Cell Phone Lot

 One of the more useful advancements in recent years is the airport cell phone lot.  Instead of circling the arrivals area of the airport, fighting traffic while creating more, you can pull into the cell phone lot, turn off the car and relax until your party's fight arrives.  Add in the joys of cell phones, and your party can call when they've picked up their bagage.  In this case (STL), tyhe cell phone lot is very close to the terminal for Southwest airlines, which is where we're ususally meeting people.

Good stuff. 

Orchid Buds

 We have an orchid plant that was given to us after a niece's wedding we attended this year.  It was pretty for a while, then dropped the blossoms and pretended to be dead for a while.  At some point, my wife gave it some occasional water, and it seems to be coming back.  

Anyway, I liked the buds...

In a motel, baby, like the Holiday Inn (1018)

      Another in the series of photos in and around hotels while travelling.  Today is shots from August 2018.  Once again, the post title is from the old Elton John song:  CLICK.

Check out the TAG to see more from the series.

This is the inner courtyard at an Embassy Suite hotel.  Almost positive it was in the Columbus, OH, USA area.  It was a business trip.

It never Hurts...

Back in the day (70's) I used to make a lot of mix tapes.  I'd pick a song, then see where it led me.  The end result would be a 90 minute cassette.  These would get a lot of use, from parties to road trips.  Most of those tapes have disappeared w/o a trace, but the rise of iPod led to a whole new generation.  And now I make occasional spotify playlists.

So:  Today (in the car, via iPod) I was listening to a playlist "Various Artists 17 - It Never Hurts".  This is an iPod recreation (or approximation) of an old mix tape,  The starting song was "It Never Hurts To Be Nice To Somebody" from the New Riders Of The Purple Sage album "Who Are These Guys".  Not a great album, but a very solid one with several very good songs, that got regular plays during my college days.

Anyway, I decided I'd create a Spotify version of the playlist.  EXCEPT:  the seed song (It Never Hurts..." is not available on Spotify.  Spotify has most of what I want, but every once in a while I find a miss.  Like this, or the Mike Nesmith album "Infinite Rider On The Big Dogma".  

Anyway, it ticked me off, so I won't make the playlist.  But then I couldn't find the studio version on YouTube, just a live one.  The, to add insult to injury, the Poco's album Head Over Heels is not on there, and I had to use a live version of "Keep On Tryin'".

This is why I'll never switch completely over to Spotify.

Here's the playlist if you want to check it out:

It Never Hurts

The "Right" Crop / Aspect Ratio

So... yesterday I posted some photos from Watershed Nature Center (which has been renamed Nature Preserve Foundation).  This included a photo of a tree trunk with beaver damage.

This photo, reposted below, is a 1.33:1 aspect ratio.  This is the original phone photo's aspect ratio, corresponding to a 4x3 print (or 8/6 etc).  I usually crop to 1.5:1 aspect ratio, to match a "standard" 4x6 print.  But in this case I didn't, which surprises me in retrospect.

A bit later, I went to post this to Instagram, and they default displays photos at 1:1 aspect ratio (corresponding to 5x5 print).  Often I change that to match the ratio I used originally, but in this case, I looked at the 1:1 preview and decided that this was a much better photo.  What do y'all think?

So, lesson to myself, don't let your (my!) mind overlook various crops!  Even non-standard crops...

Photographing With People...

 “The other day I was talking with Nick Carver about photographing, and being alone in places.  And he said that he can’t get on when he’s photographing with people;  that he finds it difficult.  And I feel the same way.  If I were here with, say, a bunch of people from… you know, from like a mentorship group, or from the TPE community, and we were all kind of like just going to explore things, I wouldn’t be in touch.  I wouldn’t be in tune with this place." 

- Alex Kilbe

From Youtube

Late Autumn

 So, yesterday I posted a couple of Last Leaves photos from a late November trip to Watershed Nature Center.  I decided to review the other photos from that outing and share a few.  Nothing too dramatic, but hopefully matches the mood for the day.

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Last Leaves

 Taken about 2 weeks ago (11/27), at Watershed Nature Center.  

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The "rules" say that the top picture is better, because you're supposed to have odd numbers of things in a group.  And the horizon cuts the subject a bit more distractingly in the bottom photo.  What do you think?  Leave a comment!

December Birds

 Just a couple from the back yard

Dark Eyed Junco (m)

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Red Breasted Woodpecker (m)

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Northern Cardinal (m)

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Dark Eyed Junco (f)

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In a motel, baby, like the Holiday Inn (0818)

     Another in the series of photos in and around hotels while travelling.  Today is shots from August 2018.  Once again, the post title is from the old Elton John song:  CLICK.

Check out the TAG to see more from the series.

I'm pretty sure this is Pittsburgh, PA, USA.  Probably an IHG property.  

Road Tripped Pt. 7 - Asheville, NC

  Another in my continuing series of photos from our recent 2260 mile trip.  Today's post is from a quick stop by Asheville, NC, to see the Biltmore Christmas Lights.  We were a little hesitant due to the recent storm damage, but figured they needed the tourism dollars, and everything we saw indicated they were open and welcoming.

I-40 Rest Stop, on the way to Asheville

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DAddy MACS is open

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Biltmore was beautiful at night

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Gingerbread Biltmore

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The Strength Of The Pack

"The Strength Of The Pack Is The Pack " - Mike Tomlin

From his post game press conference 12/9/24

Road Tripped Pt. 6 - Andy Warhol Museum

 Another in my continuing series of photos from our recent 2260 mile trip.  Today's remembrance is the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.  I've meant to pop by here for a long time, but just couldn't (didn't) make the time.  This trip, our hotel was only 2 blocks (-ish) away, so it was an easy wander down.  And well worth the wander, even though I wasn't an especially big Warhol fan before.  I'm a bigger fan now!

Click on images to enlarge.

The exterior...

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I believe this statue, and the mural, are by KAWS.  I think this plaza is the Pop District

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Warhol and Marilyn, in the lobby of the musuem

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Just a snap of one of my favorite pieces.  Not like a soup can at all!

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Elvis, Eleven Times...

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Portraits

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This is just mine,  nothing fancy.  Taken in a stairwell at the museum...

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Road Tripped Pt. 5 - Raleigh, NC

Another in my continuing series of photos from our recent 2260 mile trip.  Just a couple of photos from Raleigh and Apex, NC

Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

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    Reflections, Raleigh, NC

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Side Eyes...

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Apex Mural

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Road Tripped Pt. 4 - Whenever Possible, Stop At Scenic Overlooks

   A couple more photos from our recent trip.  This was Rockfish Gap scenic overlook along I-64, between Staunton and Charlottesville, VA.  I was a cold and breezy day, and we almost missed the turnoff, but we try to stop at overlooks whenever we can.  So with some hard braking, we were able to stop.  And it was well worth the time.  Cold and grey but still wonderful.

Here's a few photos:

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In a motel, baby, like the Holiday Inn (0718)

    Another in the series of photos in and around hotels while travelling.  Today is shots from July 2018.  Once again, the post title is from the old Elton John song:  CLICK.

Check out the TAG to see more from the series.

I don't remember what hotel this was, but it was in the Pittsburgh, PA, USA area...

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October Winners, BetterPhoto.com

 Better Photo has announced the winners of their August contest, and I had a second place, along with a couple of Finalists, and a Staff Favorite.  Always fun to get some recognition!

2nd Place winner:

Leaves On Picnic Table - Catch All category

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Finalists:

Carolina Chickadee - Animals category

Aligned? - Elements Of Design category

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Staff Favorites:

Farmall - Details category

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So, that's 1x Second Place, 2x Finalist and 1x Staff Favorite.  I also had 21x Editor's Picks, too many to post here.  So everything received some recognition.

Check out my photos HERE.  

Concert Review - Christmas with the Celts at the Wildey

 Last night (Monday, December 3) we saw Christmas with the Celts at the Wildey.  As describer on the Wildey's website:

"Celebrating 14 years of successful national touring, top Irish musicians have united with the finest Nashville players to create the new sound and energy of The Celts. They perform a fresh hybrid of Irish Americana, which combines their own rootsy originals and tight vocal harmonies with fiery Irish Trad instrumentals.

Christmas With The Celts is a wonderful combination of timeless ancient Irish Christmas carols and lively Irish dance, along with modern contemporary songs with Irish instrumentation. New Christmas hits, Celts originals, and fresh Irish Dance tunes are added to the show each year so that no two years are the same. Always a pleasant surprise!"

Something new and different for us, and we weren't sure what to expect beyond that blurb.  The Celts featured guitar, fiddle, bass, drums and uilleann pipes / flutes.  They played a lot of traditional Irish tunes, mixed with a solid serving of Christmas music.  The Christmas songs did include arrangements of many classics, but also some less familiar songs like the Pogue's "Fairytale Of New York", and John McCutchins' "Christmas In The Trenches".  They had a group of Irish Dancers that came out all along to do bits, which was fun.

It was a fun evening, I always enjoy seeing live music.  They played 2 sets, with a short break, for a solid evening of song.  The band was into the spirit, and grins abounded...  along with a couple of Irish themed jokes.  The pipes player even gave an explanation /demonstration of the uilean pipes, which I especially (and typically) enjoyed.  

As in my norm, I took a couple of photos, but not during actual the songs.  

Hicker's 365 Challenge - Unofficially Finished

 Regular readers might remember that I completed the Hiker's 365 Challenge in 2023.  Starting November 2023, I embarked on their series of seasonal challenges (Winter 100, Spring Fling, Blazing Summer, Fall 50).  I competed the last of those in October, which meant I qualified for the Ultimate Adventurer badge.  All of which has been discussed here.   

But, while I was logging the seasonal challenges, I logged my hikes for 2024, as another round of the Hiker's 365.  Not officially, but just for fun.  So, yesterday (12/1/2024), I completed my second year of 365 miles of hikes.  It took about 7 weeks longer than last year, but still made it with some breathing room.

Here's a couple of photos from yesterday's walk.  Taken as the sun was setting, perhaps fittingly closing the book on 2 years of these challenges.  I'll have to find something else for 2025!

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First Snow

We had our first snow Saturday, afternoon into evening.  The first snow is always somewhat magical, and fun.  It won't take long to be tire of the whole experience, though!

Here's a few photos from Saturday: