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NotMyDayJobPhotography.com

  2. None of the Above

None of the Above

This gallery contains miscellaneous photos in various locations such as Paris and Nashville.
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Andrew Jackson's Hermitage during the Christmas Season 2011
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Andrew Jackson's Hermitage during the Christmas Season 2011

  • Coachella Valley Preserve, near Palm Springs, California
  • Indian Canyons, new Palm Springs, California
  • Coachella Valley Preserve, near Palm Springs, California
  • Indian Canyons, new Palm Springs, California
  • Palm Springs, California
  • Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted. The building was competed in 1753 as the colonial legislature (later Pennsylvania State House) for the Province of Pennsylvania. It became the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783 and was the site of the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787. Independence Hall was built between 1732 and 1753, designed by Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton, and built by Woolley. Its construction was commissioned by the Pennsylvania colonial legislature which paid for construction as funds were available, so it was finished piecemeal. It was initially inhabited by the colonial government of Pennsylvania as its State House, from 1732 to 1799. The highest point to the tip of the steeple spire is 168 ft, 7¼ inches above the ground. The two wings were demolished in 1811–1812, though these have since been reconstructed. See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Hall">Wikipedia</a> for more detail. The tower shown here underwent a 14-month rehabilitation project in 2010. The project included repointing and replacing damaged brick masonry, installing or replacing wood shingle roofing and flashings, restoring and painting window sashes and frames and doors and frames of Independence Hall Tower. Carpentry repairs included painting and caulking on all exposed wood decorative building elements over the full height of the tower. See the <a href="http://www.visitphilly.com/history/philadelphia/independence-hall/">Visit Philadelphia website</a> for more detail. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29">Wikipedia:</a> During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress. Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third President in a row who died on this memorable day. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only President to have been born on Independence Day.
  • Benjamin Franklin's Grave, Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Gravesite of Andrew and Rachel Jackson Our family visited Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage outside of Nashville in December 2011. The site consists of a visitor center, mansion, slave quarters, and graves of Andrew, Rachel, and family. We first saw a short film in the visitor center that did a reasonable job of summarizing the highlights of Jackson’s life, hitting the good points-support for democracy, expansion of voting rights, and support of the Union and bad-slavery and Indian removal. From the Hermitage tourist literature: “For the nation founded on the idea of individual liberty, it was an age when progress came hand-in-hand with contradiction. The most divisive of these issues: Indian removal and slavery. As a political and military leader, champion of the common man, and slave-owning cotton planter, Andrew Jackson was at the center of these controversies.” Viewing a model of Jackson and wife Rachel, I was struck by how thin he was. At 6’1, he was at most 145 pounds. Despite this thin build, he was a tough-as-nails guy, nobody that you wanted to mess with. A bad-ass in today’s vernacular. In a 1806 duel with Charles Dickinson, his strategy was to take the first hit, and rely on his willpower to sustain himself; then shoot deliberately and shoot to kill. This was what happened as Jackson was hit in the chest near his heart. Jackson, with his left boot filled with blood, aimed and fired at Dickinson, killing him. See <a href="http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g07.htm#zree4">Dr. Zebra</a> for more detail (this site summarizes health issues of presidents). My favorite passage from Jon Meacham’s Pulitzer Price winning biography "American Lion" provides an example of his toughness and how it made him a hero: “As a judge of the Tennessee Superior Court-a post he held from December 1798 until July 1804-Jackson was riding circuit when he encountered the case of a man, Russell Bean, who had been indicted for “cutting off the ears of his infant child in a drunken frolic.” The local sheriff was afraid of Bean, who refused to appear in court. “Russell Bean would not be taken,” the sheriff told Jackson, who later related the incident to Henry Lee. “At this Judge Jackson expressed much astonishment, and peremptorily informed the officer “‘that such a return was an absurdity and could not be received, that the culprit must be arrested, and that he [the sheriff] had a right to summon the posse comitatus, to aid the execution of the law.’” The sheriff asked Jackson to join the posse, and after arming himself, Jackson agreed. “Sir, I will attend you and see that you do your duty,” he said the sheriff, who led Jackson to the place in town where Bean, “armed with a dirk and a brace of pistols,” was “boasting of his superiority to the law and entertaining the populace with taunts and reflections upon the cowardice of the sheriff and the pusillanimity of the court.” Then the court-in the person of Jackson-appeared. “Now surrender, you infernal villain, this very instant,” Jackson said, “or I’ll blow you through.” Wilting under Jackson’s “firm advance and formidable look,” Bean was “unnerved entirely.” He dropped his guns. “I will surrender to you, sir, but to no one else,” Bean said to Jackson. Jackson could be touchy and unreasonable, but here, in a corner of Tennessee, we can see the faith others put in Jackson in times of peril and the respect his bravery inspired in his foes. “When danger rears its head, I can never shrink from it,” Jackson once told Rachel. He did what others would not-or could not-do. In a world of threats, that willingness made him a hero, a central figure, someone who could be counted on.”
  • Andrew Jackson's Hermitage during the Christmas Season 2011
  • Palace of Versailles Hall of Mirrors<br /> <br /> The Hall of Mirrors is the largest room in the Palace of Versailles and overlooks Versailles Park. The Hall of Mirrors was constructed between 1678 and 1684 and designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and decorated by painter Charles le Brun. The Hall was the setting of royal celebrations.It was the setting for the proclamation of the German Empire by Otto van Bismark in 1871 and the location of the signing of the Versailles treaty, which ended World War I. <br /> <br /> Versailles does not allow backpacks or tripods so all of my photos were handheld. Fortunately there is a reasonable amount of light. This photo is a result of merging three photos in an HDR process in Photomatix; 10 mm (16 mm with 1.6X crop factor), 800 ISO, f3.5 with speeds of 1/250 (-2), 1/60 (0), and 1/15 (+2).
  • Palace of Versailles<br /> <br /> I took this ceiling photo somewhere in the Palace of Versailles. I can’t be more specific on the location and don’t know anything about the work. As you can probably tell from my other photos on this website, I like ceilings. The detail can be remarkable and I don’t worry about the crowds of tourists getting in the way.<br /> <br /> This was not HDR but a single RAW exposure at f3.5, 800 ISO, 1/60, at 10 mm (16 mm with 1.6 crop factor).
  • Napoleon III Apartments at the Louvre
  • Untitled photo
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