Spaceage Scotts photoblog,...and more!

thelope.com - Moriarty NM El Comedor rotosphere (1)

2011-01-30T21:38:00.001-05:00

Toxic Ooze

2011-01-12T20:24:00.002-05:00

I saw this at the checkout at a drugstore. i had to buy it..............TOXIC OOZE

2010-08-08T21:24:00.002-04:00

These are SPACE FOOD STICKS! in the late 60's they were advertised as "what the astronauts eat" The market was the kids watching Saturday morning cartoons. I was one of those space crazed youngsters and I couldn't wait to get some. They didn't taste that great but they were SPACE, ASTRONAUT,NASA,LIFTOFF,CAPE KENNEDY,HOUSTON.MISSION CONTROL! who wouldn't want that? On a recent visit to the Kennedy space center in Florida I saw a lot of cool stuff that brought back a lot of good memories and feelings of awe and excitement. In the gift shop I saw these, They really were developed by NASA as the first protein bars. These things were ridiculously expensive ( over 5 bucks a piece) but I couldn't resist. I didn't eat any but these will stay on my curiosity shelf.

goodbye GM hello casino

2010-05-27T21:15:00.004-04:00

This is the decline and fall of the delphi (GM) plant 43204. use the red fire hydrant in the foreground as a reference point. At one tome this was one of the largest employers in 43204 and it supplied many people with a comfortable middle class lifestyle. Ohio is the second biggest auto maunfacturing stae after Michigan and it is disappearing quick. these were good paying jobs everyone wanted to have.

In its place a new casino is being built that everyone hopes will revitalize 43204 which is now a depressed area in a good location near the highway. (see previous post). The good thing about the demo besides the picture ops ids that most of what was toen down will be recycled. In a few years it is hoped there will be several jobs at the new casino and the employees will also be able to spend their checks their trying to hit it big so they don't have to go to work......

43204

2010-01-02T22:46:00.009-05:00

This is the neighborhood where I grew up. It was always an inner city working class place nothing great but not someplace dangerous. I work there now and I can see that it is now a dangerous place with a lot of crime. It seems strange. part of me feels like it's familiar, most of me thinks 'I need to get away from this place and these people. I know that is arrogant and not everyone is a dangerous lowlife, I am not better than anyone else and should be grateful for my situation and the fact I don't have to live here. Ultimately my self preservation kicks in and I want to get out ASAP.

These pictures are of a shrine at the site of a shooting that happened in the street at 4 in the afternoon, It was said it was a reprisal killing. A few people were injured and one kid was killed.

While I was taking the pictures a lady walking down the street said to me."good looking boy to get killed so young ain't that right?"

2009-12-11T21:05:00.002-05:00

This is a shot from long ago. It was something I saw on a porch at night and wanted to capture it.
Strictly for design reasons. This is an example of the type of shot I am drawn to,especially with the high contrast of the night
There are lots of views like this hiding out there waiting to be seen. I am out there looking for them

2009-11-15T16:58:00.002-05:00

THIS IS A FILM STILL FROM THE MOVIE "METROPOLIS'

CIRCA 1920. iT IS ABOUT THE FUTURE. THIS PERSON IS TRYING TO STOP THE CLOCK ON A MACHINE. THE PEOPLE ARE CONTROLLED BY THE MACHINES IT IS A SILENT MOVIE, VERY VISUALLY STRIKING AS THIS PICTURE SHOWS. VERY ART DECO. RECOMMENDED BY SCOTT WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

FLASHBACK!

2009-11-05T21:54:00.005-05:00

I used to see these in comics along with other cool stuff for sale. here they are again.

Civil Defense

2009-10-03T21:54:00.003-04:00

this is another interesting thing I found. I have never found anyone who was around at that time who could tell me much about all of the civil defense, fallout shelter hype.

I don't know if people didn't really pay that close of attention to it or else they try to put it out of their minds or don't remember. I Wonder if this was just PR to make the public feel safe. All that was known about nuclear fallout was from Japan and those were tiny bombs by comparison to what was soon available. If people weren't blown up immediately, the half life of the plutonium being used in the 1950's is 24000 years. this means it would never be safe to come out of hiding because of the long lasting effects of the radiation which would kill you. this makes me wonder whether this was an idea just to give people an idea of security or if it was a legitimate try to do something rather than nothing and hope for the best. If anybody knows more about this let me know.

When the bomb falls!

