Day 67--Avocado

We're having a potluck at work tomorrow, and I wanted to bring something I could make quickly and easily. So guacamole seemed like a good idea. And that meant I got to buy some avocados, cut 'em in half, and take a picture that sort of, kind of, looks like the cover of Pearl Jam's most recent studio album.

It's not a bad album. Not my favorite, but it holds up well. And it took awhile to grow on me. For awhile, actually, I was close to flat-out not liking it at all.

All of this is an excuse, I think, for me to reprint one of my all-time favorite conversations, which I had with my friend Karl one evening. Please enjoy.

Me: I don't really like the new Pearl Jam album.

Karl: Do you have something against avocados?

Me: Oh no, I've got nothing against them. It's the music I don't care for. I'm the biggest advocate of avocados there is.

Karl: So that would be a...

Me: An avocadvocate.


Dave

Day 66--Lock Down

I think I was supposed to be doing food pictures this week. Whoops. Maybe I'll do that next week, eh?

The back areas of work continue to provide me with a myriad interesting photographic opportunities. I probably don't want to exhaust them all now, but it's hard to pass stuff up when it's there.

All this chatter is covering up the fact that while I certainly enjoy this picture, I don't have much to say about it.

Did you notice?

Dave

Day 65--You Are Here

I found this globe tucked away in a corner at work, and I was sad that it didn't light up anymore. I bet too many people don't use globes these days, since so much is available online just as quick, and probably more informative. Still, part of me likes the old-timey approach to such things.

Part of me remembers grandma/pa on one side having a cool globe back in the day. Mom? Help me out on this one?

Dave

Day 64--Bottleworks

I actually tried this shot a couple years ago and never had much to do with it, but I like the way it looked enough to try it again. It is, of course, the inside of a beer bottle. Schlafly, in this case. The point'n'shoot camera is remarkably well suited for something like this, since I can put the lens right at the mouth of the bottle and rest it there.

Actually, I had always thought this would be a cool image to put on an actual CD. Though I'd want it a little more lined up than this one.

Dave

Day 63--Coming Up Aces

Some fun facts about the circumstances of this picture:

-it was my first Journal shoot since December
-it was my first sports assignment in over year
-it was the first time I've shot tennis since college

Turns out it's not as exciting in real life as it is in my mind. In this case, at least, there's far less grunting and power strokes as I seem to expect. And it's a hard call--do I go out on the court and shoot, doing my best to stay out of the way or do I shoot through the fence?

In this case I was on the court, but I was constantly worried that my shutter clicks would prove distracting. But maybe I was getting tennis and golf confused. But no one seemed to mind.

Anyways, it was fun shooting something and knowing I'd get paid for it.

Dave

Day 62--...to explore strange new worlds...

I assure you that my desire to own a Gibson Explorer has nothing to do with the fact that Mr. The Edge plays one. Really!

The fact that it looks cooler than almost any guitar out there? Also not the case.

Alright, so maybe that's why. But I'm pleased to report that it sounds and plays great as well. And it's comfortable, to boot, which is a definite plus.

So this picture conveniently features the new guitar AND the new lens. Yay! It's not often I can take pictures of myself playing guitar, so this was fun.

Dave

Day 61--Dialed In

Sorry for the programming delay, folks. I had band practice last night and didn't get home until late-ish.

It was raining yesterday, and thought about getting something arty with rain drops on cars. But then I decided that having two successive shots of water droplets would be unnecessary. So I wandered around the shop at work and took pictures of whatever struck my fancy. I don't remember what these dials were attached to. Some sort of tank. Our shop is one of the more visually interesting places at work, probably because it features lots of natural lighting. And all the stuff laying around is fun, too.

Dave

Day 60--Do the Dew

One does not pass up the opportunity for a shot like this early in the morning on the way to work.

I suppose the pun could be avoided, but if I don't indulge myself those, what good would I be?

Dave

Day 59--Push Mower

Back my popular demand, it's the fish-eye lens!

Back by no demand whatsoever, it's my push-mower!

I bought this thing a few years ago because I was tired of my gas mower breaking down all the time. I've since acquired a pretty reliable gas mower, but for the front yard, which is small and hassle-free, I think I'll use the manual version this year.

Dave

Day 58--WD-40

There is no denying the awesome power contained in a can of WD-40, and I think that makes good reason for our shop guys to keep it front and center on the shelf. I mean, you never know when something might be squeaking. And you have to be ready for it. Rooting around on shelves, knocking over cans of air freshener and starter fluid only wastes valuable time. And notice that we have regular AND industrial size cans at the ready. We don't fool around with this stuff.

Nope, no sir (ma'am).

But what does the WD stand for?

-wood density
-wallet depth
-wrench depression
-wallaby dentist
-wilbur dennison

Oh I bet it's the last one.


