Video

2016 In Pictures

Over the last few years I’ve come to love Instagram. While I’m actively involved on most social media sites, Instagram has become my personal favorite. It allows me to share many of the special things that I observe on my travels around the US.

Most people are satisfied with having one Instagram account, but I actually utilize 4 different accounts. For the most part, each of them has a theme. I find that I get more interaction (likes and comments) when I stick to this theme based approach.

My @kevinmason account revolves around my love of signs (especially neon signs). My @ghostadsigns profile is devoted to my love of fading ad murals or ghost signs. My @thekevinmason account is often a hodgepodge of things, but often features graffiti and street art. And my @kevinmasonmusic profile is my professional account and is focused on music and social media.

Below are short videos for each account highlighting my most liked pictures of 2016. If you’re so inclined, I invite you to follow along on Instagram. Happy New Year!

Liquor Stores

Liquor Stores

In past posts, I’ve mentioned my love of signs. Neon signs and vintage signs, it doesn’t matter; I love them all.

Recently I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and noticed that some of my most popular pictures happened to be signs from liquor stores. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence, or I just attract those kind of people, but I have to admit, there is something alluring about liquor store signs.

You can see more signs from liquor stores (and of course other things too) on Instagram. Just click HERE to view my feed.

Liquor Stores Liquor Stores Liquor Stores
Liquor Stores Liquor Stores Liquor Stores
Liquor Stores spacer150 Liquor Stores
Ghost Ad Signs

Ghost Signs

In addition to neon signs another one of my favorite things is many call ghost signs. Ghost signs are hand-painted advertising signs usually preserved on brick buildings or wooden structures like barns. The hand painted sign era for the most part ended in the 1960’s, and most of the signs are now preserved for nostalgic purposes.

When originally painted, these advertisements were usually painted with oil based paints. The reason that these signs have survived is often due to lead contained in the oil paint and that helped the paint adhered to the brick and masonry surfaces.

Sometimes when an advertising contract ended the sign would simply be painted over with another advertisement. Today some of these signs cause a double or even triple ghost effect.

Below I have included some of the hundreds of ghost signs that I have taken pictures of over the years. As you will notice, soft drinks like Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Double Cola, and Royal Crown (originally known as Chero Cola) were BIG users of the hand painted sign.

To view any picture up close, just click any of the images for a larger version. I hope you enjoy this trip back in time!

Ghost Sign 1 Ghost Sign 2 Ghost Sign 3
Ghost Sign 4 Ghost Sign 5 Ghost Sign 6
Ghost Sign 7 Ghost Sign 8 Ghost Sign 9
Ghost Sign 10 Ghost Sign 11 Ghost Sign 12
Ghost Sign 13 Ghost Sign 14 Ghost Sign 15
Ghost Sign 16 Ghost Sign 17 Ghost Sign 18
Ghost Sign 19 Ghost Sign 20 Ghost Sign 21
Ghost Sign 22 Ghost Sign 23 Ghost Sign 24
Ghost Sign 25 Ghost Sign 26 Ghost Sign 27
Ghost Sign 28 Ghost Sign 29 Ghost Sign 30
Ghost Sign 31 Ghost Sign 32 Ghost Sign 33
Ghost Sign 34 Ghost Sign 35 Ghost Sign 36
Kevin Mason