2009-09-20T17:16:00.007-04:00

I found this online, It is a record telling you what to do when the bomb falls!
This kind of stuff is funny to me and represents a bygone age that I think is weird. People weren't laughing then and were obviously scared though.
This might have given people some kind of sense of security (even if it was false security). I would love to hear it. Especially knowing what I do about radiation exposure which is what my previous job was based on.
(In a medical sense, nothing too diabolical)

Mid century modern signage

2009-05-17T21:48:00.002-04:00

This is a primo example of mid century modern signage. These pictures don't do it justice because the BBF ( burger boy food-a-rama) was known as the home of the Whirling satellite. The large satellite was neon and rotated. There was also one inside the lobby. Seeing the whirling satellite is one of my favorite memories of 1960's Columbus Ohio.
This part of what makes me the "spaceage" guy I am. I was able to find video of a "whirling satellite" on you tube under ROTOSPHERE. Very cool.

Clematis

2009-05-04T21:22:00.002-04:00

Springtime flowers! Clematis isn't im bloom yet but I had this picture saved so I thought I would play with it. I have naver done anything with flowers or much "light" subject matter. I will keep trying to do this and expand on it since it is more accessible to people than the stuff I usually do.

skull carvings

2009-02-01T17:28:00.002-05:00

This is a carving at one of the Mayan sites. If you look closely you will see rows of skulls. The Mayans were into human sacrifice to please the Gods. This carving is very detailed and has held up well for over 1500 years.(makes cool wallpaper for your computer screen too!)

Chichin Itza

2009-02-01T17:10:00.004-05:00

This is Chichin Itza
It is the largest restored Mayan pyramid in Mexico.
A pretty awesome place. Lots of cool stone details. These places all had ways of telling the solar calendar, equinoxes, solstices, figuring out the calendar more precisely than Europeans were at that time. circa 800 a.d. Lots of info about them online check it out. This was a cool vacation, sitting on the beach in January was nice too!

Tulum

2009-01-29T17:20:00.002-05:00

These are two views from the same shot.
I changed the one on the right to get the black and white on the left wanted to take some infra red film on this trip to create the type of effect on the left but couldn't get any. Almost any kind of film is hard to get these days.
I was glad to see I could get something similar to that effect with photoshop and I will keep experimenting. Which view is the favorite here of the readers? leave a comment.

Call Chuck Brown!

2009-01-16T15:58:00.003-05:00

I see this billboard on my way to work and I think it is kind of funny. It is for a lawyer, and the writing on the left points to a phone on the wall that says "phone to call Chuck". For those of you who don't know, "going down" is slang for going to jail.
It dawned on me after a while that this can't be a random place to have this billboard. The west side of Columbus is a high crime area unfortunately. I also pass a bail bond office on my way to work not far from here. I can't see this being in a suburban area. If it was there would probably be an outcry to have it taken down. If they can't see the problem then it doesn't exist. The mere idea that criminals would infiltrate their community on even a billboard and give the community a bad image could be enough to start a lawsuit!

Lauren Swelk

2008-12-31T14:05:00.003-05:00

This is a very cool "Lauren Swelk" platter my friend Glenn has. I never saw him much as a kid since my parents weren't fans but my wife did.
She thought his name was Lauren Swelk, as opposed to Lawrence Welk. His show reruns are still on public TV sometimes. i think the last of them are from the 1970's. It is very interesting to see, very much a look at another time. Very strange.

2008-12-31T13:42:00.002-05:00

Here is more Seattle signage. The "showgirls" sign looked better upclose.

2008-12-14T15:39:00.004-05:00

Here is a prime example of LARGE SCALE mid century exotic vaction mode neon signage. It feature the words MOTOR HOTEL which shows the word MOTEL wasn't the standard term yet or else it just sounded more upscale. It also advertises the luxury of COLOR TV. It is a shame there aren't more of these beauties left around.

My friend Glenn in Portland who we visited made sure to show me this gem since we both enjoy this type of thing. Another cool thing we saw on our visit to the scenic Pacific Northwest.

BIG PINK

2008-12-10T13:15:00.003-05:00

A recent trip to Seattle and portland Ore. was great. I got to visit with my oldest friend, visited natural wonders such as Mt. St. Helens volcano, and other natural sites. I saw a lot of nice things in Seattle and Portland, they are both great places.

So what is the first thing I am going to post here?....... This giant rotating elephant car wash sign in Seattle is a local landmark, and rightfully so. It is very big AND it rotates. I didn't get to see it at night but it was definitely impressive. Right up there with the space needle.

2008-04-23T23:04:00.002-04:00

This is a public scupture in a well to do suburb on what used to be a cornfield. This community can afford to have a nice public scupture collection which is nice and this one takes up a pretty big space. It is nice to have a community that welcomes public art......and can appreciate the relation to the areas farming past is nice.

Farmers or other people who look like they do manual labor are another story, unless they are just passing through and know their place!

DEVO_SPACE JUNK!