Dave

Day 57--Big Brother

I joined Big Brothers/Big Sisters back in October, for somewhat unspecific reasons. I'd had a notion in my head most of last summer of wanting to give of myself someway, somehow, but I wasn't entirely clear how. And one day it just sort of hit me that joining BB/BS would be a good idea. So I applied, and was called in for a pretty thorough interview. In fact, if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought my interview was for a dating service. Really, you could probably drop just a few questions and my answers from that would work just fine. Kinda weird. Anywho, it took about a month, and they matched me with Roger, who just turned 8 last month. And gosh darn it, it's been a lot of fun. He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure, but it's always fun doing whatever we do, and from what I've heard, he has a lot of fun with me. So I think it works out pretty well.

We went to see the Cardinals get trounced by the Giants today, and snapped this picture on the MetroLink coming home. I have to say it came out really well.

And if you can't tell, that's the fish-eye lens at work again. Maybe I'll use something else tomorrow.

Or not.

Dave

Day 56--Catch!

A fish-eye lens isn't exactly useful for action shots during a ball game, but for pre-game stuff, it can yield some interesting results.

Playing catch in the foreground is Chuckwagon, and keeping an eye on his little ones is Wheels.

I don't think I had to tilt the camera much, if at all, to capture everything to the ground. And woe to anyone caught on the edge of the lens' field of view, as it tends to warp time and space to suit its needs.

Dave

Day 55--A New State of Mind

On a day when St. Louis was hit by an earthquake, albeit a small one, it seemed fitting to usher in a new era of photographic adventures with a fish-eyed lens. I've been a little disoriented all day, so using a lens like this seems only natural.

It's amazing how close I can get to whatever it is I'm shooting and still keep it in focus. And the closer I get, the more the distortion.

This isn't the most extreme example, but it's a nice idea of what the lens can do. I'll probably be posting more over the weekend, so you'll have that to look forward to.

Dave

Day 54--Zip it Up

There's something about this composition (such as it is) that amuses me. It's almost as though some wee little person is making a perilous trek through the folds of my jeans, and the greatest test he/she/it faces is besting the zipper. And there it is, rising majestically in the distance.

Or not.

As you might have guessed, the pants were not on me at the time of shooting. It would have been harder to shoot properly, less interesting, and does anyone really need a shot of my groinitological area?

Thus ends my journey through the alphabet. I'll be taking a break from themes for a bit, and just shooting whatever I want. This weekend should be exciting, as far as photography goes, but for anyone not in The Know, you'll just have to wait and see why.

Next theme (probably just a week) will be food.

Yum.


Dave

Day 53--Yield

I had some pictures of some pretty cool yarn ready to go, but what I had really hoped for, in lieu of a yak, yo-yo, or Yngwie Malmsteen, was a yield sign. And as luck would have it, I found one.

I even got some cool contrast against a nice blue sky. So I think it worked out rather well. I wish the sign was in better condition, but there's not much I can do about that.

Dave

Day 52--Xanadu

I knew that when I embarked on this little theme I would have to deal with 'X' at some point. And I was a little concerned. I don't know anyone named Xavier or Xerxes. The X-Men are nowhere to be found. Our copier at work is nice, but it isn't a Xerox. And my x-ray machine is in the shop right now.

So what to do? I didn't want to cheat--so things like "x-tra large" and "x-treme" were out. With that in mind, I turned to my friend the dictionary, and one of the first words I saw was xanadu, which just happens to be my favorite song by Rush. So it's natural I wouldn't even think of it.

So xanadu is defined as an idyllic place. Paradise, I guess. Now, St. Louis is nice, but it's no paradise. Nor is it Iowa. So I opted to find something that might represent paradise. I found these flowers outside at work, and they seemed to symbolize the life and beauty that I imagine is inherent in a place like paradise. And the sunshine was a nice touch.

Is it a stretch? Eh, maybe. But when your supply of xanthan gum and xenon runs out, what are you going to do?

Dave

p.s. A couple comment notes--the utensils were actually shot around midnight. The long exposure just let in some extra light. And apologies for being indecisive. I hereby declare vinyl to have superior sound.

Day 51--Walkies

Dad had to work late tonight, or something like that, so I spent some quality time with Graham.

And, well, that's about all I have to say about that.

Dave

Day 50--Vintage Vinyl

Came up with this idea a couple weeks ago, so finally getting to do it today was pretty exciting, at least as these things go.

Some of my earliest memories of music are of mom's old records. If I had my druthers I'd buy more vinyl, but it's not very convenient these days. I've never made an official decision about sound quality vs. CDs, but the designer in me likes vinyl a lot more because of extra space for art and such. And I do rather like the hiss and pop of a record.

This turntable was a gift from mum for my 21st birthday, and what amuses me is that the design is the exact same as the turntable she had when I was little. Ain't broke don't fix it, I guess.

Dave

Day 49--Utensils

Since it was generally unpleasant all weekend, a lot of time was spent inside Diane's house. Fortunately this wasn't a big problem, since her house is full of interesting stuff for visual consumption.

