This week, it’s Sofia’s turn to challenge us. Her theme, “Urban Environments” got me looking for examples of places to feature. Sofia notes, “For many of us, cities are part of our daily lives. For others, it’s a place to be visited now and then. One thing is certain, urban environments are as varied as it gets and offer plenty of wonderful sights. This week’s challenge is about how you view any urban environments you came across, either by visiting as a tourist or the place you live in or commute to every day. What makes that city or town special and how do you capture it.” You can read her entire challenge post here.

A few years ago, I spent a few days in Baltimore Maryland for a conference and stayed at a hotel in the Inner Harbor area. I came away with a few images to share that reflect the urban area around the harbor. My opening image might have been shot from my drone, but it’s a cellpic I captured at blue hour from my high-rise hotel room.

Cityscapes can house some unique architecture. Near the inner harbor area, I saw this interesting condominium building. At one point, I looked up the average cost of one of the units in the building. Let’s just say, they cost something north of my budget.

Another image from the highrise hotel where the conference was held. This shot was from a colleague’s hotel room and features the entrance to the harbor.

Urban environments aren’t just about the buildings, though. Cities attract people and in this case, a music festival across the river was in full force. Of course, the people sitting along the water’s edge here couldn’t see the musicians, but sound travels easily so many gathered to enjoy the sounds if not the sights of the festival. The advantage, of course, listening was free of charge.

I was intrigued by the many electric scooters available for rent and just laying around on the sidewalks. As a young couple stopped by to pick up a couple of scooters, I inquired as to how the process worked. After a quick explanation, they posed for a photo and were on their way. They will leave the scooters at their next stop to await someone else to pick one up and head wherever.

You will seldom find buskers in smaller cities unless there is a special occasion. The Inner Harbor area draws a lot of tourists so there is plenty of opportunity for someone with talent to play and earn some tips for their day’s work. With different size buckets and traffic cone stands, this gentleman was very talented and drew a small crowd whenever he was playing.

Thanks to Sofia for this week’s challenge theme. I am writing this a couple of days in advance of the theme release as we are getting ready to head for the Big Apple and a Carnival cruise ship. We’ve passed our Covid test and finished all the online requirements for entering Canada and we are hoping to see some fall colors in the northern provinces. I will have little to no Internet on the ship, so if I don’t get back to you right away to respond to comments, I’ll be online again either Saturday or Sunday (9/17 or 18).

Click on any of the images above to view it in HD, or you can view the entire Flickr gallery here.

John Steiner

Baltimore, Maryland.

While experimenting with a new software tool (to be discussed in a future post), I was searching my gallery for images to use as examples. I happened across this image of a sailing ship docked in the Inner Harbor at Baltimore.

For Cellpic Sunday, I like to tell a bit about the subject of the image, and one reason I never published this one before is that I was unsure of the ship’s name. After I finished processing the image, I could read the word “CAPITAN” on the vessel’s bow, but I couldn’t make out the other word. Some Internet searching and confirmation with the Images pages in my search engine gave me the full name and some background.

She is the Capitán Miranda, a sailing ship that is used for training by the Uruguayan Navy. The tall ship began life as a hydrology research vessel in 1930. Named after Captain Francisco Miranda, an Uruguayan naval officer, and marine geographer, the Capitán Miranda completed underwater surveys and charted Uruguayan waters until 1976.

Her original purpose was completed and she was due to be scrapped. For whatever reason, plans were changed and the Capitán Miranda was instead refitted with three tall masts and became a sail training vessel for the Uruguayan Navy. Completed in her new design in 1978, she began participating in the many tall ship regattas. In 1988, she completed her first 355-day circumnavigation of the world. In the process, she won a race during the Australian Bicentennial in Sydney. Her home port is in Montevideo Uruguay on the eastern shores of South America.

About the photo: I was standing on the deck of the sailing ship USS Constellation, one of the ships permanently on display at the maritime museum. I used my Samsung S7 cellphone to capture this image in August of 2019. The image remained in my collection of unprocessed images until I saw it while experimenting. If I hadn’t been able to come up with the ship’s name and a bit of history, it probably would have remained unpublished. In any case, I ran it through Adobe Lightroom and my own details template in Luminar AI. If you click on the image, you can view it in 2KHD on my Flickr site.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge-response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment.

John Steiner

Baltimore, Maryland.

Last week, my Cellpic Sunday image featured the use of 5-gallon paint buckets in a creative way to allow drone pilots to demonstrate their piloting and image capturing skills. This week, I feature a busker who’s using 5-gallon buckets in a creative way, as well.

I was at the annual conference of the Civil Air Patrol in Baltimore. During a lunch break, I wandered around the Inner Harbor area looking for interesting things to photograph (of which there were many). I could hear the sound of this guy’s drums from some distance away, so I followed the sound.

