The Cocktail Glass Collection: Susie's at Night

Susie's, in Calistoga, was the first neon cocktail glass sign I added to what has become a growing collection. I'd never seen the sign at night before. My original photo is a daytime shot. Here's Susie's sign at night. The original post is here.

For more, click the "Cocktail Glass Collection" label at right at the top of the page.

Recent Photography: June 2014

I carry a camera with me almost everywhere I go. Phone cameras have made that easier than it once was, and I usually have a phone with me, but I usually carry a full-sized camera as well. This month that allowed me to take advantage of serendipity in capturing two virtually monochromatic scenes that I chanced upon. At a restaurant in Calistoga I found myself the last diner, lingering over a late lunch. The table across from me had seated a party of eight loquacious Chinese women, tourists apparently. Each had left a cloth napkin at her place after eating. The piles of cloth were lit obliquely and from above by high windows. The piles of cloth were beautiful. I photographed several of them quickly before the busboy whisked them away into a grey plastic bin and left the room with them.

Ocean Beach in San Francisco afforded another such opportunity. Ocean Beach is mostly a long stretch of rather flat, monotonous, grey sand, but it forms small dunes along the roadway that parallels the water. These little dunes can be fascinating. I love the patterns created by tiny sand slides, the ripples molded by the wind, and the lines drawn by insects walking across the surface. Unintended art, serendipitous art.

Miscellaneous: The Martini Glass as Icon (July 18, 2013)

Interesting how the martini glass with a skewered olive or cherry remains the icon of choice for a certain kind of old-school bar. I was in Calistoga yesterday and saw this one over Susie's Bar, a place I'd never noticed before right on the main street. I liked the neon martini glass with what looks like a skewered  red cherry in it.

To see others in this series of photographs, click on the "cocktail glass collection" label. 

Found Art: Painted Tree Trunk, Calistoga (June 27, 2011)

On a recent trip to Calistoga and some of the other small towns in the area, I took a walk around the grounds of the Indian Springs resort. Big palm trees are planted all around the property. The bases have all been painted white. I liked the texture, the shadows. Found Art.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.