December, 2009

My new stock photo of the Sprint Center. And taken exactly one week after the protest on the steps of the Sprint Center.

A look of architectural complication via modern arena design. I can't help but recall the time relatively long ago I visited very near a place called Cruceros Arenal, and now rhapsodize the word similarity via Latin. If I'm recalling all of this hind-sightedness correctly, it was then to be about five or six years until this Sprint Center pictured here was even to begin undergoing construction.

I'm afraid though the massive difference is - that was a big port for sail-boats, while this fun bit of architectural objet d'art is more of the use for a sports arena. And more in the reality of a fancy concert hall in light of the regrettable state of economics and Kansas City Missouri's difficult position to hard-bargain against other cities for their sports franchises. But it's still fun to get photos of anyway though.

The Plaza Lights and Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting will be coming up soon. Assuming I don't get woefully ill or otherwise thwarted as happened to me most of last winter, I'll be getting some photos of the whole thing on here for some time to come.

Well this was the fifth Thanksgiving night in a row I've trolled the electrified streets of "Teh Plah-zuh" looking for digital captures of pretty sites all around. I didn't devote a whole lot of effort to this year's ceremony, just for some reason or another. Too big of a hassle lately to try and get a bunch of stellar pictures all at once when I know I can full well spend the next six weeks getting shots at my own pace and leisure on any sunrise or sunset magic hour I wish.

'07 was an ambitious Lighting Ceremony on my end - it was my first with this frickin' indestructible Canon 5D that I'm still using, as well as the first where I had advanced to start making use of wide angling and telephotographing via a couple new lenses I had gotten earlier that fall. '08 was a big mess because I had high expectations for mastering the photo universe that night (at least in the confines of the Plaza) but I crashed and burned due to my own sickliness and everything going wrong.

For this year of our '09 I went into it with few expectations - yet again walking down there to the Plaza from my apartment a few blocks away - and snagged two or three or four decent shots. I'm fine with that now.

Pertaining to the photo - Thanksgiving night, 11/26/2009 a little before 8 pm, five tripod mounted RAWs blended together from the afore-mentioned Canon 5D and my wide angle 16-35 L II - a recurring combo these days - and the 16-35L's first Lighting Ceremony. Maybe it will have more in the future. Isn't that special?

Up goes the big Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts right about the Crossroads District and downtown proper, Kansas City Missouri.

I had hoped by now to have gone for more Kansas City aerial shots and to include this edifice at its construction-midway point, but that's been put off for a bit longer yet.

Regarding the photo, taken from Liberty Memorial with my 100-400 L Canon lens - and as far as editing I'm a little concerned it has too heavy of a tone-mapped look to it for this, so maybe I'll re-work it later.

A look at the Plaza lights, shot taken on December 1st, 2009 as the sun sat.

I live so close to the Plaza that I can make use of these six weeks of lightedness and walk down there and back to get shots whenever I can, all the while keeping all fit-and-trim walking to and fro with my backback and tripod keeping me weighted down well. It's a plan at least, but the month is indeed young.

Editing happened here as the POTUS gave his speech at West Point concerning Afghanistan. Photo shot with my 100-400L Canon telephoto lens from a slight distance across Brush Creek.