A large group of demonstrators came to the Nichols Fountain area on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM to demonstrate against the Hosni Mubarak regime in Egypt currently being protested in various forms back in Egypt itself. I am informed many of the group were Egyptian Americans, with good attendance by many other Arab Americans in general as well. As of drafting this post I’ve also heard that Internet access is widely shut down in Egypt at present. The demonstration and protest of Mubarak was organized by the Muslim American Society of KC with support from groups such as Citizens for Justice in the Middle East.

Here are seven photos from the event on the afternoon of Saturday January 29th, 2011. Because I used three different lenses for these seven photos I’m including pertinent lens info underneath each photo, shot with my Canon 5D Mark II camera. A tip of the hat to Heycameraman on twitter for informing me this demonstration/protest was taking place, serving as reminder to check my Facebook Events listings more often.

Demonstrations for Egypt #1, Canon EF 16-35 L II f/2.8 Lens at 16 mm

Demonstrations for Egypt #2, Canon EF 16-35 L II f/2.8 Lens at 16 mm

Demonstrations for Egypt #3, Canon EF 100-400 L f/4.5-5.6 IS Lens at 330 mm

Demonstrations for Egypt #4, Canon EF 100-400 L f/4.5-5.6 IS Lens at 285 mm

Demonstrations for Egypt #5, Canon EF 16-35 L II f/2.8 Lens at 16 mm

Demonstrations for Egypt #6, Canon EF 85 mm prime lens at f/1.8

Demonstrations for Egypt #7, Canon EF 85 mm prime lens at f/1.8

The Vacated Norman School on Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City, MO

This is the old Norman School, I assume a leftover from the Kansas City Missouri School District. The building is listed by a realtor. Whenever I’m zipping between my midtown home and downtown I often notice this building to the right as you’re going north on Southwest Trafficway about midway through 39th to 31st.

Kauffman Center Construction With Snow

It’s winter and that means it’s the worst time of the year in Kansas City. Nevertheless I had to get out and take a photo of the Kauffman Center with the snow. I ended up going back to a familiar spot, at the Convention Center Ballroom sculpture area where I took this photo back in the summer. Truthfully I think the first one taken with my older camera is more interesting, but here I added snow. So, yeah.

Public Art at 31st and Troost at the new MAX bus stop

A few weeks ago I spotted new public art installations at at least two locations along the new Troost MAX bus line that started running at the new year. This one, completed, is located at 31st and Troost, same site as the anticipated Troost Festival every year in May and across the street from Operation Breakthrough headquarters. There is another MAX bus stop public art installation down the road eight blocks at 39th and Troost that’s not quite completed yet.

While prepping for my photo here I could see what a transit terminus this intersection of 31st and Troost really is during the rush hour. It was around 5:30pm and at a point there were KCATA buses at all four sides of the intersection.

New public art installations around the city are always fun and interesting to nab photos of.

– January 18, 2011, about 5:45 pm –

A West Bottoms Rail Crossing

This is the kind of thing you could call street furniture. It makes a street more interesting and it serves a use, in this case keeping people from being ruined by passing trains. And it looks better than having nothing there at all. Two Sundays ago I was in the West Bottoms and took this shot prior to Saturday’s 12th St. Bridge photo. Also, One Kansas City Place and the Town Pavillion tower, KC’s two tallest, are visible in the back.

12th Street Bridge Architecture

Last Sunday in the West Bottoms I thought it would be fun to try and see about bringing out the 12th Street Bridge meanness while a train passed beneath.

North on Main in The Link

This is the first of the three photos I bothered editing from inside The Link on Sunday evening, and the final one I’m posting for now. The last time I had been inside The Link for photos back in October, this section where the main part of downtown is viewable was closed off due to some kind of maintenance work. I’d gotten in here this time with the intent to utilize my oft-used standard wide angle lens (Canon 16-35 L II), but ended up trying the fisheye while waiting for the lighting to get good and decided fisheye was the way to go. Magnified in real close on my monitor you can make out the “Go Chiefs” display emblazoned with an electronic Arrowhead on the front of the downtown Marriott.

