DALLAS, TX :: Dallas is a vastly sprawled, desolate and dirty city. It’s not the kind of place you would want to spend a vacation, although that’s exactly what I did. Kristie was attending a week-long conference, and I tagged along to support her. The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex hosts the highest concentration of corporate headquarters in the United States, but not much else. Because of this, I was able to visit a couple clients and do some work to fill my time.
Dallas isn’t completely void of attractions. We did find a few places and activities to keep us entertained. There are no geological features or interesting landscapes nearby to hike, but the city has a few museums worth exploring. I visited the Sixth Floor Museum and saw artifacts from the JFK assassination. I later stood atop the grassy knoll and then walked over to the exact spot where Kennedy was shot, designated with a simple white X in the middle of the road. The Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center are also worth visiting.
We had not been through a haunted house in decades, so on Halloween, Kristie and I went to the Scaregrounds, an old warehouse converted into an assembly of four haunted houses, each with a different theme. It was expensive and mostly lame, so it will probably be a couple more decades before we visit one again.
The next evening we went to Speedzone, a go-kart center for adults. They had four different racetracks with various styles of karts, including dragsters that did 0-70 mph in 3.5 seconds! The Slick Track was the most fun, even though I wasn’t very good at it. It’s a polished raceway with karts that have smooth tires – a drifter’s dream! I watched Kristie lap me several times as I spun out again and again. A couple NASCAR drivers and their crew were racing amongst us, in town for the Dickies 500 that weekend. That entire night was a lot of fun. They really need one of these in the Seattle area.
We visited several other sites, including the Fort Worth Stockyards, the Thanksgiving Chapel, the Dallas Arboretum, and the *best* dining experience ever, Fogo de Chão. I’ll be posting photos and entries for these soon.
Dallas isn’t completely void of attractions. We did find a few places and activities to keep us entertained. There are no geological features or interesting landscapes nearby to hike, but the city has a few museums worth exploring. I visited the Sixth Floor Museum and saw artifacts from the JFK assassination. I later stood atop the grassy knoll and then walked over to the exact spot where Kennedy was shot, designated with a simple white X in the middle of the road. The Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center are also worth visiting.
We had not been through a haunted house in decades, so on Halloween, Kristie and I went to the Scaregrounds, an old warehouse converted into an assembly of four haunted houses, each with a different theme. It was expensive and mostly lame, so it will probably be a couple more decades before we visit one again.
The next evening we went to Speedzone, a go-kart center for adults. They had four different racetracks with various styles of karts, including dragsters that did 0-70 mph in 3.5 seconds! The Slick Track was the most fun, even though I wasn’t very good at it. It’s a polished raceway with karts that have smooth tires – a drifter’s dream! I watched Kristie lap me several times as I spun out again and again. A couple NASCAR drivers and their crew were racing amongst us, in town for the Dickies 500 that weekend. That entire night was a lot of fun. They really need one of these in the Seattle area.
We visited several other sites, including the Fort Worth Stockyards, the Thanksgiving Chapel, the Dallas Arboretum, and the *best* dining experience ever, Fogo de Chão. I’ll be posting photos and entries for these soon.
Very cool shots and angles. Really like the black and white treatment. Terrific lines.
So, is outdoor art/sculpture available in mass quantities. That looks very similar to the hammering man in front of SAM< ant that other thing below the building looks like that piece outside the space needle.
Thanks!
I wondered the same thing. Hammering Man, Red Tubes and Typewriter Eraser – these are reproductions I saw in Dallas that I previously thought were unique to Seattle. I was kind of taken aback, even mildly offended. I guess it’s no different than seeing copies of Rodin’s “The Thinker” or Robert Indiana’s “Love” all over the place, but it just doesn’t seem right.
John
Hi John,
Great lines and B&W treatments. I particularly like the top and bottom shots. In the top one is the leaning over effect just from the lens? Can I ask what lens you used (I know you have a few) and what focal length was taken at?
CheersKeith
Thanks, Keith!
I think dingy Dallas is perhaps best represented in B&W. I used the Canon 10-22mm lens at 10mm.
If the lens is held level and even against the major lines of the scene, there is no distortion. However, once I tip it at any angle, things start to get interesting. Photoshop can be used to straighten things out, but sometimes I like the three-point perspective effect.
John