Downtown Kansas City
Downtown. Spring has begun to show its face again after hiding for a few weeks. In the mid-west it is one of the best, if not the only, time to enjoy the outdoors. In a few weeks we will be sentenced to 4-5 months of heat that wouldn’t be as bad if we didn’t have the secondary sentence of the heavy weighted humidity to accompany it. Though that looms in the short distance, we still have a few more weeks to enjoy outside, or even inside with the windows open. I took to the downtown streets and just let my camera take me where it led. I ended up walking a few miles around the downtown area on this pleasant, partly cloudy night. 
It led me over the bridge, and up the hill to the site of what would have been the third hall of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The hall would have housed the Kansas City Ballet, but funding fell through and they ended up in a great building down across from the IRS and next to Union Station. I really like this perspective as it is a great “spring” skyline shot.
Then it took me right to the front door for the Kauffman. I couldn’t resist taking a longer exposure to enhance the streaky, fast moving clouds. This building, if you can’t tell, is one of my favorite subjects in Kansas City….it also doesn’t hurt that I live within walking distance.
The final stop was as I walked back into downtown and the way the light was cast on the metal clad bridge stating it’s location. The skyline beyond was giving way to night, and the buildings begin to light the streets. Overall it turned out to be a fun springtime walk, and I have these to share!
Boulevard Twilight
In Kansas City, the Boulevard Brewery is just enough off the beaten path that you probably wouldn’t just stumble upon it, even though it is no more than 1/4 mile off the highway on Southwest (Boulevard). It is a place that locals love to brag about to their out-of-town guests, and the tours are so popular that you have to make reservations months in advance in order to secure a spot. The building itself is the old Santa Fe Railroad building, where sheets, table linens, napkins, etc. were cleaned for the passenger cars. It has since been added on to once already in order to accommodate the demand in new markets accross the country, and is currently undergoing further rennovations for the same reason. Boulevard is a big part of the Kansas City community, and is one of the founders of the ripple glass program in the city that recycles all shapes, colors, and sizes of glass. If you are ever in the Kansas City area make sure you book a tour and enjoy some locally made craft beer.
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Nelson Atkins Art Museum (Bloch Building)
With fall color right around the corner, I have been searching out spots that may have the best ‘fall’ potential. One place that quickly came to mind was the Nelson-Atkins art museum. Unfortunately the trees in the front lawn do not show signs of the transitioning season. Although I was a bit disappointed I decided to focus more on the Bloch Building designed by Steven Holl. It turned out to be a beautiful night to be outside shooting.
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Supporting Cast
Downtown. The word itself paints a picture in one’s mind, but sometimes the picture it paints leaves out the in between. The key components that fly at a much lower altitude than their sky scraping counterparts. Sometimes underappreciated, underwhelming, and right under your nose. These players are the supporting cast, and without them, downtown would simply not be what it is. These are a few buildings in downtown Kansas City that support the arts and culture, and even though the architecture is on a smaller scale, it is no less significant than the towers rising around it.
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Downtown Skyline
The Kansas City skyline, while not formiddable, definitely has a very unique character. There is also a brand new addition, with the recent grand opening of the Kauffman Performing Arts Center. I have been wanting a good overall panoramic shot of the skyline, and last night provided a pretty good backdrop. Let me know what you think!
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The Scout
Just outside of the downtown area, perched atop Penn Valley Park, sits “The Scout” statue. He keeps watch to the west for any impending trouble for the downtown area. This area is one of the most picturesque places to view the Kansas City skyline, but it seems far less traveled than the nearby Liberty Memorial. I have wanted to explore this shot for a while, and after shooting it once, I am sure I will be back in the future. On my way back home I made a brief stop at a new installation art piece by John Salvest. It sits on the west lawn of the Federal Reserve in Kansas City. Look carefully because there is a hidden message buried in these foreign shipping containers.
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Kauffman Performing Arts Center (Entry)
With the opening of the Kauffman only a few weeks away, the site has started to open up little by little allowing me to explore more than I have ever been able to. This week I wanted to focus on the front of the building because I already have so many shots of the shell. I also focused on the backlit sign on the corner of 17th and Broadway.
