26-SEP-2009
Day 269 - Hanging Out
Here's a pretty good shot of my son that I took of him in a stairwell outside the hospital parking garage today. The hospital is beautiful, the garage is beautiful, the stairwell looks like something out of the projects, I think because it is enclosed in glass and the humidity is probably pretty high throughout the year inside of this thing. We were at the hospital for a CATScan appointment for his left arm that he broke two days ago during gymnastics. We didn't realize he'd broken his arm until yesterday (Friday) when we had to take him to a clinic in a neighboring town. Amazing that now-a-days when you get x-rays, they can review them at the place they were taken, then forward them to an expert for evaluation. In our case, the expert at the actual hospital said something to the effect of "Seek an Orthopedic Surgeon ASAP". The Orthopedic Surgeon had us wait in their examining room for about two hours before telling us that they needed a CATScan first before they could proceed (I really think they did that so they could go home sooner as we found out that CATScans take all of 10 minutes at the hospital which is 5 minutes from the Orthopedic Clinic). So , today we went to have this CATScan. We don't find anything out until Monday. At the very least, he gets his elbow set and casted this Tuesday. He is doing fine though. In fact, we spent 3 hours walking around out neighborhood this afternoon in his Cub Scout uniform selling popcorn as a fundraiser. Hell of a salesman, my son, especially in a Cub Scout uniform AND a cast. . .
25-SEP-2009
Day 268- Strom Salute
I was riding around this morning with the intention of hitting mountain road (Dirt) and finding a nice rustic fall scene to shoot. I missed my turn (there was some construction and I got distracted) and wound up taking the wrong road which bypassed Mountain Road entirely. I got this great idea of heading back (make a big circle) and make the correct turn. On the way, I noticed this excavator blocking access to a cleared section of land. I doubled back and parked the Strom under the backhoe (which turns out, wasn't such a hot idea) and walked around the back side to snap a few shots. The shots came out OK, I am using the widest angle lens I have, trying to capture the whole scene. I something more dramatic in my mind than this shot. What you don't see is that I am off the hastily created dirt road, in a pile of mud, with my front tire resting on a patch of mud right in front of a ditch. I spent a good 5 minutes wrestling this bike out of it's predicament as I couldn't ride out of this. I eventually was able to ride out through the mud that is behind the Strom, which made for an interesting exit. Needless to say, I arrived to work today with pretty muddy boots.
24-SEP-2009
Day 267 - Portsmouth Fall Scene
(Catching up after yet another PBase meltdown)
This morning I decided to head out to the Rte 1 Bypass Bridge to shoot a large ship that I noticed yesterday. I was too late, the ship was gone. In fact, there were no ships in the harbor that I could see. Since I'd already gone a different route, I decided to continue onto the Memorial Bridge and cross into downtown Portsmouth. I pulled over more because of the open parking space than the scene, but once I started looking about, I noticed that I could get this one turning tree and the North Church Steeple as well, I can't do anyting about the freakin power lines, I'm not gonna Photoshop them out. Fall is coming, even though it was 72 degrees for my morning commute (which was warmer than it got all day a few days back). Today may have been the last of the warm days this year.
23-SEP-2009
Day 266 - Fall Colors and Shapes
More pumpkins. These are in York, Maine though (OK, technically the one's from last week are from York as well, these are more 'York' though ;-) I was out riding on a few back roads on my way into work. I got behind someone going pretty slow so I took a road I haven't taken in years (Frost Hill Road) and then took a left when I should have taken a right. I am not complaining, I can never complain about spending more time on the bike than planned. Anyway, I pull into town and see all these colors in front of the hardware store (a real hardware/garden store, not a Home Depot or Lowes) and pull in for some shots. An old timer pops up next to me and lets me know that this looks like a good scene. I thank him for not mistaking me for a pumpkin (I was still in my riding gear). Very warm ride/day too. Two days ago, I have my liner in, a sweatshirt, electric gloves, and thermal underwear on. Today, I am sweating with my summer 'getup' on and my summer weight riding gloves. This would be New England.
22-SEP-2009
Day 265 - Parts
Another try this evening. Something about yesterday's photo boosted my pbase hit count into quadruple digits. After looking at the thumbnail, I realize what people initially thought they saw. We are such base creatures. Anyway, I was playing with light today, most of this current effect is from a Polaroid Preset in LightRoom 2, my wife's leg wasn't this blown out in the original shot. Her feet are in the foreground completely out of focus as I am focusing on the hemline on her capris. Makes for an interesting abstract.
