365 Year In Review

As we close out 2018, I’m finishing up my 4^th year at the 365project web site.  The concept is to post 1 photo per day over the course of a year.  And while I pushed hard for that goal for the first 2 years, I’ve been a lot more relaxed over the past 2 years.  Mainly, I’ve tried to lean towards quality rather than quantity.   It is a nice community, and a convenient place to publish my images

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For 2018, I posted 221 images to my main album, barely managing 60% of the days.  Adding in my additional albums raised me to 342 total pictures posted.

How about the “quality” standpoint?  Well, 75 of those images received their “Popular” designation.  That’s almost 22% of images posted, I believe that’s significantly improved over previous years.  And 13 images received the more selective “Trending” tag!  I don’t think I have more than a couple of those over the past few years.  Maybe the site has relaxed the (unpublished) criteria; but I’d rather believe I’ve had a good year!

Also, 5 of my all time most popular images are from this year, which is twice what one would expect from a randomly distributed sample.

So, here’s my “all time” top 10, hopefully to whet your appetite for my pending “Good Crop” post…

1) Lost In My Mind – 24^th February 2018.  Nikon D3200.  Popular / Trending

2) Old Chain Of Rocks Bridge – 31^st March, 2015.  Nikon P340.  Popular

3) Wavey – 20^th October, 2018.  Nikon D3200.  Trending

4) On Target – 1^st February, 2018.  iPhone 7.  Popular / Trending

5) Road To Nowhere – 11^th June, 2015.  Nikon P340.  Popular

6) Starin’ At The Sky – 6^th November 2015.  iPhone 5.  Popular

7) Indiana Covered Bridge Country – 4^th July 2016. iPhone 5.  Popular

8) Missouri River – 21^st April, 2018.  iPhone 7.  Popular / Trending

9) Love Gets You Twisted – 23^rd June, 2016.  Nikon P340.  Popular

10) Summer Clouds – 24^th June, 2018.  iPhone 8. Popular / Trending

Fujifilm?

So, after 6 years with my Nikon D3200, I have a new camera!  And it represents a seismic shift!  After 35 years using Nikon cameras, I now own a Fujifilm T-X3.  And after 44 years of using SLR/DSLR, I've gone mirrorless!

It took a lot for me to get past decades of brand loyalty, but I made the jump.  A couple of drivers in my decision:  Talking with "Fujifilm Photographer" Karen Hutton after her session at Creve Coer Camera's Photopalooza,  Talking to the Fujifilm rep aad a couple of Fujifilm users at the same event, and a healthy amount of on-line research over a few weeks. (like here, here, here, here)

Yesterday was my first photo excursion, and I'm pretty happy.  A nice outing at Ellis Island, West Alton, MO.  I tried to take a variety of images, just getting a fell for the camera.  First impressions are very positive.  Maybe I'll look at the manual next!

... But I'm Badly Bent

Another lunch time excursion from last week,  This is taken at the confluence of Pomme Creek and the Meramec River, about 2 miles upstream from where the Meramec dumps into the Mississippi River.

I imagine the tree has been battered and almost swept away during flooding.

The title is from the bluegrass song, "I Ain't Broke, but I'm badly bent"

Arnold City Park

Just down the street from my office is Arnold City Park.  It is a modest little park, but does have a lake, and a few ball fields.  I went for a lunch time wander last week, and found the images below.  Sort of a wetlands kind of thing...

Watershed Nature Center - 20181222

Wow, I've been pretty absent from here lately, I see that it has been over 3 weeks since my last post.  I'll blame the impending Holidays, the short days, busy at work...  blah blah blah.  Just excuses.

I managed an excursion to Watershed Nature Center this morning, with the Grandson and Son-In-Law.  Here's some photos, click for larger versions.

Quiet Morning

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Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Good For The Goose

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Album Review - Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Men From Earth

Artist:  Ozark Mountain Daredevils 

Album:  Men From Earth

Released:  1976

I discovered Ozark Mountain Daredevils via "If You Wanna Get To Heaven", the #25 hit from their 1st album (in mid 1974).  I'm not sure exactly when I picked up that album, but I think it was mid 1976.  An album that didn't immediately grab me (beyond the hit), but which steadily gained traction with me.  Sometime later, I got a cassette version of their second album (It'll Shine When It Shines, featuring the #3 hit from 1975, Jackie Blue). That album quickly caught my fancy.  Sometime in the early CD days I picked up a "Best Of"  CD, which included 3 from Don't Look Down.  Sometime later yet, I added a CD of "Don't Look Down", their 5th release.

Which brings us to now.  I've been thinking about filling out my collection with the albums I was missing (from their original run of A&M records).  Namely The Car Over The Lake, and Men From Earth.  And (possibly) the live album.   I was in Pittsburgh over Thanksgiving, and ended up on a record store excursion with my son.  We hit 3 different stores, each of which had a distinct (and different) mood.  This one came from Attic Records, in Millvale.  This place had a HUGE selection of used vinyl, CD's an 45's.  A little tight on space, but that's because every available spot was filled with music!  

Anyway, what's the scoop on this record?  Well, it is pretty solid, and has lots of the old-home funky that characterizes the first 2 albums.  There is a little "slickness:" that creep in to a couple of songs, though.  Especially on side two.  Worst example would be the song "It's How You Think" which could easily be Firefall, with electric piano, and flute or synth-horns or both)...  That and the sax at the end of Arroyo.  Nothing against Firefall, but when I think of Ozark Mtn Daredevils, I'm thinking harmonica and banjo...  But the rest of the album is really solid.

The album opens with Fly Away Home, which is pretty much the definitive Ozark Mountain Daredevils sound.  Great stuff, which moves into more great stuff, You Know Like I Know which was released as a single, and made it to #74.  It's a a perfect example of OMD in "pretty" mode (like Colorado song. As is Waterwheel...   Red Plum is a good example of the funky-weird OMD....

All in all, this is a very solid album.  Not quite as good as the first two, but quite good.  I'll give it a 7.0/10

As for obscurity?  I'll cay moderately high.  They didn't have many hits, they were always a little to "niche" for mainstream.  But a band I really like a lot.

Here's the back cover and inner sleeve:

Inner Sleeve

Barged

I've taken a couple of lunch time walks recently over at Cliff Cave Park.  Even on cold grey late November days, it's a pretty cool spot to take a break from work.  One interesting thing about this park, there seem to be a lot of barges "parked" along the Mississippi River.  These two images were taken two days, and about 0.5 miles apart.

Album Review - Rick Derringer - Derringer Live

Artist:  Rick Derringer 

Album:  Derringer Live

Released:  1977

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OK, Rick Derringer has been one of my “guilty pleasures” since my mid-teens.  Nobody’s going to argue that his lyrics surpass Dylan, or his melodies beat the Beatles.  But you know what?  Sometimes it is enough to just Rock And Roll.  And Derringer can certainly rock.  Good time, 70’s vintage rock.  I’ll admit it, at 18 years old, I owned more Derringer albums than I did Beatles and Stones combined.  And, I think he’s one of the more underrated guitar players of the era.  [aside:  this review was inspired by a text message from my son (who is at college), asking who it was that I’ve said is the “most underrated guitar player”.] 

I like what Allmusic says in their review of this album:

“Rick Derringer may not be a great singer or a great songwriter … but he is a great guitar player and Derringer Live is the record where you get the best display of his white-hot guitar-slinging talents”

Anyway…

This 1977 live album is technically “Derringer”, which was Rick Derringer’s band.  Along with RickD was Danny Johnson (Guitar), Kenny Aaronson (Bass) and Vinny Appice (Drums).  No keyboards, no strings, no horns.  Just straight-ahead rock…  which was perfect for a me at the time; a 17 y/o kid from Pittsburgh.   I already had 1973’s “All American Boy” and 1975’s “Spring Fever”, so a live album was a natural addition.  Heck, I probably would've bought it for the album cover alone(and maybe did!).  It was one of my “Top 10 Favorite Live Albums” from my high-school collection, and is still great for when I’m in an uncomplicated mood.

The album starts out rocking with “Let Me In”, and doesn’t really let up until the last notes of and extended version of “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo”.  Maybe not as intense as a Ramones concert, but it’s full speed start to finish.  My favorites would probably be “Across The Universe”, “Sailor” and “Still Alive And Well”.  [aside 2:  one of the venues where this album was recorded is The Tomorrow Club, in Youngstown OH, where I saw the Ramones a couple of years after this was released.... ]

I’ll give this one 4.5 out of 5, keeping in mind that it delivers exactly what it intends.   Forty-plus years after it’s release, I still play it occasionally.