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(Christopher)Bond Bridge
Tons of concrete and steel have been set in place over the past couple of years to replace the Paseo Bridge to safely guide motorists on I-35 across the Missouri River. This cable stayed bridge is just another part of the revitalization taking place in and around the downtown area of Kansas City, Missouri. Though the bridge is already carrying traffic across the river, construction crews continue to demolish the former Paseo Bridge. I am looking forward to being able to take some images when the job has been completed.
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The Royals
With the weekend ahead of us, and almost everyone celebrating in some fashion, I thought I would post a few images from the Royals. I am sure that some of you are going out to the K this weekend, so have fun and enjoy the light hearted post.
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Broadway Bridge
This is a Kansas City icon that was built in the 1950′s to carry Highway 169 right into downtown past the Charles B. Wheeler Airport. It is one of the few bridges spanning the gap between North Kansas City and Downtown, and can be a nightmare for morning commuters, but with the addition of Bond Bridge on I-35 it should be aliveated a little. When I look at this bridge I see a thousand mid-western communities, and basically the icon for 1950′s infrastructure in America. All that being said there is something exciting about the way the bridge glows against a waning twilight sky just falling into its daily slumber. Enjoy!
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Springtime Weather
Spring in the mid-west is always an exciting time because you are coming out of what always seems like the “harshest winter.” I love that there are a few weeks where it never gets cold enough to need a jacket, and it never seems to get hot enough to turn the air on. There is another kind of excitement that comes with the changing of the seasons, and that is thunderstorms. I have been in the mid-west for a little less than 10 years, and I am still in awe of the raw power that mother nature expresses through her thunderstorms in this area of the country. Wind driven rain continuously pounds on your windows in unrelenting sheets, its path it always lit by the powerful fingers of electric light reaching from horizon to horizon, and it always annouces its arrival with a heavy roar that can be heard for miles. Just like a theater performance on a giant stage, every storm has its own unique signature, but it is always an entertaining performance. This just so happens to be the latest installment in a neverending tour. ENJOY!
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Fog
Such a simple concept. Water vapor is condensed and a cold air mass is trapped below a warm air mass. The science of it is clear cut and absolute, yet there is a mysterious character that lurks within these condensed water particles. Places that we have come to know so well become surreal, shrouded by a deafening quiet that blankets all surroundings. Some see mystery as a dark and ominous force from which you may contrive fear, but it can also create a very poweful euphoric sensation. It’s the thought that not all mystery has to have a dark side, but some have a way of moving you to explore, and leave no stone unturned. I feel like that was driving me this particular morning to find every nook and cranny that could have something to show of itself in the new light. I hope these images help to tie back to this story as I feel they spoke to me.
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Urban Hunt
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Despite the bone chilling temperatures this week, I somehow convinced myself to get out there and find some images capturing the cold nature of winter. Living in Kansas City, the winter can cut straight to the bone and leave you numb and weary. As I speak the windchills outside are reaching as low as -10 F. I think that is part of the reason I like living here. There may be bitter cold, but there is always something to look forward to. I feel like if I were to live in a climate where the seasons have far less variation, I would take it for granted and time would seem to fly by me without any checkpoints. I hope these images inspire you to go take in the cold weather so that at some point you can be that much more appreciative of a warm day in the middle of summer.
Art for Kyrie (Metamorphosis)
For those of you in the greater Kansas City area, please put Friday November 12 on your calendar. A number of local artists will have their work on display for a silent auction benefitting the Kyrie Foundation for research in fighting pediatric brain cancer. Tickets and more details are available online ( http://kyriefoundationbenefit2010.eventbrite.com/ ). Please join me in supporting this event if you can!
J.C. Nichols Memeorial Fountain (Country Club Plaza)
Known by all who live in Kansas City, the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain sits on the east edge of the Country Club Plaza. This is probably the most photographed fountain in Kansas City, and up to this point I hadn’t really given it due respect. The fountain is adorned with sculptures that actually were perched on the crest of a home in Long Island, NY long before making the journey to Kansas City in the 1960′s. The four horses supposedly represent four rivers spread across this Earth: the Mississippi, the Seine (France – Paris), the Volga (Russia), and the Rhine (Europe). I hope these pictures help show the character this fountain brings to the Plaza.
