Tag Archives: architecture

A Biltmore Christmas

December 15, 2023North Carolina, OUTSIDE FLORIDAarchitecture, Asheville, Biltmore, Christmas, decoration, Great Smoky Mountains, house, santaEd Rosack

This Thanksgiving we decided to meet in Asheville with MK, Art and Michele for a long weekend. Located in North Carolina close to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville views can be spectacular!

Looking toward the Great Smoky Mountains

However there were several wildfires in the area, including this one that MK hit on the Tennessee / North Carolina border on her drive east along I-40 from Nashville.

Heading into town (photo by MK, used with permission)

This changed our plans. We’d hoped to do some scenic drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but due to the wildfires we opted for other activities. We were also at the end of the fall foliage color. We saw a (very) few trees with some nice color, but if we’d gone a few weeks earlier, there would have been many more.

Our highlight of the long weekend was visiting Biltmore Estate. Started in the late 1880s by George Vanderbilt (brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of Vanderbilt University), this extravagant estate is elaborate by today’s standards – let alone the late 1800s!

The Biltmore House: an early morning view (before the crowds)

Complete with a pool, billiards room and bowling alley, it has all the modern features with the feel of Downton Abbey. Set aside time to walk room to room with the guided audio tour. If stairs are a challenge, there’s also a great film about the estate that you can watch in a room on the main floor.

Entrance hall decorations

Billiards Room

You can purchase tickets in advance (suggested at least a week ahead) and we chose the earliest ones available. Our 9:30 am entry time was the second tour of the day and it wasn’t crowded. But by the time we left in the early afternoon, the entire 8,000-acre estate was filled with visitors.

Also the Biltmore “house”: This giant gingerbread replica was on display in the kitchen

Parking is easy and there’s even a shuttle to get you to the estate. Save some time for after you visit the mansion. When you’re done, you’ll want to drive around and explore the beautiful grounds, gardens and winery – including driving straight through the main gates and past the iconic mansion.

>One of the Biltmore Christmas Lions that guard the entrance

The whole place was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season. We highly recommend visiting this time of year to see all the lights, ornaments, trees, foliage, manger scenes, Santas, and gingerbread houses.

Library: Christmas by the fireplace

More Christmas by another fireplace

Festive grand banquet room

The Biltmore Estate allows non-flash photography, but prohibits video. I suppose they don’t want anyone competing with the Hallmark Channel’s “A Biltmore Christmas” movie! MK got some good photos with her cell phone, but I opted for a dedicated camera with a wide angle lens for interior shots – I used a 20mm focal length. And the light inside can be dim, so a wide aperture, higher ISOs, and some in camera stabilization will help. I made many of my photos at f/1.8 with ISOs at or above 500.

Nativity Scene

We did the Asheville Trolley Tour on another day, although it wasn’t our favorite. The pacing was slow and we thought the commentary should’ve included more info about the beauty of the architecture and quaint Asheville neighborhoods. You can purchase “hop on / hop off” tickets but take into account the time between shuttles so you can explore and not wait too long for the next one.

Around Asheville

We also enjoyed many marvelous meals. Our favorite was at Jettie Rae’s Oyster House – amazing service, laid back but elegant atmosphere, and delicious food and drinks. MK said the oysters were the best she’s had in the Southeast United States.

We’ll leave you with this final photo of Father Christmas. He seems pleased watching over all of us enjoying this fine start to the holiday season.

Father Christmas

If you’re interested, you can see higher res versions of these (and a few more) North Carolina photos in this album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72177720313134519/

Thanks MK for helping me write this post!

And thanks to everyone for stopping by and reading it. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. Enjoy your time with family and friends. And if you can, make some memories (and some photos!).

St. Petersburg, Florida

November 3, 2018INSIDE FLORIDAarchitecture, black and white, boat, Chihuly, Clyde Butcher, glasswork, landscape, Salvador Dali, sunriseEd Rosack

Lynn and I recently spent a pleasant couple of days over in St. Petersburg. Here are a few photos and some background info.