21-SEP-2009
Day 264 - Entwined
It should be pretty easy to tell what this/these is/are after a little staring. I've been back in the portrait mode since my wife has asked me to shoot our family photos this fall. I was testing on her and trying odd angles when I discovered this composition. It is not what you think. . .
20-SEP-2009
Day 263 - Not Used
Sometimes things shouldn't be saved. I bought this wine when I was on a TDY (Trip) to Germany (Bitburg) in the Air National Guard back in '93. I am quite sure this would taste like crap if we opened it today. We never kept it in a wine cellar, it has gotten warm and cold numerous times in the past umpteen years. I'm not sure why we save it, other than the fact that it looks good in our wine rack.
19-SEP-2009
Day 262 - Details
This is my left Highway Footpeg. My Highway pegs from Dan Vessel arrived yesterday (Friday) and I had them installed in the evening in about 15 minutes. Had a pretty busy day, I wound up with a ton of photographs from my daughter's First High School Marching Band Competition for the season. It will take a while for me to Process all those images, so while I was waiting for her to call to tell me the bus was getting closer and I could go pick her up, I set up the gear in the garage and took more bike shots. You can see my lighting setup in the reflection on the left side of the footpeg. That is the 'Details' aspect of this shot. Strobist info: 580Ex-2 1/4 Power, camera left above and slightly behind the footpeg, shooting into my homemade diffuser.
18-SEP-2009
Day 261 - End of the Rainbow
Here is why I have a "Bike Camera". My LX3 is always in my tank bag (the black bag that is on the tank behind the handlebars) and the tank bag is always with/on the bike. Today I decided to leave my "Heavy Duty" gear at home because I figured I would shoot something after I got home and went to the High School Football game to watch my daughter and the Marching Band. I am only wondering what this shot would have looked like with the 40D. This is on my way off of the Tradeport, there is this huge turn around for trucks, I practically slammed on the brakes on the wet pavement to pull in so I could make use of this incredible light. There was no rainbow when I started. in fact, I didn't even notice the rainbow until 5 shots into this, I saw something in the preview image on the camera. I was still in my riding gear with my helmet on, sunglasses, and face-shield. When I realized what was happening, I started shooting from various angles trying to get more or less of the rainbow in the photo. For some odd reason, I had actually lined up perfectly with the rainbow when I was shooting initially, I cannot imagine the odds, in fact, I need to go buy a lottery ticket!
17-SEP-2009
Day 260 - Land Locked
This is the photo of the sailboat I noticed yesterday on my morning travels. I did another AM photo run today. This shot could have used a bit of balanced lighting, I checked and I could have gotten this particular shot with the sky properly exposed had I taken the time to setup my flash. Problem is, I carry only one strobe, and I'd have needed two to light the whole boat (though now that I think of it, it could have given a dramatic feel to it if only the bow were lit). I would have required extra time to set all that up too, something I didn't have much of this morning.
16-SEP-2009
Day 259 - Morning Pumpkins
Did something a little different today, I sought out my PaD on the ride into work, knowing that there would be no time for a photo after work. Good thing too, there was no time after. I took Rte 91 into work, one of my alternate routes, it was the road I commuted for about 9 or 10 years before my company moved to Portsmouth, NH. As I came up on a farm stand, I noticed some pumpkins lined up on hay bales. Early pumpkins, not too many. I think they were supposed to be covered by a tarp that had blown off (it was a little windy). Anyway, I figured this would be today's shot. I'd like a "Sea of pumpkins" but I will take what I can get. On the rest of the route, I found a future PaD, possibly tomorrows as I am not sure how long it will be in place. Now that I look at this photo again, I don't like that the pumpkin on the left is slightly OOF, I focused on the one with the stem and shot at F4 at ISO 400, I had to hand-hold my 70-200 F4L, it was overcast and I didn't want to bump the ISO or slow up the shutter speed. I need to find a way to get my tripod on the bike...
15-SEP-2009
Day 258 - Dog Unpose
This is my dog trying to look all cool like and doing an 'unpose'. He was less than receptive to being my subject this evening, he really preferred that I gave him some kind of unhealthy, greasy snack (which I didn't do). I couldn't get him interested in the camera, he was interested for a short period of time in the lens cap though. Even though he wouldn't play ball here, the shot didn't come out so bad. One interesting point, it is now cooling down and he has begun to shed like a sheep. I don't get it, it is his winter coat that is shedding, though this kind of odd behavior has gone on with him for the past 10 years or so.