Peeling Paint

What is it about peeling paint that attracts photographers? I don't know but I doubt if any photographer could have passed up this door.

Last Sunday I went on the home tour in Eastwood. Remember about two years ago I made an e-book of the houses there. It is a neighborhood that is almost 100 years old. In addition to getting to see some of the homes I also got to go into the old Cage Elementary School, a four-room, two-story, brick school built in 1910. It has not been used as a school in over 20 years although the school district has used it for storage during that time. One of the unique things about the school is that the ground floor was a stable where the kids left their horses during the school day. Now the school is probably 10 minutes from downtown Houston but 100 years ago it was out in the country.

The school is boarded up and in bad shape with areas on the second floor where it is not safe to walk. There are foundation problems that have been modified with bracing but doubtfully a permanent fix. Of course I had my camera with me and started to photograph an area with a bit of peeling paint. I told the guide/docent that I loved photographing peeling paint. He told me that if I wanted peeling paint to follow him. This is the door to the girl's bathroom down on the first floor by the stables. I could have spent the next hour just photographing this small three stall bathroom with paint peeling from every surface except the plumbing fixtures. I would have needed a tripod and time. I didn't have a tripod with me and the docent wasn't allowed to leave anyone unsupervised in the building. But now that I know the peeling paint is there maybe I can find a way to get permission to go in again.

The community around the school is trying to find a way to save and renovate the school. I hope that they can do it

Night Lights #17

I am not through with the Christmas lights. There are still more places, lots of places, on my list. Son #1 has said he wants to take me to see some huge light displays that are choreographed for sequences of several minutes. And I'd still like to get to the neighborhoods in Southeast Houston where Ned and I grew up. What surprises me is that I have only seen one nativity scene and I saw it in the daylight so I've got to get back there at night and see if it is lit so I can get you a photograph.

The Book Is Finished - SoFoBoMo

My SoFoBoMo book didn't turn out the way I expected. First of all I was planning to use the Holga lens on the digital camera. Secondly, it was going to be in color. Thirdly, I was really thinking about photographing in downtown Houston. Instead, the images were made using the digital camera but with a regular lens. Instead, it is in black and white. And finally it is of a neighborhood. That is the funny thing about the creative process. If you just show up with your tools, ready to go, your muse will take you places.

I started on May 13 and finished on June 9, well within the 31 day limit. Between the time I signed up back in March and the finish line, I learned a lot. Back when I signed up I questioned whether I could do it or not but as time went on I was determined to finish something. Back when I signed up I thought I would do a Blurb book at the same time that I was doing the PDF book but I found that was beyond what I could do with all the other things going on in my life. Back when I signed up I thought I needed to lay out all the pieces before I started but I found that as I opened one door and then another good ideas came to me. I wanted to create a perfect book instead I made a book where I keep finding things to improve but I stopped yesterday and said this is good enough for today.

I prefer seeing Eastwood Today on Issuu because some of the pages were designed to be two-page spreads and you don't see them that way on the SoFoBoMo site. Please go take a look at my book.

You can see it on Issuu here.
You can see it along with all the other books that have been completed on the official SoFoBoMo site here.

Still working - SoFoBoMo

What happened to last week? It flew by. There is lots of unexpected personal stuff going on but I haven't given up on Sofobomo. One way or another I'm going to finish a book even if it isn't the book I originally envisioned.

I've finished the photography except for maybe another shot or two for a bridge from one area of the book to another. All the images have been processed through Photoshop and saved at 300 dpi so I can come back and use them for a hold-in-your-hand book. Now I'm resizing and dropping them into a template because I want a white border. But of course, that takes some time. My goal is to finish that today. But one thing I have found is that my images have quite a bit of detail and I think they loose too much of that detail at 72 dpi. They start to look a little choppy. So I'm using 100 dpi and hoping that the size of the book will be okay for posting to the Sofobomo website.

I started looking at some of the books that have already been finished. Wow! Now I've stopped looking at them until I get mine finished because first of all it takes up the time that I need to finish my own book. Secondly, looking at them keeps giving me new ideas and I hardly have time to complete the book as it is.

The agapanthus image for this entry doesn't mean anything except I shot it while I was shooting for the book. Time to get back to work.

The Project - SoFoBoMo

I've been out photographing for my SoFoBoMo project. It is such a wonderful thing to walk. There is time to see "stuff." One of the things I'm enjoying is how green Houston is and the variety of flowers that are blooming. One of the flowers that I've always loved is the oleander. But I only love the flower, not the bush. The bush grows humongous and can take up one-fourth of a yard. Oleanders also grow in San Miguel but they seem to struggle there. Here, you see rows of them lining the highway. Maybe I love the oleander because when first went to camp in Palacios many years ago, it was planted all over the camp grounds. All of the girls picked some blossoms to put in their hair in the evening. At the time, it seemed to be a very romantic flower. I'm seeing a lot of them as I take pictures for Sofobomo as well as many other flowers that I love from the Texas gulf coast. I'll write more about the vegetation later.

But what you probably want to know is what the heck is my project for SoFoBoMo. It is Eastwood where we have a lot. And yes, the photo from the last entry is from Eastwood. It is a neighborhood just about 10 minutes from downtown Houston and it was platted around 1912. Before too long some of the houses over there will be 100 years old. A 100 year old house in Houston is an OLD house. The clock started ticking on the 13th. That is when I first went over there to photograph. I've covered three streets so far and still have a number more to shoot. I think they will go faster because now I'm looking for things that are different than what I've already shot.

I've requested permission to use a couple of essays about the neighborhood. I hope that I get permission because I think that will enhance the book.

But let me tell you, I'm pretty anxious. The clock is ticking and there is still a lot to do.