Derek Olson Photography Blog

The Grove Arcade in Downtown Asheville, NC

April 9, 2010 • Asheville, Photography • by Derek

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The Grove Arcade was built by E.W. Grove, who is also the creator of the historic Grove Park Inn. The Grove Arcade was completed in 1929, two years after E.W. Grove passed away. “Tenants included candy and cigar stores, a haberdashery, a public stenography office, fruit stands, millinery shops, beauty parlors and barbershops, a photography center, bookstalls and specialty groceries.” Read more about this fine piece of architecture on The Grove Arcade’s web site.

Grove Arcade in Asheville, North Carolina

See it on flickr, too

The Biltmore Estate: It’s like Being There

March 25, 2010 • Asheville, Photography • by Derek

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The Biltmore Estate has had several movies filmed on its property over the years. One of those is Being There, a film directed by Hal Ashby (who also directed Harold and Maude) starring Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine. This is a great film to watch if you have recently visited the Biltmore Estate, and especially if you toured the house since a large portion of the movie takes place inside.

This photo I took the other day is from a similar vantage point as a scene at the end of Being There.

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

Screen shot from the movie "Being There"

Also on flickr

Flat Iron Building in Asheville

March 23, 2010 • Asheville, Photography • by Derek

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Continuing my downtown Asheville photo series… here is the Flat Iron Building. This vantage point is looking down Battery Park Ave. The street that runs parallel on the left side of the Flat Iron Building is Wall St. Inside are mostly business offices and at the base are restaurants, a coffee shop and a few shops. On the top floor is the (somewhat hard to find) Sky Bar.

The Flat Iron Building in Asheville, North Carolina

See it on flickr

Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, NC

March 20, 2010 • Asheville, Photography • by Derek

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The impressive Basilica of St. Lawrence in downtown Asheville, NC.

Basilica of St. Lawrence in downtown Asheville, NC

Princess and the Frog

March 20, 2010 • Photography • by Derek

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When it comes to child portraiture I don’t like telling a child to say “cheese”. I would guess cheese is not that exciting to a kid anyway. If the child smiles naturally that is great! I won’t tell her: “No! Give me somber!”

The cute child in this photo was indeed posing for me and I didn’t say a word to get this expression from her. Who knows what goes on in a child’s mind; it’s probably not Gouda though.

I was happy how the photo turned out, from her mood to the composition and colors.

Princess and the Frog (Artistic Child Portraiture)

It’s also on flickr

Jackson Building in Downtown Asheville, NC

March 18, 2010 • Asheville, Photography • by Derek

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The Jackson Building is my favorite piece of architecture in downtown Asheville. Completed in 1924, it was the first skyscraper to be built in western North Carolina. Real estate developer L. B. Jackson commissioned Ronald Greene to design the Neo-Gothic style skyscraper to promote his faith in the continued strength of the 1920s local real estate market [nps.gov].