Fading Light

Sunsets in the midwest are often pretty dramatic.  Wide open skies, reflecting off all sorts of cloud formations.  BUT, if it is a crystal clear sky, on a cold (low humidity) day...  well, not so much.

I still though this was interesting, though not dramatic.

 

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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