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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Sunsets, Trains, and Urban Decay
This is one of my favorite times of the year, and I suppose it is fitting considering my photography tends to focus on the fleeting transition between two larger, more defined elements. I was inspired by the weather this weekend to get out and express visually what we are feeling environmentally happen. I chose one of my favorite locations, but I pushed myself to wander outside of the typical boundaries I stick to. This particular scene is on the edge of the West Bottoms, and is almost to the bottom of Kansas City, Kansas. The sky set a wonderful canvas for the light to paint upon, and I was lucky enough to capture the colors it chose on Saturday night.
Holy Family Shrine
Presidents day weekend is always a time for me and Katy to disappear somewhere for a mini-vacation. In the past we have been visiting different national parks around the country. This year we decided to something a little different and stay a little closer to home. While it may not be the most exciting vacation we have ever taken, there were definitely some interesting things to do and see in Omaha, NE. Just West of Omaha, and just off of I-80 on the South side, rests a quaint, simple chapel. It’s the kind of architecture that ,during the day, becomes a part of its surroundings before one has a chance to even notice they have passed it, and at night becomes a glowing lighthouse on the prairie. I was lucky enough to be able to experience it through overcast, sunny, and twilight. It really is amazing how your impression of a place can be drastically altered by the proper light. I think you will find that this place is made only more beautiful by the different light that passes through or eminates from it.
Urban Hunt
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
St. Lucia (Jade Mountain)
As many of my friends and family already know, I was recently married(thus the reason for such a long hiatus from this blog) and while the wedding was great and everyone had a blast, we could not wait to go on our honeymoon(see why below). We stayed at Jade Mountain on the western coast of the island. It is a beautiful little place located just to the north of Venezuela. Here are a few images to show what it was like. (I am so happy to try and get back to some semblance of a normal life again now that the main event has taken place).
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.
Golden Gate Bridge
Sunset at Golden Gate Bridge
Taken from the Marin Headlands that overlooks the bay separating San Francisco from the rest of California. I used the Tobacco filter to get a more ominous feel to the picture, and the fog just adds to the mystery.
Twilight Over the Golden Gate Bridge
A 30 second exposure about 30-40 minutes after the sun had set over the San Francisco Bay. You can see stars an the flight path coming out of San Francisco International Airport.
Liberty Memorial
Though I have shot this memorial quite a few times, it always seems to draw me back. I always seem to find something new to explore, and I can never be quite satisfied with just a few shots. Since Kansas City has been a dumping ground for mother nature over the past couple of weeks, I thought it would be a good time to get out and capture a wintery landscape overlooking the skyline. I braved the near sub-zero temperatures for almost 2 hours, and enjoyed every second of it. The memorial was built to honor those who served in World War I, and it houses a World War I museum below the monument.
Christmas in KC
So it may be a little behind schedule, but it was the hollidays, so I get a break right? In Kansas City there are lights strung up all around the city, but there are two places that seem to have a famed reputation around this time of year. The first being the Plaza, on which every shop and restaurant have lights displayed, and every year a famous guest is invited to light the plaza on Thanksgiving. The lights will stay on into the first weekend of January.
The Second place is Crown Plaza near downtown. The whole plaza is lit with white christmas lights, and trimmed with red ornaments. During the winter season there is an outdoor skating rink in this plaza, making this a great destination this time of year.
Union Station (Denver)
I was at home for the Thanksgiving holliday, and I had a brief moment to capture the twilight falling over the iconic Union Station building in Downtown Denver. Hope you enjoy it.
Power + Light 1 (The Sprint Center)
This is part of a new series of photos I will be taking in the downtown Power and Light District of Kansas City. I got out there just before the sun faded behind the horizon, and I really enjoyed the colors that emerged from it! I find it entertaining that no matter where I go to shoot, there are people that take the time to stop and ask what it is that I am shooting, and what it is for. At the moment, it is a hobby, but I am hoping that sooner rather than later, I will be doing this for a client.
Ryan Estes Photos 