Despite that, I was having trouble finding a good 'U' picture. I had a couple ideas that were so-so (begging dogs with 'ulterior motives'), but nothing I was really excited about. Everyone else was asleep, and I was getting a drink in the kitchen, and I noticed the jar of kitchen utensils in this really nifty lighting. Flash would have been silly, but it was too dark to hand hold. So I used a chair as a tripod, and voila!

I noticed after the fact that the jar even said 'utensils.'

Dave

Day 48--Toby

Spending a weekend at Diane's is always good for pictures, but I'm not used to having constraints as I did in this case. And I really wanted to get a picture of one of her many critters up here as well, but I was having a mental block and couldn't remember all their names.

But I was up at the barn when the horses were coming in, and hey! here's one of her new horses, Toby. How convenient! He was a little camera shy, and since I was opting not to use the flash, it took awhile to get something I liked. But this is good, despite the sun going nova outside the barn.

Dave

Day 47--Stargazing

So I got my camera adapter for the telescope this week. The bad news is that at the amount of zoom I'm using with the 'scope, there's no way to do any proper star photography without a motor drive. Even at 3 second exposures, I'm getting lots of motion blur. So those will have to wait a bit. For now, though, I can finally take fun shots of the moon.

No, this technically isn't a star. But I was stargazing at the time, and I think that counts for something, right?

And, darn it, it's my blog!

I'll be out of town this weekend, so if I don't get a chance to post, expect a trio of pictures on Sunday evening.

Dave

Day 46--Reeds

Did you know harmonicas have reeds? Neither did I until I shot this program today. I don't know if all harmonicas are reeded, but this one, a chord harmonica, most certainly does.

I had never seen or heard of such a device, but this is why I shoot these programs. Apparently this contraption, if I remember right, has 48 different chords, which are formed depending on how the player breathes in and out. There was also a bass harmonica which goes far lower than you might think. Pretty cool stuff.

It's convenient, too, since I'd hate to have not been able to use a shot of something as different as this.

Dave

Day 45--Q-Tip

Man did I fret over this one. I was thumbing through the dictionary looking for something I might be able to use, to no avail. I was ready to do something ho-hum like a quarter, when a little voice in my head said "q-tip!" Sort of like my picture of Noah, but the voice was, as I said, in my head.

I took more pictures of this humble cotton swab thingy than I ever thought possible, and I'm not sure why this one made the cut. I guess I liked the almost mock seriousness of putting it so front and center.

Dave

Day 44--Plantains

Not regular bananas, I assure you.

I've never actually had a plantain, actually. I stayed home from work again today, but felt well enough this evening to visit the store. So I brought the camera along, and got really lucky--first I shot a pineapple, looked down and saw some papayas, and to my right were the plantains.

How convenient!

Dave

Day 43--Open Up

Spring seems to have finally come around to stay, which is just fine by me.

I realize this picture might be stretching things a little bit, but I'm still ailing, so this'll have to do. Here's to being healthy later this week.

Dave

Day 42--Noah

I've had a respectable amount of pictures here, but, in my mind, nowhere near enough 'cute kid pictures.' So I think this is a step in the right direction to fix that little issue.

The Perfectos had another match today, and to my extreme consternation, no one on the team has a nickname that starts with 'N.' So I was about to settle on something generic and uninteresting, when I heard someone talking to Mr. Noah, pictures above. And when I heard his name, the little light bulb went off. And when he started ringing our bell, well that took care of that.

He is, if my math is right, the grandson of Rick 'Sting' Rea, pictured in an earlier post, and the son of Ryan 'River Rat' Melson. So it's sort of a baseball picture, right?

Did I mention the cute thing?

Dave

Day 41--Magnify

It doesn't really seem that much bigger, does it? I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with that, but maybe it wasn't meant to enlarge human hands so much as text.

Still looks cool, though.

Dave

Day 40--Light

I remember the first time I tried this little trick. I was house-sitting for grandma, and since I didn't have my tripod on hand, I set the camera on her basement stairs, and let the shutter sit open for awhile. My best result from that experiment was spelling my name with the flashlight.

There's something very cool about seeing the ribbons of light caught in motion. Too bad I don't have a prism. Otherwise I'd try refracting some light as well. But this'll do for now.

Dave

Day 39--Knife's Edge

Well, since some people are too lazy to drive up from Nashville, I guess I'll make do with this picture of a knife. I had something else in mind for today, but I think I'm going to move it back. It seems that most of what I could think of that starts with 'K' is located in my kitchen. Not sure why, but there you go.

Other ideas included kitsch, knell, and kvetch. I couldn't find any knights or knaves, unfortunately.

I like the way the background went black in the exposure. Happy accident.

I hope no one minds the lack of people lately. This alphabet project just seems to lend itself towards objects. I guess it's just the nature of my day or something.

Dave

Day 38--Jump

Here's to Van Halen, the Pointer Sisters, and Philippe Halsman.

Dave