Photo Essays: Graffiti Eradication
May 20th, 2011Graffiti is one of those blights that never seems to go away. These days, it seems as if any object is a tempting target for taggers.
Central Tucson certainly isn't immune from the graffiti plague. Street signs are especially vulnerable...
When they're not being stolen, traffic safety devices are also quite the target...
Locally, there are two approaches to graffiti eradication:
- Get rid of it! This is the approach that the City of Tucson and its eradication contractor, GPC, favor. It's also how the grassroots group, Neighbors Organized To Abolish Graffiti (NoTAG), goes about things. I blogged about NoTAG's free public workshops back in July 2009.
- One-up the taggers! This approach can be a lot of fun. For example, there's that nearby neighbor who awoke to find her back wall covered in graffiti. First, she got mad. Then she rounded up several cans of different-colored paint and went to work, all the while singing her favorite songs. She created a faux finish effect that looked quite attractive -- and it masked the graffiti.
Alas, that neighbor has since moved out of state, the wall has been repainted, and the new property owner doesn't seem to care about the tags that have re-appeared.
Another one-upmanship tactic is to drown out taggers out with big, bright color splashes. That's what's done at the International School of Tucson, and I'll leave you to admire the results...
Related Posts
- Event Photography: Graffiti Removal Workshop
- Photo Essays: Traffic Calming
- Photo Essays: From liquor store to school
- Photo Essays: March of the Mini-Dorms
- Construction Photography: House Painting Time!
Event Photography: 2nd Saturdays First Anniversary
May 19th, 20112nd Saturdays Downtown celebrated its first anniversary this past weekend. This event has been drawing tens of thousands of people to Downtown Tucson for arts, entertainment, shopping, and good old fashioned people watching.
The Ronstadt Transit Center isn't known for its musical entertainment, but haven't you always wanted to sing a song while waiting for the bus? Here are the Desert Melodies with your just-before-six soundtrack...
Further west on Congress Street, Toby Chivers & Deceptively Innocent played outside the Chicago Store. This trio may be young in age, but they can rock it like old pros...
I'll confess to having a real thing for guitar closeups. So, let's zoom in on Deceptively Innocent's bass player...
On to the Scott Avenue Stage, where My Town Music Youth Graduates perform pop and rock...
We still have a little daylight left, so let's backtrack to the corner of Congress and Scott. Here are two performers from the Parasol Project's Living Statues...
Sun's going down at last. Here's Chillie Willie Groove to help you bring on the night...
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
Related Posts
- Photo Essay: Tucson Concert Venues
- Event Photography: Happy Birthday Tucson
- Event Photography: 2nd Saturdays Downtown
- Event Photography: Another Monday Evening Walkabout
- Event Photography: Folkies and Rodders
Photo Essays: Traffic Calming
May 13th, 2011Do you live on one of those streets where there seems to be no speed limit? So do I.
And, sorry to say, those speed tables further up the street don't seem to help at all. The speeders slow down enough to go over them without wrecking their suspensions, then it's off to the races again.
Fortunately, a solution is at hand, and it's called traffic calming. The goal is to slow or reduce motor vehicle traffic so that pedestrian and bicyclist safety is enhanced. Speaking as someone whose primary means of transportation is a bicycle, I'm very much in favor of traffic calming.
In central Tucson, neighborhoods are adding an artistic touch to the traffic-calming circles that have been installed at street intersections.
Take, for example, this circle at the corner of Edison Street and Vine Avenue in the Jefferson Park Neighborhood. Care for a xeriscape garden in the middle of the street?
An in-street garden would make me slow my car down for a closer look. (That is, if I had a car!)
This traffic circle also displays the talent of Jefferson Park's artists...
According to the neighborhood's website, the circles were designed by Maria Voris, Rosemary Byrd, Matthew Bossler, and Maile Nadlehoffer. Another Jefferson Park neighbor, "Village Blacksmith" Jerry Harris created artwork from the designs. The City of Tucson contributed soil, boulders, and plants.
Related Posts
- Photo Essays: March of the Mini-Dorms
- Photo Essays: Graffiti Eradication
- Photo Essay: Building Garden Basins
- Photo Essay: Greenway Park Ramble
- Photo Essays: From liquor store to school
Event Photography: Tucson Folk Festival 2011
May 9th, 2011The official 2011 Tucson Folk Festival photo gallery is up and ready for you to enjoy!
Feast your eyes on 315 images of performances, workshops, the Songwriting Contest, the Folk Women's Jam & Song Circle, the Children's Show, and Tucson Folk Festival scenes.
To whet your appetite, here's my very opinionated selection of Best o' the Fest photos...
And here's a complete list of the performances that I photographed at this year's Folk Festival:
- Don & Victoria Armstrong
- Larry Armstrong & Copper Moon
- Arnold/Klingenfus Ensemble
- Roman Barten-Sherman
- Batucaxe
- Chris Borreca
- Bwiya-Toli
- John Coinman
- Sabra Faulk
- Tony Furtado
- Eb's Camp Cookin'
- Sandy Hathaway
- Debbie Hawkins
- Hot Club of Tucson
- Indigo Spirit
- JC & Laney
- Jeff & Patricia
- Scotty Johnson with Native Seed
- Robyn Landis
- Jaese Lecuyer
- Kevin Pakulis Band
- Ladies Gun Club
- Leila Lopez
- Lilla Luoma
- Linda Tepper Rothchild and Mark Holdaway
- Manzanita Bluegrass
- Mzekala
- namoli brennet
- Otter Creek
- Privy Tippers
- Robby Roberson
- roth d'lux
- Scatter the Dust
- Smallvox
- String Bean Folk Orchestra
- The Determined Luddites
- The Flying Javelinas
- The Greg Morton Band
- The Long Wait
- Titan Valley Warheads
- Way Out West
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
Related Posts
- Event Photography: Tucson Folk Festival 2010
- Event Photography: Tucson Folk Festival 2008
- Event Photography: 3rd Annual Tucson Madonnari Chalk Art Festival
- Event Photography: Folkies and Rodders
- Event Photography: Solar Rock 2011
