An eclectic set of Bucket List-y photos from my travels.
Ellis Island Great Hall (New York City, NY)
Someone had a real sense of irony when they built this place. The Great Hall is lined with large Palladium windows on either side. As the Immigrants sat on the benches with all their belongings, they could look South (as here) and see the Statue of Liberty - which their ship had passed on the way in. Looking to the North, the windows frame the southern tip of Manhattan - where they so fervently hoped to make it to.
Gare du Nord (Paris, France)
Another beautiful giant Palladium window, this is the façade of Paris' northern train station.
Photo Nerd Alert: I shot this from inside our parked tour bus, through the tinted windows on the 50 ISO film I had been using all day. I didn't want to shoot wide open since my zoom lenses didn't have good edge sharpness, so my exposure was F5.6 at 1/8 of a second. I pressed the front edge of the lens very hard against the bus window to steady the camera. It worked! Please don't tell the French authorities about the permanent mark I left on the window tinting.
Wright Brothers Memorial (Kill Devil Hills, NC)
That's right (no pun intended), the Wright Brothers actually did their thing in Kill Devil Hills just north of Kitty Hawk. Kitty Hawk just happened to be the home of the Coast Guard station where they recruited help when they needed it. Kill Devil, for the uninitiated, is one of the early sobriquets for what we now call Rum.
Showtime at The Ryman (Nashville, Tennessee)
The Ryman tour includes getting a tourist picture of yourself in front of (but not on) the stage of the Ryman, which is tastefully off-limits courtesy of the velvet ropes that you are not supposed to step behind. So, I moved the velvet ropes back 4 feet, got onto the stage and snapped this picture. Still, I did NOT go behind the velvet ropes. Fortunately, the tourist picture photographer was very understanding.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma, Alabama)
Another piece of history. A National Historic site.
St. Charles Streetcar (New Orleans, LA)
It was twilight and the lighting captured the St. Charles Streetcar just right as it waited in downtown New Orleans before heading out to the Garden District.
Memorial for Peace and Justice (Montgomery, AL)
Each of the 800 suspended columns represent a county where lynching's occurred from the late 1800's until the mid 20th century.
Mansion Windows (Savannah, GA)
I need to spend some more time in Savannah to capture the visual charm and uniqueness of the place. In the meantime these lovely ornate windows from a mansion on one the squares will have to do.
Welcome to the 1 Percent (Newport, RI)
Gosh it must have been fun to be a Robber Baron. One of the fancier Mansion Gates in Newport. I had to wear a Navy Blazer and and an Ascot just to take the picture.
Mississippi River Bridge (Natchez, MS)
OK, so it's a shameless tourist brochure shot (someone please call the Chamber of Commerce). Still, I was there and it was sunset. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.