Montreal
Posted: May 21st, 2008 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | No Comments »I spotted a Karmann Ghia while walking around Montreal last weekend.
Also, I took this picture of a neon sign.
Hooray for Canada
Green Snail
Posted: May 9th, 2008 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography | No Comments »I spotted a green snail today while walking Scooter.
Windmill
Posted: September 8th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography | 1 Comment »I took the following picture while in Bruges earlier this year. I managed to get my scanner hooked up to my home laptop, since my work laptop’s USB ports are not working correctly. I hope to have some time after I move to scan more Holga photographs. Also, follow this link to see a picture I took of a carrousel in Paris.
Gold Medal Park
Posted: July 15th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography | No Comments »There is a good article over here about the opening of Gold Medal Park, one of the city’s new additions. I think it is a nice place to go walking, and it is one more thing that helps open up access to the Mississippi river. The real benefit is to the million-dollar fake-loft condo owners, but middle-class apartment-dwelling bicyclers can go enjoy it on nice days.
Arc de Triomphe
Posted: July 3rd, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | 3 Comments »The Tour de France starts on July 7 this year. The first stage will begin in Britain, for the first time in history. Although I can’t stand doping and politics, I still enjoy watching the drama of cycling races unfold on TV. Sometimes I wish they would just legalize doping so it would just end that discussion forever.
When the tour finishes, it will end up at the Arc de Triomphe. I have scanned in a Holga photograph I took of the Arc below.
And on a side note, Happy 4th of July!
Karmann Ghia
Posted: May 23rd, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | No Comments »For those of you that see my Flickr account, you have already seen these pictures. They are of a beautiful Karmann Ghia that I spotted in Bentonville. Tracey would die to get her hands on it! I have to agree that it is probably one of the sexiest cars ever made.
Holga Photo – Galleries Lafayette
Posted: May 20th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | 2 Comments »I stopped by my friend Andy’s place today to pick up a print. While I was there, he showed me his Canon scanner that can scan negatives. We fiddled around with it for a while and I was able to scan in one of the Holga pics I took in France.
Note that this is one of about 4 rolls that I took. It looks like I may purchase a new scanner soon. The one I have is useless for anything other than documents and photos.
The picture below was not modified very much from the original negative. Since I didn’t have anything to flatten out the negative, it bowed a little bit, which gave it a very interesting effect.
Philadelphia Bourse
Posted: May 14th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | No Comments »I went to my younger brother’s graduation today in Philadelphia. The speaker at the ceremony was Lakshmi Mittal. Although he has had an amazing career, his speech wasn’t the most exciting or inspiring. I feel like he could have been speaking to the Chamber of Commerce for the City of Springfield.
The day before his graduation, I had the chance to see the liberty bell. Right across the street from it is the Bourse at Independence Mall. Unfrotunately, because of construction, most of the view was obstructed.
The Philadelphia Bourse Building, the first commodities exchange in the United States, was completed in 1895. The building was one of the first steel-framed buildings to be constructed. Three types of masonry were used on the facade: Carlisle redstone, Pompeian buff brick and terra cotta. Inside were large columns and pilasters leading to a balcony surrounding the main floor. Bow-top girders were used to support a skylight at the third floor.I like the row of satellite dishes to the left of the building. I made it a point to see the bourse buildings while traveling n Europe, but this is the first US building I am posting.
Snakes In A Tunnel!
Posted: May 8th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | No Comments »Alejandro and I went on a hike two weeks ago. We were just exploring a well-traveled trail. In fact, most of the trail was actually cast in cement, so it felt like we were really just out for a stroll. We did manage to stray from the path a bit and saw a bunch of beaver dams.
We had a really fun day, but the most striking moment of the day was running into a snake right at the beginning of the trail. We had seen a small baby snake the previous day which had a blue underbelly and a neck stripe. I haven’t been able to find it online anywhere, though there is this great resource for Arkansas snakes.
The second snake I have identified as a Speckled King Snake. I am way too chicken to try to handle a snake, since I can’t tell what is poisonous and what isn’t. This snake is not poisonous. But boy am I glad I didn’t try to touch this one. “In defense, this species will bite, poop, and emit a foul-smelling musk.”
I really like this first picture because of its minimalism and the addition of the yellow corner for color.
Here you can see the snake in more detail…
Paris Bourses
Posted: April 23rd, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: photography, travel | 1 Comment »When I was in Paris a few months ago (I can’t believe it was a few months ago!) I made it a point to go check out the two Bourse buildings. The first is called the “Palais Brongniart or Palais de la Bourse” and is on Rue Vivienne.
The other bourse is called the “Bourse du Commerce” and is on Rue de Viarmes. It is a beautiful building. Unfortunately, it was closed when I visited it, otherwise I would have checked out the stained glass dome.
The circular, shallow-domed 18th-century commercial exchange building near Les Halles began life as the Corn Exchange; Victor Hugo waggishly likened it to a jockey’s cap without the peak. Step inside to admire the 1889 stained-glass dome. – linkHere is a picture that shows you the curve of the building and the curve of the adjacent building.
Here is some detail of the facade:
