Thursday, October 8, 2009

Friday My Town Shoot Out - Silhouettes

I first learned of the Friday My Town Shoot Out from my blog friend Barry. That lead me to the delightful blog of the Shoot Out's co-creator, a talented professional photographer named Patty, who happens to hail from my home state of Maryland.

Well, it's a great fun way to visit places all over the world in a very intimate sense. You can get the whole list of folks who participate HERE, and go to New Zealand, the Caribbean, Oklahoma, Ontario, Great Britain, Idaho, and as of today, Paducah, Kentucky.

Thank you for letting me join! I'm no great shakes as a photographer, but I live in a magical little city. Paducah Kentucky is about 255 miles west of Lexington. It's a city of around 27,000, which lives a lot larger than it is.

This week's assignment is given by Carrie: Silhouettes.

Carrie says, "I chose silhouettes because I think they make such striking photos. It's like getting the best of both worlds in one shot: black/white and color."

Okay, here goes!


I set off on my last walk of the morning on Wednesday. This is the house catty corner from ours. It used to be a speakeasy and a brothel! Upstairs, there is still a metal door with a slidey peekaboo window, just like in the old movies.




Here are my favorite silhouettes of all those pictured: my walkmates, Sam I Am and Lindy Loo.
This is at the steps of the Presbyterian Church, which was founded in 1844, and moved to this location in 1888. In the background you see a bell tower of the Catholic Church and the outline of the Hotel Irvin Cobb, named for our famous local humorist, who authored more than 60 books.


I bet you didn't know that silhouettes could be LOUD?





This is the Columbia Theater. Its marble facade bespeaks of grand days. Those days are marred, simply because this is a Matron of the South. People my age who grew up here remember that there was a separate entrance for 'coloreds' and there was a section of seating in the balcony reserved for people of color.
Isn't that amazing?
The city is seeking a buyer for this gorgeous building. There was a rumor a couple of years ago that Quentin Terrintino was going to purchase her, but that's all it was, a rumor.



Downtown in the morning.







This is the old market house. The sides used to be open for carts to back into. Now the front of the building houses the Yeiser Art Center and the back of the building houses our wonderful community theater, The Market House Theater.



Lewis and Clark and little Sacajawea, with their trusty Newfoundland were a big part of Paducah's history. Paducah sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, just upstream from where they empty into the Mighty Mississippi. Looks like these good folks are trying to figure out where to go from here.


If only they had a trusty whippet guide!



The downtown roof tops now sport fancy gathering places for the fancy folks who can afford to live there. They have a lovely view of the river.






And we're home. This tree, which umbrellas Bill's gallery, was twice this size before we were hit with an historic ice storm last winter.
This was so much fun. I walked the same route that I do every day. That I've done every day for the last seven years, in one form or another. And yet I saw new things! Fresh delights opened up to me because I was looking through different eyes.
Thank you for letting me join in. I can't wait to share more of this unique place with you.
hug your hounds

22 comments:

  1. Wonderful photographs. Well done.
    I especially like the squirrel!

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  2. Great to have you join us Patience, otherwise I wouldn't have known Lewis and Clark had a Whippet for a guide!

    But then they planned so well for their trip I should have known they wouldn't have overlooked such an important choice.

    I also love that you have a house "catty" corner from your own that was a speakeasy and a brothel.

    You are surrounded by history.

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  3. Hey I feel like I just had a great dog-walk through Paducah, and I'm looking forward to even more in the future. I don't know if Ed and Reub can keep up with those whippets of yours, though!

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  4. these are all very good! and welcome to Friday Shoot Outs. love the shot of your dog and whippet guide. have a great weekend!!

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  5. You know I love the dogs. Very cool.

    I especially love the statue shot.

    Great job on the fist photo. Hope you had your sunglasses on.

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  6. Welcome to the shootout, and having never been to Kentucky, I'm looking forward to more sights of your town - I really liked the shot of the statues!

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  7. Whew, when I read Friday Night Shoot Out, I thought you Kentuckians were serious!! I'm glad it's a picture-takin' shootout. Very nice pics!!

    Rudy

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  8. the photo with the dog is great.

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  9. Welcome and well done. That was a great shoot out. Love Lewis and Clark and little Sacajawea!!

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  10. I loved your photgraphs! And I love the history, or rumours, behind them.
    But really, the whippet is the star, don't you agree?

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  11. You made J & I laugh with the picture of Sammy.

    Heather

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  12. Thank the heavens it did not rain for our fair on Saturday and today the sun in bright. You did a great job on your shoot out. I am like you, seeing things with different eyes. I sent your poster to my friends in Paducah. I have been trying to get her to start a blog what she does face-book with her kids. I liked the comment from Rudy about a shoot out in Ky.The James brothers Mom lived about a mile from me and there are a lot of tales around here about bullets in the walls, tunnels, etc.
    QMM
    QMM

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  13. These are good! and dang it all , I didn't do my friday shoot outs this friday! I'm so bad about it sometimes, and it's so much fun! dang it all!

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  14. going to leave this blog up this morning so I can remember to order you book! my brain is scattered ...boing boing boing!

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  15. Great pictures, Patience. I remember when there was a separate entrance for blacks at the Columbia. I always wanted to sit up there with them. (Now I wish I had.)

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  16. Welcome to the gang!

    I see you are VERY talented! I love the one with the dogs tied to the post.

    You do some amazing stuff with sun flare.

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  17. great photos, we love the four legged silhouettes best :)

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  18. Welcome, Patience! That's quite the neighborhood you live in ;) It looks like you have some beautiful architecture in Paducah, KY. Looking forward to seeing more of your town!

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  19. A great series - good to have you on board.

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  20. Welcome to the gang. do you have a suggested topic for me to add to the list. I like very much you dialog about your town, I know we are in for quite a story.

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  21. This was wonderful and we'll definitely look forward to more My Town Shootouts. Your talent is obvious and your city is wonderful. (We drive through it almost every summer. We'll see it with different lenses now. thank you!)

    Jake and Fergi xxoo

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