I was out visiting my eccentric 92 year old grandmother for a long weekend out in the country in Stafford Kansas, a four hour drive southwest of Kansas City. Maybe another post with more photos later on. All the shots in this post were with the pairing of my Canon 5D Mark II with my Canon 16-35 L II wide angle lens.
Three different edits of the same shot, something random I took Sunday afternoon on Westport Road.
Color version.
Fisheye lens distortion corrected in Adobe Lightroom. I usually don’t like the distorion-less fisheyes but in this case I thought even it was a little interesting as well.
First one with a black and white treatment.
I live not far and grew up in the area. It’s a testament to my speed and agility that I’ve crossed Westport Road on foot as many times as I have without getting maimed or killed by traffic. It’s a street that epitomizes Kansas City’s decades-long fixation with moving cars as fast as possible and saying to hell with everything else.
I took some shots today (Saturday July 9) for my friends Jason and Diana Kander as Jason had his yearly fundraising picnic for his seat as Missouri 44th District State House Representative. There was a get together at the home of some of Jason’s constituents. Jason and I were in the same high school graduating class, and I usually run in to old friends and acquaintances when I attend one of his functions.
1) Above – Jason talks to the crowd at the fundraiser.
2) Jason’s wife Diana, accomplished in her own right as one of Kansas City’s top entrepreneurs with Kander and Rigby.
3) Left to right – Genaro Ruiz, Senior Advisor to the Sly James KCMO mayoral administration on Community and Intergovernmental Affairs, Jason Kander, and Theresa Garza-Ruiz of the Jackson County Legislature.
4) Jason with former Kansas City mayor Richard Berkley, who served in office from 1979 to 1991.
Finishing up what I’m posting of new stuff I’ve conjured up to submit for the Green Exposures photo project with the KCMO Parks Department, I went to the small Pioneer Park in Westport right next to the busy intersection of Broadway and Westport Road. This sculpture group is called “The Pioneers” by Tom Beard. I assume it’s a tribute to the first settlers of Westport before it merged with the Town of Kansas, later to all become KCMO. I see there’s a beer bottle in one shot I’ll need to get rid of in Photoshop before sending it in.
