Potpourri
Bygone Luxury—Color Photograph of the Year 2015
The first railroad dining cars were attached to passenger trains in the nineteenth century. George Pullman, famous for the sleeper car, introduced the Delmonico dining car. The upscale dining car served food for the budget-breaking price of one dollar per meal.
The 1940/50s were the golden age of train travel and the dining car was a passenger’s favorite part of the trip. For the railroad, the dining car was expensive to build, staff and operate. Not only was a separate fully functional kitchen car required, the train had to be stocked with crockery, glassware, tablecloths, flatware, menus, and of course food.
To operate the “restaurant” on wheels, an average crew of ten people were required: cooks, waiters, bartenders, and a steward. All members of the crew, especially the chef, had to be able to perform duties while the train was in constant motion: rocking, slowing, speeding up, taking sharp curves—sometimes at eighty miles per hour.
Liquor was available in the dining car or club room car. However, in 1950, alcohol could not be sold while traveling through Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Judged Best of Photography in 2016 Shelby County Arts Council 6th annual Juried Art Show.
Second Place 2016 Gadsden Museum of ArtBygoneLuxuryGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsRailroadRailroad CarSlideshowSmugmugTraintrain carwinnerCapturing History Through Photographydinerfood
Beach Buddy Night-Third Place—New York Center For Photographic Art, Dusk to Dawn 2019
Friends sit quietly listening to the gentle rhythm of ocean waves washing ashore on the moonlit beach in the largest city in the world—Honolulu.
Yes, Honolulu is the largest city in the world—in size, not population. The Hawaii State constitution stipulates any island or islet not belonging to a county belongs to Honolulu. The result is all islands within the Hawaiian Archipelago, which stretches to Midway Island are in the Honolulu City limits making Honolulu’s City border approximately 1,500 miles long. The 48 continental United States is 2,680 miles wide.
Hawaii also is home to the tallest mountain on earth. Mauna Kea, located on the island of Hawaii, is a dormant volcano which last erupted in 2460 BC. What makes it the tallest mountain? Mauna Kea rises 13,796 feet above sea level, but extends an additional 19,680 below the surface to the ocean floor making it the tallest in the world at 33,476 feet—4,441 feet higher than Mount Everest.BeachBuddyNightGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsHonoluluHawaiiSmugmugOceanBoatBlack and WhiteCapturing History Through Photography
Whiteout
The average annual snowfall in New York City is 28 inches. Almost that much snow fell on one weekend in February, 2006. On February 11th and 12th of 2006, a total of 26.9 inches of snow fell on Central Park. It was the largest snowfall recorded since record keeping began in 1869.
To speed removal of snow throughout the city, diesel powered snow melting machines were used, each of which melted sixty tons of snow per hour. The resulting water went directly into the sewer system.WhiteoutCentral ParkFogGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comManhattanNew YorkNew York CityPhotography by Gary RickettsSmugmugSnowTreeWinterBlack and WhiteCapturing History Through Photography
Under The Seat—Second Place 2017
John Deere, avoiding bankruptcy, moved to Grand Detour, Illinois in 1836 where he set up shop as repairman and maker of pitchforks and shovels. Deere observed the iron or wooden plows used by the farmers easily got stuck in the rich Midwestern soil, requiring the farmer to frequently stop and clean the soil from the plow. A process that made the plowing of a field slow and laborious.
In his workshop, Deere made a plow from a Scottish steel saw blade, creating a self-scouring steel plow. The invention of the smooth-sided steel plow by Deere, significantly aided farming migration to the American Great Plains during the 19th and early 20th century.
The company’s slogan, “Nothing Runs Like a Deere” and its logo of a leaping deer, with “John Deere” under it, has been used for over 155 years. Today the company manufactures a plethora of equipment used in all sorts of industries.UnderTheSeatHDRAlabamaButlerGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsFarmTractorSmugmugWinnerBlack and WhiteCapturing History Through Photography
Fork and Spoon—Third Place 2015
A collection of antique dinnerware used in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.
AlabamaGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comHuntsvilleMuseumPhotography by Gary RickettsSmugmugforkspoonwinnerCapturing History Through Photography
Hood Ornament—Third Place 2019
HoodOrnamentAutomobileCarGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsReflectionTransportationwinner
Bar is Closed
A mid 20th century bar car. When the railroad was the most common from of long distance travel, sleeper, dining and bar cars were common.
barClosedAtlantaGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comPhotography by Gary RickettsRailroad CarSmugmugTraintrain carCapturing History Through Photographyfooddrinkscocktails
Say What—Atlantic City, New Jersey First Placer 2013
Just a normal January day on the Jersey Shore.
Atlantic CityBeachCloudsGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comIceNew JerseyOceanPhotography by Gary RickettsSignSmugmugWaterWinterSayWhatwinnerCapturing History Through Photography
Top To Bottom—Girona, Spain
During the 12th century, a Jewish community thrived in Girona, with one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in all of Europe. The Kabbalah teachings intend to explain the relationship between the Creator, mortals and the universe.
The Kabblah scriptures are not included as a part of the traditional Jewish scriptures.
Kabbalah doctrine is accepted by some Jews and rejected by other Jews as heretical and conflicting with Judaism. The term Kabbalah is now the main descriptive term for Jewish esoteric knowledge.TopBottomEuropeGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comHaroHDRPhotography by Gary RickettsSpainStepsWindowBlack and WhiteSmugmugCapturing History Through Photography
Grand Central—New York City
More than 150,000 people visited Grand Central Railroad Terminal on opening day, Sunday, February 2, 1913.
By 1947, over 65 million people had traveled by rail via Grand Central Terminal. But, by 1967 the building was crumbling from neglect as jet noise replaced the click clack of rails.
Grand Central was completely restored in 1998.New YorkBuildingManhattanTrainNew York Citygrand centralCapturing History Through PhotographyGary RickettsgrickettsPhotography by Gary Ricketts
Men on Beam—New York City
The early 20th century was a period of intense skyscraper construction in New York City. The men who worked hundreds of feet in the air causally walked about on narrow steel beams and would often take a seat on one of the beams to eat lunch. A famous photograph of iron workers in 1932 taking a lunch break while building Rockefeller Center inspired this sculpture.
The life-size work, titled "Lunchtime on a Skyscraper—A Tribute to American Heros" was created by Sergio Furnari. With the sculpture mounted on the top of a pickup truck, Sergio often displays it in SOHO (South of Houston Street). Sergio also sells miniatures of the piece to passersby.BuildingFire EscapeGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comNew YorkNew York CityPhotography by Gary RickettsSculptureSmugmugWindowMenBeamCapturing History Through Photography
Smoke and Mirrors—New York City Third Place 2016
Throughout New York City plumes of steam raise up from the underground, sometimes from giant white and red tubes, or from manhole covers.
Con Edison not only supplies electricity to New York City, but it also operates and maintains the world’s largest network of steam pipes.
Without the steam pipe network, Saumil Shukla, vice president of steam operations at Con Edison said, “Had it not been for the steam system, the postcard skyline that you see of Manhattan would be totally different. You’d be looking at every one of these high-rises with some type of chimney coming out of it.”SmokeandMirrorsBuildingColumbus CircleFogGary Rickettsgrickettsgricketts.comManhattanNew YorkNew York CityPhotography by Gary RickettsReflectionSteamWinnerSmugmugCapturing History Through Photography