2008-03-30T23:39:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite bands is DEVO. They were/are very creative and conceptual with a lot of humor too. A lot of space age references. We saw the band in Cleveland close to their hometown of Akron. The band started as a conceptual art project when they were students at Kent state. They had to learn how to play the instruments to go along with the concept. One of their songs I especially like is "space junk" it is a song about space junk i.e. used satellites etc. falling to earth and hitting people in the head.
Since I am a someone who grew up watching rockets going into the sky, and landing on the moon, this is the thing for me. I was totally into it recently when the navy sent a missile into the sky and blasted a defective satellite. space is the place!

African Art

2007-12-09T16:35:00.000-05:00

I have been interested in African Art for a long time. Ever since learning about it in Art history in college. Picasso and other artists of that era were influenced by it. I have it hanging on my walls now. The plank mask is approx. 4 feet long.

Cobra Girl!, state fair 2007

2007-08-12T21:55:00.000-04:00

The sideshow was a highlight at the fair this year. I have always wanted to see it but never had....Until NOW!

Cobra Girl was advertised on the outside of the tent, as well as by the fast talking fast hyping man outside the tent who tried to lure people inside, along with a fire eating midget. Cobra Girl as you can see is a girl with her hear stuck through a thing in a box to make it look like she is a giant spider. Why? I don't know but it's funny. The announcer even mentioned it as being something like you would see in the weekly world news. A very funny tabloid seen in the grocery store, with stories about Bigfoot, aliens, and Elvis.

The Famous Butter Cow!

2007-08-08T12:55:00.000-04:00

The Ohio State Fair has a long tradition of having a life size sculpture made of butter. This is a must see for me when I visit. It is made of 2 tons of butter including the accompanying theme sculpture that goes with it. This year a fairy is flying and taking a piece of Swiss cheese from a gigantic slab. This is to demonstrate that Ohio is the nations largest producer of Swiss cheese! This thing is right up there with the freak show I love it. It has been there ever since I was a kid and who knows how long before. I also had some fried fudge at the fair which I would highly recommend. A great time was had by all.

Mod Mid Century Gas Station, Columbus Ohio

2007-07-29T16:06:00.001-04:00

This wonderful example of space age architecture is something I grew up seeing on a regular basis when I was a kid. I didn't realize until I was an adult the effect of the space age had on me and my outlook and appreciation for design. This beauty lasted until the 199o's when it was demolished to make a bigger convenience mart for the gas station. It is a generic looking box as you would expect but it holds more candy and drinks. I'm glad I got the picture first!

Thank You Boy

2007-07-20T10:50:00.000-04:00

This is a card we received from a young child as a Thank you for a first communion gift. Which was very nice of him, however, I thought the picture was very retro, and kid of funny, kind of creepy. The kid kind of looks like a zombie. This is the kind of weird stuff I wanted to show people on this website. I know there are other people out there who think the same way I do.

SKYLINE CHILI

2007-04-25T13:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I went to Cincinnati and I can't go there without having some Skyline chili. This is definately a Cincinnati thing. The first time I had it, I went there with a friend from college who was from Cincinnati, He told me not to expect traditional chili, or I would freak out. This stuff has it's own unique taste, with a lot of different spices. and is served over spaghetti with cheese on top. That is called a three way. You can also get cheese coneys. You can see these pictures here ! A special shout out to my man Brandon, who went out of his way to make some nice looking examples for the camera. The chili is eaten with oyster crackers and hot sauce. The picture on the wall is the Cincinnati skyline of course! It is a ritual for me and others I know to always eat Skyline when visiting Cincinnati. Just like you wouldn't go to Philadelphia and not have a cheesesteak.

2007-04-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

This is a door that is on the back porch of the adobe house my mother in law grew up in in Chama Colorado.
The place is falling apart unfortunately, but this shot was waiting there.
Colorado in the high mountains with no greenery, and mountains in the background, with adobe houses was an interesting place.
Very foreign however, like being in another country. I could never live there, but it is interesting to see new places.

Miami black and white

2007-02-26T16:11:00.000-05:00

Here are 2 examples of the deco upclose in Black and white.

Miami deco close up

2007-02-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

deco close up, this might have a few different versions

it has been modified from the original already.

Miami Beach Neon

2007-01-31T21:40:00.000-05:00

Miami Beach Neon!............

Miami Art Deco

2007-01-27T19:44:00.000-05:00

This is where we stayed in Miami. what makes the place interesting among others is the architecture . Miami Beach is a whole area of small art deco style hotels.It's definately someplace we would go again.

Miami Beach!