I was surprised at the complexity of his drum set. Traffic cones for stands and a pair of drumsticks for beating on the paint buckets were simple in themselves, However, the five bucket bottoms that make up the drum skins appear to be “tuned” based upon the number of buckets stacked within each drum giving the drummer a range of tones in his performance.

About the photo: Captured from my Samsung S7 cellphone, it was simply a “snapshot.” I didn’t think to adjust the exposure to stop the motion, so there is motion blur in the drummer and his drumsticks. I liked that happy accident as it shows that he was in the act of making music. If you click on the image above, you can pixel peep in HD and see the metadata for more details via my Flickr site.

I am entering this post as a challenge-response to Marsha Ingrao and Cee Neuner’s Photographing Public Art Challenge #PPAC. Cee’s challenge rules are posted here.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dash cam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge-response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment.

John Steiner

Note: As this is being written, it’s mid-March (St. Patrick’s Day, to be exact.) Travel is in short supply and not recommended until we get past this COVID-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that the travel plans of spring vacationers have been upset. That’s probably the least of our worries right now. My wife, Lynn, and I have cut our travel plans for the time being, and we’ve even decided to stay in Arizona a bit longer before heading back to our home in Fargo. Stay safe and follow the guidelines from the CDC.

In 2019, my last Civil Air Patrol National Conference as North Dakota Wing Commander found me in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore. Downtown Baltimore is much like any major city downtown with skyscrapers and business offices. The city, however, has a connection to the Atlantic Ocean via the Patapsco River. The river, 39 miles (63 km) in length, is born in central Maryland and flows through Baltimore into Chesapeake Bay. That pathway to the Atlantic brought international trade to the area. Since the early days, shipbuilding was a major industry in the harbor.

From my hotel room, I could see views of the Patapsco looking toward downtown as in the opening photo, and toward the Atlantic (except for that giant hotel blocking my easterly view.) For years, the port was idle, but in the late 1950’s, city planners began to transform the area into a tourist center that became a model for urban renewal, planning, and development.

Three major attractions are visible in the image above. The ship Lightship Chesapeake and submarine USS Torsk are two of the ships that are part of the Maritime Museum. You can read more and see images I captured on that museum tour here. Immediately behind those ships is the National Aquarium. To the left of the National Aquarium building, just above the Chesapeake is an original city power plant that is now a collection of restaurants and shops.

The converted industrial building still sports the old smoke stacks needed in its day as a power generator for the city. Barnes and Noble and the Hard Rock Cafe are only two of the building’s occupants.

Everywhere you go, there are scooters that you rent by the hour. Pick one up and scan its barcode from your smartphone app. The electric powered scooter will come to life and you’ll have instant transportation around the Inner Harbor area. When you get to where you are going, just leave it where you are for the next rider to come along and hop on.

One of Baltimore’s major attractions is Fort McHenry. It’s a taxi ride from the Inner Harbor, by land or water taxi. The Water Taxi is a seasonal service so it may not be in operation if you are visiting in the off-season.  For travel to and from Maritime Park, Tide Point, Canton Waterfront Park, and Harbor east, there is also a shuttle service provided by the Charm City Circulator and a water taxi service called Harbor Connector with different routes available. Check to be sure these services have routes near your intended destination.

Near our hotel, the Katyń Memorial is a must-see stop. Designed to honor the victims of a massacre in Poland that cost the lives of over 22,000 people, this memorial provides some descriptive plaques that tell the story. You can read more about my visit to the monument here.

One of the Maritime Museum stops includes a ticket to the Knoll Lighthouse which was moved to the Inner Harbor for display when it was replaced by an electronic navigational aid.

During the summer, the Inner Harbor comes alive with music. As a reggae band played in the venue across the channel, these folks were enjoying the music under the soft golden glow of a street light.

As always, if your browser supports it, you can click on any of the images above for a more detailed look.

Stay safe in these troubled times.

John Steiner

The Inner Harbor area features many attractions for visitors like us who were there for a conference. A short walk from our hotel is the National Acquarium, the large buildings shown in the opening photo. Dwarfed by the two buildings are two seagoing vessels that are a portion of the topic of this week’s Travel Tuesday post. The Lightship Chesapeake and the Submarine USS Torsk are two of the four vessels that are open for viewing for a small fee.

The USS Torsk (SS-423)  was built in the last days of World War II. For those interested in the specifics of the ship and its place in naval submarine design, Wikipedia has a large article that also includes the vessel’s service history. You can find that reference here.

