The Shots: Lotus Blossoms

My trip to China was a whirlwind - 9 cities in 10 days. I saw a lot of traffic, airports, train stations and hotel ballrooms.

Artsy Beijing traffic

Actual Beijing traffic.

We did get a rest day in Jinan - conveniently scheduled, given that we arrived to our hotel at 3am - that included a trip to the Jinan springs and Daimen Lake.

It was at the lake that I fell in love with lotus blossoms.

The color, the size, the contrast between the flower and the leaves - it was such a joy to play with various angles, and I even tried the soft focus setting on the Olympus.

Our last city was Shanghai; I was lucky to have an afternoon with myself. I wandered over to People's Park, where I found another lotus pond. 

And now the important question: how do I grow these here in central North Carolina??

The Sites: Millennium Park & The Bean

Chicago is a city of breathtaking architecture.  It tells the story of America's growth and prominence through its very skyline.  Monumental towers and facades dot the landscape.  It's a magical place and, personally, my favorite city in the US. 

Chicago Skyline from Lincoln Park

Nestled within all those soaring spires is something relatively new that's become as much a symbol of the city as the Hancock building or the tower-formerly-known-as-Sears.  


Adjacent to Grant Park, with its Buckingham Fountain gracing the credits of Married with Children (anyone? anyone?), Millennium Park is a swath of land reborn to host swarms of tourists, concerts, and general urban gathering.  It sits on the north side of the Art Institute of Chicago and offers a stunning panorama of some of the most iconic buildings in the city.


But everybody comes for The Bean.

Its formal name may be Cloud Gate, but let's be honest: nobody calls it that.  Mention "The Bean" and everyone knows exactly what you're talking about. Its steel plates are immaculately polished to create a seamless surface that reflects everything around it, especially the people swarming its perimeter.  Light dances off its silvery canvas and you cannot take the same picture twice, as the details are always shifting between the people, the light, and the angle of the buildings around it.


It's easy to spend a lot of time here.  I did & it still wasn't enough.

The Sites: Playmakers Theatre

The Playmakers Theater stands at the center of the UNC campus, a Greek Revival building surrounded by the staunch architecture of the University's historic architectural core.  Under the columns of its facade, two windows face out onto Bynum Circle, which, along with Bynum Fountain, serves as a popular crossroad on campus.

As the seasons change, the trees on campus flush with color, framing the circle in a setting of natural fire.

The doors to the theater stand guard against the elements.

But the window on the front is my favorite subject on a campus rife with material:

Winter

Autumn

Spring/Summer

The Trips: Fall 2011

You may have noticed I haven't posted in a few weeks.


I've been on the road, criss-crossing the state and the country for the past two months, but am now settling back into my home base in North Carolina for an extended period.  


From Atlanta to New Orleans to the Sandhills to Chicago, I've put in a lot of long days at work, but still managed to eek out some time to explore.


Here a preview of what's coming:

The Sites: Fearrington Village

Fearrington Village is a community nestled in north eastern Chatham County that boasts fine dining, local artists, and - perhaps their most famous residents - a herd of Belted Galloway cattle.  


After having driven past it countless times, I finally had the opportunity to visit twice in as many days, which gave me a chance to get up close & personal with the locals:

The Sites: New York City - Historic Building Day

Last year, I traveled to New York City for an extended weekend.  It was an opportunity to visit a friend I hadn't seen in years and finally explore a city I'd previously only experienced through its airports.


Each day was a different theme, either intentionally or by serendipity: Museum Day, Family History Day, Solemn Remembrance Day.  Because it was New York City, every day was Delicious Food Day.


My favorite was Historic Building Day.


There are few cities in the US - and arguably the world - that contain so many iconic images and places.  From the arts to politics to transportation to architecture, simply walking through the city is like walking through a giant cultural museum.


We'd already spent some time wandering the West Village, sitting in Washington Square Park under the shadow of the Empire State Building.  

We'd walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at night, with the Manhattan skyline beckoning us as we came ever closer.  

But Historic Building Day was a tour of some of the best gems to find in the city, both for the sheer beauty of the architecture as well as for the cultural mystique that they hold.

New York Public Library

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Grand Central Station

Flags of the United Nations

Rockefeller Center

Audrey Hepburn's hangout

Solow Building

Lincoln Center

The Sites: Korean War Veterans Memorial

On my recent trip to DC, I took a day to visit each of the war memorials on the National Mall, beginning with the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

We arrived in the late morning amid a light drizzle, which cast a shadowy light across the space; I can only imagine how hauntingly beautiful this must be in the silence of a thick morning fog.

Nestled near the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial, the space is thoughtful and thought-provoking.  19 figures march in formation; when reflected in the soaring granite walls, their numbers double to 38, symbolizing the 38th parallel.  The granite wall is etched with nameless faces, depicting the land, sea, and air troops that served.  It is an interesting contrast to the faceless names of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which sits on the opposite side of the reflecting pool. 

 

Following the wall takes you to the point of the memorial's triangle, where the path meets a reflecting pool with a simple phrase:

Looking back at the silent figures on patrol is eerie, even with dozens of other visitors around you. 

As you continue around the memorial path, gaining distance from the scenes etched into the granite, the faces fade in detail.  It seems a harsh metaphor inherent in the space, this distance and this fading from memory.  The phrase is often tossed around for political impact, but there is a true gravity to its reality: indeed, freedom is not free.