2007-01-21T21:52:00.000-05:00

The week of January 14th was spent in beautiful Miami beach.
I was thinking that I hadn't been to Florida since I was in college, and mentioned to Michele that it would be nice to just go and kick back by the ocean. She agreed , but said if we were going to do it we should do it while it is cold. That sounded smart so we decided to go to Miami which we had never visited before. Wise choice. The fist pictures are of Michele and I parasailing being pulled by a boat.
It was fun. Michele insisted she wouldn't do it , but toughened up and ended up loving it. We cruised the Miami beach waterfront by parachute for about 15 minutes before they hauled us back in. Miami beach has a lot of Art Deco hotels and is a cool place . More pictures to come

New year. new theme!

2007-01-02T19:01:00.000-05:00

A new type of image for the new year. This is something unlike anything seen on here before. Just to show I'm not totally focused on one idea. I have always loved the water lillies that Monet painted. I remember sitting in the Chicago art institute looking at them for a long time.
When I found out I had a software add on called impressionist in photoshop I started playing with it and I thought about water lillies. last spring my wife and I went to visit my cousin who along with his wife are very good gardeners and have 5 lilly ponds. I was planning a shot like this all along. The final has brush strokes added and extra flowers and fish. I like it , It could lead to more, you think?......

Santas groovin

2006-12-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas one and all!
This is the first big photo project I ever did. I wasn't even comfortable using the camera but I knew what I wanted! I came up with this idea in the very early 80's when I was just out of high school. I decided it would be
cool and funny to do a picture like this then make Christmas cards. I went and rented a Santa outfit, and rigged up the colored lights and everything else with the help of a friend. The shades were an important part of the concept to me then since they were "new wave". I still think it's a funny idea from my past. I'm glad I found a surviving copy. Ho Ho Ho man!

another view

2006-12-07T12:38:00.000-05:00

This is another view that was waiting to be seen among the ruins. It goes with some of the earlier ones

Form follows function

2006-11-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here is an example of a storage tank in the middle of a place that smelled like asphalt and was decaying all around. BUT WAIT! this piece of beauty was waiting to be seen there. This is something that was made for strictly utilitarian purposes, to store who knows what. THE FUNCTION
but seen in this way I like the form,This is opposed to some of the cool looking furniture which isn't very comfortable where function follows form. even though looking pretty had nothing to do with its original purpose it looks cool and it's out there in the forgotten landscape waiting to be seen and appreciated. Kind of funny , but kind of cool.

what do you see?

2006-11-14T21:28:00.000-05:00

What do you see when you are looking around? Do you just see the utilitarian purpose behind things. Do you try to look away from things that are "ugly"
Stop and appreciate the "ignored landscape" for it's design in it's own right. More on this idea to come as always

The Scream!

2006-11-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

Here is the Scene inside, and the scream coming out!
This is the head from a c.p.r. dummy I found on location and placed him in the frame.
He's in the trunk of my car now,
he might turn up again someday......

Inside the ignored landscape

2006-11-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

Here is a look inside one of the buildings in the ignored landscape

STEPS TO NOWHERE!

the ignorned landscape

2006-10-24T20:35:00.000-04:00

Here is another one of the images from the ignored landscape.
I have left it pretty dark because thats how it was.
There is still a lot of very subtle color in there though.

The ignored landscape

2006-10-19T20:19:00.000-04:00

This is something else that caught my eye when I looked at it up

close and could just appreciate the subtle shapes and colors and then get into the idea that it's something that's falling apart. I wasn't always able to see things this way. I keep my eyes open a lot now, looking for beauty in the ignored landscape.

Still at the ruins

2006-10-19T20:07:00.000-04:00

This is another image that was waiting to be found among the
destruction. This is some sort of holding tank. There were a few of them together, along with some related piping. I came across this and it caught my eye immediately. This is a composition that stands on it's own I think, and there are others within the destruction nearby.

Deconstruction

2006-10-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

My original plan when visiting the ruins was to look for compositions like this one and since I have been working on a "deconstuction" series of photos for a long time. This one is has had nothing done to it. Others I have made more abstact using photoshop.seeing the compositions that are
already out there in the man made environment is a theme I have worked on for a lot of years.
It has only been recently that I've taken it to the next level at the industrial ruins level.
Once I was there I started documenting the scene around me and that led to the series of Industrial wastelands photos that are the midwestern "rustbelt" .Although it wasn't my original plan to do it. Documenting the decaying Ohio steel industry became both an artistic and political statement.

2006-09-30T19:03:00.000-04:00

Here is another view from the latest series.

Separate but Together

2006-09-11T11:00:00.000-04:00

Here are 2 separate locations, but I like them together because of the abandonded railroad ties in the foreground.

The one on the left is very recent. and the one on the right is from last year in a city a few hundred miles away. They are both remnants of the steel industry in Ohio.

New Images Rise From The Ruins!

