Saterday Apr. 19th, a couple friends and I attempted an early season ascent of 8705 ft. Colchuck Peak in the North Cascades. It was a grueling day. We were on the move by 4am. The road to the trialhead was gated off; therefore, we had an extra 4 miles to hike in and out (8 miles total). The trail was compact snow to the point of concrete ice until we reached Lake Colchuck. At the lake we enjoyed lunch and I found a little time to dig out the camera to snap some shots before we made our way up the Colchuck glacier. The clouds started to come in and by the time we make it half way up the glacier the visability was not the best and the snow was really crusty, so we decided to ditch the idea of standing on the summit that day and strap on our ski, which we hauled up to that point, and start heading down. Back down at the lake I was able to find somemore time to play with the camera and the dubious clouds over Dragontail and Colchuck peaks. It was a big day, 16 hours on the trail, 18 miles roundtrip, and about 10,000 ft. of elevation change. Lots of hiking and skiing...not much photography, but here are some of my favorites.
This is from Lake Colchuck, which is frozen over, looking up at Dragontail Peak in the center and Colchuck Peak on the right. Colchuck glacier is the snow patch between Dragontail and Colchuck Peaks (we made about half way up that before turning around).
This is as high as we got, about 6700 ft. Below is the frozen Lake Colchuck.
My friend Trevor preparing to take of his crampons and strap on his skis.
Trevor and Dave at the edge of Lake Colchuck.
Trevor talking to another guy who was camping up there about the route and snow conditions. By the time we made it back down to Lake Colchuck the clouds broke and we saw blue skies once again, which made us second guess our decision to turn around, but we were exhausted and it will always be there for us to climb another day.
This was on our way up to Lake Colchuck following the icy bobsled track that was the heavily compacted trail.
Well, the summit gods decided it wasn't our time, but we will be back...once my calfs forgive me.
I don't have a particular genre, but I would say that my area is "Musicians", I love the energy, the crazy hours, etc. so my day started at Midnight, at a local place for Musicians called Cheers, where I photographed a Live Performance by the Band - "Funk U" - If interested you can hear their tunes at http://www.myspace.com/funkuband
And my day ended at a BOYS Sleepover (The last Leg of It)
Paul, thanks for the FUN...it was nice getting to show people, what you do, and what your day might consist of. Look forward to another one like this. For all that don't know it, I am officially a Smuggy now, yeah I know it took me a year, but I finally did it !! I don't know what took me so long. http://dpstudios.smugmug.com
You're only as good as your next photo....
One day, I started writing, not knowing that I had chained myself for life to a noble but merciless master. When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended solely for self-flagellation...I'm here alone in my dark madness, all by myself with my deck of cards --- and, of course, the whip God gave me." Truman Capote
Unfortunately room service closes at 6:30am at this establishment, but I did manage to convince the chef to stay open late.
The price of a room here is physical labor, I had a benefactor pick up my tab.
My room had a great view out the door, and was water adjacent (creek) out the back.
The people seemed to do a lot of social climbing.
One group seemed to be really pushy.
This guy passed out from all the excitement.
Did you ever notice some people seem to not notice anything around them?
I don't want him, you take him.
If it isn't already obvious I'm involved with Boy Scouts. My (Eagle Scout(proud father)) son is now in college and too old to be a scout (although when he's home he helps with leadership). I'm combatting empty nest syndrome by going places with my other 22 boys. This was a day of service, rock climbing, and team building. An added plus is that the camp we were at is about 30 miles from the nearest cell tower.
"The point in life isn't to arrive at our final destination well preserved and in pristine condition, but rather to slide in sideways yelling.....Holy cow, what a ride."
Since this is not a formally judged contest, there are no prizes, and the rules are kind of open, I decided to do something different (please forgive me)...
I took my daughter skiing (one last time before the season was over). I brought my D200 and my camcorder. I'm not sure why but the D200 stayed in the car.
So I've never really done anything like this before but here goes (think of it as a lot of still photos )...
Well, I was out that day shooting, but I had not read anything about this "unnofficial challenge". Anyway it was a nice day out in Union Square, New York. As the sun started heading behind the buildings, it got cold and cloudy out. Usually I catch the train down and go to the Barnes & Noble. They have the "Largest Barnes & Noble" in the world on 18th street and then on 17th street they have another Barnes & Noble which I don't really think is any smaller, but tends to be more packed on a consistent basis.
1. He was trying to sell some goods. Asked me to take a pic.
2.
3.
4. Vendors
5. Soon as I pulled up my camera to take a shot of her nice dress and hairdo she got a call and started walking away!
6.
7.