As far as obscurity?  I’m going to say pretty obscure.  Rick Derringer only had one Top 40 song, with Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo peaking at #23.  He had 3 other songs make the Hot 100, but barely (Teenage Love Affair peaked at 80, Let Me In made #86 and his remake of Hang On Sloopy made it to #90).  Derringer Live peaked at #123 on the album charts.  While his highest charting album after “All American Boy (at #25), that’s not exactly a smash.  I suspect that the most people who remember him can’t name anything he did beyond “…Hoochie Koo”.

Back cover:

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Inner sleeve (click for larger version):

Winter Field - Before and After

Another one from Cliff Cave County Park, taken last week.  I've "Edited The Stuffing Out Of It" (ETSOOI).  I kind of like how it turned out.  And yes, I was thinking ETSOOI when I took the photo!

Of course, it is "Jazz", some free-form improvisation.  Not exactly sure how I got here, but something along the lines of:

1. crop / straighten / adjust levels
2. Topaz Studios Impressions (on a new layer).  Pretty sure it was the Pencil - Sketch Work III.
3. adjust levels on that result
4. Topaz Studios Simplify (on a copy of the original layer)
5. Blend the two modified layers till it looks good.  
6. Flatten
7. Add texture in Photoshop Elements.  Pretty sure it's canvas
8. I also cloned out a big snowflake spot (it was snowing when I took this).  Should've done that before adding the texture, but I dare you to find the spot... without looking at the "before" photo!

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And the before photo, click to enlarge

Hey Arnold!

So…  For those that didn’t know, I changed jobs this month.  All good, and not really of concern for readers of this blog.  Except that I have (for a little while) a longer commute, and I have lost all of my lunchtime nature-haunts from the past 11 years.

Anyway…  this week I’ve taken some time to look into some potential spots near my new office.  Sadly, there’s not a good place to walk right at the office, so some level of driving will be required.  But I’ve found a couple of interesting spots that are not too too far.  (according to Google, about 11-15 minutes each way minutes each way):

Mastodon State Historic Site - The images below are from Friday, and from Spring Branch Trail (a 0.8 mile loop).

Cliff Cave County Park:  This looks like a pretty cool place....  I've already posed a few images:  here,  here and here.  I think this place will be a favorite, there's a range of opportunities.

Bee Tree County Park:  The furthest of the 3 from my office, and at first look, the least interesting,  But we'll see....

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Given 1 hr for lunch, and ~30 minute drive times, I’ll have to do quick trips, but seems like some nice photo opportunities.  So, maybe you’ll see some more photos from the spots over the next month or two.  Sometime around the first of the year I’ll be moving to a new office (with this same new-to-me company) which will be much closer to home.  Much, much closer.

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Aside:  I should probably rename this site “So…  Anyway… “.  I think I use these in my narratives way too much.  But no so much that I feel a need to change…  After all, I’ve been using LSquared Imaging for over 15 years (on blogger since 2004).

Cliff Cave County Park

Oakville, MO

Arlo Guthrie - 11/10/2018

So, last Saturday night, my wife and I saw Arlo Guthrie at the wonderful Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, IL.  This was his Alice’s Restaurant—Back by Popular Demand Tour, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Alice's Restaurant movie (which means the 51st anniversary of the album!).

We were a little to slow to get tickets for the original show, but I made sure to be on line the moment they started selling tickets when the announced a second show.  And we ended up with 4th row seats.  Of course, every seat in the Wildey is great (330 seats in a warm, intimate setting).

And it was a really great show.  Arlo clearly isn't a kid anymore, but he's hanging in there pretty well.  He did turn the show over to his daughter Sarah Lee for 4-5 songs before an intermission, and she was a very pleasant surprise (surprise to me, at least!).  They played a nice range of mostly older songs, including a cover of Dylan's Gates Of Eden and a couple of Woody songs.  And of course, Alice's Restaurant.

Now, I try to keep my camera down while bands are playing, but I like to try and catch a shot or two in between.  These the are from when the band came back on stage before the encore: