Update - February 24 to March 2, 2019
-- Elgin Park Seems Real to Me
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| Michael Paul Smith and his creations |
In 2011, Michael Paul Smith of Winchester, Mass., published a book titled: "Elgin Park - An Ideal American Town," containing remarkable photographs he had taken over many years that depicted typical post-war images of scale model vehicles and buildings that he had bought or built himself. Below is my weekly section, "Reading Update," where I give some details about the book and why I knew I had to get it, read it, and share it with anyone that might appreciate the nostalgia aspect of his artistry.
As to the artist himself, he passed away last November at the age of 67. The obituary in the New York Times said, "Mr. Smith created his photographs using forced perspective, the technique of making an object seem larger or smaller than it really is based on its juxtaposition with other objects." This clever technique using a simple camera and his highly detailed cars and buildings allowed him to create a fantasy village called "Elgin-Park." He claimed the name was something spontaneous that he came up with, not based on any actual location. But, clearly his life in Pennsylvania and Worcester, Mass., and later in Winchester Mass., became the source of his unique and endearing vision of a bygone era. I wish I had got to meet him. Let me know if you want to read the book.
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-- Winter Weather Continues
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| View from the garage |
On a few days this week and last week I drove Patti to work as she was not thrilled about driving during rush hour in the snow-covered streets. My car is four-wheel drive and we both feel better riding through snow in it. Also, on more than one occasion, the hospital asked Patti to extend her workday an extra four hours (up to 12) as they were running with a low nurse population and a high patient population. It happens more often than you know. The trees were covered with ice and snow and combined with the gray sky and the low cloud cover it was dull and nasty for several days.
-- Vacation Planning
We have set aside some vacation time between March 5 and March 12 to go to Florida. Specifically, we are flying to Tampa and will spend the time visiting Patti's nephew in Clearwater, visiting Busch Gardens, the Tampa Downtown Riverwalk, the Aquarium, the Art Museum, and at least one round of golf at the Tournament Players Club at Tampa Bay.
The golf course is a premium PGA-endorsed facility and we are looking forward to the challenge. Our flight is on Southwest Airlines, non-stop out of Hartford's Bradley International Airport. We won't carry our clubs with us; we'll rent them at the course. But, we do plan to bring our own shoes as rental shoes do not appeal to us.
-- Learning How to use a Camera
Lucy decided that she wanted to use the camera so I tried to give at least a minimum of instruction on how to push the shutter-release button and let her go. Of the dozens of images she took, it was her first "test" of the shutter-release button (which captured her own two feet) which was the clearest. All others were completely indistinguishable and blurry. I guess we all have to start somewhere and for Lucy, that's with her feet.
-- Paige and Marna Visit with Olive
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| Marna, Olive, and Paige |
Paige spent the afternoon with us helping with Lucy and Olive. Later, when Marna came to pick up Paige, she and Paige spent some quality time with Olive. Sitting up is now an important part of Olive's routine. She's sometimes wobbly, but she definitely wants to be up with the action whenever possible. If you have noticed that Olive seems to be in the green and white polka-dot outfit every week, it's because she is in the green and white polka-dot outfit every week. Apparently, Nana gave Olive the outfit and her mother sees fit to either bring her in it or send it along as a replacement during the day. By the way, she's going to outgrow it very soon, so enjoy it while we have it.
- - Images from Elgin-Park, An Ideal American Town by Michael Paul Smith
^ Here is a Ford sedan model car and in the background another car moving in the opposite direction. The scale model cars are about 12 inches long. The trees to the left, the power lines, and the brick factory building are real and due to the forced perspective set by Smith, it makes the cars seem real too.
^ The photograph shows a convertible and a sedan along a sidewalk. The buildings along the sidewalk are models while the faint brick building in the background is real. By placing the model cars and buildings on a flat board, and lowering the angle of the camera's focus, Smith has created the forced perspective.
^ Using a board with some painted stripes, Smith has created a "parking lot," for these model cars. The lake, trees,
and sky are real; and as a result of the excellent detail in the model cars, everything becomes real.
^ Smith had many jobs in his lifetime including building models for an architectural firm. He built the shops along the sidewalk and placed the vehicles on the plywood road at an angle that lets the brick building in the background, the power lines, and the trees fool you into thinking it's all real.
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READING UPDATE - Elgin-Park, An Ideal American Town, by Michael Paul Smith was a delight to find and to read. As a boy, I was fascinated by static modeling. I built cars, airplanes, ships, and landscapes to decorate my model railroad and slot-car tracks. For me, it was fun to take my simple brownie camera, set it low on the table, and take an interesting "realistic" photo of the vehicles and buildings. I didn't realize I was dabbling with forced perspective; I just knew that it felt more realistic when I changed the angle and kept the background neutral. The achievement of Paul Michael Smith may have reached its zenith when a woman in England became upset that she couldn't put Elgin Park on her itinerary when she visited the United States. She thought it was a real place based on what she had seen. Paul must have been proud.
READING UPDATE: T.S. Eliot: A Memoir is a revealing biography of the Nobel Prize-winning poet constructed from the writings of Robert Sencourt, who had left his work unpublished during his lifetime. After he died, the writing of Sencourt was edited by Donald Adamson and the result is a fascinating look behind the scenes of this important and eccentric poet. He was more than a poet; he was an editor, essayist, philosopher, educator, and a playwright. Born in the late 19th Century he was educated in New England, including attending Harvard. As serious as anyone can be when you are a literary figure even in your own time, it's fascinating that he was a prankster and maintained a longtime friendship with Groucho Marx.
