A quick photo today coming into the Park showing the way to the Sun Gate at Macchu Picchu.
I sort of know where this sign lives…I found it one year in Austin, Texas when visiting for SXSWi. Where exactly, it’s located in Austin I actually have no idea. If you happen to know a GPS local I would love to add a more specific local! I always get caught by signs like this. Neon is from such a bygone day and I love all the wire and rigging needed to keep these signs from falling down. As you can tell, today is also another experiment…I have a few more planned never fear!
I found these old signs in Fresno, CA when visiting Pamela’s family. They took us to a place called Simonian Farms where there is a wonderful collection of random old stuff.
Perhaps it’s the raw amount I travel, but I have found myself fascinated with signs. I seem to photograph them all the time. When I was on my first trip, my Mom said, “Brian, just look up at the signs, follow them and you will be OK.”
That’s good advice for traveling and life in general really. Keep your head up. Be observant (read the signs). Everything will be OK.
I have always remembered that piece of advice and I have always seemed to find my way.
I have to admit that I really love taking photos of odd things, and these oddities do occasionally make it onto the blog. From street art in Buenos Aires, to The Post Alley Gum Wall in Seattle, oddities that make me stop and go…hmmmm I wonder why someone did this…are some of my favorite travel finds. Technically, these street art masterpieces are graffiti or considered defacement by many. Enter this little sign…Curb Your Dog. I don’t know if this New York City sign is standard (it’s the only one I saw) around NYC, but someone had a clever idea to deface it.
You can probably personally come up with a bunch of symbols of London, even if you have never been there! Big Ben and Parliament, the helpful look right signs painted on streets, the bobbies and their awesome hats, but another symbol stands out in my mind and it might well in yours…the symbol for the London Tube. Often around Europe, the subways are called Metro’s and often represented by a M. BORING! For some reason I just love the London tube symbol. Perhaps because it does actually look like you are looking down a tube…practical and awesome looking…who could ask for more! What are your favorite London symbols?
If you have been to Seattle’s Pike Place Market, you undoubtedly know this sign. I used a bit of creative license to make it my own. I did a similar thing for the Can Can Kitchen and Cabaret Sign also conveniently located in Pike Place Market. I wanted today’s photo to have a bit of an underwater, but out of place feel. It was shot during the day, but you would never know it. It is a bit whimsical, but then again I like such silliness.
In the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Market is a little sign for the Can Can. I didn’t visit, in fact I have no idea what they do here. What I do know is I immediately fell in love with this sign. It’s rough and not well maintained, the walls around it were in need of paint, but there was a character that stood out amongst all the tourists and fish. I am forever saying I need to get better at shooting details, those little elements I love and remember long after I have left a place. This little sign falls squarely in that category.
A quick photo for today. During SXSWi 2012 (boy are we going to miss SXSW 2013) I attended the Trey Ratcliff Google+ photo walk. It rained and rained and rained for the first half of South-By and the ill fated photo walk was part of this deluge. While waiting around for the even to start I caught this morose smiley-face like character indifferently directing cyclists to the Google bike racks. Enjoy!
On my last trip to Chicago, I got a bit of time just to roam the streets downtown. It was a great day for a photowalk and I had a great time just meandering. Often carrying a camera makes you a target for all sorts of harassment. The police these days seem to be overly suspicious of why anyone would want to take a picture of anything. People get mad if you get in their way or stop on the sidewalk for a look around (stupid tourists). On this trip I was yelled at by a guy asking for a bus fare. He repeatedly told me, “I’m not a bum!”. To which I said I was sorry I didn’t have any cash. He cursed at me and stormed off muttering something about my wallet full of cash. Obviously he doesn’t know about the airline mile earning credit cards I used to get to Chicago in the first place. Really sir…I don’t carry any cash.
I took this shot of the Historic Palmer House Marquee. Little did I realize at the time I missed an awesome photo opportunity inside as the lobby is apparently gorgeous.
