Chicago wears its Public Art like fine jewels

Bob Newhart at Navy Pier

Chicago is world renowned for its public art.  For good reasons, its masterfully done my major artists and free to everyone.  Its like fine jewelry that sets the city apart from the rest with the right amount of bling to be a significant attraction for tourists and locals alike.

In the city or surrounding water front parks there is plenty to see and appreciate.  It draws people to them like a magnet.  Its sometimes subtle, other times in your face making you interpret what you just saw and experienced like "The Bean"

Picasso cubist sculpture in Daley Plaza

Our tour guide for our city walk about was my old roommate in College...A Steve Warnelis.  He's a wealth of information on the city, its art and history.  This Picasso was rumored at one time to have been a cubist abstraction of Picasso's girlfriend but current thinking is that its his dog.  Regardless hit Daley Plaza in the heart of the city and make your own interpretation of this modern beauty that started Chicago as an "art city"

Among the cities newest and most wildly popular Cloud Gate aka "the bean" because of its unusual shape not unlike a giant kidney bean.  Its an amazing piece of highly polished and reflective stainless steel that invites you two walk around and see how it distorts reality.

 The lovely Mrs at "The Bean"

Inside and under "The Bean"

Bronze Bison

The Bronze Bison in front of the Chicago Stock Exchange isn't an homage to a bull market, or even to urban legand Mrs O'Leary who's cow reportedly caused the great Chicago Fire.  It is an homage to their past and origins as a rail head city and slaughter house in its early years where bison were herded onto trains and butchered and distributed to points east via the rail road.  From this cast bronze statue hundreds of fiberglass replicas were made and shared around the city.

Not to be outdone and adding to the visual cacophony is all the stores on Michigan Avenue each vying to out do the other with its visual display. Hands down Macy's in what was one the Marshall Fields and Company flagship downtown was the show stopper with its windows for Christmas.  It was devoted to a space theme with astrological and planetary displays.  This one for Saturn and Jupiter was the one we could see best as the rest were totally mobbed.   MOBBED I tell you.

Just a few highlights from our trip to Chicago for our youngest graduation from Navy Boot Camp at the Great Lakes Training Center a few miles up from Chicago.

I look forward to visiting that great city again and taking in more of its museums and public art.

Electronic Billboards...wish I could share the link with you

This has been a ton of fun.  As one of Ford's "digital influencers" I got invited to create billboards, Electronic Billboards using their cars and templates and adding my own touches.  Hit enter and voila they go live shortly thereafter in the city you chose.  The cities to chose from are L.A, NYC,Chicago, DC, and Miami.

Here in Los Angeles the billboards are along a variety of freeways.  This pic is from the one near my home at the 210/605 junction.  I've also had my designs show up at NYC Times Square and at the SF Golden Gate Bridge.  Pretty cool huh!?

Orbs floating in air...

Its all about having fun with framing...when you don't have a client with a storyboard close by giving direction.

This image is from the grounds at the Clautiere Vineyard in Paso Robles.  We, the lovely Mrs and I, used this winery as our starting spot on our whirlwind tour of East Valley wineries at the suggestion of an old friend and his partner.  What a great place...fun wine, fun tasting manager and more importantly a tasting room done up like the mad hatters place on acid replete with adult playroom.  Too.  Much.  Fun.

In their courtyard next to the parking area and the tasting room there's this giant orb nestled under an old coast live oak.  From its branches are more orbs, some with dangly bits.  Its whimsy in the vineyards.  I could have shot this perfectly level or perpendicular but it would have lost its dynamic tension.  A careful step around and twist of the camera puts the orbs in alignment and everything else askew.  Better composition and just a little hint at the twist of things to come in the tasting room.

Traveling in the Ozarks

It's been a busy week. I'm quite literally battered and bruised. No, I didn't get blown up with LEGAL fireworks which really are a thing here in Missouri. It was a colossal slip and fall on wet grass. Who knew that was a problem here were it's rained at least once everyday we've been here. 

More to create shortly on the trip here and on the SoCalAutoBlog. Short version is in 6 days I put over 1k miles on a rental car and covered a lot of SEMO and SIL. In due time rest assured I blew stuff up, drank a lot and just had fun. 

Western 2/3 of USA. I. Own. It.

Create Your Own Visited States Map

Yeay baby...I get around.  check the geo tags on flickr as most will tell you where I've been over the most recent years since I joined in 2007.  Some prior I manually geotagged,  Dude, I do more than meander, I get around.

Sierra Madre Playhouse you're getting a lot of my time and talents

Its a reward and satisfaction thingy.  I enjoy putting my creative energies to use when I get reward and satisfaction out of it.  Or are the two the same thing?  Satisfaction is my Reward. could be but that requires an analyst to sort it all out.

