Kansas City bound...

[tim_gruber]

Hi There,

 

Everyone proved a helpful bunch when I headed to Texas this spring

and I was hoping you could provide the same insight with Kansas City.

I've read up on the main tourist type attractions, but I was hoping

for things more slice of the life in nature. Places a local may go

for example. Any towns or cities outside KC worth a visit? Will the

farmers be out harvesting their wheat crop or is it to early yet? I

remember driving through Kansas once and one place we stopped had a

lot that sold tornado shelters. Is this common? And in Kansas City

itself are their any streets or areas that buzz with street life?

 

If you're really bored and liked to see what I like to shoot this is

what I walked away with from the TX visit:

http://photo.timgruber.com/images/texas/index.htm

 

As you can probably tell I don't put a major emphasis on walking away

with images of major tourist attractions.

 

So anything to put me off the beaten path would be excellent. I'm

there for a week and half so I should have plenty of time to get

lost. Thanks for any help.

 

Tim

[john kissane]

Too late for the winter wheat harvest, to early for the spring wheat harvest, but the fields may be bountiful. You should look up the Flint hills west of KC for prairie grass. South of KC for Fort Scott KS (frontier hisory), West to Lawerence KS (college town and history). North to Parksville and some rivertowns. East to Powell Gardens (Missouri).

 

In KC you have to hit the Country Club Plaza, even if it is on the tourist route. KC is a city of fountains and the Plaza is made for photographers. The city market, 18Th and Vine (jazz) etc...

 

Sorry, but am on the way out the door. Check the above on the web and if you want further get back. Regards

[tim_gruber]

Thanks John, I'll google those spots.

[tim_schroeder]

If you're lucky, a thunderstorm will blow through. There are few images more dramatic than shooting a wheat field while the sun is low behind you and a dark thunderstorm is rushing towards you. Of course, this is one of those "right place, right time" images that can be hard for visitors to catch.

[john kissane]

Ya Tim, he sure has to follow Toto. Regards

[subpopstar]

John's answer above hits on some of the things you may want to check out here in KC. I would add to his list (after looking at your Texas photos):

<ul>

<li>Check out the Negro Leagues Baseball Musuem (even if not a huge baseball fan it's pretty interesting on a cultural level)

<li>Spend a morning or midday shooting street/architechural shots inside the loop downtown. Lunchtime near City Center and the 12th St. & Main St. area usually provides interesting people.

<li>Do make time to visit the Plaza area. It is trendy, but great people watching and social commentary on the haves, have-nots, and like-to-haves.

<li>If you're here over a weekend, a trip to Westport could be interesting. Lots of nightlife there (especially if you're in the 21 - 35 age bracket like me!).

<li>The Nelson-Atkins Museum. Lots of museums in town, but this is the old standard with Monets, Rembrandts, Picassos and such. Yes they exist here in KC. And there is an excellent collection of Far East artifacts as an old curator/professor was a world-reknowned expert on Far Eastern art.

<li>Try to head north of the river to Parkville or further up to Weston. Both towns were created in the 1850's by commerce on the Missouri River. Parkville is more cosmopolitan while Weston is far more country, but they're both interesting.

<li>If you have time/inclination try to take in a Royals game at Kaufman stadium. Yeah, the Royals suck this year, but Kaufman is still a beautiful stadium and it's one of the cheapest venues in the major leagues. A great way to spend a summer night.

<li>East of KC is Independence, MO. Lots of history here as the Oregon, Sante Fe, and I think another trail I'm forgetting started in Independence.

<li>North of KC in St. Joseph is the home of the Pony Express, and the Stetson hat company.

</ul>

There are more things I could point out, but the bottom line is that KC is a lot of fun. I hope it won't be too hot when you're here. Email if you'd like more detailed info on any of these or have other questions....

[john kissane]

Tim, Steve has a great list, might even meet Jessie James in St. Joe since they dug him up a few years ago. And the Royals do suck. Good luck. Regards :-)

[john_mcmillin]

I enjoyed a couple of days there last fall, without the family and with my Canon, Olympus

and Voigtlander companions. There my be no major tourist attractions in KC, but there's a

great range of minor ones. Some have already been mentioned. I'll add the Steamboat

Arabia Museum (difficult photography by a great tale) and the restored Union Station

(great food, cathedral lighting and another great story). <p>The city has gobs of character

and texture. The downtown skyline is bold and dynamic. The streets below deserve more

residents and streetlife, but redevelopment and gentrification, lofts, etc, have a way to go

yet. Everything's NOT up to date in Kansas City, compared to my home in Denver. That's

one reason why it's more visually interesting. Come here from the east, they say, and KC

looks like a Western City. Come from the West, and it looks Eastern. Many great architects

have worked here, from the multimillionaire homes in Shawnee Mission, near the Country

Club Plaza, to older, humbler joints (The "Eat & Get Out" diner on one main street.

Entertainment is world-class (On four consecutive nights, you could see Wynton Marsalis,

Lyle Lovett, Steven Wright and local boy Pat Metheny.) The fields surrounding KC are an

always-changing patchwork quilt of crops & tilled soil, draped over inetrsting hills. And

you should track down some of the photo stores there! The ones I visited were little rabbit

warrens cramjammed with every stray lens and accessory you could imagine, very old

school. <p>Bottom line, I loved the town! Friendly people, cheap and delicious eats. KC is

one town that lives it up far beyond its mundane reputation.

[john kissane]

John, as a newcomer here (only 25 years, former NYer) I agree fully. We like to say KC is a well kept secret. Regards. Oh, forgot, Bronco's stink. :)