Last sunset of 2009

I had to work on New Year's Eve, but luckily they let us out a bit early. So that left me with plenty of time to make a trip downtown in order to capture the final sunset of the year. Of course, the only flaw in the plan was that it was cloudy, so you couldn't see any sunset at all. Instead, here are some shots of the last time in 2009 that it got dark...

I had driven by the Old State House the night before and saw an idea for a shot, so I swung over there for a few minutes. The old building had a few Christmas lights strung out, including some along the old iron fence in front of the building.


I drove over to the building that replaced the Old State House - the current Arkansas Capitol building. It was getting dark, and the low clouds were changing to a deep blue.


And a few more shots of the capitol. It was a bit chilly out that night, probably in the upper 30s or so.



The small blue lights in the round windows under the dome spell out "PEACE," which is apparently something the capitol has done for decades now...



I drove a few blocks over and went up into a parking deck by the Bank of America Building. The Bank of America building is the one that puts up a large Christmas tree in lights on three sides of the building every year. This is the view from the top of the parking deck, with the Christmas tree reflecting in the side of the Union Bank Building. To the left is the full moon trying to break through the clouds. It was actually a blue moon...


After that I drove over to spend New Year's Eve at a friend's house in the party town of Cabot, where we partied like it was 1999 - or well 2009 I guess.

But getting a shot of the last sunset of the year is something I've been trying to do for the past few years. Here is the last sunset of 2007:


And 2008:

White Christmas

Snow is somewhat rare in Arkansas, especially around Little Rock. I used to get so annoyed when I was younger and snow storms would blow across the state, giving other kids a few days off from school. I don't know what it is about Little Rock, be it the lower elevation or the trapped residual heat stored up in concrete, but it seemed like most snow storms would drift around the city. It was a pain to sit and watch the news in the morning while seemingly every school district in the state was closed, but us poor city kids would have to go in.

But snow on Christmas is even rarer than that. I can think of only a few times that we've had a white Christmas. The most notable was 2000, the year a massive ice storm hit the state on Christmas Day. I was visiting relatives in Charleston that day, and my parents and brother decided to leave early in the hopes of beating the storm back to Little Rock. It didn't quite work out, as inches of freezing rain piled on the cars and made the interstate a complete mess. Accidents on all the freeways in Little Rock closed access to the city, all the bridges over the river were closed due to wrecks. It usually takes two and a half hours to make that drive. In 2000, it took us 13 hours to get home.

But this year, another winter storm hit the state. And per tradition, it didn't do anything in Little Rock besides just rain a lot. But the western and northern parts of the state saw some accumulation. Luckily, I was again in Charleston where about two inches of snow fell. I woke up on Christmas Day and went out in the below-freezing weather to get this shot of the new car in its first snow.


It was sunny, so most of the snow started to melt. Which is good since it didn't make traveling too difficult for people. The only delay in my drive home would be from stopping to take pictures along the way. I wanted to get some good pictures of the snow, and decided to make a quick stop at Longpool, which isn't too far from the freeway at Russellville. But I had left Charleston a bit too late on Saturday, and was quickly running out of time and daylight. I got into Longpool at 4:30, which meant that I would have just about 30-45 minutes of light to get any sort of pictures.


The waterfall at Longpool is just a short hike away. I knew I wouldn't have enough light to see the waterfall, but if I hurried I might be able to get a picture of the small waterfall that sits along the way to the falls. I parked the car, grabbed the camera gear and tripod and began to run along the snowy trail. I am very out-of-shape now (need to do more hiking), so my poor heart was thundering as I made it to the falls. I was thrilled to see plenty of water in the falls, and a nice covering of snow that lingered on the hills. But I realized that I managed to forget the mount that connects the camera to the tripod - it was sitting innocently back in the car. So I had to make do without, trying to balance the camera precariously on the top of the tripod...


I don't think I've seen these falls with this much water flowing through. Which was awesome, except that I only had about 15 minutes of light left. I wish I had time to have gone up to see the main waterfall, which would have been surrounded by icicles. Oh well...


I got back to the car before it got too dark, and continued on towards home. I even made it back in time to unwrap a few more Christmas presents.

Hot Springs

I spent a few hours last Saturday working to get stuff ready for the upcoming gallery show, which meant a few hours spent cutting mat and foam boards (with a quick lunch trip to Whole Hog, of course). But I was able to get out and make a trip down to one of my favorite cities in the state - Hot Springs.

I managed to get there with some light left in the day, so I walked around the bathhouses in the National Park as the setting sun cast a warm glow on everything.


Hot Springs is a great city to visit for photography. Some of the best old buildings in the state sit within the city and the National Park. I'm amazed at the history of this city, which went from being a sleepy small town next to a few open springs to one of the premier tourist attractions in the country. In its heyday, Hot Spring was the Las Vegas of its era. Illegal casinos operated across the street from Bathhouse Row, with gangsters joining the crowds there looking to take the baths. I'd love to be able to travel back in time to Hot Springs back in the 1920's or 30's, perhaps rubbing shoulders with Al Capone at the old Southern Club. Sadly, the new car has no flux capacitor included.


As it began to get dark, I headed up to a parking deck just off of Central Avenue. I had an idea for a shot, with a view looking down onto Central Avenue, Bathhouse Row and the old Army and Navy Hospital. I was happy to see that the city was kind enough to put up some Christmas lights along a fountain that leads to Central Avenue, and I stood out there in the cold next to the camera waiting for it to get dark.

Luckily this is a public parking deck, so no security came out to see what I was doing.

After it got dark, I walked back over to Bathhouse Row and then over to the Arlington Hotel.

The Arlington Hotel has been operating in Hot Springs since 1875. The current hotel was built in 1924, and has been host to people ranging from Franklin Roosevelt to Babe Ruth to Yoko Ono. Al Capone would always stay in room 442, but would always rent out the entire floor for his buddies and bodyguards.

From here you can head up the hill to enjoy a nice view of the Arlington and the city. This was taken just above the display spring, one of the 47 hot springs in the National Park. It was cold out that night - about 39 degrees - and there was a lot of steam rising up in front of the camera when I was trying to take pictures.


I went back down the hill and walked Bathhouse Row again. I stopped at one of the two fountains near the Fordyce Bathhouse. Large amounts of steam were billowing out from the fountain, drifting over me and the camera before drifting off into the night sky.


A bit further down sits the Quapaw Bathhouse, which might be the most recognizable bathhouse because of its distinctive dome. This streetlight here was hitting the leaves on one of the many magnolia trees along Central Avenue.


I took a few more pictures along Bathhouse Row, then went back to the car to warm up. I wanted to hit a few more spots in Hot Springs, one of them being the county courthouse. I drove by and it was decked out in lights. But as I got out of the car, I was saddened to see the camera showing that the battery was low. I got a few shots there that didn't really turn out at all.

From there I went over to the neat old church just a few blocks away, the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. This is a great old church, built in 1908. I went up there to quickly take some pictures before the battery died, standing in the parking lot and getting in the way of annoyed church visitors. I forgot that it was Saturday night and people were probably going there for Mass. Whoops, sorry!


On the way back home I made a quick stop in Benton to see the Saline County Courthouse decked out in its holiday lights. There wasn't much life left in the battery, so I didn't stay out there too long.


But I hope everyone who reads this (all 4 of you!) has a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or a festive whatever!

Foggy Downtown

On Saturday I just happened to be downtown reviewing prints for the upcoming gallery show (January 8th - April 4th at the Historic Arkansas Museum!), when it began to get dark. It was cloudy and a bit rainy, and a thick fog began to descend over the city. Luckily I had the camera with me, so I headed out into the night for a few pictures.

The first stop was on the north side of the river, where I tried to get a shot of the Junction Bridge and the skyline dissolving into the fog. I like this spot to get pictures from, but I'm always annoyed by the giant light on the Little Rock side. What's the use of this bright light that seems to just shine right into the river?


I went back over into Little Rock and drove around a bit, trying to find something else to get a picture of. Every year, the Bank of America building puts up a large Christmas tree light display on three sides of the building. Here is the view, by the intersection of Capitol and Louisiana streets.


One other downtown skyscraper with an interesting lighting display is the Metropolitan National Bank Building. It has lights that shine down, which in the fog makes it look like a space ship getting ready for take off. I drove to a parking lot across from the building and got this shot looking up at it. From here, it looks more like the space ship from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" making a landing.


I drove up to the top of nearby parking deck at the foot of the Regions Building, where I got this shot. I liked the reflection in the side of the Regions Building, and the distant Metropolitan Bank building in the fog...


I went to another parking deck nearby to get a shot of the Bank of America building again. There was a heavy mist in the air now, which would try very hard to get as much moisture on the front of the lens as possible.


I did spent too long up there and wore out my welcome. A few minutes later the parking deck security guard would drive up and politely ask me to leave.

Capitol Fireworks

One of the best holiday traditions in Little Rock is the annual fireworks show at the state capitol. More than 300,000 lights adorn the walls of the capitol, and they are turned on for the first time as fireworks pop above the building.

I headed out there Saturday night for the show, along with my Aunt and parents. We sat up next to one of the memorials on the edge of the grounds. The spot we chose seemed to be a popular spot, with a few other photographers setting up tripods nearby (including Mike and Karla Hall).


It was a bit chilly out there, the thermometer in the car said it was about 40 degrees. But after having stood in the cold the night before (when in was in the mid-20s), that seemed downright tropical.