Sunny, downtown Macon

A heavily repainted wall on a sunny December afternoon in Macon, Missouri.

Lost bird

I came across this lost cemetery decoration on the edge of a cemetery in northern Linn county, Missouri.  I was looking for a rural church that used to stand next to the cemetery, but the church was gone and only a belfry and some tombstones remained.

The axe in the barn

An axe stored in a barrel in a corner of a barn has developed a thick and palpable patina of age and rust. 

Clarksburg, MO

There used to be much more to Clarksburg.  I came here several times in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  At least two buildings from this block of stores are gone.  The portion of the building on the far right used to be a general merchandise store that a great grandfather of mine either owned or worked in...back in the early 1900s.  After Clarksburg his family moved on to Sedalia, Missouri.

Yoga under the Oak

This is a photo I took of an impromptu yoga session underneath the grand oak tree at McBaine during the 2018 True/False Boone Dawdle.  It might be one of my favorites from this year's ride...a moment of stillness and poise during an event of chaotic, colorful kineticism.

Going Up in Dubuque

Taken during our trip to Dubuque, back in July.  We enjoyed a ride on one of Dubuque's obligatory tourist stops, the Fenelon Place Elevator.  While the view from the top took in a sweeping expanse of central Dubuque and the Mississippi River, the view from the bottom, out the dusty, hand-painted sign window, tells a much more interesting story.

Neon in Dubuque

While enjoying a too-short vacation in northern Iowa, my family and I spent two nights in downtown Dubuque.  On the pretense of picking up a couple glasses of wine for my wife and I in the hotel restaurant, I slipped out the lobby door and traipsed the cobblestones of Dubuque's riverside area until I found this gem of a sign, winking seductively my way in the midwestern twilight.  According to encyclopediadubuque.org the Miracle Car Wash has been keeping Dubuque's automobiles clean since 1960.  For a photographer like myself, keeping their neon sign lit for nearly 60 years is a more commendable and visually enjoyable achievement.  And I still made it back to the room with two glasses of wine before any questions were asked.

Riggs Union Church, Boone County

A friend and I went out photographing on a very hot Memorial Day afternoon this year.  I didn't want to go far, so we stuck to Boone County and photographed some of the rural churches that I have either overlooked or given short shrift on previous outings.  The Riggs Union Church was a location that I have had on my list to return to since my first trip there back in 2003.  I wasn't disappointed.  The exterior has been refinished (i.e. vinyl siding), but the interior retains some authenticity.  This was photographed with my D700, a camera that despite its age knows what to do with subdued, interior light. 

Storefront in Early Spring...Peabody, Kansas

We were driving back from a vacation in Hutchinson when I pulled off Highway 50 to drive through Peabody, Kansas.  It was a rewarding side-trip.  This is a vacant storefront in Peabody, just hours before an ice-storm hit southern Kansas.

Steinhaus in Boonville

I believe I took this back in December, 2009 during a trip through Boonville to eat at Maggie's.  The Steinhaus neon was still broadcasting the promise of a delicious meal on the main drag in downtown Boonville.  The Steinhaus burned down in 2011, so there is no longer a Steinhaus neon sign beckoning on this block.  Based upon the squarish format of the image, I probably took this with my Leica Digilux...I don't think I had the Nikon yet.

Winter on Glenwood Avenue

We used to rent a house on Glenwood Avenue...poorly insulated windows were fascinating subjects for winter photography. 

Lineville Again

As the name implies, Lineville, Iowa sits on the border of Missouri and Iowa.  I've posted a photo from this town on the blog back in March or April.  The post office I posted sits just to the left of this group of buildings.  I think that if you printed out the two photos, got a pair of scissors and a straightedge you could probably seamlessly connect the two images to create a panorama of downtown Lineville.  The scale might be a little off, but I was doing my best.  Once again, I found myself fascinated with the brick architecture that the average midwesterner drives by every day and ignores.  And of course, the interaction between the aged, detailed, patina-rich brickwork and the bright, empty negative space of the sky above is also a visual beguilement.  To me, at least.

Lumber Yard in Eminence, Missouri

Once again, I was enamored with the rustic simplicity of the architecture.  Eminence, Missouri.