Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Sepia Saturday - 15 February 2014




Crowded streets gather no moss!

I'd like to begin this post as if, we're in the middle of a conversation.

Me: So, how do you, plan on spending your day today?

You:  Blogging, and this and that and a million other things.

Me: Will you be lost in a crowd?


Photo description-  Crowd gathering at President Lincoln's second inauguration on March 4, 1865.  It was held on a rainy day at the U. S. Capital Grounds in Washington D.C.



Speaking of crowds in great numbers, take a peek at this day on July 14, 1930.

"Just glancing at this, what else does it offer to you?"
Mind the Photo-

Where's Wally?


Or, perhaps this version of Where's Waldo?



What was so important here?  Do you follow the golf circuits?  It was Bobby Jones arriving at city hall with three major golf titles.


Me:  Are you still wondering about our theme today?

Alan has left our interpretation of this theme wide open as always.  Imagine, if you will, (like this would ever happen) but, what if Alan ever pulled a tight focus on one particular thing and challenged us to focus only on that?

.....and yet, as I scanned the busy street scene that Alan posted for us, I did just that.  

We are creatures of habit, hence what marketers consume every blazing second of their day scheming away, in the hopes of snagging our attention, and reeling us into whatever they desire. 

"What is it that stands out to you?"


In my first photo, the man in the top hat stands out for me.  Who is this man in the old top hat, and what in the the world is he doing?  Is he wearing the hat in honor of good old Abe?  A little fun here, about President Lincoln keeping notes inside his top hat, and other interesting items.




He's far too short and heavy to be President Lincoln.

A must see video, from the stage in London, world premiere of Irving Berlin's Top Hat!





In many cases, photos of crowds often bring "Where is Waldo?" to mind for me.

I'm really curious about the man next to the Sousaphone/tuba.  Is he holding it, and if so what is he wearing on his head?  I wonder if it's the color green?  It just might be that the photo is distorted, but at any rate, he grabs my attention.


That's it for today, but tune in next week for



A most mysterious post!  

19 comments:

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Wow- I love all these old photos, and yes..my favorite thing to do is to zoom in on the details. Super shots, all.

Barbara Rogers said...

Well, talking to yourself while talking to us,and who's to answer? Thanks for interesting photos...I thought it strange there weren't any umbrellas at the rainy inauguration. Wonder when they came into use...

Unknown said...

I've never seen the first photo before, it's wonderful to see a crowded street scene from so long ago. I didn't know Lincoln kept papers in his top hat, but it is suited for that indeed.

Little Nell said...

I enjoyed your creative conversation and it certainly made me home in on the detail. My children loved ‘Where’s Wally’ too, but I drew the line at a ‘Where’s Wally jigsaw last Christmas!

Unknown said...

A nice take on a conversation but amidst all those crowds one would strain to hear and answer. The last photo is a little less congested and it looks more sprint like. Ready for winter to begone too, but looks like it is adamant.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

I spent some of my day smacking the ice behind my left rear car tire with a hammer, so that the car could move again.

At least it was exercise!

Nice pics, as always, Karen.
~

Jenny Woolf said...

I always think it must have been extraordinary when everyone wore hats and not just top hats - just hats in general. I don't know when that fashion disappeared.

Filip and Kristel said...

These are rallt old pictures.

Greetings,
Filip

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

I was preoccupied by the sheer numbers of people in both photos so it wasn't until you pointed out the details that I noticed. There is so much to see!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Hi Karen, I have not been here for a while. I don't find the time to visit like I would like to. Loved all of the photos and the history!
hugs,
Jann

Alex Daw said...

Great photos and yes I would never have seen the man in the top hat unless you had pointed him out....

Bob Scotney said...

Is it just me? I would hate to be in crowds like this.
You have snuck up on us with 'men in suits.'

JohnF said...

Great crowd shoots.

Postcardy said...

So, is the last photo for next week's "men in hats" topic, or is it more mysterious than that?

Wendy said...

Where is Waldo, indeed! The person that stood out to me in the first photo is the somewhat-wide woman standing southeast of your top-hat man. Not sure why exactly except that I kept thinking I wouldn't have stood in the rain, so why did she?

Caminante said...

I love the 1865 photograph, it shows that people then were just like us! The surroundings look amazingly like an English town.

La Nightingail said...

Funny how it sometimes takes another's vision to make you go back & look at a picture you just looked at & find so much more to it. And in that second photo - where's Waldo, indeed! Whew!!

Mike Brubaker said...

An imaginative post. Crowds and street scenes were impossible in the early days of photography without blurred motion. It was the improvement in chemical formulas for the glass negative plate that allowed faster exposures in the 1860s. There is a recent analysis on the web of the one photograph made at Gettysburg when Lincoln gave his famous address. A NC university professor of digital animation has picked out the figure of Lincoln in the crowd using computer techniques and some good detective logic.

Leovi said...

Very interesting photo documentary!