8. Stilettos
9. An 80's look
10. NYPD blocking the box! If you see the sign above the traffic light it says, it's illegal to block the box or you get fined and +2 points on your license. lol. Seriously though, one block away from home I'm reminded Pope's heading out of town so NYPD has to cut off some streets.
A day in the life? Well, why not. I call this snapshots of my day because the light and weather (extreme wind) did not help. But, hey, it's just to share what happened that day, right? So here goes.
The prior Saturday Rayna took her car to get a smog. Now back over 20 years ago in New Jersey registration was paid according to the weight of the vehicle, no matter what its age. Inspection consisted of checking lights, horn, alignment, brakes, etc. Important things that should be checked before anyone decides to head down the highways (they are highways back east, not freeways) at top speed.
Imagine our culture shock when we got to California and our cars were extremely suspect, subject to sales tax, and the registration based on the cost of the car and the age of the car. From around $35 a year we jumped to several HUNDRED dollar a year. And the inspection? A "smog" check. It didn't matter if the car couldn't stop, or stop on a straight line, or whether the horn or headlights worked -- the smog, it was all about the smog. Culture shock, indeed.
So after we dropped the car off we headed to the Elephant Bar for some lunch, confident, after getting a tune up, oil change and all that good stuff that Rayna's car would pass. WRONG -- it failed. With dire predictions of a catalytic converter needed it was a downer for sure.
Rayna returned to the repair shop and they discovered a loose hose, tightened it up and advised her to drive the car a bit before dropping it off at the smog test only station.
So April 19 was all about the smog. We dropped the car off. As soon as I stepped out of the car I was made aware of an extremely brisk and unrelenting wind. Now it's often windy in Daly City, but this seemed extreme. I decided to wait inside the little area where one can pay for gas if they aren't using a card, pick up a cold drink or some smokes, or maybe some candy. I didn't want any of that and Rayna was nervous about me staying in an area and taking up space, but the asian man must have been fairly newly arrived in this country because he welcomed me, and even got me a chair to sit on, once I explained it was just too windy for me to wait outside. Thank heavens for a culture that respects elders.
Finally after waiting and going in and out from the office he proudly informed me that the car had passed.
The above is a composite I created.
Then we went to go get some beef -- I normally don't eat red meat, but about 3 or 4 times a year I like a hunk of beef, so we headed for Black Angus, which, unfortunately was closed. Rayna took me to a different restaurant. The commercials make it sound like an excellent place to eat, but Rayna said it was overpriced and the food wasn't that good. The restaurant shall remain nameless, but if you've eaten there you might recognize the plates. What looked so good on the menu, and when it was served turned out to be quite disappointing. My "Arnold Palmer" (half iced tea and half lemonade" was served with very strong tea and pink lemonade, not what I was expecting. Anyway, I was thirsty and hungry, we ate, my curiosity is satisfied, and I will not eat there again. :-)
One more thing to get... Rayna wanted some iced coffee. This sign seems to be the story of my life lately. More going out than coming in, !
The smog part of the day done, we were off in search of photos for "the day of." I had remembered some lilacs blooming near Rayna's friend's house. Yep, they were genuine lilacs, and smelled great. It was hard to get a photo that wasn't blurred due to the high wind, even with holding the branch and trying to shoot one handed. The wind was very unpleasant, so I didn't dwell out of the car that long fighting it. Then I saw a nice poppy patch next to a hardware store and school. Well, the poppies were smart and closed themselves up, those that didn't had their petals blown off. Below is a photo of the lilacs and the poppy that didn't close all the way up.
Across the street from the lilac bush Rayna pointed out a house I'd never noticed before. I like! How neat to find something different and more contemporary in our town. I really like the slate, and they must get a great view from that south facing side.
So how bad was the wind? Here's a photo of two flags at the school. They were constantly like this, no let up in the wind at all. I was able to close down my f-stop and up the shutter speed because the light was so bright.
Off to the beach to see what was happening. Well, the wind was even more relentless, but fortunately it wasn't blowing sand around. However, the wind was so bad that I soon returned to the car. There was no way I could keep my telephoto lens in any kind of steady position.
We had some big logs drift onto the beach and people were arranging them on the beach. You can see the waves weren't that high at all. And no surfers even attempted to surf those waves.
Back in the car I told Rayna that if we had an earthquake we'd never feel it the car was being buffeted around like you wouldn't believe. I shot a bunch of photos looking north from the car, but on close examination a lot of them were really soft because I just couldn't hold the lens and camera still enough.
I've been working lately on trying to see at what point in the wave hitting and falling makes the best photo. I haven't come to any conclusions yet. I had to photoshop this one quite a bit as the light was bright and flat (the photo did not look like this straight out of the camera).
After an hour or so, we gave up. It was just too hard fighting the wind, my hand was cramping up trying to keep the camera still, and my shoulder was starting to hurt too. So Rayna drove me home.
I stopped to check on the progress of my herbs. At our exercise place (curves) they have these team projects. Last time my team came in dead last. This time my team won. Our reward was a choice of a strawberry pot or an herb pot. I decided the herbs would be of more use and I could share them with Rayna too. When my other daughter and my grandson came to visit he spotted the herb pot, asked what it was. He then said, "we had one of those" and he was off to put it together for his grandma! I got out the camera and documented my daughter and grandson creating the pot with dirt and seeds. That is his writing, it says Cilantro. They are about a week old.
Finally, after relaxing a bit and playing on the computer, I saw the sunset out my home office window and I went out to take some photos. I had a lot of trouble with the light. The sky was pink, the sun red and orange. I did a little photoshop magic to balance what I remember seeing, but even with the sunset, the day gave me photo problems!
That's it, the end! It was fun documenting my day an I've really enjoyed reading about everyone else's day and seeing the photos.
My day in the life...well I thought of all kinds of things to do. But it turned out to be an ordinary Saturday. My hubby actually had the day off (sort of) so we just ran around town and did a few things.
So here goes...
1. First stop Pets Inc. to look at my other favorite hobby.
2. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.
3. Next stop was our favorite book store. I call this the $100 store, never get out of there for under that. This trip I discovered the photog mag Rangefinder.
4. What'cha looking for?
5. Then home to enjoy the garden
6. Ice plant flower
7. Dinner time
8. Play time again
9. Aren't I cute?!
10. Still wanting to take some more photos, I dragged my daughter to the park. I think the expression is, 'you are so weird mother.'
Thanks for looking!
I can't wait for the next challenge like this in September!!!
Canon 40D, stock lens and now a Canon 55mm-250mm f/4-5.6 IS. tfarley.smugmug.com
A Day in My Life.....
Well, it's an unofficial challenge, and yet I am still waiting til the last minute.
I spent the 19th at our local annual car show. I shot every car that came through the entry point, then I had some fun wandering and shooting for the day. I also learned that I've got to be careful not to get my reflection in every single photo!
Here are a few of my favs of the day.....
5. Mike - A friend of mine on the Chamber of Commerce Board. As he was driving around franticly organizing the event, he drove past the spot I was shooting the cars as they enter.
2. A favorite couple of cars with the kids
3. Life is good
4. Salute
5. A reflection of the event
6. One Hot Chevy
7. Tried to come up with a title or caption for this one, drew a blank....any suggestions?
8. Orange Peeler
9. "Sunset Drive"
10. A Bull's Horns
Thank you PTM for organizing this! It's been great to see a glimpse into everyone's day.
a day with UKV Photos
My models were full of energy. We started the morning with two diffrent games but the weather got the best of the second game. As promised here is a look at my day. Some I just like, even though I could have done a better job taking it...some I choose for the expresions of the players and some are just good shots. Take a look and see what my day was like. As always CC welcome and desired.
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3 (This one is a little blurry I was shooting on the other field and turned just as he kicked the ball, I snapped the pic by reflex, I didnt even have a good focus on it, but still like it for some reason.)
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6 (Someone once told me to keep the camera pointed at the action even after it stops. I caught this one right after the player scored her first goal of the day...she is great but look at the expression on the little guy behind her. My heart goes out to him)
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9 (No players or equipment were damaged in the making if this image. Though at this point the player who kiced the ball looks a little worried.)
I ended up working more than I had initially planned, so I didn't get to take as many pictures. I did take a break to watch a little baseball though so here's a few from the Dodger's game.
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Perhaps not my best work, but I love the concept of "a day in the life..."
There are some stellar photographers in this forum. Congratulations to all of you who participated.
Kevin
D50 ■ 17-55 f/2.8 ■ 50 f/1.8 ■ 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S ■ SB-800 ■ SB-600 ■ Hoya Filters ■ Manfrotto legs and head ■ Kata R-103 Rucksack
I am a few days late posting, but hopefully it is ok.
We spent the day at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival. As some of the other west coasters commented, we had some odd weather (hail, snow, rain) but we hoped that the tulips would be less crowded because of it ...
This was a fun activity. Thanks Paul for the great idea. Most of the pictures are from LAX international where my Lion Dance team decided to surprise one of the directors who recently came back from vacation in Asia.
Maggie's Day
April 19, 2008 in Everett, Washington. Snow, for Pete's sake. And rain. And hail. And thunder. Little bit of sun in between.
All third Saturday's of the month start with breakfast with my folks and cousins at the Senior Center in Monroe. This is rain on blooming grass outside the door (Dactyla glomerata I think).
After breakfast Dad took me on a "photo tour" down some of his favorite roads. First the swamp below Reformatory Road, looking for the cormorants that often gather there. None today.
