every direction. You might recognize the Phoenix Financial Center Building that I have featured in photos before.

Out of Place

This little cottage-like home seems completely out of place in the neighborhood where it sits. I can’t tell if someone lives here or if it just sits empty. That piece of wood in the front window has me puzzled. What I do know is that this is not a style of architecture that one normally sees in American Southwest.

Hibiscus

I recently spotted this very large hibiscus bloom in a color and shape I hadn’t seen before. Since there are hundreds of types of hibiscus, I have no idea what the name of this one is, but I think must be rather tasty to the local insect community because it appears to have been munched on by something with a hearty appetite.

Nothing left but the rubble

A little over a year ago, on August 22, 2008 to be exact, I published this photo of a building in the process of being torn down. Shortly after the photo from last year was taken, the building was stripped of its glass and the steel frame sat exposed for close to a year. In fact, people in the neighborhood started to ask when that skeleton of a building was going be torn down.

Well on Sunday morning, I was sitting at my desk working on my daily photo posts for the coming week when I heard a distant explosion. In the few seconds it took for my mind to say “what was that” and to attempt to determine what the sound could have been, I heard a loud and long crash that seemed to reverberate for almost a whole minute. It was loud enough to make me go out to my backyard to make sure my neighbors houses were all still standing. That’s when I saw the helicopters hovering in the direction of this building and I guessed that they might have taken it down that morning.

I gathered my camera and got in the car to drive in that direction and sure enough, at the point where I would normally have seen the boney top of the building I saw nothing but sky. I arrived in time to see the demolition crew posing for the photo shoot you see above.

I spoke to one of the workmen who was quite proud that the implosion went exactly as planned with no problems at all. Now, that old skyscrapter is just a pile of twisted metal and broken concrete.

Theme Day: Contrast

Red or White? Decisions, decisions. There are so many directions to go in with a subject like contrast. I chose to go in a direction I love. Some people only like red wine, some only like white wine. I happen to like both.

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