Sunday, August 27, 2006
Reunion
I guess it would be nice for me to work in some kind of update for this month. It's been a real whirlwind. The first of the month started off with me heading up to Knoxville for my 20-year high school reunion. I drove up on a Friday afternoon with a cooler full of water and Mt. Dew and a few packs of Chewy Spree candy. As I got closer to my destination, I recognized all sorts of things and got that "I'm almost home" feeling that I haven't had in years. I think it's been 17 years since I've been back there. It was suprisingly easy for me to find my way around and I was at my hotel in no time. I got checked in and found out that I was on a "quiet floor". They had a list of rules for this floor, no kids, no loud TV or radio, no slamming doors, quiet in the hallways, etc. I was in HEAVEN.
I headed down to the waterfront to meet up with a few friends for dinner. Kathy and Dave were already there and I joined them on the balcony outside. Tracy J. joined us soon after and we spent several hours just catching up. It was pretty late when we decided to call it a night so I went on ahead and retired for the evening.
The next morning I woke up early and headed out with my camera to my old neighborhood. I went by one of the places I used to live and checked it out. I made it over to one of my elementary schools to look around. Even though it was Saturday, the head custodian and the current principal were there preparing for the students to return that following week. I talked with them for a bit and they let me have free reign through the building. WOW, talk about having some old memories! Everything seemed so SMALL now. For me, it was fantastic to be walking down the hallways and peering into the classrooms of my youth. The school was in amazingly good shape for its age.
Across from the school was the building I used to meet in when I was in Cub Scouts. My dad was our scout leader. Now that I think back on it, I really appreciate my dad taking the time to work with me and the other kids. That was really cool.
I next tried to get over to my old high school, but unfortunately it's surrounded by a fence and I couldn't get in (well, I didn't try). It would have been nice to get in there and walk the halls again. Maybe for our next reunion that could be arranged. Anyway, the elementary school I attended in first through third grade is on the same plot of land. I learned that it's been converted to a carpentry school. It's in pretty bad shape though. I looked in some of the windows but really couldn't see much.
Next, I headed over to the west side of town where I used to work at a computer shop. The building complex where my office was is gone now, replaced by a strip shopping center. Oh well! I drove around some more and just looked at hom much things had changed. On my way back to the hotel, I drove through the UT campus and went by many of the buildings I went to class in. Sigh... I miss being a kid.
I got back to my hotel and cleaned up for the reunion party. One of my classmates sent her husband to come pick me and LeAnn up from the hotel. When I arrived, it was like we were all 18 again. It was fantastic to see everyone. We all had an awesome time. I don't remember us being quite so alcoholic though (LOL). We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced, we talked, we hugged... it was a fantastic time.
After all that fun, driving back home kinda sucked.
I headed down to the waterfront to meet up with a few friends for dinner. Kathy and Dave were already there and I joined them on the balcony outside. Tracy J. joined us soon after and we spent several hours just catching up. It was pretty late when we decided to call it a night so I went on ahead and retired for the evening.
The next morning I woke up early and headed out with my camera to my old neighborhood. I went by one of the places I used to live and checked it out. I made it over to one of my elementary schools to look around. Even though it was Saturday, the head custodian and the current principal were there preparing for the students to return that following week. I talked with them for a bit and they let me have free reign through the building. WOW, talk about having some old memories! Everything seemed so SMALL now. For me, it was fantastic to be walking down the hallways and peering into the classrooms of my youth. The school was in amazingly good shape for its age.
Across from the school was the building I used to meet in when I was in Cub Scouts. My dad was our scout leader. Now that I think back on it, I really appreciate my dad taking the time to work with me and the other kids. That was really cool.
I next tried to get over to my old high school, but unfortunately it's surrounded by a fence and I couldn't get in (well, I didn't try). It would have been nice to get in there and walk the halls again. Maybe for our next reunion that could be arranged. Anyway, the elementary school I attended in first through third grade is on the same plot of land. I learned that it's been converted to a carpentry school. It's in pretty bad shape though. I looked in some of the windows but really couldn't see much.
Next, I headed over to the west side of town where I used to work at a computer shop. The building complex where my office was is gone now, replaced by a strip shopping center. Oh well! I drove around some more and just looked at hom much things had changed. On my way back to the hotel, I drove through the UT campus and went by many of the buildings I went to class in. Sigh... I miss being a kid.
I got back to my hotel and cleaned up for the reunion party. One of my classmates sent her husband to come pick me and LeAnn up from the hotel. When I arrived, it was like we were all 18 again. It was fantastic to see everyone. We all had an awesome time. I don't remember us being quite so alcoholic though (LOL). We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced, we talked, we hugged... it was a fantastic time.
After all that fun, driving back home kinda sucked.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Ooo look! An update!
You would almost thing I've forgetten about my blog with my VERY infrequent updates. I think things will slow down a little for me to catch my breath in the coming weeks - after my high school class reunion this weekend...
Lately, I've been in touch with old friends I haven't seen or heard from in about 20 years! I'm really very excited to see lots of my old classmates, some that I've been friends with since elementary school. We've already exchanged emails and reminisced about our times together. It's truly amazing the sorts of things that come back to you once you start talking about it. In preparation, I've dug up my high school annuals and pictures from "back in the day". I really wish I would have been more serious in my photography back then to have a better record of all the goofiness that went on with all of us.
Oh, just a little side note that some of you might find amusing. Most of you have heard of Johnny Knoxville I'm sure. Here's my tie-in. Johnny (then P.J. Clapp), was a freshman at my high school when I was a senior. He seemed normal back then. LOL!
