Endless Wire

After a 24year layoff, The Who have released a new album, Endless Wire. It’s hard from me to consider The Who without Moon and Entwistle, and my first fearful thought was “Psychderelict”…. But I had a gift certificate, and I took the plunge. The album has 21 songs, including the entirety of the mini-opera “Wine & Glass”, plus a 26 minute DVD of a 2006 performance in Lyon, France. I figured it was worth the risk at $9.72. So what’s the verdict?? Well I usually like to live with a new release for a bit before passing final judgment, but so far, think it’s pretty good. Not outstanding, and definitely mellower than, say, Live At Leeds, but seems pretty solid. The DVD (see screen-shot above) is OK, too. Daltry’s voice struggles a touch, but it’s fun. But as I watched 60+ year old Pete Townsend, I kept flashing back to “The Kids Are Alright”….

Star

Detail of a cage-dome play structure at the local park. They re-did this park over the last year or so, and replaced this. Unfortunately, It was my son’s favorite part of the park, he’s still mad that its gone.

Oh, Weeping Will

The weeping willow in the neighbor’s yard is rather yellow these days. I really likded the way the sunlight hit it in the early afternoon… Not the greatest image, but it captured a moment.

Tough Shot

Or not….

You know how they can crank up the basketball hoops for events in most gyms? This is what it looks like, if you’ve never noticed…. I tend to spend a big chunk of my life either looking up, or looking down, or just off the beaten path; trying to see the little things in life.

Hedge Apples

This is a shot from last November, from Silver Lake Park. Another “one of those”, that I really like, but was (predictably) overlooked at the on-line contests I frequent. I still like it.
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Lightbox

Yesterday was beautiful, near 60 degrees and sunny. My son and I decided to get out for a bit. I wanted to go to Silver Lake Park, He wanted to go to “the airplane park”. Sigh. SO it was off to Edwardsville Township Park (the airplane park), where we kicked around a soccer ball for a bit before I watched him play on the play structure for a while. Then we swung by a convenience store for drinks and a candy bar, and drove by the Library park to have a snack. My ulterior motive of looking for photo-ops didn’t yield much……

Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone is having (or had) a great Thanksgiving. Here's a few thankful songs to commemorate the day:

Thank You - Led Zeppelin
Thanks - James Gang
I Thank You - ZZ Top (via Sam & Dave)
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) -Sly & The Family Stone

ENJOY!

Hocking Hills State Park

I posted a couple of shots from Hocking Hills State Park yesterday, and they reminded me just how much I enjoyed it there. I had a conference in Columbus in 5/2005, and had a free afternoon. HHSP is a reasonable drive from Columbus, around 1 hour IIRC. Well worth the drive...

Trail Bazes....

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Roots!
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Trail Wrapping around a Rock Face....
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Looking up at Fern on rock, lit from Above....
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Everything was GREEN!....
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A Quiet Spot....
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Waterfall....
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Under The Overhang....
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Water's Edge....
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ALMOST the Perfect Shot...... but fatally flawed
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Waterfalls....
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Yet Another Waterfall....
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My Favorite Rock!....
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Going Green #4

The monthly theme over at BetterPhoto is "Go Green"... I thought I'd go green here, too...

Warped #2, a rather wild use of effects. Here is the original, unwarped version. Its simply the shadows of blinds across the carpet at our church....

Going Green #3

The monthly theme over at BetterPhoto is "Go Green"... I thought I'd go green here, too...

Silver Lake Park, in Highland IL. I would eat lunch at this spot, a couple times a week, back when I worked in Highland (until 7/11/2006)... A different version of this shot was selected as one of the "Pictures Of The Month" back in 4/2005 at Photography Unlimited. This site went dormant about a year ago; its a shame, I kinda liked it.

Going Green #2

The monthly theme over at BetterPhoto is "Go Green"... I thought I'd go green here, too...

Hocking Hills State Park, again. From Spring 2005. A personal favorite, but overlooked at all the online sites I visit...

Going Green #1

The monthly theme over at BetterPhoto is "Go Green"... I haven't been shooting much lately, so I thought I'd go through the archives. So I'll echo it all over here...

Hocking Hills State Park, OH. From spring 2005. A winner at PhotoShowdown.... reworked a bit.

Bloggered....

I'm having trouble uploading to my FTP site the past 24 hours.... Grrr.
Sorry for no posts.

Scouting for Food

My son is out this morning, collecting for the Scouting For Food drive. Last week, they went around and dropped off bags at houses around the community; today they go back, and hope to find LOTS of the bags filled with cans of food. They'll deliver the donations to a local food pantry. It's a great service project, with scouts of all ages, all around the country taking part. If you didn't have a chance to donate, why not take the opportunity and drop something by your nearest Food Pantry?

Water's Edge

Another oldie, from 11/2005.

Eagles

Songs with Eagles in the titles:

Fly Like An Eagle - Steve Miller Band
Fly Like An Eagle - Marshall Tucker Band
Eagle - Abba
Eagle & The Hawk - John Denver

Any more good ones??

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

An oldie, from fall of 2004, IIRC. The family went to a pumpkin farm outside of Godfrey, IL, a great weekend outing. The effects in the image are done with a filter called Buzz Simplifier. My yahoo group was doing a “buzz challenge”. I missed it due to travel, but entered this a day late, just to participate in some small way.

Fall Colors

Some big-time digital darkroom, on a shot from 2 years ago, near Mt. Spokane. I was going for a “painterly” effect, complete with a matted frame…..