Next to visit an old barn on what used to be the Howe place, now a park. The barn turned out to be disappinting, but we found interesting things along the way. The llama invasion for one thing (this is an old dairy farm)
Skunk cabbage blooming in the snow.
Four of my favorite subjects in one shot! Lichens, moss, blackberry brambles and douglas fir.
A goose from the car window.
Snake in the grass! On the way home from Monroe, stopped by a cemetary in Snohomish to look for a great-uncle's grave. Uncle Lloyd has been on my mind lately, as Dad gets more and more like him. Anyway, I didn't find Uncle Lloyd, but I did find an eagle's nest with birds coming and going. I tried to set up between rain squalls, and almost stepped on this little guy, too cold to move during the 15 minutes I moved all around him.
A happy robin at Langus Riverfront Park in Everett. At least someone thinks it's Spring.
No day is complete without Star Trek, cats, and tribbles.
This was a lot of fun. Thanks, Paul. Hope we do it again!
My Day - Saturday April 19, 2008
Life got in the way of getting these images culled and processed sooner, but I've finally completed processing them.
I spent my Saturday at one of the many woodie automobile shows I find my self at throughout the year. This time I was at the 10th annual Doheny Wood held at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California. Doheny and woodies are mentioned in songs from the 1960's like Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys and other surf bands.
Here is a selection of 10 of the images from the day. The rest can be viewed in this gallery.
#1
#2 - One of many different and cool hood ornaments
#3 - Fake Food
#4 - This is a VW Bug converted to a convertible VW Woodie.
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
I was to meet up with a friend at the Renaissance Faire. Unfortunately, life intervened on his end and I wandered the dusty Faire alone, yet amongst several hundred people who were dressed, speaking and acting waaaaaay before their time.
Shooting on my own turned out to be fun, but not as much fun as shooting in a group. Here is how I spent my Saturday, April 19.
It was early, and the archers were still a little sleepy.
These swingers made for a rowdy trio. Until a "magic box" was spotted.
Music, stories and dance.
I was waiting for a show to start, so I tried my hand at macro shooting in a light breeze.
The business end of a drum motivating a belly dancer.
"If you've found a magic that does something for you, honey, stick to it. Never change it." - Mae West, to Edith Head.
"Every guy has to have one weakness - and it might as well be a good one." - Shell Scott: Dance With the Dead by Richard S. Prather
I'm a little late to the big reveal, hope that's ok! I spent April 18-20 at a photography conference from another forum. So the following are pictures that I took on 4/19. We spent the afternoon on Lake Erie in Mentor, OH. We had two beautiful models that dressed up in wedding dresses for us. And even a married couple that dressed up again in their wedding garb for their one year anniversary to pose for us. The conference was wonderful and I learned a lot. My son came too and was a model, as you'll see in the last photo.
Wow. My favorites shots from this weekend were not on Sunday!
I had an assignment at The Mohawk in Austin, Texas that evening. Nowhere near my best work but you wanted stuff shot on 4/19
Here are a few from that gig.
These are really late, but I have been swamped the last few weeks. Here are the photos from my New Orleans trip. Shot with Canon G6, Canon 20D, Canon 40D.
A pics from Friday night early Sat morning party
A few of the white trash party
A few from the French quarter on Saturday
A few people eating at a Cafe.
Well its New Orleans I had to include some alcohol somehow. Those are like 40 oz.
An painter in Jackson Square
An artist and her model
A pigeon bathing in the fountain, or he/she was cooling off, but it wasn't hot so.
People shopping at the French Market
Pirates Alley at Jackson Square in front of St Louis Cathedral. The alley actually runs down one side of the church.
I stopped at Cafe Pontalba on the edge of Jackson Square to get of snack of Blackened Aligator. One of my favorites.
At the corner of St Peter and Royal. Losts of shoppers on Rue de Royal.
Musicians playing in open area just outside St Louis Cathedral.
The tuba player
A street magician. I caught his slight of hand and how he was holding certain cards while shuffling the rest.
A carriage tour in the French Quarter.
A small band playing on Decatur Street
Some performers dancing and the large crowd they drew. Not 30 minutes before I had walked by the same area and not 10 people were there.
Another shot from a different angle. The building with the green canopy in the center of the picture in the background is Cafe DuMonde. I thought about getting some food and taking a pic there but it was packed.
Later that afternoon I wandered out of town to go to a few plantations. Here was a neat road I just came across.
And then the formal Saturday Night
The seniors
A few ladies
and then the after formal time on Bourbon Street, this was about 1am - 4am.
I can't believe he actually sat on the curb. Some random person walking by jumped in the picture with him.
Here the guy in the center was dressed up like a pirate so the group asked him to be in a picture with them.
Ok this person (because I think it was a tranny) in the pink was walking down the street and one guy say he/she and wanted a pic. You see some unusual stuff on Bourbon and that was definitely the unusual that night.
"A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
Comments
I spent this day of my life in a great company of 3 models, 2 MUAs and 1 very tall waterfall:-)
1: IMG_8435: Randa
2: IMG_8539: Randa
3: IMG_8636: Randa
4: IMG_8333: Carina
5: IMG_8373: Carina
6: IMG_8386: Carina
7: IMG_8413: Carina
8: IMG_8430: Carina
9: IMG_8694: Carina
10: IMG_8796: Carina
Complete set, including "Behind the Scenes" coverage, can be found here: http://nik.smugmug.com/PhotoSoCal/501956
Thank you Diane's Beachware for the provided swimsuits!
This is from Lake Colchuck, which is frozen over, looking up at Dragontail Peak in the center and Colchuck Peak on the right. Colchuck glacier is the snow patch between Dragontail and Colchuck Peaks (we made about half way up that before turning around).
This is as high as we got, about 6700 ft. Below is the frozen Lake Colchuck.
My friend Trevor preparing to take of his crampons and strap on his skis.
Trevor and Dave at the edge of Lake Colchuck.
Trevor talking to another guy who was camping up there about the route and snow conditions. By the time we made it back down to Lake Colchuck the clouds broke and we saw blue skies once again, which made us second guess our decision to turn around, but we were exhausted and it will always be there for us to climb another day.
This was on our way up to Lake Colchuck following the icy bobsled track that was the heavily compacted trail.
Well, the summit gods decided it wasn't our time, but we will be back...once my calfs forgive me.
Thanks for the challege Dad.
Miles McKee
http://milesmckeephotography.smugmug.com
milesmckeephotography.wordpress.com
And my day ended at a BOYS Sleepover (The last Leg of It)
Paul, thanks for the FUN...it was nice getting to show people, what you do, and what your day might consist of. Look forward to another one like this. For all that don't know it, I am officially a Smuggy now, yeah I know it took me a year, but I finally did it !! I don't know what took me so long. http://dpstudios.smugmug.com
Some Egrets were still fixing up the nest...
While others have chicks that are getting close to leaving the nest...
Others inhabitants were on the lookout for dinner...
While some were still sitting on a nest of eggs...
It won't be long before these hatch, as a few of the nests already had hatchlings.
The Gators were lazing in the sun...
...and this Anhinga family was also enjoying the beautiful day.
Others were being a bit demanding for their supper...
Ospreys were fishing and this one grabbed his dinner out of the Swamp while I was watching. I wasn't fast enough to catch his flight tho...
The day ended with a wonderful reflections in the water...and a promise to myself to return again in a couple of weeks.
http://AnnaLeisa.smugmug.com/gallery/4752424_e4AsW/1/281905690_9QZEs
Unfortunately room service closes at 6:30am at this establishment, but I did manage to convince the chef to stay open late.
The price of a room here is physical labor, I had a benefactor pick up my tab.
My room had a great view out the door, and was water adjacent (creek) out the back.
The people seemed to do a lot of social climbing.
One group seemed to be really pushy.
This guy passed out from all the excitement.
Did you ever notice some people seem to not notice anything around them?
I don't want him, you take him.
If it isn't already obvious I'm involved with Boy Scouts. My (Eagle Scout(proud father)) son is now in college and too old to be a scout (although when he's home he helps with leadership). I'm combatting empty nest syndrome by going places with my other 22 boys. This was a day of service, rock climbing, and team building. An added plus is that the camp we were at is about 30 miles from the nearest cell tower.
www.achambersphoto.com
"The point in life isn't to arrive at our final destination well preserved and in pristine condition, but rather to slide in sideways yelling.....Holy cow, what a ride."
I took my daughter skiing (one last time before the season was over). I brought my D200 and my camcorder. I'm not sure why but the D200 stayed in the car.
So I've never really done anything like this before but here goes (think of it as a lot of still photos
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and here is the smugmug higher def version...
http://initialphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/4760487_ebMYB#283975772_t9ixm
initialphotography.smugmug.com
"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera" - Dorothea Lange
1. He was trying to sell some goods. Asked me to take a pic.
2.
3.
4. Vendors
5. Soon as I pulled up my camera to take a shot of her nice dress and hairdo she got a call and started walking away!
6.
7.
8. Stilettos
9. An 80's look
10. NYPD blocking the box! If you see the sign above the traffic light it says, it's illegal to block the box or you get fined and +2 points on your license. lol. Seriously though, one block away from home I'm reminded Pope's heading out of town so NYPD has to cut off some streets.
Rest of small gallery here w/ exif info
http://dak.smugmug.com/gallery/4804911_2Bfat#285504062_f9QNB
dak.smugmug.com
The prior Saturday Rayna took her car to get a smog. Now back over 20 years ago in New Jersey registration was paid according to the weight of the vehicle, no matter what its age. Inspection consisted of checking lights, horn, alignment, brakes, etc. Important things that should be checked before anyone decides to head down the highways (they are highways back east, not freeways) at top speed.
Imagine our culture shock when we got to California and our cars were extremely suspect, subject to sales tax, and the registration based on the cost of the car and the age of the car. From around $35 a year we jumped to several HUNDRED dollar a year. And the inspection? A "smog" check. It didn't matter if the car couldn't stop, or stop on a straight line, or whether the horn or headlights worked -- the smog, it was all about the smog. Culture shock, indeed.
So after we dropped the car off we headed to the Elephant Bar for some lunch, confident, after getting a tune up, oil change and all that good stuff that Rayna's car would pass. WRONG -- it failed. With dire predictions of a catalytic converter needed it was a downer for sure.
Rayna returned to the repair shop and they discovered a loose hose, tightened it up and advised her to drive the car a bit before dropping it off at the smog test only station.
So April 19 was all about the smog. We dropped the car off. As soon as I stepped out of the car I was made aware of an extremely brisk and unrelenting wind. Now it's often windy in Daly City, but this seemed extreme. I decided to wait inside the little area where one can pay for gas if they aren't using a card, pick up a cold drink or some smokes, or maybe some candy. I didn't want any of that and Rayna was nervous about me staying in an area and taking up space, but the asian man must have been fairly newly arrived in this country because he welcomed me, and even got me a chair to sit on, once I explained it was just too windy for me to wait outside. Thank heavens for a culture that respects elders.
Finally after waiting and going in and out from the office he proudly informed me that the car had passed.
The above is a composite I created.
Then we went to go get some beef -- I normally don't eat red meat, but about 3 or 4 times a year I like a hunk of beef, so we headed for Black Angus, which, unfortunately was closed. Rayna took me to a different restaurant. The commercials make it sound like an excellent place to eat, but Rayna said it was overpriced and the food wasn't that good. The restaurant shall remain nameless, but if you've eaten there you might recognize the plates. What looked so good on the menu, and when it was served turned out to be quite disappointing. My "Arnold Palmer" (half iced tea and half lemonade" was served with very strong tea and pink lemonade, not what I was expecting. Anyway, I was thirsty and hungry, we ate, my curiosity is satisfied, and I will not eat there again. :-)
One more thing to get... Rayna wanted some iced coffee. This sign seems to be the story of my life lately. More going out than coming in,
The smog part of the day done, we were off in search of photos for "the day of." I had remembered some lilacs blooming near Rayna's friend's house. Yep, they were genuine lilacs, and smelled great. It was hard to get a photo that wasn't blurred due to the high wind, even with holding the branch and trying to shoot one handed. The wind was very unpleasant, so I didn't dwell out of the car that long fighting it. Then I saw a nice poppy patch next to a hardware store and school. Well, the poppies were smart and closed themselves up, those that didn't had their petals blown off. Below is a photo of the lilacs and the poppy that didn't close all the way up.
Across the street from the lilac bush Rayna pointed out a house I'd never noticed before. I like! How neat to find something different and more contemporary in our town. I really like the slate, and they must get a great view from that south facing side.
So how bad was the wind? Here's a photo of two flags at the school. They were constantly like this, no let up in the wind at all. I was able to close down my f-stop and up the shutter speed because the light was so bright.
Off to the beach to see what was happening. Well, the wind was even more relentless, but fortunately it wasn't blowing sand around. However, the wind was so bad that I soon returned to the car. There was no way I could keep my telephoto lens in any kind of steady position.
We had some big logs drift onto the beach and people were arranging them on the beach. You can see the waves weren't that high at all. And no surfers even attempted to surf those waves.
Back in the car I told Rayna that if we had an earthquake we'd never feel it the car was being buffeted around like you wouldn't believe. I shot a bunch of photos looking north from the car, but on close examination a lot of them were really soft because I just couldn't hold the lens and camera still enough.
I've been working lately on trying to see at what point in the wave hitting and falling makes the best photo. I haven't come to any conclusions yet. I had to photoshop this one quite a bit as the light was bright and flat (the photo did not look like this straight out of the camera).
After an hour or so, we gave up. It was just too hard fighting the wind, my hand was cramping up trying to keep the camera still, and my shoulder was starting to hurt too. So Rayna drove me home.
I stopped to check on the progress of my herbs. At our exercise place (curves) they have these team projects. Last time my team came in dead last. This time my team won. Our reward was a choice of a strawberry pot or an herb pot. I decided the herbs would be of more use and I could share them with Rayna too. When my other daughter and my grandson came to visit he spotted the herb pot, asked what it was. He then said, "we had one of those" and he was off to put it together for his grandma! I got out the camera and documented my daughter and grandson creating the pot with dirt and seeds. That is his writing, it says Cilantro. They are about a week old.
Finally, after relaxing a bit and playing on the computer, I saw the sunset out my home office window and I went out to take some photos. I had a lot of trouble with the light. The sky was pink, the sun red and orange. I did a little photoshop magic to balance what I remember seeing, but even with the sunset, the day gave me photo problems!
That's it, the end! It was fun documenting my day an I've really enjoyed reading about everyone else's day and seeing the photos.
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So here goes...
1. First stop Pets Inc. to look at my other favorite hobby.
2. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.
3. Next stop was our favorite book store. I call this the $100 store, never get out of there for under that. This trip I discovered the photog mag Rangefinder.
4. What'cha looking for?
5. Then home to enjoy the garden
6. Ice plant flower
7. Dinner time
8. Play time again
9. Aren't I cute?!
10. Still wanting to take some more photos, I dragged my daughter to the park. I think the expression is, 'you are so weird mother.'
Thanks for looking!
I can't wait for the next challenge like this in September!!!
tfarley.smugmug.com
Well, it's an unofficial challenge, and yet I am still waiting til the last minute.
I spent the 19th at our local annual car show. I shot every car that came through the entry point, then I had some fun wandering and shooting for the day. I also learned that I've got to be careful not to get my reflection in every single photo!
Here are a few of my favs of the day.....
5. Mike - A friend of mine on the Chamber of Commerce Board. As he was driving around franticly organizing the event, he drove past the spot I was shooting the cars as they enter.
2. A favorite couple of cars with the kids
3. Life is good
4. Salute
5. A reflection of the event
6. One Hot Chevy
7. Tried to come up with a title or caption for this one, drew a blank....any suggestions?
8. Orange Peeler
9. "Sunset Drive"
10. A Bull's Horns
Thank you PTM for organizing this! It's been great to see a glimpse into everyone's day.
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GIVING BACK - How will you give?
My models were full of energy. We started the morning with two diffrent games but the weather got the best of the second game. As promised here is a look at my day. Some I just like, even though I could have done a better job taking it...some I choose for the expresions of the players and some are just good shots. Take a look and see what my day was like. As always CC welcome and desired.
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3 (This one is a little blurry I was shooting on the other field and turned just as he kicked the ball, I snapped the pic by reflex, I didnt even have a good focus on it, but still like it for some reason.)
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6 (Someone once told me to keep the camera pointed at the action even after it stops. I caught this one right after the player scored her first goal of the day...she is great but look at the expression on the little guy behind her. My heart goes out to him)
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9 (No players or equipment were damaged in the making if this image. Though at this point the player who kiced the ball looks a little worried.)
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If you want to see others from the day take a look at the gallery:
http://www.ukvphotos.com/gallery/4755310_SULSd/1/281914353_v6cFt
PhotoJ
Jason
I spent the day with my family.
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We went to a children's international festival and this is what we saw.
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We sat and watched for a few hours.
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And this is what we saw.
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We unexpectedly ran into some friends.
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And, this is what we saw.
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It was a very hot day.
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And, this is what we saw.
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I ended the day by walking across the street with my step sister to take a few photos.
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Perhaps not my best work, but I love the concept of "a day in the life..."
There are some stellar photographers in this forum. Congratulations to all of you who participated.
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These are not exaclty what I meant to take pictures of... but I actually forgot about doing it.
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My Gear
We spent the day at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival. As some of the other west coasters commented, we had some odd weather (hail, snow, rain) but we hoped that the tulips would be less crowded because of it ...
the ominous sky
the mountains
the close-ups
the outcast
the inside
the rows
a little tourist get into it
Another great barn
the promise of the weeks to come.
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Quarks are one of the two basic constituents of matter in the Standard Model of particle physics.
This was a fun activity. Thanks Paul for the great idea. Most of the pictures are from LAX international where my Lion Dance team decided to surprise one of the directors who recently came back from vacation in Asia.
1. My friend's tshirt
2. Planning the surprise
3. Practicing
4. Airport carts
5. Revealing the sign
6. The final product
7. Hug of Joy!
8. Stan's Donuts
9. the donuts are lip smacking good
10. Fox Theater in Westwood
Hope you enjoyed the photos. All C&C are welcome.
April 19, 2008 in Everett, Washington. Snow, for Pete's sake. And rain. And hail. And thunder. Little bit of sun in between.
