Category: Still Life

A wonderful dining experience… lunch with Tanya…

What more could one ask for? Warm sunlight… the company of one’s daughter… and Cafe Corazon serving delightfully fresh and flavorful food, wonderful service and and great value in a remarkable environment.

This working class neighborhood also contains many memories… from my living in “Riverwest” as a student… and this being the neighborhood where my parents actually spent their childhood, adolescence and teens. An amazing old neighborhood where you’ll find residences, with small factory buildings and storefronts, with living quarters above, sprinkled throughout; making it easy to imagine the era when one could walk to work and pickup dinner on the way home; back in the day when neighborhoods were designed to work and “worked” very well.

The neighborhood was first settled in the 1850’s with luxury summer homes on the west bank of the Milwaukee River. As the “working” population grew and spread, from 1900 – 1920s, the neighborhood became more working class with smaller homes; much more densely populated; sprinkled with factories, bars and storefronts. Dad’s family lived in “rented flats” in or near this neighborhood from the 1920s well into the 50s. Dad’s parents were first generation immigrants (Dad was  born in 1922, the youngest, with three older sisters who survived birth and childhood).

In my university student days (1964 – 72), the rents were low; yet located close enough to the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee campus for walking and biking. The storefronts made great art studios. My first studio was about 4 blocks south of this restaurant. My first student/shared apartment about 8 blocks south.

(click photograph for larger view)

Leica M8, 28 mm Summicron Asph

Alan Magayne-Roshak accepted my invitation for a walk

So far Alan’s the only one to take me up on my invitation to accompany me on my “daily” walks. Alan Magayne-Roshak is the Senior Photographer with University Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. You can see some of Alan’s fine photographic work here.

We met at Alterra at the Lake, located in the old historic Milwaukee River Flushing Station, built in 1888. We walked the Milwaukee Mckinley Marina and Beach for an hour before returning to Alterra for hot chocolate; and continued our conversation on all things photographic, including (but not limited to): aesthetics, equipment, history, the LUG (Leica User Group), chemistry, optics, etc et al.

And of course the invitation remains open. Give me a call. Let’s walk!

Photographic evidence (click photograph for larger view) of the events:

Leica M8, 50 mm Summilux Asph or 28 mm Summicron Asph