Dali Museum:

I’m a long time fan of Clyde Butcher and wanted to visit his “Visions of Dali’s Spain” exhibit at the Salvador Dali Museum. I enjoyed viewing his very large black and white prints up close and the juxtaposition with Dali’s work was fascinating. If you can’t make it over there, you can view the photos, watch a video about it, and learn more at this link: https://clydebutcher.com/pc/photographs/dalis-spain/.

Salvidor Dali Museum Interior

He used a digital camera for this project instead of his normal large format film approach, and I thought it was interesting that the results are so similar. If he hadn’t explained this in the video, I wouldn’t have suspected he didn’t use film.

Chihuly Collection:

Lynn mentioned wanting to visit the Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center. I’d heard of Dale Chihuly and his blown glass art work before, but I’d only ever seen a piece or two in isolation. This is a different and much better experience.

Float Boat, 2007

The artwork itself is exquisite with amazing form and color. Seeing it in this setting, where it’s been professionally arranged and lighted was amazing!

Ivory Basket with Oxblood Spots, 1977

Glasswork can be very difficult to photograph. The illumination has to show the form without reflecting hotspots and obscuring details with shadows. In all cases, this lighting was perfect and the shadows enhanced the view and revealed even more details. I think photographers can learn quite a bit studying these displays.

Morean White Seaform Set, 2010

I really enjoyed seeing this. If you get a chance, go.

Waterfront:

I managed to get up for sunrise one morning while we were there. I debated driving down to Fort Desoto, but ended up taking the easy way out and explored the nearby waterfront instead.

St. Petersburg North Yacht Basin

There’s construction in the area, so I picked viewpoints to hide that. I liked the view above of the north basin at dawn. And the mid-day reflections and clouds in this next one caught my eye too.

St. Petersburg Central Yacht Basin

It was a short, but lovely visit. You can view more photos from our trip in this album on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Focus on Atlanta

May 26, 2018Georgiaarchitecture, black and white, buildings, cemetery, infrared, live composite, mirrorless minutes, Olympus, reviews, sunrise, sunset, travelEd Rosack

I enjoy listening to the Mirrorless Minutes podcast (audio on iTunes, video on YouTube). It’s an interesting show on photography and since Mike Boening and Jamie MacDonald (the hosts) are both Olympus Visionaries, they often have good information and tips on Olympus camera gear.

So when I heard their announcement about a photo workshop in Atlanta I was eager to go – and It wasn’t too hard to talk Lynn into getting this for my birthday! They coordinate using the Mirrorless Adventures page on Meetup.com so sign up was an easy process. If my post gets you interested, you can find out about their future workshops there.

Atlanta Marriott Marquis Interior 2

Our HQ was the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and it’s an awesome photo-op itself – lots of interesting architecture, angles, and patterns to fill your memory card. And if you get tired of the photo ops there, you can take a break at one of their restaurants or bars!

We met on Friday evening and then left for the Jackson Street bridge for some sunset and light trail photography. It’s a popular spot. There were lots of folks making photos and it’s easy to see why – the skyline view is awesome! Here’s one of mine:

A little after sunset.

I made this image with the Olympus “Live Composite” mode. I’ve used this once before, but it was great to get in some guided practice and I’ll be using it more in the future.

Other stops on the workshop were at Old Car City (http://oldcarcityusa.com/), Amicalola Falls (http://www.amicalolafallslodge.com), and Oakland Cemetery (https://www.oaklandcemetery.com). The workshop was last weekend and I came home with hundreds of photos. I’ve been going through them every day since then – but I’m not finished processing yet. So today I’ll just include a few from Atlanta and maybe do another post later about the other locations.

Watching sunrise. We stopped near this park while we waited for the cemetery gates to open

Oakland cemetery was founded in 1850 and many of Atlanta’s prominent citizens are buried there. It has a great deal of sculpture, architecture, and gardens to draw your eye. And an interesting sign across the street!