2006-09-05T12:18:00.000-04:00

These are a few of the shots I took on my most recent "Rust Belt ,Deconstruction"
photo tour. I took quite a few documenting the overall scene. But On this trip I also took quite a few focusing on just the compositions laying around hidden in the scene. I really like the ladder. It was hidden away in one of the most dark and disgusting areas. The whole site smelled like asphalt. Kind of frightening looking but also mysterious.It was even more enjoyable to share this trip with my good friend Glenn who was visiting from Oregon.

Industrial Ruins Vacation tour

2006-09-02T13:14:00.000-04:00

Here I am in my element, on a photo shoot, except I have a guest! My friend Glenn Wright who is a friend I have known since 1978 was in town. Glenn has lived in Portland Oregon for 20 years and comes back to Ohio to visit once or twice a year. Glenn and I have always had a similar appreciation for a lot of things, and we usually find something interesting and unusual to do on his visits. I am no stranger to photographing "rust belt industrial decay"and "deconstruction", but this was a new experience for Glenn. He seemed to be into the new adventure and took many pictures of his own. He has his own website and journal where he has recapped his trip at http://home.pacifier.com/~gwrightw/
I took a lot of good photos I'm very happy with and I will be posting them soon.

Kanda Bongo Man in concert!

2006-08-31T23:43:00.000-04:00

One of the cool things that happened this summer was seeing
Kanda Bongo Man in concert in mid August. It was postponed twice. but this worked out O.K. since my friend Glenn was visiting from Portland Ore. and got to see the show too. He is a big fan and turned me on to this kind of upbeat African music. Since the show was postponed twice and not publicized well at all, it was a concert for 12 people!
We were right in front jamming along. A friend who went along who is from Africa said they saw him in a stadium there.
An interesting experience.

Chess with Death!

2006-08-02T12:31:00.000-04:00

Posting the "Spanish Colonial" death statue from New Mexico made me think of the Ingmar Bergman movie "The Seventh Seal" It is a classic from the 50's. It is about a knight who is returning from the crusades in the 14th century and is disillusioned with life and questioning his beliefs after what he has seen. On the way home he meets death and they have a game of chess along the way. If the knight wins he gets to keep living. It's pretty heavy stuff but very good, very thought provoking, which is something I like. Death in the movie looks a lot like the sculpture that I posted here before. It must be a widespread image of the skeletal look in the black robes.

"spanish colonial" religious statues

2006-07-27T18:30:00.000-04:00

These are 2 examples of "spanish colonial" style sculpture. The skeleton archer "DEATH" is in a museum in Santa Fe, the Jesus statue is in the cathedral in Santa Fe.The picture doesn't give as good of an idea of the impact of it in person, but picture taking was limited. The Jesus is very near the "La Conquistadora" Mary statue shown yesterday.
I think these are pretty unsettling, and I think a lot of people would agree. They are pretty crude, with the elongated features
Pretty creepy. I think this shows that the religious life of the early settlers in New Mexico in the 1700's was not based on peace and love and forgiveness. This is an interesting view into another time and place, and the artwork that is still around to document it.

LA CONQUISTADORA

2006-07-24T20:56:00.000-04:00

This statue in the cathedral in Santa Fe New Mexico called La Conquistadora. I think it is kind of scary looking and there there

is another one of Jesus in there that is even creepier looking. The style is called Spanish Colonial. It seems to represent the culture of religious fear that controlled the society as far as I could tell. This statue was carried from Mexico city to the pioneers in New Mexico 3 or 4 centuries ago. Although they didn't come out and say it I got the impression from some of the people that they had strong feelings toward this statue. Perhaps to the point of it having magic powers. Very alien to my beliefs and sensibilities, and somewhat frightening, but interesting to look at as an outside observer.

Columbus Crew go Bigtime!

2006-07-12T22:23:00.000-04:00

Yes! that is a giant soccer ball crashing into a building on North High St. in Columbus Ohio!
This is a very cool advertising stunt put on by the Columbus Crew soccer team. It also has cracks in the building where the ball is hitting if you look closely. This is a new trend in downtown large scale advertising which has included having a full size mini cooper car in a slingshot mounted on the side of a building. Much more interesting than the same old boring shit if you have to be bombarded with advertising which isn't going away. I actually love this soccer ball!

Atomic plastic flamingos

2006-06-28T18:17:00.000-04:00

This is the first finished project I ever did with photoshop. It was a lot of learning, but I was thrilled to finally have done something with photoshop after wanting to try it for a long time.
This composition is put together from different clip art I scoured the net to find. I have a folder of it now. It has the recurring themes of destruction, mushroom clouds, and kitsch.
In my plan here, the pink lawn flamingos have been mutated by the radiation to GIGANTIC proportions! I love the plastic yard flamingos , I have some in one of my flower beds in the back yard. I guess this is meant to be disturbing and funny at the same time.