Submarines are as small and cramped as you can imagine, especially if you’ve seen movies such as “Run Silent, Run Deep” or “The Hunt for Red October.” Much of the ship is open to view, complete with the small hatchways between compartments. The forward torpedo tubes are visible, one with a torpedo partially loaded and the other conveniently lit to see the interior of the tube.

Placards posted throughout all of the ships provide plenty of information for self-guided tours. Not surprisingly, of the four ships open for touring, the submarine proved to be the most crowded when it came to visitors maneuvering about on their own while attempting to view the ship’s interior. Even so, patience and courtesy made for a pleasant tour. Time is not of the essence, unless you get there just before closing.

Prior to boarding the Coast Guard’s US Lightship Chesapeake (LV-116), I’d never heard of the concept of a light ship. I was to learn it is actually a floating lighthouse. Built in 1929, the ship went into lighthouse service, her name changing at each station she served, as was common for light ships to take on the name of the location currently being served. In 1939, all ships in the lightship fleet were transferred into the US Coast Guard and the crews became Coast Guard volunteers (or found other work.) Her last station was at the mouth of Delaware Bay from 1966 to 1970 where she was named DELAWARE. At one point, she served Chesapeake Bay and now carries that name from her assignment there. As technology advanced, lightships were replaced by automated buoys and by the early 1970’s, the fleet was mothballed. You can read more of the history of Chesapeake here.

My favorite ship to visit is the USS Constellation. Launched in 1855, the ship was the last sail-only warship in the naval fleet. Wikipedia references an interesting error in the ship’s reconstruction. There were two USS Constellations of similar class, one built in 1787 and this one built in 1854. Early reconstruction in the 1950’s and 1960’s modified her to represent the older design only to discover that design change was in error.

The large ship provided the most interesting tour if for no other reason that the size of the ship allowed for many more guests and for docents to take on roles as part of the ship’s crew where presentations about life on board this sailing warship are presented throughout the day.

The ship was armed well. Though the reconstruction features obviously plastic cannon, there is one cannon on deck that is fired regularly on schedule. We happened to be on board at the appropriate time to hear the big gun fire. You can read more of the ship’s history here.

The last ship on our tour is the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney (WHEC-37). It holds the distinction of being the last floating warship that fought in the Pearl Harbor attack (stationed at the nearby Honolulu Harbor). Though the ship fought in both the Pacific and European theaters during World War II, she also was still under commission during the Vietnam War. The interior displays are of the ship’s later service years and presents the most “modern” view of life onboard than the other vessels which were clearly of an earlier time. More about the USCGC Taney can be found here.

Admission to the ships also includes a pass to visit the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse which was moved from its original location on the Patapsco River to the inner harbor when it was replaced by an electronic navigational aid. Again, Wikipedia came to the rescue with a complete history of the facility here. Finally, for your amusement, I submit a gallery of the images above (along with a couple of extras) so that you may scroll through them enlarged (at least with most browsers.) Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery. If you have a mobile phone, don’t count on a better view… it depends upon the tool you use to read this humble post.

The Marriott Hotel in the Inner Harbor area is built on the banks of the Jones Falls River. In the river across from the hotel is a strange moored vessel known informally as Mr. Trash Wheel. In the photo above, the river flows from right to left and not far behind Mr. Trash Wheel the river flows into the larger Inner Harbor area.

Known officially as the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, its purpose is to keep floating trash from entering the harbor area creating a hazard to watercraft. The floating orange booms at the front (right in the photo) of the solar and water powered vessel direct any floating debris in the river toward the mouth of the craft. River currents power the wheel and any floating trash is picked up by a conveyor and deposited in a dumpster barge hidden behind the white awning and water wheel. Solar panels provide electricity to power the wheel when river current is sluggish. The ingenious invention was conceived by John Kellett in 2008. The current machine is much larger than the original and went online in 2014. Funding for the project drew private and public funds and was built for less than $750,000 USD.

Within two years, Mr. Trash Wheel had kept over one million pounds of debris from entering the Inner Harbor area. According to Wikipedia, it’s record haul for a day was 19 tons of garbage. For more information on this device, a video of the device in operation, and a functional diagram, visit here.

About the photo: Captured from the river bank next to the hotel, this image came from my Samsung S6 cellphone in automatic exposure mode. The image was edited in Lightroom and Luminar Flex. In most browsers you can click on the image to enlarge it for a better view.

John Steiner

Across the channel from the Marriott Hotel where we were staying for our national conference, a large tented facility attracted my attention. It looks like a music venue from the distance, but I was not to find out for sure until we went for our dinner walk to a nearby restaurant. Upon our return from dinner, the sound of music wafted over the pier and throughout the area. As we strolled along the water’s edge, many people had stopped to enjoy the sound of reggae music from the artists performing that evening.

Being of a certain age, the music had no recall value for me, but from what I could hear, I understood why so many people stopped within earshot to listen. I would find out later that the group performing that evening was Rebelution, a reggae rock band from California. According to Wikipedia, the band was formed in 2004 and by 2007 found themselves on top of the iTunes Best Reggae Album list. They were nominated for a Grammy in 2017.

The venue was originally known as Pier Six Pavilion since its construction in 1981, however in 2018, naming rights were sold to the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore. The name they selected is the MECU Pavilion. The City of Baltimore owns the venue that has a capacity of 4,400 guests.

About the photo: As the sky was losing its last vestiges of “blue hour” lighting, the warm glow of the yellowish street lamps reflected the warm temperatures that evening which were in the high 80’s F (around 28 C). The image was captured on my Samsung S7 cell phone at f/1.7, 1/10 sec., ISO 200. I used Adobe Lightroom and Luminar Flex to post process the image of listeners enjoying the music that evening. Most browsers support clicking on the image to enlarge it for a better view.

John Steiner

Just down the street from the hotel where I was busy with the 2019 Civil Air Patrol National Conference in Baltimore in August, a large monument stands in the center of a round-about. The monument is a reminder of yet another atrocity committed during World War II. The Katyń Massacre occurred in 1940. Originally blamed on the Germans, some 22,000 Polish prisoners of war, civilians and military personnel were executed. As it turned out, it wasn’t the Nazis, it was the NKVD, the predecessor to the Soviet Union’s KGB who was responsible for the massacre. The Soviets denied involvement in the atrocity until 1990 when they finally accepted responsibility and condemned the actions of Joseph Stalin and the Politburo.

The monument was created in Poland and its installation at the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore was completed in 2000. The round-about is located at the intersection of President and Aliceanna Streets.

About the photo: Captured with my Samsung S6 cell phone, the image reflects the height of the monument at 56 feet (17 m) which happens to be the tallest monument in Baltimore. This is the view looking to the east along Aliceanna Street. The exposure was 1/700 sec at f1.9, ISO-40. Most browsers will allow you to click on the image to get an enlarged view.

John Steiner

I know there is some political discord on the topic of Christopher Columbus and his “discovery” of the new world. Indeed, seven states and almost 60 municipalities have changed the focus of the holiday to honor the native people living in the New World when Columbus and his three ships stumbled upon it while looking for a trade route to the orient. I am not going to get into an argument about whether or not the day (October 14 this year) should be renamed Indigenous People’s Day. Though it would appear that I somehow “honor” Columbus because I “gave him a halo.” That was an unintended consequence of putting the sun behind the statue so I could get a better view of the front of the sculpture. That saved me a walk back to the site in the morning when the sun was on the other side of the sky.

The small park is featured in the foreground of the photo of the Scarlett Place Condos in last week’s Cellpic Sunday here. A circular sidewalk ringed with flags of Italy surround the platform upon which the statue is mounted.  A stand of trees and grassy area is located east of the statue along President Street. The ownership of the park is somewhat of a mystery. I expected to see the park listed on the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks website. On their Parks and Trails page they list 18 city parks but Columbus Park is not on the list. It is, however, identified on a PDF map I downloaded from the Baltimore City Recreation & Parks website.

About the photo: As I mentioned in an earlier post, I forgot to bring my Sony camera but I did have my Samsung S6 cellphone handy. I’ve got lots of images of Baltimore for future Cellpic Sundays as the S6 was all I had with me. This image demonstrates the wide latitude of the Samsung camera system. Even challenged by the bright sky behind, the sensor in the camera captured incredible detail in the shadowy side of the sculpture. The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Luminar Flex. In most browsers you can select the image to enlarge it for a more detailed viewing.

John Steiner

On one of my walks around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area, I noticed this unusual construction. It appeared to be an apartment building of some sort. Near an entrance is a small park featuring a statue of Christopher Columbus. Truly, to me the architecture of the building is more interesting than the park. A few minutes exploring Google Maps gave me the answer as to the function of this uniquely designed building.

The Scarlett Place Condominiums is a 14-story high rise containing luxury apartments. A search on the name brought up a post describing some of the details about the units and amenities. There are 147 units with an average cost of about $280 per square foot. Units for sale that came up on the search indicated pricing from about $350,000 to just under a million dollars.  The condo fee is probably pretty high given the amenities include an indoor pool, fitness center, garages, and even a concierge. No, I’m not interested in moving to Maryland. I just found the architecture of this building which appears from the ads I saw to have been constructed in 1988. As you can see, some of the units have outdoor terraces of some considerable size.

About the photo: Captured with my Samsung S6, the image was processed in Lightroom and Luminar Flex. Click on the image for a better view.

John Steiner