Six Feet Under BarAtlanta Skyline from Oakland Cemetery

I’ve always liked Atlanta. My mother’s family lived in the area (in Cedartown) so we visited often when I was growing up. I also went to college there (Go Tech!) and that’s where I met Lynn. It was great to visit for a long weekend, and the drive from Central Florida isn’t too bad.

A photo workshop can be a big boost to your image making. You might;

Learn or improve your skills: I refreshed and practiced “Live Composite” mode and will likely use it more often now.
Go places you wouldn’t normally see. I’ve been to Atlanta many times, but the only place from this workshop that I’d seen before was Amicalola Falls (mentioned in this post). Trying new things is good for your soul!
Meet new people. Hanging around with other folks passionate about photography is fun! They don’t even get bored when you talk about lenses, cameras, technique, processing, etc.!
See different approaches / techniques. On the last day, we spent a few hours processing images and each of us picked out several images to show the group and talk about. I was floored by the variety and ideas that everyone shared. It’s amazing how people can go to the same place and come back with such different photographs.

I really enjoyed this workshop – it was a pleasure to meet so many new photo friends! I thought the locations we went to were terrific and Mike and Jamie were extremely knowledgable, friendly, and always willing to help anyone with questions. They created a wonderful atmosphere for us to learn and make beautiful photographs. And I liked the van they used for transport – it was a real pleasure to just climb in and have someone else drive us around to all these spots. Well done Mike and Jamie!!!

I’ll be adding my photos from the workshop to this album on Flickr as I finish them. Check back later for even more. And if you want to see some of the photos the other attendees made, watch episode 95 of the Mirrorless Minutes podcast on YouTube.

And to all my new (and old) photo friends, If you’re in the Central Florida area, look me up. Maybe we can meet at one of my favorite spots.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos! On a workshop!

Florida Polytechnic University IST building

February 14, 2016INSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUSarchitecture, building, Florida Polytechnic, lakeland, night, reflection, sunsetEd Rosack

Florida Polytechnic is the state’s newest public university (classes opened in August of 2014). It’s in Lakeland along the south side of I-4 where it intersects the Florida Parkway (570). If you’ve driven by recently, you’ve almost certainly noticed their Innovation, Science and Technology building.

IST building at dusk, from the east side

For anyone interested in architectural photography, this place is a special treat. It’s beautiful during the golden hours, but there are also many interesting viewpoints, perspectives, angles, and details you can find at other times of day.

Second floor exterior, on the west side

After sunset, the interior and exterior lighting and colors add even more drama to the scenes.

Polytech University 1 (Photo by Tom Matthews, used with permission)

The building and campus layout were designed by Dr. Santiago Calatrava Valls, A Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor, and painter. Besides being beautiful, it’s also very innovative – there are automatic louvers on the roof that adjust to changes in sunlight.

Parking is not difficult as there are paid parking lots available near the building. You probably won’t be allowed inside the building unless you make prior arrangements. But for exterior shots, the campus seems very photographer friendly. ~~You can view their photography guidelines at this link~~(sorry, no longer available). ~~If you do go, you might consider combining this photo-op with another one that’s close by – the~~ Airstream Ranch. (Sorry, the Airstream Ranch is no longer there!)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Orlando – Downtown in the Dark

January 24, 2015Downtown Orlando, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlandoarchitecture, black and white, buildingsEd Rosack

People probably don’t think of Orlando as a metropolis or street photography mecca like New York or Chicago, but it does have a photogenic downtown. I wrote about a daytime stroll there in this post back in October of last year. I suspected that it might be even more photogenic at night. Last Wednesday evening I went back with Keith H. and Tom M.

The new Dr. P. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts was finished after our last trip and I was looking forward to seeing it at night. It’s an impressive building and the architecture and lighting make it an attractive photo subject. Here are two views of the main entrance:

Dr. Phillips Center 1 – The new performing arts center in downtown Orlando

Dr. Phillips Center 2

City hall is just west of the Performing Arts Center. This view is looking up at the front doors from the base of the steps:

Orlando City Hall

Church Street Station is even further west and a bit north. This sidewalk next to the SunRail tracks passing through caught my eye:

Down by the tracks – Near Church Street Station

You can see other photos from this trip and many more from downtown Orlando in this set on Flickr. I’m sure you can find many images of your own when you wander around downtown.