African Clothes! a basan ( african habit)

2006-06-24T19:56:00.000-04:00

This post is remotely related to thrill seeking. My friend Henri who is from West Africa told me a friend had just sent him a new outfit from africa. It's called a basan.
He couldn't wait for me to try it on, because he knew I would think it was cool! It was very comfortable, he made sure I put on the gold necklace to finish the look.
Henri speaks french and in french clothes are habit (ha-bee) so this me in af-re-con
ha-be.
Henri wants us to go to Ivory Coast where he is from to visit. I think it would be great too. Who knows someday I might be wearing these clothes thrillseeking in their natural environment!

Adandonded Storage tank

2006-06-11T21:36:00.000-04:00

This is a composition from the Coke plant that is falling apart that has been seen on this site. This is what else there is to see there. This is the kind of thing that originally attracted me to these kind of sites, rather than documenting the destruction.

The Satellite Bar

2006-06-08T18:49:00.000-04:00

Back to the space age today !!!!!!!!!!
This is a picture I took while driving through Mount Sterling, Ohio. I saw this and immediately made a U turn and went back to get a picture! This place was obviously built in the early to mid 60's to pay homage to the modern space age times, but seems kind of dated and humorous now. This is the kind of thing I am dying to find all the time.
The ball on top had a few light bulbs in it, some broken ones, and several empty holes for light bulbs. I finally decided it was worth it to go in and talk to the people about the sign. It was dark and smoky as you might guess, but the people were nice. I asked the woman behind the bar if any of the lights on the sign worked and if she could turn them on. She looked confused and said "what lights?" apparently she had lived in Mt. Sterling all her life but didn't remember ever seeing them on, or noticing them on the sign. She mentioned this to another man who was older who was working at the bar, and he smiled at her and said "Thats the satellite baby!" he told me it hadn't worked for years,but used to be cool looking.Unfortunately he couldn't give me any history on how the bar got it's name. It is something I'm glad I saw, and can share with everyone out there in cyberspace who appreciates this same kind of thing.

2006-06-08T00:22:00.000-04:00

amusement park

More Thrillseeking!

2006-06-07T23:10:00.000-04:00

Well, It's official, this site is now officially dedicated to thrillseeking as well as photography, art, design,kitsch and everything else.
Thrill seeking is something I love so I am going to devote more space to it here. You won't see everything, but some highlights that have been recorded. Today it was Kings Island in Cincinnati!
My wife and I went with some friends for the day and we had a good time. The highlight however was a ride we came to, that 3 of us got harnessed into (We had one person who declined) then pulled up on a cable 150 feet to the top. Then a ripcord is pulled, and there is a freefall before the cable tightens causing swinginging back and forth on the cable! Pretty intense. It wasn't up to the level of skydiving, but it was definately up there.

2006-06-06T18:09:00.000-04:00

Thrillseeking? This is it! This is the view from 12,000 feet.
This was a great time ,and I would love to do it again! I turn into more of a thrill seeker all the time and this has been the best yet! People say isn't it scary to jump?, and it is kind of , but it's not like you are falling off a building and you know you are going to crack your head in a few seconds.
The patchwork pattern on the ground is so far away it's unreal looking, and a good description of it would be "jumping into a picture". There is a rush of falling for a few minutes, then all the sudden the chute opens , and it's a mellow ride to check out the awesome scenery.

Peruvian Inca Temple

2006-06-04T22:39:00.000-04:00

This is another Infra-red black and white shot of one of the Inca sites in Peru. That was an awesome trip. In this picture on the right side you can see how the stone is carved out on the bottom. That is so the stones will have a perfect fit, and some of them weigh 30 tons! You can't get a piece of paper between some of them. The name of this place is Sacsayhuaman. The guides kept saying it's pronounced like sexy woman. In a lot of the important places the stones are polished smooth. This was supposedly done with Llama skin leather, sand and water. These stones were also quarried a mile away and moved to the mountainside sites without the use of wheels. Too hard to believe don't you think? In Junior high I remember reading a book called "Chariots of the Gods" that said this kind of stuff, and stone henge etc. were built by U.F.O. aliens! Crazy stuff, but I wonder what it says about these places. I've been meaning to read that again but haven't gotten around to it. This was built around a.d. 700. It was definately a contrast to anything outside the U.S. and a good exposure to another culture both past and present.
Besides, it makes for some cool photography.

ART CARS!

2006-06-02T20:04:00.000-04:00

These are "art cars" I came across at an outdoor festival in Columbus. needless to say, I loved it! This is widespread across the country apparently, but the people don't drive the cars all the time, which is understandable. the owners said they spend a lot of time gluing and re gluing the objects onto their cars. My favorite is the theme car with the baby heads on it.
The picture at the bottom is me posing on an "art bike" with mannequin legs for handlebars that was on display!