Since joining the Board of Directors at the Sierra Madre Playhouse I like to think I have had a little impact.  Results are more immediate in some places than others.  The end result is I hope to reach the citizens of Sierra Madre and the San Gabriel Valley and let them witness the fun we are having, the most excellent productions and want to join in the fun.

We, the marketing committee had a brain storming session.  It started out with some grumbling that we aren't getting impact with our social media campaigns.   I pointed out we aren't using them at cross purposes and the MTV generation in particular loves visual/aural stimulation not just 140 characters in a twitter post.  I said we need to do more with the YouTube channel we have in place and do something often to keep it fresh and provide fodder for our Instagram, twitter and facebook accounts.

They listened, I with a DSLR that shoots HD video started shooting stuff.  Its too much fun putting it all together after we shoot.  I'm a noob and luckily Windows MovieMaker is a powerful tool thats stupid easy to use so I get quality results out the door.  Better yet, the Playhouse gets media to promote themselves and their productions at no cost other than some time.  Time well invested.

Do check in to the Sierra Madre Playhouse YouTube channel (And Mine).  Follow the Playhouse also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Follow me on Instagram....

Yes, I don't do as much here as I like. I'm actually considering ways I can reinvent this blog and focus it more on my creative endeavors in the arts in general rather than just my personal art.  Can it be done, yuppers, just need time to sit and do it.  Being the @frazgo brand means I'm always busy...cars, food, the arts and time with the fam not much time left in a day.

Do follow me on Instagram. From the inane to profound to future posts on my various blogs I shoot a lot daily with my phone and instagram immediately.  Its a good clue to what you will see here next or on one of the many other blogs that encompass @frazgo.

Big shoots, big events, big anything that requires high res, high quality stuff is always on Flickr.  Its a great source for promoting my serious work.  It won't go away anytime soon.  And as I have a pro-account there, there will never, ever be ads to annoy you.

Lastly...I've ventured into exploring the options out there with video.  High quality stuff, not just from a flipcam.  My DSLR does HD video and I've been experimenting with it for stuff for the Sierra Madre Playhouse.  Follow my YouTube channel.

Who are you Oscar or Felix?

A little something I've been doing of late.   Video.  More precisely promo video stuff for the Sierra Madre Playhouse of which I'm on the board now.  Busy guy?  Mais oui.



So...subscribe to my YouTube channel...see all my cars ala "Blair Witch Project" and now higher quality stuff for the Playhouse.

Dusting off the password...a bit of celebrating today

I suppose tis quite the accomplishment to do that in 8 years with just ART and "blogging on the fly..." stuff as opposed to porn.  I don't kid myself, a friends ex specializes in raunch porn his trying to pass off as vintage and he does a million in 3 months.  But I took the higher road and did it my way, the way I always do.  True to myself.  True to those that follow me, never raunch for sake of views.

I'm still blogging everywhere, but here.  I do shoot often, love my newish EOS 60D from Canon, it does some pretty amazing stuff, but its still just a tool that enables me to create images.  I know when I resort for techniques sake things suffer.  In the end its about stunning images, not how you got there.

Recently we took the fam down behind the Orange Curtain for a day of whale watching.   Something you just can't do here in the SGV.  By far my favorite tour company for that is Dana Wharf Sport Fishing and Whale Watching in Dana Point.  Their crew works well with other boats to  ensure you see a whale, or two, or dolphins to make your trip memorable.  Often they have a Marine Biologist on board and they give you a ton if information and trivia on what you are seeing to make the trip even more fun.  Worth the trip.  Been with them twice now and both times were pretty amazing.

To follow my daily adventures, or my adventures with commercial stuff and CARS follow me on flickr. 

Henry Fords Office and other cool stuff

By now if you haven't figured it out, I'll soell it out. Blogging leads to notice which leads to adventures. My current adventure is courtesy the good folks atFord  Motor Company who gave me this trip to Detroit. No strings, all opinions are my own.  

Last night we got a real treat. Dinner out at the 1903 Piquette Plant where Henry Firs built his first cars. There's even s recreation of his office. 

Only 97K and change to 1Million visits

It wasn't that long ago I hit 500K views and thought that was something.  I'm plugging along. Taking pics, mostly light commercial stuff for a local marketing guy for his clients web sites.  Tons of cars for SoCalAutoBlog.  That's whats really driving my stats these days.  That and the B2 Bomber fly over on the 1st of the new Year.

How long to I hit 1Million views...about 3 months at the rate I'm going. Of course that is subject to how many hits I gather next week as I post stuff from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  That could quickly accelerate the popping of champagne and tossing of confetti for the 1M mark.

Don't get me wrong, I really do like the numbers stats.  I suppose I need to figure out to carve out more fine art time is all.  And quit neglecting this blog.  We'll see what 2015 has in store.

Maybe I'll start tearing up the pixels with shorts of Los Angeles and document its history.  DK, you tell me what you want to see.