If you go:

Street parking is hard to find. There are convenient parking garages – we used the one on South Orange Avenue at the Plaza Cinema Cafe. I’d like to find a garage with access to the roof and a good panoramic view. If you find one, please let me know!
The area by the Dr. Phillips Center / City Hall is well-lit and photogenic. Lake Eola is also very popular with photographers.
There are a lot of people around early in the evening so the areas seem relatively safe, but be careful.
A wide-angle lens and tripod will help your architectural photos. A high ISO capability and bright lens would be good if you want to try hand-held street photos.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Chicago, Ill. Sept. 2013

November 2, 2013Chicago, OUTSIDE FLORIDAarchitecture, black and white, buildings, city, people, river, sculpture, sunsetEd Rosack

I’ve always wanted to see Chicago. It’s my birthplace – but we moved away shortly after I was born. For some reason, I never made it back until this year. I spent a few days exploring at the end of September. My daughter had a business trip there and some spare frequent flyer points, so she gave me a ticket. Thanks, MK!!!

Chicago and Lake Michigan from the air – my first photo of the trip. It was wonderfully clear as we approached the city. You can really see how large Lake Michigan is.

Mary was busy, so I booked a hotel downtown and spent the first afternoon and evening wandering around by the lake shore. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bit of a problem. I wasn’t used to all that walking and ended up with sore feet and blisters. Which didn’t help me to walk around on the following days – but I still managed to get a few photos.

I did some research online and asked a few questions about places to photograph. One of my Flickr contacts (Brian Koprowski) lives in the area and gave me several good hints. Thanks to him, I ended up at the Adler Planetarium on the first evening. The sunset wasn’t that exciting, but I thought the city across the water at twilight was pretty.

City at twilight

I also liked this fisheye view of the Field Museum that I made on my way back to the hotel. It reminded me of the movie “Night at the Museum“, although that wasn’t filmed here.

Night at the museum – Field Museum

The next day I again walked the city (and made my feet worse). My first stop was the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), where there’s a view from the glass balcony observation deck on the 103rd floor. A wonderful place for a fisheye lens!

From the top of Chicago – Another fisheye view. This one is from the Willis Tower observation deck, 1353 feet above the city

There’s a lot to see around the city including a great deal of sculpture and artwork. And glass on the buildings creates many compositional opportunities. In this image, I waited for the photographer on the near right to get into place so I could finish my photo – I had hoped she’d move a bit more to the left, but oh well.

Flamingo – This artwork by Alexander Calder is in the Federal Plaza

Here’s another rather strange piece of street art. I couldn’t resist adding a little “digital makeup” in Photoshop.

Planter head

Later that evening I ended up in Millennium Park where the Cloud Gate sculpture is located. I liked the scene – with all the people contrasting with the buildings and sculpture.

Cloud Gate (AKA “the bean”)

My son Mike drove down to meet us and we spent the next morning riding the “L” train, bicycling along the lake shore, and visiting Portillo’s Delli for a Chicago Dog. When Mary joined us that afternoon we took a boat tour on the Chicago River and ate some very good Chicago deep dish pizza for dinner. The final morning before our flight back to Orlando we toured the Museum of Science and Technology and drove by Mercy Hospital where I was born. I was only a little disappointed that there was no “Welcome Back Ed!” banner above the hospital entrance.

I enjoyed my short visit and definitely felt a kinship with this wonderful city. I want to go back again and see more. It’s so diverse that no trip as short as this could possible do it justice.

You can see larger versions of these photos and some others from our Chicago trip in this set on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Central Florida Photo Ops

What and where they are and how to photograph them.

Tag Archives: architecture

A Biltmore Christmas

St. Petersburg, Florida

Dali Museum:

Chihuly Collection:

Waterfront:

Focus on Atlanta

Florida Polytechnic University IST building

Orlando – Downtown in the Dark

Chicago, Ill. Sept. 2013