HOUSE OF THE FUTURE!

This spaceage house is the 1957 "house of the future" which was made of the modern material PLASTIC! It was boasted that most of the materials in the house were manmade! It was installed at Disneyland and was quite a hit. It had futuristic things inside that people would have in 1987.
It actually had a working microwave. It also had a replica big screen t.v. with a picture pasted on the front and a cord remote, self sharpening knives, and other high tech things including plastic furniture.
This was torn down in 1967, because apparently it didn't seem futuristic enough to people anymore. This just couldn't compete with the Jetsons.However, because of the strong plastic construction,
the wrecking balls bounced off, and it was hard to destroy! ha ha ha ha!
Here is a link to a humorous commentary on the House of the future

SCARE TACTICS!

I found this ad online at a website that sells scare films about fallout, V.D., teenage sex etc.
This is the kind of thing I thrive on. It is a serious subject but it seems funny. There is a website that has a lot of old film clips of Tommy the Turtle telling kids to "duck and cover" in case of nuclear attack. I will post to it later perhaps. I don't know if there was naievete' about the danger of nuclear fallout and how long it lasts or if all of this was just created by the Government to make people feel better or both. But I have a sick sense of humor.
Along with this same "scare tactics" theme, we saw a movie a few years ago that was a documentary on the making of the gruesome highway car crash movies to scare kids in drivers education. ( or at least they used to ) It started with a highway patrolman filming a crash for his own reasons and it snowballing from there. It was even more interesting to me to find out all of this was happening out of the Mansfield Ohio area. It is a small city half way between Columbus and Cleveland. In my own back yard! If you like this kind of public service threating you " For your own good " type thing check out the link! Singular films.com

A gallery showpiece!

This image has 2 themes. It is another example of my " function follows form" composition theme, that I have worked with for years. Often using the industrial, and architectural elements around us for insiration. Even before I started doing photography I would look at the things aroundme in everyday life and pick out things that were "cool looking" I have a friend who works at the city water treatment plant where they are busy making our water safe to drink. He took me for a tour one day, and one of the most interesting things I saw were these gigantic pipes that are probably 5 feet in diameter. The exit sign down the hall made the shot for me. This was originally done in color, but was modified in Photoshop to what you see here. It might not be done yet.
Another thing that is important to me about this image is that it was in a gallery show this year. I have thought for years that it would be nice to have my work shown in public ( for ego sake if nothing else I confess). Within the past year I finally made the move to submit some of my work to be shown and have been in 5 shows. So I've done something I've always wanted to do recently. It was a good feeling.

anyone for sushi ?

Anyone for..............SUSHI? I got this Idea for a photo one day while walking through a sporting goods area of a store and seeing these lures. I thought they were very cool and abstract looking just by themselves. It didn't end there however, my mind kept turning as it sometimes does with these ideas and soon I was collecting the props for this sushi shot! I have never cared for the idea of paying exorbitant prices for small bits of uncooked fish. A girl I once went on a date with had it once when it was new and trendy and I thought it was a sacrifice on her part for the sake of fashion. I couln't help poking a little fun at it.

Rust Belt 2005

I have always admired the work of photographer and painter Charles Sheeler. His work for companies such as Ford and Armco steel idealized the industrial might of the country in the early part of the 20th century. This pride in industrial aceivement was everywhere. Including state buildings. Several of these shots were taken in Youngtown Ohio a city that once had several steel mills. It doesn't have any now and in 2005 had the worst "economic growth rate" of any city in the country, (a negative number)
As everyone knows there is no industry left in this country, since it is cheaper to import everything from China, including steel. That makes these old places relics of the past that fascinate me. It is kind of like entering the bygone, once powerful Roman empire. Who knows what stories can be told about what happened here? It's only a matter of time until these fascinating, photogenic,bombed out looking places disappear.

Ohio Industry as seen in 1933

This Beutiful building is a state office building in downtown Columbus,Ohio. It is a fantastic example of art deco architecture inside and out. It was built during the 1930's depression and glorifies the State, and the products produced here. Along with agriculture ,there is a great emphasis on manufacturing. and you can see the laborers here working with machines and steel. Which was a vital part of the state economy and a job a lot of people wish they had at that time. Ohio is the #2 state in the country in auto production, and at one time had a very active steel industry.