Anyway... guess what I still have? My orange safety patrol helmet from 4th or 5th grade. I don't have the belt and badge. I think I had to turn those in. If I have time this weekend, I'm going to get a picture made of me standing at my old "posts". I'll have the helmet with me although it no longer fits as it should. If it did fit, that would be kinda weird.
I'm really looking forward to spending time with old friends. That'll be great!
I have some more exciting news... coming sometime in February '07, I'll be an uncle! How cool is that? I'm very happy for my sister and her husband. This also means I'll get to see my parents around then too as I'm sure they'll be coming back to the states for the birth and then for mom to help her out those first few weeks. That reminds me, I probably need to get my sis the book I get for pregnant friends... the "What to expect when you're expecting" one. From what I've heard, it's THE book to have for first-time moms.
That's all the big news for now. Oh, I did pick up an early birthday present for myself a few weeks ago. A Dunnett titanium snare drum. I looked into one of these a few years ago, but the price of them was prohibitive. Through a friend, I was able to now have one of my own. If you're a Dave Matthews fan and have watched the Live in Central Park concert DVD, then you've see what this snare looks like. Other than being .5" deeper (13X7 instead of 13X6.5), it's identical. Gold hardware, translucent purple finish, black hoops... mmmmm... and a sound to match the looks. VERY "crispy"! When I got the drum, I wasn't particularly enamored with the hoops that were on it. They were more of a vintage style hoop with claws. I changed those out for some more modern style triple-flanged black chrome hoops which I like the looks of better AND am used to playing on. The thing with the claws is that the come up over the edge of the hoop. When I'm playing rim shots, I would somtimes hit a claw instead of the hoop and get a funky kind of tone out of the drum. That's not an issue any more. :-)
Switching gears - Kyle's new home is coming along nicely. I rode by there with him yesterday to check it out. I didn't get to make it all the way through because of a huge storm that came through while we were there. There's no roof yet. Not even close. They are still framing the first floor. From the looks of it, the builder is probably going to start on the second floor soon. To me, one of the nicest features of the place will be the recording studio area above the garage. There will be a control room, drum room and a room for the guitar amps. We talked a little about some of the wiring that needs to be done to make those rooms as easy to use as possible. Neat huh?
Church went well today. Jack did a good job delivering the message and me and the band held the music together - for the most part. Kevin, our lead singer and rhythm guitarist was out of town on a retreat with some of the youth of our church leaving Pam to sing, Kyle on guitar and Jack S. on bass. Jack S. normally plays guitar but can fill in on bass as needed. (Our bassist was on the same retreat as Kevin) Jack had a moment in the first service where he couldn't read the music and the more he squinted, the worse it became. We came close to a train wreck (very close) but managed to keep the train on the rails somehow. I had a bit more to do today though as "Preaching Jack" needed me to assist with some illustrations, one of which involved me playing the intro to "Wipeout".
It looks like another weekend AND month is coming to a close. It's been a good one. I was able to take a nap both yesterday and today. That's always good. It was just WAY too hot and humid to do anything outside.
Time to wind down and hit the sack in a few mins.
Lately, I've been in touch with old friends I haven't seen or heard from in about 20 years! I'm really very excited to see lots of my old classmates, some that I've been friends with since elementary school. We've already exchanged emails and reminisced about our times together. It's truly amazing the sorts of things that come back to you once you start talking about it. In preparation, I've dug up my high school annuals and pictures from "back in the day". I really wish I would have been more serious in my photography back then to have a better record of all the goofiness that went on with all of us.
Oh, just a little side note that some of you might find amusing. Most of you have heard of Johnny Knoxville I'm sure. Here's my tie-in. Johnny (then P.J. Clapp), was a freshman at my high school when I was a senior. He seemed normal back then. LOL!
Anyway... guess what I still have? My orange safety patrol helmet from 4th or 5th grade. I don't have the belt and badge. I think I had to turn those in. If I have time this weekend, I'm going to get a picture made of me standing at my old "posts". I'll have the helmet with me although it no longer fits as it should. If it did fit, that would be kinda weird.
I'm really looking forward to spending time with old friends. That'll be great!
I have some more exciting news... coming sometime in February '07, I'll be an uncle! How cool is that? I'm very happy for my sister and her husband. This also means I'll get to see my parents around then too as I'm sure they'll be coming back to the states for the birth and then for mom to help her out those first few weeks. That reminds me, I probably need to get my sis the book I get for pregnant friends... the "What to expect when you're expecting" one. From what I've heard, it's THE book to have for first-time moms.
That's all the big news for now. Oh, I did pick up an early birthday present for myself a few weeks ago. A Dunnett titanium snare drum. I looked into one of these a few years ago, but the price of them was prohibitive. Through a friend, I was able to now have one of my own. If you're a Dave Matthews fan and have watched the Live in Central Park concert DVD, then you've see what this snare looks like. Other than being .5" deeper (13X7 instead of 13X6.5), it's identical. Gold hardware, translucent purple finish, black hoops... mmmmm... and a sound to match the looks. VERY "crispy"! When I got the drum, I wasn't particularly enamored with the hoops that were on it. They were more of a vintage style hoop with claws. I changed those out for some more modern style triple-flanged black chrome hoops which I like the looks of better AND am used to playing on. The thing with the claws is that the come up over the edge of the hoop. When I'm playing rim shots, I would somtimes hit a claw instead of the hoop and get a funky kind of tone out of the drum. That's not an issue any more. :-)
Switching gears - Kyle's new home is coming along nicely. I rode by there with him yesterday to check it out. I didn't get to make it all the way through because of a huge storm that came through while we were there. There's no roof yet. Not even close. They are still framing the first floor. From the looks of it, the builder is probably going to start on the second floor soon. To me, one of the nicest features of the place will be the recording studio area above the garage. There will be a control room, drum room and a room for the guitar amps. We talked a little about some of the wiring that needs to be done to make those rooms as easy to use as possible. Neat huh?
Church went well today. Jack did a good job delivering the message and me and the band held the music together - for the most part. Kevin, our lead singer and rhythm guitarist was out of town on a retreat with some of the youth of our church leaving Pam to sing, Kyle on guitar and Jack S. on bass. Jack S. normally plays guitar but can fill in on bass as needed. (Our bassist was on the same retreat as Kevin) Jack had a moment in the first service where he couldn't read the music and the more he squinted, the worse it became. We came close to a train wreck (very close) but managed to keep the train on the rails somehow. I had a bit more to do today though as "Preaching Jack" needed me to assist with some illustrations, one of which involved me playing the intro to "Wipeout".
It looks like another weekend AND month is coming to a close. It's been a good one. I was able to take a nap both yesterday and today. That's always good. It was just WAY too hot and humid to do anything outside.
Time to wind down and hit the sack in a few mins.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Weekend fun and games.
Friday night I made it out to see Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest over in Huntsville. A local radio station had a costume contest to see who had the best looking pirate get up on. There were very few "good" ones and then just a bunch of goobers with tattered clothes on. Ultimately, a baby with a bandana doo-rag on won. Geez.
I spent Saturday morning doing stuff around the house including giving the dog a bath and giving my car a good washing and waxing. After my trip to Indy, I had quite a collection of bugs on the front bumper that I needed to get off of there. Packed up my camera after lunch and headed to the annual church picnic (the Pig Out) over on the Elk river. Had a great time eating and relaxing with good friends.
I had drum duty today at church. Besides a minor issue getting one of my drums tuned, all went well. Lot's of folks there today along with some old friends that showed up. That was nice. Tried having lunch at Red Lobster afterwards. Everything was going along nicely when a storm came along (I washed my car, rememeber?) and knocked out the power. Nice. We did get our cheese biscuits and salad though. Even though that didn't fill me up, it was better than nothing.
I had some time today to add a few more photos to my blog from my Seattle visit last month. Hope you enjoy them.
I spent Saturday morning doing stuff around the house including giving the dog a bath and giving my car a good washing and waxing. After my trip to Indy, I had quite a collection of bugs on the front bumper that I needed to get off of there. Packed up my camera after lunch and headed to the annual church picnic (the Pig Out) over on the Elk river. Had a great time eating and relaxing with good friends.
I had drum duty today at church. Besides a minor issue getting one of my drums tuned, all went well. Lot's of folks there today along with some old friends that showed up. That was nice. Tried having lunch at Red Lobster afterwards. Everything was going along nicely when a storm came along (I washed my car, rememeber?) and knocked out the power. Nice. We did get our cheese biscuits and salad though. Even though that didn't fill me up, it was better than nothing.
I had some time today to add a few more photos to my blog from my Seattle visit last month. Hope you enjoy them.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
You know what stinks?
Getting back from vacation...
I was moping around this evening feeling kinda down. After being away from work and having days filled with fun activities, returning to normal day to day stuff seems well, kinda depressing. I tried working on the new song we're playing this week at church and just wasn't getting it like I thought I would. That didn't help my mood. Sigh. I don't get bummed out very often or for very long, so this feeling should pass soon.
On a more positive note, I did get a lot done around the house on Monday and Tuesday. I got my livingroom cleaned up and no longer looking like a suitcase exploded in there. I also sorted through this huge pile of papers on my kitchen table. I can almost see the surface of it now. My drum room is straight as well after looking like the stock room of a music store after an earthquake. Speaking of drums, I rearranged my drums and went back to the conventional way of placing my rack toms directly above the kick drum instead of off to the side like I've had them for a few years. It's just a lot more ergonomic to have them arranged like this. The other way had a cool "look" to it, but I'm over that and more interested in things being easier to work with.
I'm tired. I'm going to bed.
I was moping around this evening feeling kinda down. After being away from work and having days filled with fun activities, returning to normal day to day stuff seems well, kinda depressing. I tried working on the new song we're playing this week at church and just wasn't getting it like I thought I would. That didn't help my mood. Sigh. I don't get bummed out very often or for very long, so this feeling should pass soon.
On a more positive note, I did get a lot done around the house on Monday and Tuesday. I got my livingroom cleaned up and no longer looking like a suitcase exploded in there. I also sorted through this huge pile of papers on my kitchen table. I can almost see the surface of it now. My drum room is straight as well after looking like the stock room of a music store after an earthquake. Speaking of drums, I rearranged my drums and went back to the conventional way of placing my rack toms directly above the kick drum instead of off to the side like I've had them for a few years. It's just a lot more ergonomic to have them arranged like this. The other way had a cool "look" to it, but I'm over that and more interested in things being easier to work with.
I'm tired. I'm going to bed.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Back to Bama
After a short week at work, I made my way up to Indianapolis for the Formula One US Grand Prix festivities. My drive up was pleasant as I had no fixed schedule to meet. I stopped over in Nashville at Fork's Drum Closet to pick up new heads for my drums as well as a few pairs of drumsticks. Next was a stop just before the Kentucky line at Jeff Wald's place - a drumming friend of mine whose wife recently received her real estate license and needed some headshots for some of her materials. I was happy to have been able to help out. Played on Jeff's drums a bit then had a bite to eat before continuing on to Indy. I checked in at the hotel without incident and soon was off to sleep.
Friday morning came a bit earlier as I was in the eastern time zone now instead of central. After a quick breakfast, I headed to join my friends at the BMW Corral and get all my paperwork and vehicle pass for race day. Finally, I was at the track. This time, I was only planning to take photos on Friday so I'm not hauling around all my camera equipment the rest of the weekend. I got several good shots, some of which I'll post here and then put the rest on my photo gallery (the link is in the column on the right). I got a good shot of Scott Speed, the only American driver in F1. During practice, he had a problem with his car as he was going down the pit lane exit and he walked right by where I was on his way back to the pits.
I got my shopping done on Friday also. Not too much this year, just 2 shirts. I try to get that done right away as later on in the weekend, vendors run out of the size I need and all they have left are XXL stuff. I spent the remainder of the day moving around the track and hanging out with friends.
Friday morning came a bit earlier as I was in the eastern time zone now instead of central. After a quick breakfast, I headed to join my friends at the BMW Corral and get all my paperwork and vehicle pass for race day. Finally, I was at the track. This time, I was only planning to take photos on Friday so I'm not hauling around all my camera equipment the rest of the weekend. I got several good shots, some of which I'll post here and then put the rest on my photo gallery (the link is in the column on the right). I got a good shot of Scott Speed, the only American driver in F1. During practice, he had a problem with his car as he was going down the pit lane exit and he walked right by where I was on his way back to the pits.
I got my shopping done on Friday also. Not too much this year, just 2 shirts. I try to get that done right away as later on in the weekend, vendors run out of the size I need and all they have left are XXL stuff. I spent the remainder of the day moving around the track and hanging out with friends.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Billy Ward and Me in Nashville at Soundcheck Studios. He was in town to do a clinic and promote his DVD as well as DW Drums. He's drummed for several different folks, most recently on tour with Joan Osborne. In the last fifteen years Billy has toured and /or recorded (among others) with jazz artists Jim Beard, Bill Evans Supergroup, Leni Stern, George Russell and Living Time Orchestra, pop artists The Knack, Jimmy Webb, Carly Simon, Richard Marx, ex-KISS star Ace Frehley's Comet, and unclassifiable talents like Bill Champlin, Robbie Robertson, Yoko Ono, and Chris Whitley.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Photos and more photos...
OMG. Sorting and processing this last batch of photos from the dance recital a few weeks ago has been quite an ordeal. I really took a few thousand shots... all in RAW. I shot in RAW because of the rapidly changing light conditions and to easily set the white balance for each scene... of which there were 68 in each show... and there were 3 shows. Thankfully, I'm about done with that and can start uploading those this week. Jawana tells me that some other parents of kids in the recital were getting kid of antsy to see the photos so the answer to them is "VERY SOON NOW". These shots don't go straight from my camera to be uploaded - some work has to be done to them before they're ready. That's the time consuming part.
Shot a wedding this past Friday afternoon. Thanks to Lesa, I had a backup camera body to use in case mine malfunctioned for some reason. I did get one error that locked up my camera but it was cleared when I removed the batteries for a few seconds. Whew! It was an outside wedding so you can imagine I was pretty warm as I was doing my thing. After the wedding and the reception, I was pretty much worn out.
Saturday was a day of domestication as I did laundry and general home stuff. I was able to get out a bit and get some shots of a soccer tournament going on for a work project before coming home and taking a much deserved LONG nap. Joined some friends to grill out steaks and enjoy a nice evening in the country.
Church was a blast today! Music went off without a hitch with some really good crowd participation in the last songs. Wow! That was exciting. After a quick lunch at Quizno's, it was back to church again for band practice. I pretty much spent the rest of the day working on photos so that would be how I wrapped up my weekend.
Oh, I did get to tape then watch the British Grand Prix. Ya know I can't be missing my F1 races now...
Shot a wedding this past Friday afternoon. Thanks to Lesa, I had a backup camera body to use in case mine malfunctioned for some reason. I did get one error that locked up my camera but it was cleared when I removed the batteries for a few seconds. Whew! It was an outside wedding so you can imagine I was pretty warm as I was doing my thing. After the wedding and the reception, I was pretty much worn out.
Saturday was a day of domestication as I did laundry and general home stuff. I was able to get out a bit and get some shots of a soccer tournament going on for a work project before coming home and taking a much deserved LONG nap. Joined some friends to grill out steaks and enjoy a nice evening in the country.
Church was a blast today! Music went off without a hitch with some really good crowd participation in the last songs. Wow! That was exciting. After a quick lunch at Quizno's, it was back to church again for band practice. I pretty much spent the rest of the day working on photos so that would be how I wrapped up my weekend.
Oh, I did get to tape then watch the British Grand Prix. Ya know I can't be missing my F1 races now...
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Ah... the weekend's here!
After another busy week at work, it was nice to wrap up with a Photoshop seminar up in Nashville Friday. I learned a lot of new things along with better ways to do things I HAVE been doing. Good stuff. After class was over, I met up with a friend of mine from Pearl Drums for some dinner at Big River Brewery. Excellent cuisine. Had fun talking about a variety of topics from drums to photography.
Afterward, I stopped in at Guitar Center to see if they had a bag I could carry my bongos in. I was in luck and they had what I needed. I much prefer Fork's for my drum gear but they had closed at 6 and it was already past 7.
When I got home, I started uploading the first sets of shots from the Cinderella dance recital up to my gallery. There's a BUNCH so that will be a time consuming process.
This morning, I finally unpacked my drums from last weekends show. From the heat, they had gone way out of tune so I tinkered around with them to get them sounding like they should. I was lazy and didn't set them up yet. I may do that before I head off to bed shortly.
I decided that today I really needed to wash my car. It was filthy. What took the longest was getting all the bugs off the front. I had to break out the bug & tar remover to get about a zillion gnats off of there that wouldn't wash off. I did the whole works, vacuumed the interior and the trunk, wiped off all the leather, washed the exterior, cleaned the wheels and tires, cleaned the glass inside and out... I even went ahead and checked my tire pressures. 3 of them were down a pound of air so I got them aired up to where they needed to be. Car looks good now. I did find one place where my paint got chipped. GRRRR. I've got touch up paint so I'll fix it tomorrow.
Went bowling tonight - it was my first time in probably 6 years and you could tell. Yikes! I bowled WAY below my average, but I didn't expect much after not having bowled in so long AND being tired from working outside all afternoon.
Time to wind down for the evening. I may make myself a nice drink and watch some tube before I drift off to bed.
Afterward, I stopped in at Guitar Center to see if they had a bag I could carry my bongos in. I was in luck and they had what I needed. I much prefer Fork's for my drum gear but they had closed at 6 and it was already past 7.
When I got home, I started uploading the first sets of shots from the Cinderella dance recital up to my gallery. There's a BUNCH so that will be a time consuming process.
This morning, I finally unpacked my drums from last weekends show. From the heat, they had gone way out of tune so I tinkered around with them to get them sounding like they should. I was lazy and didn't set them up yet. I may do that before I head off to bed shortly.
I decided that today I really needed to wash my car. It was filthy. What took the longest was getting all the bugs off the front. I had to break out the bug & tar remover to get about a zillion gnats off of there that wouldn't wash off. I did the whole works, vacuumed the interior and the trunk, wiped off all the leather, washed the exterior, cleaned the wheels and tires, cleaned the glass inside and out... I even went ahead and checked my tire pressures. 3 of them were down a pound of air so I got them aired up to where they needed to be. Car looks good now. I did find one place where my paint got chipped. GRRRR. I've got touch up paint so I'll fix it tomorrow.
Went bowling tonight - it was my first time in probably 6 years and you could tell. Yikes! I bowled WAY below my average, but I didn't expect much after not having bowled in so long AND being tired from working outside all afternoon.
Time to wind down for the evening. I may make myself a nice drink and watch some tube before I drift off to bed.
Monday, May 29, 2006
I survived!
The past 10 days have been some of the busiest in recent times! My schedule was JAM PACKED with photography, band practices and performances, travel for work, etc. The previous weekend I was doing some shooting for a local dance studio's performance of Cinderella. 2 different shows on Saturday and a matinee on Sunday. The average length of the show was in excess of 3 hours so by the time all that was done, I was pretty much wiped out. Mixed in with all that was a morning band practice on Saturday, playing in 2 church services Sunday morning and then playing through our full set list for our youth group Sunday night in preparation for our band's performance at the Alabama Jubilee the next Saturday.
After getting home that night, I spent the remainder of the time packing for my trip to Seattle. Normally when traveling, I prefer not to check baggage if at all possible. That wouldn't work this time because I had to bring my camera gear and laptop as well. My laptop's huge and needs its own bag so I can pack it with my camera. There goes my 2 carry-on limit. My garment bag would have to be checked.
I need a lighter, thinner laptop. There. I said it.
Somehow, everything came together and at 5:45 AM Monday morning, I was sitting in a plane. After a brief stop in Atlanta and an almost 5 hour flight from there, I arrived in Seattle. Checked in at the Hilton there then stopped in to meet with a client before joining them for dinner at Salty's. Dinner there was FANTASTIC! I think I had one of, if not THE BEST dinner I have ever had. I'm a big fan of seafood and just everything was SO fresh! The lobster tails, mussels, oysters, Copper River salmon, scallops, crab legs, wine, chowder... OMG it was glorious! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Tuesday was all business. When the last meeting was over, we headed downtown to look around. Strangely, a lot of the attractions there closed at 5:00. It was after 5:00 so there wasn't too much to do other than walk around and look. Dinner was in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. The retaurant rotated slowly so as you ate, you saw every direction around the city. It was gorgeous! After eating, I got up on the observation deck and took more photos and just took it all in.
Despite Seattle being know for rain, it's also interesting to note that there was very little humidity. I don't think I ever sweated or got sticky there AT ALL. Granted, lows were in the 50's and highs in the 60's but it was always pleasant.
Wednesday I was up in Everett which is just north of Seattle. There I saw to Boeing assembly plants for their largest planes. WOW. Those plants are the largest structures I recall ever seeing. They are just MASSIVE.
Ate lunch there in town and took some shots of the ferry to Whidby island before coming back to town. The plan was to go back to the Pike Street market which was closing up when we arrived the previous day. This was the place where the fish monger throws the fish around to the guys behind the counter when he makes a sale. I also had a chance to get a mocha latte at the FIRST Starbucks Coffee house. How cool is that? Next, we made it over to the Science Fiction museum to check out some unique things. They had Captain Kirk's chair from the Enterprise, the Death Star they used in the Star Wars movies, the suit Charlton Heston wore in 1968 for the original Planet of the Apes, the arm and skull of The Terminator, the yellow hydraulic loader thing Ripley used to fight the alien queen from the movie "Alien"... just all sorts of stuff. This was the real deal! Kinda geeky, but fun.
Spent the next little bit shooting photos outside the museum and in a neighboring park. The sun came out and made for some nice shots. After a nice quiet dinner, headed back to the hotel to pack for the trip home the next day. Thursday was a travel day. Flew out at 6:30 AM and arrive back home about 5 that afternoon. While I had fun, I looked forward to my own bed.
After work Friday, I came home and started packing up my drums for Saturday's performance. Jack would be over in the mini van the next morning at 10 to pick me and all my gear up. Took it easy that night and rested.
After getting up and taking a shower, I brought some of my drum gear outside to get loaded. It was then I realized that taking a shower was a moot point. I was sweating as soon as I stepped outside. It was blazing hot. When we took to the stage, it was 93! Thankfully, I brought along my BIG fan which kept me cool while I was playing. Kyle took a few photos and some video as well. Maybe I'll have a clip of us playing soon. (thanks dude)
When we finished playing, we packed up again and headed home. Jack and I unloaded all my stuff and got it back in my house. Cleaned up then met up with everyone again for drinks and a snack at a place on the river. Ahhhh... A friend of mine and I continued on to Huntsville for a nice dinner at Macaroni Grill. That was a great way to wrap up a long and busy week.
After church Sunday, I watched some of the Grad Prix of Monaco. The Formula 1 circus was there racing in the principality this weekend. I did venture out in the heat though to get some photos at the Jubilee for work. Soaked with sweat, AGAIN. Joined up with friends in Hartselle to do some shooting on a farm. We all had a good time! Oh, there was this one incident where Matt's .44 made me jump. Some powder or other material came out the side of the revolver and hit me in the neck. That stung for sure. I was definitely glad I had protective glasses on. If that had hit me in the eye, that would have been a bad thing. The rest of the evening was spent eating pizza and just hanging out at Will and Helen's place.
It's good to be home.
After getting home that night, I spent the remainder of the time packing for my trip to Seattle. Normally when traveling, I prefer not to check baggage if at all possible. That wouldn't work this time because I had to bring my camera gear and laptop as well. My laptop's huge and needs its own bag so I can pack it with my camera. There goes my 2 carry-on limit. My garment bag would have to be checked.
I need a lighter, thinner laptop. There. I said it.
Somehow, everything came together and at 5:45 AM Monday morning, I was sitting in a plane. After a brief stop in Atlanta and an almost 5 hour flight from there, I arrived in Seattle. Checked in at the Hilton there then stopped in to meet with a client before joining them for dinner at Salty's. Dinner there was FANTASTIC! I think I had one of, if not THE BEST dinner I have ever had. I'm a big fan of seafood and just everything was SO fresh! The lobster tails, mussels, oysters, Copper River salmon, scallops, crab legs, wine, chowder... OMG it was glorious! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Tuesday was all business. When the last meeting was over, we headed downtown to look around. Strangely, a lot of the attractions there closed at 5:00. It was after 5:00 so there wasn't too much to do other than walk around and look. Dinner was in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. The retaurant rotated slowly so as you ate, you saw every direction around the city. It was gorgeous! After eating, I got up on the observation deck and took more photos and just took it all in.
Despite Seattle being know for rain, it's also interesting to note that there was very little humidity. I don't think I ever sweated or got sticky there AT ALL. Granted, lows were in the 50's and highs in the 60's but it was always pleasant.
Wednesday I was up in Everett which is just north of Seattle. There I saw to Boeing assembly plants for their largest planes. WOW. Those plants are the largest structures I recall ever seeing. They are just MASSIVE.
Ate lunch there in town and took some shots of the ferry to Whidby island before coming back to town. The plan was to go back to the Pike Street market which was closing up when we arrived the previous day. This was the place where the fish monger throws the fish around to the guys behind the counter when he makes a sale. I also had a chance to get a mocha latte at the FIRST Starbucks Coffee house. How cool is that? Next, we made it over to the Science Fiction museum to check out some unique things. They had Captain Kirk's chair from the Enterprise, the Death Star they used in the Star Wars movies, the suit Charlton Heston wore in 1968 for the original Planet of the Apes, the arm and skull of The Terminator, the yellow hydraulic loader thing Ripley used to fight the alien queen from the movie "Alien"... just all sorts of stuff. This was the real deal! Kinda geeky, but fun.
Spent the next little bit shooting photos outside the museum and in a neighboring park. The sun came out and made for some nice shots. After a nice quiet dinner, headed back to the hotel to pack for the trip home the next day. Thursday was a travel day. Flew out at 6:30 AM and arrive back home about 5 that afternoon. While I had fun, I looked forward to my own bed.
After work Friday, I came home and started packing up my drums for Saturday's performance. Jack would be over in the mini van the next morning at 10 to pick me and all my gear up. Took it easy that night and rested.
After getting up and taking a shower, I brought some of my drum gear outside to get loaded. It was then I realized that taking a shower was a moot point. I was sweating as soon as I stepped outside. It was blazing hot. When we took to the stage, it was 93! Thankfully, I brought along my BIG fan which kept me cool while I was playing. Kyle took a few photos and some video as well. Maybe I'll have a clip of us playing soon. (thanks dude)
When we finished playing, we packed up again and headed home. Jack and I unloaded all my stuff and got it back in my house. Cleaned up then met up with everyone again for drinks and a snack at a place on the river. Ahhhh... A friend of mine and I continued on to Huntsville for a nice dinner at Macaroni Grill. That was a great way to wrap up a long and busy week.
After church Sunday, I watched some of the Grad Prix of Monaco. The Formula 1 circus was there racing in the principality this weekend. I did venture out in the heat though to get some photos at the Jubilee for work. Soaked with sweat, AGAIN. Joined up with friends in Hartselle to do some shooting on a farm. We all had a good time! Oh, there was this one incident where Matt's .44 made me jump. Some powder or other material came out the side of the revolver and hit me in the neck. That stung for sure. I was definitely glad I had protective glasses on. If that had hit me in the eye, that would have been a bad thing. The rest of the evening was spent eating pizza and just hanging out at Will and Helen's place.
It's good to be home.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Click. Click. Click.
I think I had a photo shoot every day this week. No kiddin. Some architectural stuff early in the week then some product photography midweek. Wrapped up the week shooting at a college girls softball tournament going on nearby. 22 teams are here for it, one of which my employer sponsored. I've got a truckload of shots from that. They had set up some scaffolding for the photographers to use so I took full advantage of that. Up high, you don't have the protection of the fence or net so you have to keep one eye on the action at all times or you could be in for a nasty (and PAINFUL) suprise. The weather cooperated and made for a very pleasant time outdoors. I'm glad I work my thick khakis because the tops of the scaffolding were very rough (for traction I'm sure) and I was kneeling most of the time.
After I finished at the ball game Friday, I went by the venue where a local dance studio performs. I had to pick up a copy of the program and production notes as I'll be doing all the performance photography this weekend. These notes will be a guide for me so I'll know what to expect from each performance. It'll be a fun but VERY busy time for me. I'll have my kneepads on for sure as I'll be doing a lot of crawling around between the first row of seats and the stage to get my shots.
My buddy Kyle will be upstairs shooting video, but he has the luxury of being in one spot watching what he's recording on a laptop screen. Between performances, I'll join him there on a bank of laptop computers to download photos from my memory cards and burn the data to DVD so I'll be ready for the next round. I am READY this time. I have 12 GIGS of memory cards on me and 2 camera bodies. The 2 camera bodies lets me put a short lens on one and a long lens on the other so I won't have to go through the hassle of switching lenses (which can be a bit tough in the dark) to get all the action, just grab the appropriate camera and shoot.
As if that isn't enough fun for one day, I have band practice this morning. I'm really glad we were all able to fit a practice in though. It's been a hectic week for all of us in the band but you still have to get in a practice somehow. Our gig is coming up this weekend so practicing is a good thing.
After I finished at the ball game Friday, I went by the venue where a local dance studio performs. I had to pick up a copy of the program and production notes as I'll be doing all the performance photography this weekend. These notes will be a guide for me so I'll know what to expect from each performance. It'll be a fun but VERY busy time for me. I'll have my kneepads on for sure as I'll be doing a lot of crawling around between the first row of seats and the stage to get my shots.
My buddy Kyle will be upstairs shooting video, but he has the luxury of being in one spot watching what he's recording on a laptop screen. Between performances, I'll join him there on a bank of laptop computers to download photos from my memory cards and burn the data to DVD so I'll be ready for the next round. I am READY this time. I have 12 GIGS of memory cards on me and 2 camera bodies. The 2 camera bodies lets me put a short lens on one and a long lens on the other so I won't have to go through the hassle of switching lenses (which can be a bit tough in the dark) to get all the action, just grab the appropriate camera and shoot.
As if that isn't enough fun for one day, I have band practice this morning. I'm really glad we were all able to fit a practice in though. It's been a hectic week for all of us in the band but you still have to get in a practice somehow. Our gig is coming up this weekend so practicing is a good thing.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Thanks, but no.
As more and more people find out about the photography side of my life, I naturally receive more requests to do shoots. That's a good thing. Today though, I got asked about shooting another wedding. I say "another" because I've shot 2 already. The thing is though, I just don't feel comfortable enough shooting weddings. Not the technical aspect mind you, I can definitely get the shots, but more so knowing what shots the family wants to get. I have a good friend that's a wedding photographer. I've offered to help he and his business partner shoot weddings as a third phtographer or assistant so I can at least learn from someone who shoots these types of events for a living. That should happen soon so maybe I can pick up a few wedding gigs here and there. Aside from that, I also need additional items like a backup body and another flash unit. I'd hate to be responsible for the images at such an important event only to have an equipment malfunction totally messing up the day. Those additional items can put quite a dent in the wallet though. For a second body, I'd really love to have either Canon's 1Ds Mark II or the 1D Mark IIN - the latter for it's speed and usefulness for sports.
Despite all the above, I did accept a request to shoot an outdoor wedding for a friend's friend. I've got a good handle on lighting outdoors PLUS the bride and groom are furnishing me with a list of shots they want. That should make things easier... I hope.
Anyone see the F1 race today in Spain? Renault's Fernando Alonso won! I just like that kid. Maybe this year I can get an autograph or something at Indy. That would be cool. We'll see. The CBS coverage I was dreading wasn't too terribly bad which was a pleasant surprise. Two weeks from now they'll be racing in Monaco. There's not a lot of passing there but it's exciting to watch. If I had the means, that would be a place I'd like to see the race in person at.
In other car news, I got the hail damage repaired on my car this week. The damage was light enough that the paintless dent repair (PDR) service was all it took to get the metal back nice and smooth without damaging the paint. It would really stink to have a car not even a year old needing paint work!
Today was a good day for me... church this morning, lunch with friends at Kyoto then dinner at Jawana's. Watched Extreme Home Makeover afterwards then stopped off at my sister's new place before heading to the homestead.
Sigh. The weekend's over. Back to bizz-nass.
Oh, I've added my buddy Kenneth to my list of blog buddies. He's a good friend from back in my high school days!
Despite all the above, I did accept a request to shoot an outdoor wedding for a friend's friend. I've got a good handle on lighting outdoors PLUS the bride and groom are furnishing me with a list of shots they want. That should make things easier... I hope.
Anyone see the F1 race today in Spain? Renault's Fernando Alonso won! I just like that kid. Maybe this year I can get an autograph or something at Indy. That would be cool. We'll see. The CBS coverage I was dreading wasn't too terribly bad which was a pleasant surprise. Two weeks from now they'll be racing in Monaco. There's not a lot of passing there but it's exciting to watch. If I had the means, that would be a place I'd like to see the race in person at.
In other car news, I got the hail damage repaired on my car this week. The damage was light enough that the paintless dent repair (PDR) service was all it took to get the metal back nice and smooth without damaging the paint. It would really stink to have a car not even a year old needing paint work!
Today was a good day for me... church this morning, lunch with friends at Kyoto then dinner at Jawana's. Watched Extreme Home Makeover afterwards then stopped off at my sister's new place before heading to the homestead.
