The Power of a Photo
First – here is something I think is amazing and attests to the power of a photo. Background: as a teenager I was a baseball geek (although I don’t know that we used the word “geek” then). I followed the Dodgers; I fell asleep at night with Vin Scully’s voice in my ear, and I took the public bus to Dodger Stadium on weekends to sit in the center field bleachers and watch the game, again listening to Vinny on the transistor radio. In those days – no jumbotrons, just a hand-manipulated scoreboard – we all had our transistor radios on at the park so we could hear Vinny’s flawless play-by-play and color commentary.
SO – in April 1962, Dodger Stadium opening day in Chavez Ravine, someone, some blessed angel, gave my father two tickets. Not just two tickets – but tickets a few rows above the Dodger dugout on the field level. And my dad decided to take me. I can scarcely convey the excitement I felt.
We got there early and I remember standing on the dugout getting autographs from the likes of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, John Roseboro, and the rest of the team. But alas, I no longer have that autographed program nor do I have any pictures of the event.
But today, my husband found this:
That’s Peter O’Malley with his mom Kay, who is throwing out the first ball. And that girl behind and between them – it’s me! Wow. Has to be me, or else I have a doppleganger who was there that day sitting where I was.
Photographs are powerful, not just for historic or emotional reasons, but for personal reasons. This photo has been viewed thousands of times, but I’ll bet no one noticed the unremarkable girl. But for me, it’s priceless.
Cats and Birds
I have found a reason for pond scum. Took this picture yesterday on the lake where we live – a heron. And the lake was icky – scummy. But look!
By gum, that pond scum looks a little like marble!
Now the cat part, for no particular reason. Lily follows me everywhere and at night, when I’m brushing my teeth, etc., she jumps up on the counter to keep track of everything.
Silly cat. She’s a water Lily.
Via Arte – Sidewalk Art
And now the sidewalk art. Here in Bakersfield, we have a sidewalk art contest every year, Via Arte. It’s so cool – there are sections for students, professionals, and traveling professionals -folks who travel the country doing these contests. So Via Arte was this weekend, and here’s some of what we saw.
This was a student piece, and I love it. I am partial to the holiday Dia de los Muertos, which is soon upon us (Nov. 1 and 2), and skulls are traditional decorations.
No matter what you think of Alice, it’s hard to deny the appeal of this Cheshire Cat.
Of course, it takes a lot of chalk to do this work!
There’s something compelling about temporary art. It takes days to create these pieces, they are left for another day for viewing, and then they’re gone. We may have something rare for Bakersfield in the next day or two – rain. And so the enjoyment is fleeting, which enhances it all the more.
Seriously, I thought the chalk was almost as compelling as the art. Something about the symmetry, color gradations. I like patterns.
Isn’t this one cool? I like the way the drawing extends beyond the confines of the frame.
And lastly, here’s a street-eye view of just one of the areas of art. So many people, so much fun, so much support for art!