Learning To See

"You learn to see by practice. It's just like playing tennis, you get better the more you play. The more you look around at things, the more you see. The more you photograph, the more you realize what can be photographed and what can't be photographed. You just have to keep doing it." - Elliot Porter

Read and see more about EP here, here, here . Or just Google him!

Peeking....

A reworking of a shot from 2 years ago, taken during Thanksgiving holidays. My brother and his family were visiting, and we took the young’uns to the local park to work off some energy. This is on the old Caboose retired to the park....

Will It Blend?

This is the kind of thing we would've done in college!! If we only had a blender... Actually, we did go through a "will it deep fry" phase, IIRC

click on image, it should launce the video....

propinquity

You gotta love this song for the title alone... A little ditty by Michael Nesmith, from his post-Monkees career as a country crooner. Also covered by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their "Uncle Charlie.... " album.

I’ve Know For A Long Time, The Kind Of Girl You Are
Of A Smile That Covers Teardrops, The Way Your Head Yields To Your Heart
Of Things You’ve Kept Inside, That Most Girls Couldn’t Bear
I’ve Known You For A Long Time, But I’ve Just Begun To Care

I’ve Known Of All The Heartache, And I’ve Known Of All The Pain
I’ve Seen You In The Sunshine, And I’ve Seen You When It Rains
I’ve Seen You Make A Look Of Love, From Just An Icy Stare
I’ve Known You For A Long Time, But I’ve Just Begun To Care

I Know I’ve Been Blind, To Not Have Loved You All This Time
But The Image Of You Wasn’t Clear, I Guess I’ve Been Standing Too Near

Oh It’s Taken Me A While, But I Have Finally Found
What You Are To Me, And That’s What Really Counts
And What You Are To Me, Is Something We Can Share
I’ve Known You For A Long Time, But I’ve Just Begun To Care

Oh It’s Taken Me A While, But I Have Finally Found
What You Are To Me, And That’s What Really Counts
And What You Are To Me, Is Something We Can Share
I’ve Known You For A Long Time, But I’ve Just Begun To Care

Yes I’ve Known You For A Long Time, But I’ve Just Begun To Care

Another Leaf Shot...

A Leaf… On A Ledge… with Effects

If I knew how to take a good photograph, I'd do it every time.

Quoted from Robert Doisneau, courtesy of PhotoQuotes.com.

Robert Doisneau (1912-1994) was a one of France's most popular and prolific reportage photographers, is known for his modest, playful, and ironic images of amusing juxtapositions, mingling social classes, and eccentrics in contemporary Paris streets and cafes. . Another quote:
I'm quite happy with my pictures. I've been cohabiting with them for years now and we know each other inside out, so I feel I'm entitled to say that pictures have a life and a character of their own. Maybe they're like plants, they won't really flourish unless you talk to them. I haven't gone that far - not yet anyway. Lots of them behave like good little girls and give me a nice smile whenever I walk past, but others are real bitches and never miss any opportunity to ruin my life. I handle them with kid gloves

Owl

On oldie, portrait of a knick-knack. This is owl is from Blenko Glass, he’s the same fellow as the previous “vote” photo. He’s been in the family for longer than I can remember, now hangs out on my bookshelf, watching over me at work.

Election Day in U.S.A.

It’s election day here in America, time to exorcise our rights and make our voices heard. Time to put away our disgust with the negative ads, and our cynicism that says “They’re all the same”. On the other hand, I also agree with the sentiment highlighted in the comic Mallard Fillmore. Voting is more than a right, it’s a responsibility. And it is our responsibility to educate ourselves and make informed choices. Nuff, said: Get out and do it!

At The Water's Edge

This is a reworking of an oldie. A little digital zoom (aka crop), and conversion to B&W. It can be very instructive to look at old photos, with a (hopefully) fresh eye.

Which do you like better??

Go Ask Alice

Thanks again to Netflix, I watched Alice Cooper's 1974 Movie "Good To See You Again". Based on a 1973 concert from the "Billion Dollar Babies" tour, this was a fun DVD. It's an interesting time capsule, showing just how "Over The Top" these guys were. Of course, it's not so dramatic through the lens of 2006. But mid-70's Alice Cooper was also a great band, and they really sound great here. The disc said "restored", but it still has a distinct 70's look. The "story-line" interludes are pretty stupid, but probably no worse than a lot of the other "comedy" stuff from those days.

Purity

Another hotel-room shot, taken the same time as “Hotel Abstract”. Taken a couple of weeks ago, in the Hampton Inn in Canton, OH. Waiting for the World Series game to start.

What're You Listening To?

On my iTunes this morning, background music to my workday:

Posters – Dada
You’re All That I Need – Ace
I Found A Love – David Johanson
Light My Fire – The Doors
Spanish Bombs – the Clash
Elderberry Wine – Elton John
Julianne – Ben Folds 5
Love Me Tonight – The End
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – Clapton
Get ‘Em Out By Friday - Genesis

Leaf #35

Not the leaf used in yesterday's rubbing, but just like it!

Rubbed

Close up of a leaf-rubbing, done by my son at last night’s Cub-Scout meeting. I think the world would be a better place if we all took a few minutes to do leaf-rubbings in the fall.

Locked

Taken on a short walk, during my recent business trip to Spokane, WA. Just something I stumbled across in Spokane’s Riverfront Park, just a little off the “beaten track”. This is why I love my little Nikon Coolpix L2. It'll never replace my D70, but it’s easy to drop in a pocket for those “happenstance” moments…