All third Saturday's of the month start with breakfast with my folks and cousins at the Senior Center in Monroe. This is rain on blooming grass outside the door (Dactyla glomerata I think).
After breakfast Dad took me on a "photo tour" down some of his favorite roads. First the swamp below Reformatory Road, looking for the cormorants that often gather there. None today.
Next to visit an old barn on what used to be the Howe place, now a park. The barn turned out to be disappinting, but we found interesting things along the way. The llama invasion for one thing (this is an old dairy farm)
Skunk cabbage blooming in the snow.
Four of my favorite subjects in one shot! Lichens, moss, blackberry brambles and douglas fir.
A goose from the car window.
Snake in the grass! On the way home from Monroe, stopped by a cemetary in Snohomish to look for a great-uncle's grave. Uncle Lloyd has been on my mind lately, as Dad gets more and more like him. Anyway, I didn't find Uncle Lloyd, but I did find an eagle's nest with birds coming and going. I tried to set up between rain squalls, and almost stepped on this little guy, too cold to move during the 15 minutes I moved all around him.
A happy robin at Langus Riverfront Park in Everett. At least someone thinks it's Spring.
No day is complete without Star Trek, cats, and tribbles.
This was a lot of fun. Thanks, Paul. Hope we do it again!
Life got in the way of getting these images culled and processed sooner, but I've finally completed processing them.
I spent my Saturday at one of the many woodie automobile shows I find my self at throughout the year. This time I was at the 10th annual Doheny Wood held at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California. Doheny and woodies are mentioned in songs from the 1960's like Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys and other surf bands.
Here is a selection of 10 of the images from the day. The rest can be viewed in this gallery.
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#2 - One of many different and cool hood ornaments
#3 - Fake Food
#4 - This is a VW Bug converted to a convertible VW Woodie.
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Shooting on my own turned out to be fun, but not as much fun as shooting in a group. Here is how I spent my Saturday, April 19.
These swingers made for a rowdy trio. Until a "magic box" was spotted.
Music, stories and dance.
I was waiting for a show to start, so I tried my hand at macro shooting in a light breeze.
The business end of a drum motivating a belly dancer.
Standing out while seated in a crowd.
The glass blower at work . . .
. . . And the tools of his trade.
MooNie keeps things up in the air . . .
. . . But not nearly as gracefully as Airianna.
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"If you've found a magic that does something for you, honey, stick to it. Never change it." - Mae West, to Edith Head.
"Every guy has to have one weakness - and it might as well be a good one." - Shell Scott: Dance With the Dead by Richard S. Prather
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This summer's wilderness photography project: www.tessa-hd.smugmug.com/gallery/3172341
I had an assignment at The Mohawk in Austin, Texas that evening. Nowhere near my best work but you wanted stuff shot on 4/19
Here are a few from that gig.
3 under par
The Conductor
Clothesline
Prime Location
Hammock
Loner
The More the Merrier
Someone's absent
Suitors
Standing Room Only
More of my "Branching Out" photos here... http://www.pbase.com/chuckmaceda/branching_out
A pics from Friday night early Sat morning party
A few of the white trash party
A few from the French quarter on Saturday
A few people eating at a Cafe.
Well its New Orleans I had to include some alcohol somehow. Those are like 40 oz.
An painter in Jackson Square
An artist and her model
A pigeon bathing in the fountain, or he/she was cooling off, but it wasn't hot so.
People shopping at the French Market
Pirates Alley at Jackson Square in front of St Louis Cathedral. The alley actually runs down one side of the church.
I stopped at Cafe Pontalba on the edge of Jackson Square to get of snack of Blackened Aligator. One of my favorites.
At the corner of St Peter and Royal. Losts of shoppers on Rue de Royal.
Musicians playing in open area just outside St Louis Cathedral.
The tuba player
A street magician. I caught his slight of hand and how he was holding certain cards while shuffling the rest.
A carriage tour in the French Quarter.
A small band playing on Decatur Street
Some performers dancing and the large crowd they drew. Not 30 minutes before I had walked by the same area and not 10 people were there.
Another shot from a different angle. The building with the green canopy in the center of the picture in the background is Cafe DuMonde. I thought about getting some food and taking a pic there but it was packed.
Later that afternoon I wandered out of town to go to a few plantations. Here was a neat road I just came across.
And then the formal Saturday Night
The seniors
A few ladies
and then the after formal time on Bourbon Street, this was about 1am - 4am.
I can't believe he actually sat on the curb. Some random person walking by jumped in the picture with him.
Here the guy in the center was dressed up like a pirate so the group asked him to be in a picture with them.
Ok this person (because I think it was a tranny) in the pink was walking down the street and one guy say he/she and wanted a pic. You see some unusual stuff on Bourbon and that was definitely the unusual that night.