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Earlier this week I dropped off some old computer parts at the Surplus Exchange recycling place in the West Bottoms under I-70 – and a couple days later I went back for photos figuring something could be done as far as photos go. For these I used just my telephoto lens, instead of my frequent wide angle and fisheye shots.

From walking around the part still blocked off to car traffic, underneath the 12th Street Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Photos from the edge of the Quality Hill area near the 12th Street Bridge in downtown Kansas City MO looking westward toward the West Bottoms at sunset.

Below: hint – it’s tilted so that the trains at the bottom are in a straight line.

Four shots from Thursday afternoon in the West Bottoms looking at train crossing implements, mainly around Hickory and Union.

I’m working on a photo project for the KCMO Parks Dept which entails gathering and collecting shots of KC parks and amenities, so Saturday evening I was at Case Park in Quality Hill downtown. At the end I brought out my telephoto lens and aimed it toward the West Bottoms trying to catch that tradeoff between natural light and artificial light. These two pics obviously won’t be submitted as part of my parks project but I wanted to include them in a photoblog posting nonetheless. The narrow aperture of f/18 for both pictures causes the starburst effect from the street lights as the aperture blades inside the lens refract the light onto the sensor.

From Case Park toward the West Bottoms at a focal length of 180 mm.

At the maximum 400 mm focal length on my telephoto lens toward part of the West Bottoms.

Kansas City's West Bottoms

On a drive-around/walk-around photo tour yesterday with a friend we stopped in the West Bottoms. I had fun spending a couple minutes getting shots of the available geometric angles the elevated protruding part of the building here shows off.

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.

Trains at the 12th Street Bridge

Something almost random I took at the 12th Street Bridge in the West Bottoms at sunrise back in October that I never got around to posting. There’s some long-exposure train motion in there which was why I ran over to compose as quickly as I could and try and get a shot.

NO PHOTO SHOW tonight Friday Dec. 10th as had previously been announced. Event cancelled. I could belabor all the moronic things leading up to the cancellation but then it might not seem very professional. SO DON’T SHOW UP!

See ‘ya round.

View of the 12th Street Bridge from inside the car.

Like I noted on Monday, it can be fun to take pictures of outdoor things from inside something. I got the idea to take an HDR photo of something from inside my car after seeing this fun photo from Times Square. In my case it was the 12th Street Bridge in KCMO at sunrise on Saturday… rest doesn’t always come on schedule. I tried to go as wide as my wide angle lens allowed but I decided to crop off the sides and make the dash of the car level a bit, as in the original it was tilted a little by accident due to how cumbersome it was setting up a Manfrotto tripod in the backseat of a Ford Focus. The view here terminates up ahead with the One Kansas City Place skyscraper to the east in the downtown loop.