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Downtown
For those of you who don’t know, I recently put my artwork on display at Cellar Rat Wine Merchants in the Crossroads district of Kansas City. If you live in, or somewhere near Kansas City, I urge you to go see my art and buy a bottle or two of wine! Thank you to all of you who made it out on First Friday, I had a great time talking to all of you!
That all being said I have been holding out on putting these photos from a downtown shoot I did a few weeks ago. There are images from all over the downtown and a few from Liberty Memorial overlooking downtown. If any of these images strike you, and you wish to have it grace the walls of your home…..head on over to my newly refurbished website( www.ryanestesphotos.com ) and purchase it. Prints start at just $30! I hope you enjoy!
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Clock Tower Twilight
Rising above an urban courtyard, the power and light clock tower is sometimes overlooked. The tower has a spiraling turbine that turns the wind energy into electricity. A strip of lights runs vertically up the twisting edges of the turbine and as that turns in the long exposure it leaves a light trail. There are still more images to come in the next few weeks, but for now enjoy the latest and greatest!
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West Bottoms Round 2
For those of you who have not heard, I will be putting my art up on the walls of Cellar Rat for the month of October. During this time you will be able to purchase anything that is on display or in my look book. That being said, I have made a list of places I want to shoot over the next month or so to maybe fill in the gaps and add a little more diversity to my portfolio. I spent a few hours last night wandering around the construction ridden district of the west bottoms. It was a gorgeous night as the clouds that covered the city all day dissapated and allowed the soft warm glow of the sunset wash the buildings that rest just below Downtown Kansas City. Here are some of the new shots!
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Union Station Kansas City (Twilight)
Union Station
Sitting at the base of Liberty Memorial on the outskirts of Downtown Kansas City is a place still used as a transportation hub of the midwest. Although its primary function may not be to ship eager passengers along the winding railroads of the nation, it still breathes life into the cultural heritage of Kansas City. There are events, exhibits and restaurants that still thrive in this mammoth neo-classical building. I have been photographing Kansas City and its icons for about three years now, and I cannot believe I had not added this shot to my portfolio. I have fallen in love with exploring the light that exists between light of day and the darkness of night. The name used to define this astrological time is Civil Twilight. The thing that makes my photographs explore the contrast between the electric blue dwelling in the sky and the manmade sodium hallide lighting that washes the hardened paved surfaces that cover our urban landscape. I hope that you enjoy my interpretations of this hour that drives my passion for photography.
West Bottoms
Just below the busy streets of downtown Kansas City on the Western edge sits a district that was probably, at one time, a very active industrial powerhouse. That has since faded and now for the most part appears to be abandoned. There are a few restaurants, bars, shops, and loft style residences that dot the brick and mortar shells, and what were once windows are now replaced by the stains covering warped and weatherbeaten plywood. This is and will remain one of my favorite places to go shoot on any given day. The sodium halide lighting washes the aged facades which provide a great aesthetic complement to the rich blues provided by the civil twilight. Here are a few of my favorites.
A Preview (of things to come)
I recently purchased some new filters to expand the realm of possibility with my camera. I have been so excited to go out and try them, but the light outside has not been favorable for the shot in my mind. Sooooo in the meantime, I have been forced to try it out on other things…..like I could leave new toys alone. Here are a couple of shots with them! (I can’t wait to see what Yosemite looks like through these.)
CANverse
So for those of you who don’t know about Canstruction, it is an annual friendly competition to help out Harvesters (a local food bank). The intent is to design something, and build it completely out of cans. This year my firm chose to design a Chuck Taylor shoe by Converse. The structure itself has somewhere around four thousand cans stacked and taped together. The event takes place at Union Station in Kansas City, and will be on display there unitl January 31st. This year Harvesters has designated a website for the people’s choice award. Anyone can vote for a $1 donation to Harvesters here: http://www.harvesters.org/Event/EventCalendar.asp?Event=Canstruction2010&StartDate=1/18/2010. If you have the money vote away, if not please just enjoy the creativity that helps feed the hungry.