Looking South In The Link

From my Sunday evening around sunset inside The Link tunnel between Crown Center and Union Station at Pershing and Main. This shot was rather unintentional, as after I finished taking tomorrow’s photo posting, I went on my way to get situated to take the one I posted back on Tuesday. But in between those two I stopped for this one and was lucky enough to do it at a time with low enough foot traffic through there so as not to mess it up, as I was gathering several manually bracketed source images from the camera for eventual HDR/tone-mapping on the computer.

I thought it odd what’s seen in the left windows, which doesn’t at all look like what is actually out there, I see now because of the floor reflecting in that left hand glass. I had kind of thought the result was sort of similar to THIS PHOTO, although in that one from last summer the whole intent was for there to be a light duplication on one side from the other. Here it’s more a particle physics issue with how the photons behave, I guess. It was accidental and I didn’t even notice it until I was processing the photo on my computer. What you’d normally see out of the left window is the Westin Crown Center Hotel building.

Plus I thought this shot makes it kind of look like you’re in a tunnel and they’re coming to get you.

Snow with the Flags

After leaving work on the southern part of the Plaza on Monday afternoon I trudged vehicularly in the snow past the pedestrian bridge with all the national flags of Kansas City’s designated sister cities. When I got home I eventually grabbed the camera bag and went back just for a type of shot like how this kind of came out. I had something fairly close in mind anyway. It seems like every winter or snowstorm I end up taking a pic or two on or around this pedestrian bridge over Brush Creek.

Inside The Link

On Sunday I had a good time in the afternoon and evening getting some new shots just for fun. I started in the West Bottoms and ended inside The Link, the windowed above-street tunnel between Union Station and Crown Center. I’m actually posting my photos in backwards order, as this one was my final for the evening. I get a little excited in photographic terms when dealing with all kinds of shapes in front of me combined with the potential for fun light reflections and so on. I ended up using my fisheye lens for my three shots I took inside The Link (this and two forthcoming). Most fun I’d had taking pictures of something in awhile.

Note: I’ve updated my portfolio site’s home page with an updated slideshow of my stuff from August through end of December 2010. Click Here

Holy Name Church at 23rd and Benton, Pre-Demolition

We have the Holy Name Church at 23rd and Benton Boulevard on Kansas City’s east side, now facing imminent demolition with the owner of the old church building telling a judge he will indeed foot the bill for its demolition instead of the city.

Construction on this old church began in 1911 but wasn’t completed until the late 20s. The historical significance of the church as it aligns with Kansas City’s place in American history (MLK’s assassination and the Kansas City riots of 1968) can be detailed at this blog posting, and also a good write up of the situation as this pertains to Kansas City’s present situation in preservation of the built environment can be seen at a forum I used to visit, in the first post of this thread (click here). Hat tip to a contact there who got in touch with me over getting this shot before they knock down this old Gothic-style building. Also seen at Tony’s Kansas City and The Kansas City Star.

You could say there’s a slight bit of irony in the old church sitting across the street now from residential infill houses that when viewed out of context, would make you think you were in one of the suburbs like Lenexa or Blue Springs – as evidenced by the late-80s looking split-level house to the far right in the background of the photo.

Photo from evening of Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 23rd and Benton Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri.

The Plaza Medical Building with high-rise residential behind.

While getting shots Sunday evening I nabbed this view from the top of the garage on 47th looking southeast toward the Plaza Medical Building in the lower foreground and the old high-rise condo and apartment buildings along Ward Parkway towering behind.

Scene from the Kansas City Board of Trade in December 2010.

While one of my coworkers at the Board of Trade neared her due date, I took a couple photos of her, highly pregnant in the staff jacket on the trading floor, and also had a bit of extra time for some random photos on the trading floor a little bit before Christmas. There’s not much happening in the market for hard red winter wheat in December of most years as the crop is only busy lying in the ground waiting to sprout in the spring, as it is now.

Plaza Lights from 47th St.

Something from Sunday evening, January 2nd along 47th on the Plaza. I haven’t done any Plaza lights photography this season at all, or much other photography for that matter – due to a lot of things I’ve been having to take care of lately. But I’d been meaning to try and get a view from this particular spot in this garage looking toward the intersection. Of course the reality of it is always different than how you envision beforehand in your head, then you just try and compose around what you’ve got in front of you.