Ivan, in a cafe in Mayhill, New Mexico. Back in 2003, I believe.

I'm sick of winter. Here's a shot from somewhere in the Yukon a few summers ago.

I've only shot one roll of Fuji Velvia. Never had much use for slides until I bought a film scanner. I might actually run a few rolls through the old Minolta this summer.

Black and white film scan, colored on the computer.

Justin runs the fantasy football league I'm in every year. This is an older black and white film shot, scanned in with my Nikon Coolscan 5000.

Or not.

Blogging will be light for the next few days. Busy getting back into my routine.

I almost nailed this photo.

Continue reading "Death from above"

A five-hour flight with a camera on my lap...

Continue reading "Unleaded"

It's not exactly the boardwalk...

Continue reading "Under the boardwalk"

I guess being a pigeon has its benefits, but I think this fellow stopped to look at the storks and cranes and ospreys...

Continue reading "When pigeons dream"

Continue reading "Early bird gets the worm"

Sharks fear him, for he has killed and eaten many of their kind.

Blogging will be light for the next week or two. I've got better things to do.

Continue reading "Crazy Horse"

Photo of a Cat 777 I stumbled upon during a trip through the Yukon two summers ago.

Just scanning in some older photos.

Alright, that photo is from the short but glorious Alaskan summer. Springtime in Alaska? We should get a half-foot of snow over the next two days, with the daytime temperatures soaring into the high 20s.

Yes. I said soaring.

Have you dug Wall Drug?

Continue reading "Badlands"

I've finally got my hands on the new lens I ordered for the Canon. 10-22mm. I'd head out and about to snap some photos, but I'm a bit under the weather, and it'd be wise for me to get some extra rest. This week is going to be insane, as I tie up some loose ends and get ready for the trip to Del Boca Vista.

I did snap a quick photo [in the extended entry], just to make sure the autofocus was working. Later this week or this weekend I plan to get out and make use of the ultra-wide angle lens. I've never shot with something this wide. It's comparable to a 16mm lens on a 35mm camera. I think the field of view is in the ballpark of 107°, and the widest I've ever shot with is around 84° with an old Minolta 24mm lens.

Continue reading "Double wide"

Some folks are working on developing software that will identify photos that have been manipulated. I'm glad to see after some of the scandals involving major news organizations that they are pursuing such software.

Here's an example of a edited photo, from back in the days before computers.

In case you're wondering if I ever edit photos, let me put that to rest. I never manipulate my photos. Ever.

Continue reading "Photo Forgeries"

Tinkering around with the photo editor. This one is rough, and needs some work. I'll re-shoot it again.

Continue reading "Rough draft"

The wind chill was below zero today at the range.

Continue reading "Cold day at the range"

For the next day or two. Unless it's not. Either way, there's some more PBY Catalina in the extended entry.

Continue reading "Blogging will be light..."

For the Muppet fans out there. You know who you are!

Out and about today, I noticed this feller watching me.

Note to self: Get a bigger lens!

Still not completely happy. That's not a problem, though. It just means I get to try again tomorrow.

I'm not 100% happy with this one. I'll probably shoot it again this afternoon.

My buddy Tony loaned me some old 35mm cameras. I figure I'll get out there and shoot with them, but for now I'm enjoying snapping photos of them.

When I first started taking photos in March of 2002, I was drawn to low-light and long exposure photography. I was always trying to capture the late night, middle of nowhere mood. I scoped out an abandoned barn, large cities at night, a dilapidated farm house, and the occasional county fair. In the years since I've seemed to bounce from one type of photography to another. After the late night photos came black & white film, to include really fast [6400 iso] stuff. Candid shots followed, with seemingly pointless odyssies across the US, camera in hand. I've messed with infra-red a bit. I've tried snapping photos of wildlife, sunsets, star trails, friends, firearms, and friends with firearms. There's also been a little pro bono work in a makeshift studio. It's just a hobby. I've had a few photos displayed in a lobby of a government building, and I've sold a few prints here and there, too. That's not the part that I enjoy, though.

Snapping a photo of something that most folks rarely see is the kick. Now, I'm by no means some National Geographic photographer who travels far and wide, from Angkor Wat to Techugigalpa. Let's clear that up from the get-go. I'm just a guy that's willing to drive a few thousand miles to see something on purpose that other folks would only see by chance. I'm also the guy that will stop and stare at what most folks zoom past every day.

Continue reading "Enchanted..."

...and pass the ammunition.

Jeff at Alphecca asks, "What is the best 9mm pistol?"

The one in the photo below.

Why?

Continue reading "Best 9mm pistol?"

One of my super troops was a member of the base honor guard. She'd have the occasional drill during the winter, but nothing that really conflicted with the schedule at work. When the springtime rolled around, it seemed like she had a funeral every other day.

She said to me, "Sarge, it's spring. Lots of funerals in Alaska in the spring."

Continue reading "Dead of winter"

It was nearly 50° warmer today. Up above 32°F for a bit; it was -14°F the other day.

Continue reading "Fifty degrees warmer"

Just something to hold you over until I get some more photos scanned. In addition, the temperatures here in Alaska are supposed to be on the rise, so there'll be some new photos over the next week or so. Until then, enjoy the photo archives.

Found a new website that cracked me up: A Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver.

And I'll never link to anything like this. Ever again. Bambi & Thumper.

Sad, but probably true. Personally, I'm rooting for Vinny Testaverde to take a knee on the last play of the Super Bowl. Other than that, I'm in it for the commercials.

It's -14°F outside. I remember complaining that it was 15°F outside when I took this photo.

Like my old man says, "Boo-hoo cried the man with no shoes. Then he met a man with no feet."

Today is one of those days that I wish the calendar had a snooze alarm. Five below, with a windchill of fifteen below. I'm actually looking forward to making a dent in the stack of work on my desk... I'm just not looking forward to walking to the car to get there.

If this sucker ever comes to life Rapid City, SD is in trouble.

An otherwise unremarkable photo. Except that this was taken around 1:45pm this afternoon. The sun had reached its apex less than an hour earlier, and was not quite six degrees above the horizon. In contrast, at my folks place in Del Boca Vista the sun was over 38° above the horizon 45 minutes after reaching its highest point. In my hometown in New York, it was 25°.

Geeky solar math via the US Naval Observatory.

Continue reading "Dark Days"

It's freaking cold here. I was going to head out and take some photos, but I whimped out. It'll be ten degrees warmer tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

Photo of a friend [by another photographer]. Idea for the iPod theme here.

There are two types of photos of star trails: those that are taken by Dan Heller, and those that aren't. Check out the photo from the top of Kilimanjaro.

...his photos of lightning are amazing, too...

When I head out to take night time photos, I want either a full moon [to illuminate the landscape] or no moon at all. The moon is full tonight, but it's going to be cloudy. I'll have to wait until next month.

Maybe mid-month there will be some aurora to photograph. I haven't tried that yet. Of course, we're just exiting the solar minimum, so we'll see how that goes.

Some more astro-photography here. A pair of tutorials here and here.

Now that I've got a decent new scanner, I'm re-scanning some old photos. This one was originally in black & white. The hardest part was zapping the little specks of dust on the white background. No matter what I tried, they wouldn't go away.

Continue reading "Caucasian"

Another photo of the PBY Catalina. Not the greatest photo. I was only testing out a new camera body. I figure by the end of the winter, I'll have a few decent shots of this aircraft.

Just messing around with photo editing software.

The new camera body seems to work alright.

Photographing a bottle is difficult. The glass reflects everything in the room. A flash of red from something in one corner of the room; a tint of green from something else that I still haven't figured out.

I was trying to shine the light directly on the bottle, and that wasn't working for me, so I gave up on that.

Instead, I put all the lights on the background; what you're seeing is the light coming through the bottle.Which is guess is the way to go when photographing glass. After all, you wouldn't shine a light at a stained glass window, would you? Rather, you'd shine a light through it.

I have a cousin that told me the toughest thing she ever tried to draw was a glass of ice cubes. Trying to replicate the true color of the ice, and all the subtle reflections of color, was driving her mad.

And don't even get me started on the wobbly table that is nowhere near level. Trying to compensate with a cheap tripod wasn't much help. So the photo is probably a bit crooked. One of these days, I'll get a sturdier table, and a decent tripod.

I'm glad I shot this one in digital, though. If I had burnt a roll of black & white film on this mini-project, I'd have really been frustrated. Some good news, though: I did get some film developed today, and it looks like my new Minolta X-700 body is workin' just fine. I'll have to scan a few of the photos and upload them. Right now, I think I'm going to head down the street for a snapple.

The Tightwad Bank is closing its doors. Or more correctly, it's closing its drive-thru. The lobby was closed years ago.

Continue reading "Tightwad Bank to close"

An old PBY-5a, known as the Catalina, awaiting restoration at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum at Lake Hood.

Continue reading "Catalina"

Still trying to learn a few tricks with some imaging editing software.

Continue reading "Vampires"

Learning to tool around with Photoshop. Found a tutorial via James Mullineaux's Photoblog.
[Warning: some of JM's links are a bit graphic; you've been warned]

Continue reading "Learning to use Photoshop"

A vampire? A werewolf? The mummy?

Continue reading "Scariest costume of the night..."

Halloween is here. My squadron had a party this past Saturday night.

Continue reading "It's that time of year..."

Dan S. giving Kelcy a lesson in occular dominance.

Hey Gidge, those bright orange fish are called Sebastes ruberrimus, or Yellow-eye Rockfish. You have to keep every yellow-eye rockfish you catch, since bringing them to the surface kills them. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, certain species of rockfish have a special type of swim bladder with a unique gas-producing and absorbing gland, which allows a fluctuation in the quantity of gas within the swim bladder. This helps the fish maintain boyancy at various depths. When reeled to the surface, the fish is unable to absorb the gas in the swim bladder fast enough; the change in pressure as it nears the surface kills the fish.

Other species, such as dusky and black rockfish don't have this unique gland. They survive the trip to the surface, but ended up on my dinner plate just the same.

Continue reading "Halibut and Yellow-eye"

"It's not a seagull; it's a kittiwake," the Captain grumbled.

I guess he doesn't like seagulls.

Continue reading "It's not a seagull"

Whittier, Alaska -- home of the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which depending on structural integrity of the Ted, is either the longest or second longest tunnel in the U.S.

To be honest, I don't remember the name of the boat. I've got a business card for the charter company around here somewhere...

A kittiwake peers in, hoping to catch some scraps as the captain of the boat cleans the day's catch.

Continue reading "Stalker"

I guess two-legged dogs are banned in Whittier, Alaska. Chalk it up to those silly local laws we're always hearing about.

Continue reading "Photo of the Day: Strange Laws Edition"

Update: 16 Jan 2007 -- This page seems to bring in a bit of traffic; not sure why. Since you're here, check out the photo archives.

Plenty of photos should be posted over the next week or so. For now, here's Rich sizing up the Ruger Super Redhawk.

Continue reading "Plenty of photos to come..."

My newphew, Brian.

Alaskan bikini photo in the extended entry...

Continue reading "Bikini"

The fellow in the background wasn't too pleased when someone walked off with some of his bait.

Summer in Alaska is great, but it just seems like it's stuck in the low 60s every day. If the rest of the summer is like this, this winter I'm headed somewhere warm...

Continue reading "Summer"

Resurgemus dot com would like to wish each and every American a Happy Fourth of July.

Make smart choices with fireworks. When at all possible, leave the pyrotechnics to the professionals. Unless you live in a state like Alaska, where the good stuff is legal. Then, by all means, out-firework the neighbors. For the children.

Ignore the Met game today. Poor starting pitching and too many hot dogs are a recipe for some serious indigestion.

Practice safety around the BBQ grill. If someone suggests a quick splash of lighter fluid is what those red hot coals need, hand him the lighter fluid. After all, that trip to the Burn Unit will probably spare him from putting his eye out with a bottle rocket a few beers hours later.

Drive safely on America's highways.

Most importantly, use good judgement when it comes to alcohol. It only takes a few drinks... [details in the extended entry]

Continue reading "Public Service Announcement"

I stumbled across MyHeritage.com the other day. They have a facial recognition service that lets you compare a person's photo with 3,200 or so famous folks. I decided to take some of the portraits and snapshots I've taken [and a few other mugshots on my hard drive] and see what came about.

Continue reading "My Heritage dot com"

UPDATE 18 NOV 2006: Check here for more on our trip to Tightwad.

So my roadtrip buddy -- Darf-man -- decides he's gonna pack up and move to middle-of-nowhere Australia. I've had friends threaten to do such a thing. With Darf, I had no doubt he'd eventually be living down-under. Note the anti-kangaroo defenses on the front of the car. Cool.

Continue reading "Road trips"

I took this photo in Dawson City in the Yukon, Canada. The only missing is a sad pup, waiting anxiously for his best friend to get out of class.

I've made a few additions to the blog roll. Mets Blog, Mostly Mets, and the Ed Kranepool Society added under "Sports Blogs."

Also added, four photo blogs, listed under "Alaskan Blogs." Check out JFlame Photos, Alaska365, Northern Exposure, and Frozen Images.

I've had Michael Yon on the blogroll for a while, but I hadn't updated the link to his new site. Head here to read a quick biography on the former Green Beret.

A French publishing company apparently used one of Michael's images without permission. You can read more at Advertising Age and Jack Yan, as well Michael's site [here and here].

Blackfive is calling for a boycott of Car & Driver magazine. Not a magazine I read anyway, but I have purchases a half-dozen copies of American Photo over the last few years. Won't do that again [the magazine isn't even that good].

As I see it, a former Green Beret against a French corporate giant? Hard to tell who the underdog is here.

Traffic trails.

Continue reading "Traffic Trails"

As promised, some more IR photos. Infra-red film produces some strange effects.

Continue reading "More infra-red"

Here's a shot of a snowplow in Dawson City, way up in the Yukon. The winters are harsh here in Anchorage. I can only imagine how rough they are up there in Dawson City.

This is an infra-red photo.

Continue reading "Faithful Unto Death"

Continue reading "The Black Knight always wins..."

Dan S. brought Monica to the range.

Continue reading "New Shooter"

Dan S. and his .308.

Went to the range on Saturday.

Gorgeous weather? Check.
Good company? Check.
Lotsa ammo? Check.

Continue reading "Shotgun"

Josh and his new bride enjoying a snack together.

Continue reading "Let them eat cake!"

I always knew he was a straight shooter...

Continue reading "I had no idea..."

This is my buddy Dave, sharpening some lawn mower blades. He's probably most certainly the biggest Mets fan I've ever known.

Continue reading "Let's Go Mets"

That's a 1973 Seagrave tractor drawn ladder truck you're looking at. The truck reflected in the wheel is an old Sutphen tower ladder, since replaced by a new Sutphen tower ladder. For a shot of the new Sutphen, check out the second photo in this entry. I'll take a gleaming white tiller truck over an ordinary red engine any day of the week. Here's a neat site from Cincinnati that details that department's long history with tiller trucks.

I'd have more commentary, but I'll be running late for work if I'm not away from the computer in five minutes.

Continue reading "Guitar Dude"

Did you ever feel like you had too much on your plate?

Eventually the gull realized this piece of sushi wasn't going down the hatch.

Continue reading "the prodigal blogger returns"

While on vacation in Del Boca Vista I was able to snap a quick photo of this Anolis sagrei, or brown anole. I snuck up on him as he caught the last few rays of the afternoon sun. When I moved within a few feet, he began to display his bright orange dewlap.

Continue reading "Godzilla?"

All good things must come to an end. My trip to Del Boca Vista ended officially when the 757 touched down at the Ted last night.

Continue reading "All good things..."

Taken at the Arctic Circle last summer, around 11:30pm at night.

Continue reading "Fireweed"

As the famous philosopher Dusty Hill once remarked, "Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man."

Continue reading "Sharp Dressed Man"

Q. If it's not your birthday, is it socially acceptable to sneak a little birthday cake when no one is looking?

Continue reading "Question of the Day: Birthday Edition"

I promised someone I'd update my webpage today. Just a little something to hold you over. Gimme another day or so, and major blogging will resume.

I'll be spending some time in Florida in March, somewhere near Del Boca Vista. Maybe I'll come back with one of these.

Seeing the folks will be good, and a little bit of sunshine won't hurt. Heading in to work tonight the mercury will bottom out around -10°F.

And while a short vacation in Florida will be nice, what I really can't wait for is summer here in Alaska. Twenty-plus hours of daylight, warm weather, and grizzly bears.

Winter in Alaska is beautiful, but it's just a tad too long. Back home in New York they hope for a white Christmas; here they get snow on a different holiday.

Spring is just another month or two away. Until then, I'll be daydreaming of summer.

With a quick pit stop in Del Boca Vista, of course.

Why is this photo entitled Yes, Dear?

Continue reading "Yes, Dear"

My little brother just turned thirty today.

Continue reading "Trooper Joe hits 30"

...the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much...

James 5:16

Continue reading "Powerful and Effective"

When a small town purchases a new fire truck for the local volunteer fire department, it's often celebrated with a "wetdown."

Continue reading "Wetdown"

A few years ago, I was looking to take some photos of the New York City skyline. I really didn't know anything about photography, except how to point and click a disposable camera.

I did a little research on the net, and stumbled across Lost America, a website run by Troy Paiva.

Troy has some really, really cool images up. He rides around the desert late at night, recording long exposure photos on tungsten-balanced film. Between the blue cast of the film and the freaky colored lights he uses, his photos of the western United States are amazing. He put a book out a while ago, and I scored myself an autographed copy.

Many of my photos are inspired by Troy's work. Here's an example. This wonderful ride was owned by a colorful fellow named "Cowboy." The shot was taken late at night under the full moon, and a twelve hundred gigawatt spotlight was fired through some colored geletin filters.

Now, in all of the conversations I've had with Cowboy, he never mentioned anything about alien abductions or seeing a flying saucer or anything of the sort. Like I said, however, he was a colorful fellow. I wouldn't be surprised to hear him begin a story, "Bubba, you ain't gonna believe this..."

Wanna learn some more about late-night long exposures? Troy has a How To page.

Usually when I'm in the home studio I'm focused on getting the exposures right, making sure the pose is flattering, avoiding distracting shadows and highlights, and trying to click the shutter before they blink.

When I'm in the groove and everything seems to be working well, I try to capture a little bit of the person on film. I love to hear, "Oh my gosh, that's her!" when someone sees an image a friend, and it faithfully represents the way they view that person in real life.

It's also fun to allow someone to act out a bit, completely out of character. This is Tyler. Tyler is a tie-dyed in the wool hippie; the most mellow cat you'll ever meet.

For a few minutes the other night, he was a bad man. Bad, like Jesse James.

Continue reading "Bad, like Jesse James"

Sure, I get frustrated when I agree to do some portraits for someone, and they don't show up. Yeah, I get a little ticked off when they don't even call. And yes, I'm aware that I almost never charge for the service. I don't mind covering the $50 or so that it takes to cover the film and developing. I need the practice and I love taking photos. So you'd think I could stay angry for a while, right?

Well, not really.

Continue reading "I get frustrated"

Had some folks over this weekend. Tyler and Desi stopped by for a few hours on Friday night for some photos. I was exhausted [I worked Thursday night, and stayed up all Friday]. Hopefully I didn't mess anything up through fatigue and lack of attention to detail. I'll be getting the photos developed this week.

Continue reading "Photos to follow"

A while back Rich [blue jacket] and I headed to the range to knock off a few rounds. Elliot [orange jacket] came with us, and seemed to have a pretty good time. It's always great when a first time shooter has a positive experience at the range.

Our shift schedule is being jockeyed around after next week. We won't be working the same schedule, and won't be working with the same people. It'll be alright; different, but alright.

At first I was a little worried that I wouldn't have folks to shoot with. Rich is currently in an undisclosed location, doing some fancy-schmancy TDY job. I won't be working with Young Daniel anymore, nor with Sergeant Dan. Randy and Dawk have PCS'd to a new base. Geez... who will I go shooting with?

Then I started thinking that perhaps going to the range would be a good way to build up some comraderie with the new crew. Especially now that we're only two months away from reasonable weather. Heck, it might be late enough in the year that it doesn't drop below 0°F again until November.

Besides, all the other guys will head to their new crews and start converting the masses. Eventually, down the road when all the planets align, we'll all have an afternoon off together. Maybe we can get 15-20 folks from the unit out to the gun range the same day?

Continue reading "Two of my buddies"

It's been a little chilly here lately. The temps during the day just refuse to get above 3°F. At night, they head well below zero.

Fortunately, the Air Force loaned me this ginormous winter parka. When I received it last February, I didn't think it was necessary. The temps were usually above 15°F that month. The Gore-tex jacket I had did just fine. Besides, as long as your head, feet, and hands are warm you're usually good to go.

When the temperature sinks past -10°F, the cold air seems to knife through everything.

I fired up the home studio last night to play around with the new digital camera.

I figure there will be plenty of time for indoor photos these next few days. Call me a whimp, but I'm not headed outside.

And yes, I actually look like that when I leave the house at night.

Continue reading "Staying Warm"

Continue reading "Stephanie"

Mac turns 21 in a few hours.

Continue reading "Happy Birthday, Mac"

This is Big Ben. This photo was taken last summer, maybe late July, down on the Kenai Peninsula. I had a few sparklers I picked up at a fireworks stand on the Parks Highway, and I told Ben to twirl them around while I took some long exposure photos.

Way back when, during the reign of the radio-active midnight sun, I took this photo of one of the young Airmen from the shift. A group of us from work spent the night out on the Kenai Peninsula, partying until dawn it was time to head home. In the summertime in Alaska, there really isn't much of a "dawn"... not one that you'd recognize.

Continue reading "A highlight of 2005"

A few months ago I put together the El-Cheapo Photo Studio. Basically, some floodlights from the hardware store, some fabric thumbtacked to the wall, and a reflector made of cardboard and tin foil. Together with the 20+ year old Minolta X-700, I set out to learn how to do portraits.

This is Brittany, with guitar-man Emmott in the background.

Now that winter is here, I'm fighting off the urge to sit on my butt and do nothing. Perhaps I should fire up El-Cheapo again and do some more portraits.

Now that I have a digital SLR, I can take test shots to see what works, which should make a nice supplement to my traditional style of "winging it" and hoping for the best.

The biggest obstacle right now is desire to hibernate. It's after 0930 right now, and the sun hasn't made it's daily appearance yet. To add insult to injury, the sun doesn't even put in an honest effort this month, failing to rise more than 6° above the horizon at it's highest point. In contrast, New York will see almost five hours more daylight, and the sun will climb around 26° into the sky.

During the summer I find myself running on three or four hours sleep. Now I understand why Ursus arctos horribilis just gives in and takes that long winter nap.

This photo was taken at 0900 this morning. As you can see, the sun doesn't have a nine to five job here in Alaska during the winter.

Continue reading "Not a 9 to 5 job"

Youth and skill are no match for old age and treachery.

A half-dozen or so Airmen from Charlie Flight challenged the NCO's to game of dodgeball the other day.

Give me your old, your tired, your arthritic, your out of shape, your short of breath... and they will smite the airman six games to three. I would mention something about, "Any time, fellows..." but I'm still kinda sore.

Probably the best moment of the entire afternoon was seeing the look on the faces of the Airmen when they realized the old Seargents still have a few moves. Something between disbelief and panic.

Collectively, we used every trick in the book. Lobbing an easy one in the air that was too tempting for the young Airmen to resist, while three more orange spheres of death came homed in on them. Stepping up to the line to challenge the fellow with the weakest arm, knowing we've got a 75% chance of catching it.

And a few others I won't reveal; the Airmen are still in "what just happened" mode.

The photo to the left was taken a few months ago at the 3rd Air Base Wing dodgeball tournement. Those are volleyballs, making it a "live fire" drill. The dodgeballs we used the other day were of the bright orange, nerf-like variety. Safety is a primary focus in any training environment.

Continue reading "Youth and Skill"

I took this photo two years ago at the Anne Arundel County Fair, which was held just down the street from the house I was renting in Maryland. In fact, I think I took the Muffler Man photo the same night.

I want to start shooting night photography again, however Alaska just isn't the greatest place for it. There are no warm summer nights to wander around; in the summer there isn't enough darkness to do the long exposures. With the sun below the horizon for 16+ hours a day, you'd think I'd be excited. Unfortunately, it's been so freaking cold here lately that I just don't see myself outside with a camera popping off a dozen 15-minute exposures. Or 15-second exposures.

Today the temperature will be soaring into the low 20s. Like I mentioned earlier, cold weather and long exposure photography don't work well together.

I'll have to figure something out. I'm itching to take some photos outdoors. Maybe it'll warm up [warm up: in a relative sense; as in "above five degrees"] one night and I'll get inspired.

Or maybe I'll wait until I visit my folks in Florida.

Here's a padlock on an old barn in the city of Dawson in the Yukon.

I'm just itching to tell a story, but unfortunately [for reasons I can't explain right now] I've got to keep the story under lock and key.

Grrrrrrr!

Continue reading "Padlocked..."

Happy Halloween!

This is one of my first long exposure photos, from way back in 2002. This old farm house in Odenton, Maryland was knocked down a few weeks after I took this photo. The yellow sky is from artificial lights [streetlights and such] reflecting off the clouds. The shutter was open, and I stood in front of the camera popping off flashes. A little over-exposed right in front of me, but not a bad shot.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I'll be working tonight, so no trick or treating for me. However, you can check out Kim's site [warning: some artistic nudity] for some spooky artwork. And Bruce at mASS Backwards has some rules for trick-or-treaters, as does Phelps.

I really don't know how much trick-or-treating goes on here in Anchorage. We got an inch or so of snow this weekend, and although nothing would have discouraged my candy seeking initiative as a kid, I can't imagine parents being thrilled about heading out into cold. And it is cold; between 5° and 15°F [-15° to -9°C for the metric-types]. The 10-20 mph winds don't help.

In a somewhat unrelated note, I'm watching a fellow in a mask put on a scary performance on TV right now. Since the game is on OLN, I'm not sure if fans in NY can even watch the game. That'd be a shame.

This photo would be much better if I could have centered it correctly. I was so focused on getting the exposure right that I didn't pay attention to the composition.

Can anyone guess what it is?

Continue reading "Sparks"

Everyone gets bored at work sometimes. Looks like someone got into a quick game of tic-tac-toe on the wheel of this Catepillar 777, out near the Kluane National Park in the Yukon Territories.

Fortunately, my job has been much more fulfilling lately. There are few things as frustrating in life as clocking in day after day at a job you don't enjoy. Having people the people who work for you that are dissatisfied with the job as well, and the problem compounds exponentially.

I think we've turned a corner at work. One particular night last weekend we seemed to really be firing on all cylinders; everyone fed off each other, and we accomplished a weeks worth or work in one 12 hour shift. If I only knew the exact catalyst(s)...

It sure beat paper airplanes and tic-tac-toe. Now if I can just figure out how to zap the bureaucracy and paperwork...

On the big 2003 road trip with Darf, we cross the state of North Dakota along I-94. Between the communities of Gladstone and Regent you'll find the Enchanted Highway -- a half dozen or so gigantic metal sculptures. My favorite, was the fifty foot statue of Teddy Roosevelt, pictured above.

Click on over and read about the interesting history behind the Enchanted Highway.

This is a photo of the stairs to my old apartment in Crownsville, Maryland.

Continue reading "Frigid"

This is a church down the street from where I lived for a while on General's Highway in Crownsville, Maryland.

It's a long exposure, and the colored streaks in the sky are created by the full moon illuminating the clouds as they pass by.

Since I don't have a digital camera [yet] all my photos are taken by a 20+ year old Minolta X-700. With some slow film [usually Fuji Reala 100] and a shutter release, I've been able to get some really cool exposures at night.

And now, after several months of the constant daylight, nighttime has returned to Anchorage. Today the sun will be above the horizon for just under twelve hours. By this time next month, we'll lose three more hours of daylight; take away another two hours of sunshine by the first of December.

Not only is the daylight fleeting; the sun does not ascend very high in the sky, either. This weekend the sun will climb to 25° above the horizon. When the dead of winter rolls around, that figure be a mere five degrees, plunging us back into darkness around five and half hours after it first appears.

At least it will give me plenty of time each week to take long exposure "nighttime" photos, even if it's during the day.

The Cursing Well, run by this guy at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. If you check it out, you'll find the well at the Museum of Unnatural History. I don't think the same caretaker is there anymore.

A few years ago, my buddy Filipe and I went hiking in Maryland. We stumbled across this tree, with at least a half dozen names of lovers carved into it over the years.

The oldest pair of names on the tree belong to Leo and Edna, dated 4-27-45.

I wonder what became of Leo and Edna? Perhaps Leo had recently returned from the European Theatre, where victory was declared less than two weeks later. Could he have been a veteran of Normandy, or the Battle of the Bugle? He might have served as an enlisted aircrew on a B-17 Flying Fortress, or as an officer piloting the P-51 Mustangs that escorted them on the daylight bombing runs.

While the war was winding down in Europe, the deadliest battles in the Pacific were just getting under way. That afternoon in April of 1945 might have been Edna's last meeting with her beau, as he headed off for Okinawa, or duty aboard the USS Indianapolis.

Maybe Leo and Edna are still out there somewhere.

Here's a photo of Mount Rushmore from the big road trip with Darf. Taken at night with a long exposure, the stars are able to slowly drift across the frame.

I'm going to have to ask someone geeky if they can estimate the length of the exposure, perhaps Space Weather would would know.

I dozed off for a little while during the shot; the camera was on a tripod next to the car, and I sat back in the passenger seat for a little while. My best guess is the shot was 30-45 minutes long, but I can't say with certainty.

I took several photos of the stars that night, but this is the only one that came out. At that time I knew next to nothing about star trails.

Now I still know next to nothing, but I've got one good photo under my belt. And there's always Dan Heller's tutorial, for the next time I venture out to give star trails a try. Check out his photo from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Amazing.

Here's a photo of Washington's profile, taken by QT Luong.

I've got a cheap scanner that's a couple of years old. The scan really does no justice to the print. Maybe I should have someone scan the negative in.

UPDATE 18 Nov 2006: Check here for more on the trip to Tightwad.

Road trips have always appealed to me. As a kid, vacations always had their genesis in the Dawson Family Truckster. From our home in New York, we traveled up and down I-95 from the Canadian border to Florida.

Traveling by air is quicker, but the only scenery is the back of the seat in front of you. A road trip allows you, quite literally, to see where you're going. Getting there is half the fun.

I also enjoy the independence of being behind the wheel, or at least riding shotgun. There are major attractions, unusual stops, educational and historical sites, and scenic wonders to be taken in. Where next? Priorities are set, and decisions are made, and a course is plotted. One hundred miles down the road something unique catches your eye, and the plans are adjusted. In a way, it's a bit like surfing from link to link across the web, except at 55 70 100 mph.

When Darf and I set out on the big 28 state road trip in 2003 we put Tightwad, Missouri on our list of destinations. The original plan was to open a checking account at the Tightwad Bank. Unfortunately, there was no longer a "Tightwad Bank." I didn't see the point in opening an account in the Tightwad Branch of UMB Financial. On top of that, the bank's office was closed. The drive-thru was open, and we were able to liberate a few souvenir key chains.

A local remarked that she found it funny when tourists stopped to take photos of the city limits sign. We were a little frustrated that Tightwad didn't have a post office, and after a quick stop at the general store we headed out towards St. Louis.

Earlier that day we witnessed a Pontiac Firebird going the wrong way on Highway 71. Considering we were in the city of Peculiar, it shouldn't have been a surprise.

My buddy Darf and I stumbled across this gem in Mount Vernon, Illinois a few years ago, about half-way through our 28 state road trip. We needed to fuel up the Darf-mobile, and pulled into a gas station right along side this beauty.

There was a tall lanky fellow walking across the parking lot decked out in an ankle-length trench coat [with ruffles], a "shirt" made of what looked like fishnet, and some heavy mascara. Inquiring about the car and its owner, he directed me to see Beefie, who was running a register inside the gas station.

I asked Beefie [or Beefy? I didn't ask about the spelling] if I could take a few snapshots of his Picaso-on-wheels. He didn't seem to understand why someone would want to photograph the vehicle. Is it possible that this poetry in motion was not so much an extension of the Beef-man's personality, but merely a means of transportation?

I asked the Beef-meister if I could snap a quick portrait of him, and his eyes lit up. "Lemme show ya my ink!"

Continue reading "Beefie and the Beav"

Have you ever stumbled across a Muffler Man in your travels? Roadside America has an entire web portal dedicated to tracking the elusive giants, which can be found in almost all of the lower 48 states.

Technically, this guy in the photo to the right is considered a "lumberjack" or "Bunyan" -- a subspecies of the classic Muffler Man. You probably didn't know it, but there's a diverse fiberglass ecosystem out there along the nation's highways and byways. You've got Uniroyal Gals, Happy Halfwits, Big Chiefs, and some strange mutants.

This bad boy towers over the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds in Crownsville, Maryland. I snapped this shot two years ago [almost to the day].

Sadly, there are no known Muffler Men here in Alaska. Probably for the best. The environmentalists would be complaining that they frightened the caribou during breeding season.

I can't say I'd blame them -- having one of these monsters look in on you would be a total mood killer.

Continue reading "Muffler Man"

I moved to Anchorage this past February, after being assigned to a base in Maryland for almost six years. Of all the things I miss back east, the Maryland Renaissance Festival is at or near the top of the list. I'm not the only one who misses it; someone set up a 12-step program to deal with RenFest withdrawl.

This character to the left was the curator of the Museum of Unnatural History. Well worth the one dollar entrance fee. I didn't see him guarding the gate to the museum last year, and I have no idea if he'll be present this year or not.

If you do go to the RenFest, do not miss Hilby. The RenFest has plenty of entertainment, but Hilby was always my favorite.

Well, Hilby was my favorite performer. I think the giant turkey legs were my favorite. I heard a rumor they were actually ostrich legs, but that didn't bother me at all.

Continue reading "I miss the RenFest"

Back in the summer of 2003, my buddy Darf and I embarked on a 28 state roadtrip. Darf was excited to put the pedal to the metal in Montana, where he believed there was no speed limit.

What he was envisioning is the period in the late 1990s when the daytime speed limit in Montana was "reasonable and prudent." After a few years, someone challenged a speeding ticket, and it went all the way to the state Supreme Court. The court struck down the "reasonable and prudent" speed limit, claiming it was too vague. It took several months for the state to come up with a numerical speed limit; for the next five months or so, there was actually no daytime speed limit in Montana [outside of urban areas]. In 1999, Montana settled on 75 miles per hour, and they've been out of the news ever since.

75 MPH is where the speed limit stood when Darf and I made our way to Big Sky Country. We cruised south from Billings towards the Wyoming border at what seemed like a reasonable and prudent speed. With the sun shining, the top down, and the radio blasting out some tunes, who would dare disagree?

Continue reading "Reasonable and prudent"

A photo of some Cat 777's on the Alaska Highway, near Kluane National Park and Preserve. Those tires are 104 inches tall -- over eight and a half feet.

The photo was shot with Fuji Velvia. I have rarely used slide film, but figured I'd give it a shot. The lab that I use here in Anchorage [D&M Photo] made some prints for me for practically nothing. As if they didn't have my business locked up to begin with.

We passed through that stretch of the Yukon on a weekend, and very little road work was being done. We didn't fare as well on the way south from Fairbanks, where we seemed to spend half the day tied up by construction on the Parks Highway.

These sleeping giants had the day off, however, and I got to sneak up and take some photos.

This is my first real post with the new weblog. It's going to take me some trial and error to figure out how to use Movable Type; I figure after a few weeks of playing with this I should be good to go.

Many thanks to Lisa at Elegant Webscapes for the design. As soon as I get a few posts up, I'm going to leave some well deserved kudos in her testimonials page.

Feel free to drop by as I work out the bugs, and figure out how the heck this internet works. Thanks for stopping by. --- jp