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.