Another night, another interior

2006-05-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

This image I call "Blue light special". It isn't new , but it was in a show this year at the Madlab gallery The gallery is a cool place part gallery part improv theater. It is another example of when I was looking at the light and composition that was existing in the room I walked into. The next night I came back and shot it. For regular readers ( if there are any) you can tell I've done the same thing again here. It seems like I'm getting to the point of putting one serious photo piece every other day , followed by something more off the wall. Seems to be working for me

George Jetson at the Swivel lounge!

2006-05-26T17:48:00.000-04:00

Here is our favorite spaceage man George Jetson stopping off at the swivel lounge! This is something I never remember seeing on the T.V. show! I don't see Jane in the Picture, and who is swiveling anyway? Is this a strip club?
Party on George!

New "Improved Ruins" project

2006-05-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

This is the first of a new series I started using photos, and adding color. The photos I'm looking for are the same buiding ruins, industrial shapes, but pieced together. This is something I've been thinking about doing for a while and this is a first stab at using the photo for the shape and adding color. I think this is one turned out o.k., but I'm looking on to bigger things like layering 2 or 3 images, and adding the color to blend or add contrast. Well, It's out in public now, hopefully some more refined examples will come along later.

Inca Pottery

2006-05-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

While visiting Peru, we saw Machu Picchu, and several other awesome displays of MASSIVE stone building projects. The Inca culture also made some pretty cool pottery! We saw this example at a museum in Lima.(Peru, not Ohio)

Machu Picchu Terraces

2006-05-23T22:12:00.000-04:00

This photo was taken on a trip to Peru a few years ago. This was a totally awesome sight seeing this entire city built on the top of a mountain at 8,000 feet, thats higher than Denver by quite a bit. It was a ceremonial center and had a solar observatory for the eqinoxes. It was abandoned by the time of the Spanish conquest , no one knows why.
This shot is of the terraces on the side of the mountain that make it possible to walk around. All of this stone and building material had to be carried from the river valley at the foot of the mountain, and they didn't use the wheel! The photo is done on infra red film which is why it looks the way it does. It records the infra- red radiation not the visible spectrum. I think it adds quite a bit to the other wordly feel of the place. It is definately someplace worth visiting!

A heads up on the situation

2006-05-19T10:36:00.000-04:00

This pink head was from a C.P.R. dummy I found while walking around and exploring an abandonded place. These are used to teach people C.P.R. so it must have been required for at least some of the employees. I also found family polaroids lying on a desk that had been there for who knows how long. I didn't disturb them, for future visitors to see. I did take this head with me however, and he will show up again in future photos I'm sure. I think he adds to the mystery of the scene, and is also funny in a sick way. If anyone has any ideas for where he might look good let me know.

An Interesting bit of Westside History

2006-05-17T18:46:00.000-04:00

The pictures on todays post are the shopping center Display of the seven wonders This is a cool display that was near my home when I was growing up. This ws truly a one of a kind 1950's-1960's display.
It took up the whole center of the shopping center, and was quite elaborate as you will find out if you read the article which is linked above. This is something I have a lot of great memories of. I think The article which was in the local newspaper under "preserving westside history" is very interesting, And I hope you will enjoy it.

2006-05-15T21:51:00.000-04:00

Hollywood California

This is one of the hidden gems that I saw. This was part of a building facade on Hollywood blvd. that wasn't particularly obvious. I was attracted to the oriental mask look. More than one of the buildings had little things like this on built into them. Very garish, but not necessarily all that obvious without looking. The climate keeps this type of thing from deteriorating as fast as it would other places I'm sure.

On Location

2006-05-14T13:40:00.000-04:00

Going on location as I do,to abandonded and decaying areas can sometimes have its dangers.....

Decomposing Composition

2006-05-13T15:16:00.000-04:00

This is a piece that I did while on my Youngstown
trip to check out the abandonded steel mills.

I Know there is always art to be found in the industrial landscape, and I thought the color here was great. I went looking for any thing I might find there to shoot. I was blown away by the whole scene and ended up doing a lot of overall documentary type scenes. Those pics. are posted on here earlier.

I have seen the composition in the manmade landscpe for a longtime, and always wanted to grab it as can be seen a lot on this site.

