Ramblings for Hump Day

Soothing Sunrise....

Last week and this week have been a test to say the least. Family life is great. Work has its moments, but for the most part of this month has been hell. Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of Machiavellian attitudes nor passive-aggressive conduct. If you have something to say to me, say it - right to me... in my face. If you have to send an email, which was meant for me and three other people, and then copy 16 other people, you better have your facts straight. Not only that, be prepared for me to dig, find out JUST how wrong you are, and inform your boss of your unprofessionalism, lack of knowledge and failure to research. Do I copy tons of people? No. Do I respond, showing just how much of an idiot you are? No. I'll just nip it in the bud and go to the right person, with my research in hand. Thank you for your time. Have a wonderful day.

So... my two weeks in a nutshell.

Needless to say, I really needed a GOOD photography today to sooth my nerves and make me see that nature has the most wonderful and relaxing things in the world. Nothing can compare. So when I was driving to work this morning, and saw this flicker of clouds on the horizon, I was stoked. And it got better as I drove... The clouds were at the right position for the pack patio of the office, the sun was cooperating, AND I had my camera with me. (The last one is always a big bonus... I missed one heck of a sunset this last weekend because I forgot my camera. BAD me!)

I took this picture, changed lenses, took another, then stood there and watched the sunrise for about five minutes.

Everyone should try this.

Mike ~

Santa Monica - 3rd and Wilshire

Neat building...

After eating lunch at a local diner on Wilshire, I happened to look across the street and see this really neat building and a perfectly clear blue sky. It took me a few minutes to find the right spot from which to snap this shot, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results.

Hope you are too.

Mike ~

Santa Monica - Pier Cruisin'

Just Fishin'....

While strolling along the pier and watching the various "talents" along the way, I happened upon this man, content with leaning on a railing. He had a tray of items posing as bait sitting atop the rail and seemed happy to just "be." There were others there as well, but they definitely wanted some fish. Not this guy... he stood for quite a while, watching the waves crash into the pillars of the pier.

Seemed like a good day for him.

Mike ~

Santa Monica - Farmer's Market

Street of Wares -

Although I've been to several farmer's markets, I don't think I've been to one where people were setting up (literally) at 5:30 am in the morning.

We had replaced some systems at the office the night before and needed to be on site prior to 6:00 am in order to provide support for those people arriving. So, as I walked the two-block span between the hotel and the office, I was greeted by the sights and sounds of local farmers staking their claims (to space) and setting up their tents for the day's sales.

I didn't get out to the market until well after 11:00 am, though, but I was able to take in some good food and get off a few shots. The people were friendly and outgoing and there were, of course, a few "interesting" people wandering the street, trying to sway opinion about this or that political topic. Luckily I didn't get caught by any of them so I was able to enjoy my lunch hour eating a little and taking photographs.

One thing I was fortunate enough to find was a pecan vendor. Pecans, in my opinion, are one of the best nuts grown. Maybe it's because they can be made into pecan pie.... In any case, nothing beats a pecan. So, as we were passing the last booth before the office building, I glanced over and see piles and piles of bags, filled with nicely-sized pecan halves. There wasn't really much of a debate - I had to have one. I'm still working on the bag, as I try not to go over my grandmother-recommended, four-pecan-a-day, maximum. She always said they were good for your health if you don't over do it.

Enjoy this last picture of a squash or gourd or whatever it is. The pile was colorful, and the arrangement made me stop and take a second look. Needless to say, a photograph had to happen.

Santa Monica - Busy Busy Busy

Jo Jo the Seagull -

So when we arrived in Santa Monica, my co-worker decided he was hungry. (He was hungry the entire time we were out there... "Lunch?" "Food?" "Time for dinner?") It was actually quite entertaining.

Anyhow, he had been to the west coast office many times and knew where he wanted to eat, which was Bubba Gumps Shrimp on the pier. Of course, who was I to complain about going to eat on the pier? How many photographic opportunities would there be? (83 to be exact) So, off we went.

Needless to say, it took a while to get to the restaurant because I was stopping every 1.5 minutes and taking a shot or two.

So, back up to the photograph above. This is Jo Jo the Seagull. There was an elderly man on the pier who would call this bird by name, it would turn its head and the man would hold up a Cheeto. Jo Jo would fly down, hover for a moment, take the Cheeto and then fly back to its perch atop a flood lamp. It was quite easy to get some good shots of Jo Jo. I think the man wanted money for calling Jo Jo down, but he didn't ask, and I didn't volunteer any. (El Cheepo!)

These pictures were taken with a Sigma 105mm macro lens. I tried to pre-focus where I could, considering I knew the Jo Jo's flight path, and these are the two shots of which I'm most proud. I hope you enjoy them!

Photographic Rehash

I spent some time this weekend completely revamping the structure of my photographic folders on my computer: Purchased a new external hard drive, moved and renamed all my photos accorcing to EXIF data, rethought how I would post-process them, etc etc.

I also put together my old desk from our basement in Kansas and plopped it into our upstairs guest bedroom. This will be our "manual" photo desk (and my comic book collection desk) for when we decide to unload the 6 small U-Haul boxes of photographs and negatives we moved with us.

What a task that will be!

Needless to say, I took absolutely no photographs this weekend. BAD me! And, it's raining this week, so I may not get any shots off until I head to Santa Monica next week. There should be some things out there to shoot, I'm sure.

I was very disappointed this morning when I typed in my favorite blog One Pic A Day and discovered that its owner has changed it to invitation only. He had to be one of the best "casual" photographers I have ever seen and I always admired his shots and his commentary. I guess he decided his world needed some privacy. I'll miss reading about his daily life and I'll certainly miss the wonderful photographs he took. Being able to keep up that work daily for over 6,000 days is just amazing to me.

I'll keep checking - maybe he just made a template change on accident and hasn't discovered it yet.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk. GO KU!

Orange Bowl - Miami - January 3, 2008

KU 24 - Virginia Tech 21

I shouldn't have to write anymore. What an exciting game!

Bring in the New Year!

A new year is always an adventure. Old things to finish. New things to start. And a world of things to try.

This morning, I saw developing, what ended up being a fantastic sunrise. I had intentionally not brought my tripod as I have been wanting to do some experimentation in high-speed, grainy shots. Bringing my tripod with me would have only tempted me into cranking down my ISO and going against what I wanted.

BUT, I saw this sunset, and WANTED my tripod. So, I did the next best thing - found a vertical I-beam on the back patio and leaned up against it. "Poor man's tripod," I've always called it. Well, I think it worked, and I'm pretty happy with the shot. Don't get me wrong. I took some high ISO shots of this scene as well and I plan to put them out on the web site this evening.

As is the norm for me now, I bracketed the shots and will do some HDR work as well. I'm interested to see what grain does in HDR - will it suck toes (no offense to people who like to suck toes) or will it be a new adventure for me and send me off in a different direction for a while.
We had a rather uneventful New Year's Eve - probably old age setting in. But, our New Year's Day was restful and we lounged around the house. No shots of those days as nothing really happened.

I'm planning a day trip soon to get some of this wonderful Texas landscape I keep hearing about. I haven't decided where to go, but it will be either north, east, west or south of Austin. Heh.