Rangeline Tattoo

A tattoo shop on a rainy spring evening.  Rain, a novelty after a year of drought, is occasion enough to go out and photograph.  Spring only compounds the impetus.  I've started shooting outside of downtown Columbia, now and then.  It seems I find more unvarnished scenes, such as this one.  The color version of this image is over on my color blog. 

Glenn's Cafe

Glenn's Cafe, when its neon still illuminated the curtained, second floor windows of The Missouri Press Clipping Bureau, on the northwest corner of Ninth and Cherry.  Glenn's old space is now home to Kaldi's...I'm not sure what happened to the Missouri Press Clipping Bureau.  The non-conformist graffiti and the shadow-casting tree were here for many years before this corner got renovated.

Tiger Pawn in the Rain

A rainy night on the east end of the business loop. 

Arrow Head Motel, Business Loop

The Arrow Head Motel on Columbia's business loop, as it used to look when they still turned the neon on every night.  Now the motel (and its sign) are candidates for the 2012 City of Columbia historic properties status...http://gocolumbiamo.com/Planning/Commissions/HPC/

Tiger Hotel with spring blossoms

Another attempt at visual haiku, an act which can only be blamed on spring.  This one written with a 40-some year old Canonet GIII rangefinder.  Hence the soft glow emitted by the neon, the palpable texture of the April-night blossoms, the warmth and radiance of the scene.  I've got a series of images taken with this camera last spring; I plan to post them in sequence.  To me, this one epitomizes late April in the midwest.

KOPN

The red neon of the KOPN radio station on Broadway, during a January snowstorm in Columbia.

Tiger neon in the snow

The Tiger Hotel sign last week.  One of the icons of downtown.  Haiku-like when it is viewed from a distance, through some snow-covered branches. 

Ninth Street in fog

Another view of the Peking neon that once graced Ninth Street, after closing time.  This particular stretch of Ninth really lost some magic once the sign came down. 

Peking Palace, 9th Street

Most residents of Columbia will remember Peking Palace, a Chinese restaurant downtown.  Sadly, Peking closed its Ninth Street location in the late 90's.  Too bad, its neon was a fixture and a beacon in downtown Columbia.