The Life in My Years

Tina of Travels and Trifles is one of the hosts for this week’s challenge.

It’s been a minute since I’ve participated in the Len-Artists series. Probably closer to 525600 minutes and mostly due to the economics of not wanting to pay WordPress for the extra space to accommodate photos. But being partial to all of the end of year commemoratives I couldn’t stay away.

The year 2024 had me focusing mostly on urban photography; the ancient, the old, the modern, the shapes and the gritty. Before I knew that this iteration of the series was happening I’d already published an end of year post so I found myself looking for some other favorites (some are different images of the same subject).

Neuschwanstein Castle is almost like cheating, it’s so picturesque. It seems to be on every calendar and with good reason. My wife and I missed the tour of the interior of the castle but later on in the afternoon as twilight approached I took the bus back to the drop off and made the short hike to the Marienbrücke bridge from where one can take the classic images. I was lucky I had autumn colors and billowing clouds to dress it up. (Another image of this castle is in my previous post. This image is with a wider angle)

Old and new
In nearly any city, one can find a blend of old and new. Oftentimes a glass and steel behemoth juxtaposed with a brick matriarch.

In downtown San Francisco I found this rarity of an older building looming over a modern one (usually it’s the other way around).

When was the last time you saw rooms advertised in San Francisco for $150 dollars one dollar and fifty cents per week? If you do see it, pass on it as there can’t be anything good within those walls. Saw this ghost sign (doubtful that it’s an original) in downtown San Francisco. (Thank you to Sarah of the Travel With Me site for pointing out my error)

Krakow, Poland
I was walking through Stare Miasto (old town), Krakow when I spotted this contradiction of old above new. I found it not uncommon in the old European cities to see corporate names and logos slapped onto centuries old buildings.

Windows and shapes
I’m attracted to the varied geometry that one can see when looking closely at buildings; rectangles, neat squares, triangles, pillars, and all manner of angles. And of course the rows upon rows of windows, some that provide reflections of other shapes.

Chicago
From the riverwalk, the spaceship looking Seventh Day Adventist Church against the side of the Hilton Garden Inn in the right background as well as two other buildings in the background.

Vienna
You don’t need a new building to find shapes. Opened in the 16th century, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna has a magnificent tiled roof. Shot from one of the towers.

What the “L” and the Windy City
Love, love, love Chicago. A photographer’s paradise. I was fascinated by its rail system known as the “L.”

The shot below was taken from the roof of a parking garage on Wabash. The entrance was locked so I had to bide my time until someone exited. “Hold the door please. Thank you very much.” I took a number of images and edited them in monochrome and color.

Another image shot from the top of the garage edited to give a gritty feel. (A similar photo is in my previous post)

My wife loves it when her husband walks into an alley carrying expensive camera equipment – not really. But it just can’t be helped. I’m drawn to fire escapes and you find fire escapes in alleys.

Modern Vienna
Vienna is known for its magnificent old buildings but it’s also rich in the sleek and modern.

The OBB building just outside of the Wien Hauptbahnhof (main train station).

A hotel near Wien Hauptbanhoff

The photo below was featured in my previous post. I shot this image early on a Sunday morning at Sudtiroler Platz Hauptbahnhof station.

The violinist. Krakow
They were my last few hours in Krakaow and I was doing a last minute photo walk in Stare Miasto when I was drawn to the the violin music. She was playing near the ancient Barbican gate. I stood and listened for some time, taking a break to go into a nearby coffee house. When I came back out she was playing the theme to Schindler’s List, a story much of which took place in Krakow. The music literally brought me to tears. I was down to my last 25 or 30 US dollars worth of Polish zloty, not enough to bother getting exchanged so I dropped it in her violin case before leaving to go back to the hotel.

The banner photo with the train dwarfed by the buildings displays the enormity and archetectural grandeur of Chicago.