2006-05-12T20:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a concrete lawn statue I saw while cruising through a trailer park one day seeing what I could see. Paydirt! This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm hoping to see.( I put the mushroom cloud on his head) The plan was to work it into another composition somehow, but we'll see what happens, Sometimes an idea just comes to me, and sometimes things sit on the shelf.
I think this kind of stuff is funny because it is so weird. I can see why people find it offensive, but I also know of some Black people who collect this type of thing. The watermelon idea being associated with black people has always intrigued me, since I never understood the association. I asked an older black lady from Mississippi if she had any insight on that.
She said that it might be a sterotype of black people having watermelon seed spitting contests. She said that was a common, low cost entertainment, that was wholesome fun.That was very enlightening to me This was then perverted into what we see here.Some politically correct people might think this should not be seen at all. with or without any understanding of it. I am now and have always been out of the jurisdiction of the politically correct thought police! Ha! ha!

What! Me P.C.?

2006-05-11T22:22:00.000-04:00

I saw this scene while in a small town last year.I am always on the lookout for this type of thing.. That makes my wife uncomfortable with my driving sometimes! I don't know what the small black man figures are called, but I do know that they are usually holding a fake lantern. This one has the ability to put 60 watts up close on the Virgin Mary! ITS A MIRACLE ! Unfortunately I didn't get to see it lit up at night, even though I was there 2 nights and drove by both nights! What a ripoff.

Working the steps at night

2006-05-08T11:03:00.000-04:00

This is one of the first night shots I ever did. It started by sitting on the porch looking at the steps in the dark and saying that looks like a cool composition! I found it stashed away recently. It wasn't particularly well received at the time in an intro photography class where people were working on traditional subjects. Hoowever, I can see how my eye for composition really hasn't changed all that much, and this was the beginning of what I'm still doing.

Pimp My Dog!

2006-05-03T18:30:00.000-04:00

THIS IS ELVIS THE WHOLESOME SPOKESDOG
ISN'T HE CUTE?

I have a friend who runs a business making trendy dog clothes for little dogs. The website is CHIWOWWOW.BIZ Apparently there is quite a market for hip handmade dog clothes. The website was having a "photoshop Elvis" contest going on, so I got on it! I had recently seen the 1972 movie "Superfly" so I was inspired by the pimp hats and related accesories. I wanted to find a good picture of a big old Cadillac with huge whitewalls , but couldn't do it. The motel picture came from my L.A. trip I loved the sight of the neon on that place, and I thought it would be a great movie set. I stopped the car to get a picture of it and a few other cool things on that trip. So that is the story of how the innocent Elvis had his image makeover, gold tooth and all!

HOUSE OF THE FUTURE!

2006-04-25T17:57:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-04-21T13:39:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-04-18T12:06:00.000-04:00

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 ?

2006-04-15T23:48:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-08T11:56:00.000-04:00

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

2006-04-04T22:26:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-03-23T13:09:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm going to show a vacation picture of out trip to Los Angeles, We were able to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (lacma). It is a great museum. They had some nice German Expressionist paintings, which is one of my favorite art movements. I am posing by 2 paintings by my favorite artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner .

Check the link for more info. When Hitler came into power, he decided that the German expressionist paintings were "degenerate" and put the clamp down on this and other "non wholesome" things that had been going on in Germany after WWI. That was a pretty liberal time in art and entertainment. Hitler had flunked out of art school and wanted wholesome still lifes etc. He also started book burnings and other "moral majority" type social reforms. So watch out for the people who want to clean things up and control what you see!

2006-03-03T11:52:00.001-05:00

Todays post is Miss Atomic Bomb 1957! Yes this is for real! In Nevada near Las Vagas was an above ground nuclear testing facility, that was a local pride, and a proud effort to stop those commie bastards! The blasts could be seen from the top of the Vegas casinos, and it was a tourist attraction to go up there and watch them. There were even special drinks made for the occasion called "atomic cocktails". People were either uninformed or oblivious to the dangers of the radiation. Eventually the testing was moved underground and as we all know was no longer considered high tech , safe , and cool. But this picture says it all as far as the mood of the times toward it.

Spaceage Scott!

2006-03-02T12:09:00.000-05:00

Spaceage Scott!
I have been plotting a full blown website with different pages for different photgraphic themes for a long time, well guess what...This is it good as it gets for now! Todays choice is a photo that I did based on "Function follows form". I am always keeping my eyes open and looking for design in the manmade landscape. This shot was waiting for me every time I drove by it at night, so I finally shot it one night. It isn't new but it was in a photo show " ImageOhio 6" in January which was a good feeling.

My Friend Glenn

2006-02-28T15:49:00.000-05:00

http://home.pacifier.com/~gwrightw/
This is the website/journal of my friend Glenn who is someone I've known since high school. He has a similar outlook on many things, and suggested this Idea to me!

Spaceage Scott!

2006-02-28T14:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the website of......
SPACEAGE SCOTT!
This Website is "out there" primarily for photography, but also for design and commentary on things I come across that I think are cool and want people to know about. This could be my experience, things I've heard, or websites I've seen. I also want to hear from other people out there, with your comments and posts!