On the Road and In Your Backyard
Good Morning All,
On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some photos and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky each and every day to see and appreciate the world around us!
Submissions from commenters are welcome at tools.balloon-juice.com
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter 🐾BillinGlendaleCA.
A few weeks ago, fellow commenter NotMax commented about Glendale’s Brand. Well, the man known as the Father of Glendale was indeed named Leslie Coombs Brand. Leslie Brand was a real estate investor and speculator who owned most of the land that would become central Glendale and convinced his friend Henry Huntington(yeah The Huntington Library and Gardens guy) to run a Red Car line up to Brand’s development, Glendale. Mr. Brand built a large mansion, designed by his brother-in-law) on the southern slope of the Verdugo Hills and named it El Miradero. Upon his passing in 1925, Brand willed the house to the City of Glendale as a library and art center after his wife had passed. Mrs. Brand passed in 1945 and the Brand Library and Art Center opened in 1956. The property surround the home was also willed to the city as a park. In addition to El Miradero the park is also home to The Doctor’s House(a Victorian moved from central Glendale) and a Japanese Garden. About a quarter mile up the canyon behind the house is the final resting place of the Brands and some of their pets in a family cemetery.
Taken on 2015-12-20 00:00:00
Glendale, California
This is the entrance to Brand Park, it incorporates Brand’s original entry. During Brand’s residence here, there was a small private airport to the right of the entrance to El Miradero. Brand used the airport to fly to his property near Mono Lake and have friends fly in to entertain. Brand was also an early booster of the Grand Central Air Terminal which was near the hills you see in the background of this shot. Grand Central Air Terminal was LA’s primary airport for about 20 years before it was overtaken by LAX and Burbank. It now houses offices of the Giant Evil Corporation and Dreamworks.
Taken on 2018-11-09 00:00:00
Glendale, California
This is the Brand Library in the late afternoon last Friday. Even though there was(and is as I write this) fire about 20 miles to the west the air is quite clear due to the winds blowing away from Glendale. I do think we were getting some warming of the sunlight due to the smoke in the west.
Taken on 2018-11-09 00:00:00
Glendale, California
If this shot looks like the visible color shot, there’s a reason. I shot the scene with my modified camera to capture the IR portion of the image and shot visible light shot from the same location. I combined the two shots in Photoshop to bring back some of the color that gets lost in the IR shot.
Taken on 2016-03-22 00:00:00
Glendale, California
This is a passage way that goes to the back of the building at the right side of the visible light and IR images. This shot is looking though the passage back out at the entrance to El Miradero. This is a pure IR shot with no visible light being mixed in.
Taken on 2015-12-20 00:00:00
Glendale, California
The Brand family cemetery is about a quarter mile hike from the Library up a ravine in the Verdugo Hills behind the Library. Everything related to Egypt was pretty popular in the mid-20’s so a pyramid is not too unusual as a headstone.
Thank you so much 🐾BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
You are richer than I thought, Billin. I should have treated you better.
Thanks for the photos and the history.
The abandoned beverage can in the newest pic actually nicely balances the composition. Hoping they kept the original flooring inside, which must be (as Noo Yawkahs would say) gawjus.
Presume the handicapped access ramp is off to the left, fronting the more modernist (yet complementary) addition.
Thanks Bill! The google images are not nearly as nice as yours.
@Baud: My last name isn’t Brand.
@NotMax:
I cropped that out of the IR pic, I probably should have cropped out the light pole in the visual color pic as well. I did go inside last Friday(for the first time) and they have retained the floor and ceilings. It’s nice but pretty much a public library with big tables and folk reading. The handicapped ramp is off to the left where the entrance is, the front doors are not used.
@JPL:Thanks.
Very nice work, Bill. I love the Moorish arch shot but I’d like to also see it in visible light (I hope that means what I think it does).
@opiejeanne: I don’t have that shot in visible light, I shot that on my first outing with my modified camera. I was thinking of trying to reshoot it last Friday, but got spooked by all the no camera signs(also the light was starting to fade for the IR shots). The city has a no camera rule up there except with a permit(it’s to keep commercial photographers from using the backdrop for free).
Bill,
All of the pictures are absolutely gorgeous :)
Beautiful as always, Bill. I love your IR stuff especially.
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: That’s too bad about the ‘No cameras’ signs. It’s a beautiful building from the outside.
We were in SF several years ago, standing on the sidewalk outside an interesting old building that housed a newly opened store selling music, maybe Sony? A security guard came out and told us they owned the sidewalk and we couldn’t take a photo there. I told him the sidewalk did not belong to him, it belonged to the city, waved my copy of the “photographer’s bill of rights” at him. Because the shot was all wrong we crossed the street and shot from there and got a dramatic picture, while he yelled at us that we weren’t allowed to do that. Danged if I can find the photo.
@rikyrah: Thanks.
@arrieve: I really think one my best purchases was getting the older model camera and getting it modified(the take out a filter and put in glass).
@opiejeanne: I’ve been told that I couldn’t take photos at the fancy-pants outdoor mall here in town, but it’s private property(I occasionally snap a pic there now and then). The rules in LA on public sidewalks are interesting, you technically need a photo permit for commercial purposes, but that’s to prevent Hollywood doing stuff for free and jamming up the sidewalks.