Sigh. The weekend's over. Back to bizz-nass.
Oh, I've added my buddy Kenneth to my list of blog buddies. He's a good friend from back in my high school days!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
A catch-up of sorts.
I've finally posted a couple of photos from recent personal stuff I've worked on. I have plenty more that I'll get posted as time permits.
A few weeks ago, me and some of the band got together one night to record a quick and dirty demo CD we needed to provide to some venues that we were hoping to play at. Despite the less than optimal circumstances of recording outside of a studio environment, it came out sounding pretty decent although I wasn't overly thrilled with my playing. We didn't have the luxury of listening to each track as it was recorded - we just played then moved to the next song for the most part. It did make me look forward to doing a studio session in the near future though.
Formula One. That's a topic I haven't talked about lately. The engine and rule changes this year have made F1 races the most exciting I have seen in quite a while. Cars are more closely matched and no one in particular is running away with the championship so far. Renault is leading in the meantime but Ferrari is clawing away at their lead. McLaren and Honda aren't too far behind, they're definitely in the mix. The USGP is coming up in a few weeks. I always look forward to that weekend to see the race live and in person! I received my tickets not too long ago. Whee! Tomorrow they're racing in Spain. CBS is covering the race... I MUCH prefer it when Speed TV covers it but oh well. I think that out of the 19 races, 4 are on CBS including Indy.
Anyway, had a productive Saturday. I got out the hedge trimmer and whipped the bushes in front of my house back into shape. They were starting to get a bit out of hand. This wasn't the holly bush hedge though. If you'll remember last year, you know how much I look forward to dealing with that. After cleaning up all the clippings, I got cleaned up and headed out for lunch and to get some shopping done. I hit the local mall but ended up in Huntsville where I finally found what I was looking for. Came back home and watched some racing then messed around the house a bit (which includes this blog update!).
Time for bed.
A few weeks ago, me and some of the band got together one night to record a quick and dirty demo CD we needed to provide to some venues that we were hoping to play at. Despite the less than optimal circumstances of recording outside of a studio environment, it came out sounding pretty decent although I wasn't overly thrilled with my playing. We didn't have the luxury of listening to each track as it was recorded - we just played then moved to the next song for the most part. It did make me look forward to doing a studio session in the near future though.
Formula One. That's a topic I haven't talked about lately. The engine and rule changes this year have made F1 races the most exciting I have seen in quite a while. Cars are more closely matched and no one in particular is running away with the championship so far. Renault is leading in the meantime but Ferrari is clawing away at their lead. McLaren and Honda aren't too far behind, they're definitely in the mix. The USGP is coming up in a few weeks. I always look forward to that weekend to see the race live and in person! I received my tickets not too long ago. Whee! Tomorrow they're racing in Spain. CBS is covering the race... I MUCH prefer it when Speed TV covers it but oh well. I think that out of the 19 races, 4 are on CBS including Indy.
Anyway, had a productive Saturday. I got out the hedge trimmer and whipped the bushes in front of my house back into shape. They were starting to get a bit out of hand. This wasn't the holly bush hedge though. If you'll remember last year, you know how much I look forward to dealing with that. After cleaning up all the clippings, I got cleaned up and headed out for lunch and to get some shopping done. I hit the local mall but ended up in Huntsville where I finally found what I was looking for. Came back home and watched some racing then messed around the house a bit (which includes this blog update!).
Time for bed.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Sunday, April 30, 2006
What's been going on? A lot.
As the gaps between my blog postings gets larger and larger, I've realized that it's closely linked to how busy my life is. When things were slower, I had plenty of free time to work on a good blog entry. It seems the last few months have brought about a steady increase in just "stuff" going on in my life.
Lately, the amount of photography I've been doing has probably tripled - on the work side. On the personal side I haven't had time to do much, let's call it "recreational" shooting. I did get a chance to work with a new girl last week which was a nice break. Took several somewhat edgy shots with a few different music related props. In looking at my shots from that shoot, I get several good ones that I'll work on when I get a chance.
I did a WHOLE lot of shooting this weekend at Road Atlanta - a racetrack just to the northeast of Atlanta. My friend Brian was racing the #20 car there in the Historic Stock Car class. If you'll remember, he's the guy with Tony Stewart's 2002 road race car (as opposed to oval track racing). There was a variety of cars there - Stock Cars, Porsche's, Corvette's, Camaro's, Mustang's, Ferrari's, GTP cars, vintage cars, and.... Michael Schumacher's 1989 Benetton F1 car. That was BY FAR the fastest car out there. Turns out, the driver is a pro - he races in the LeMans series and just screws around in this one. LOL!
I took close to probably a thousand pictures at this event. I hope to have some posted to my online gallery soon.
Long day for me. Time for bed.
Lately, the amount of photography I've been doing has probably tripled - on the work side. On the personal side I haven't had time to do much, let's call it "recreational" shooting. I did get a chance to work with a new girl last week which was a nice break. Took several somewhat edgy shots with a few different music related props. In looking at my shots from that shoot, I get several good ones that I'll work on when I get a chance.
I did a WHOLE lot of shooting this weekend at Road Atlanta - a racetrack just to the northeast of Atlanta. My friend Brian was racing the #20 car there in the Historic Stock Car class. If you'll remember, he's the guy with Tony Stewart's 2002 road race car (as opposed to oval track racing). There was a variety of cars there - Stock Cars, Porsche's, Corvette's, Camaro's, Mustang's, Ferrari's, GTP cars, vintage cars, and.... Michael Schumacher's 1989 Benetton F1 car. That was BY FAR the fastest car out there. Turns out, the driver is a pro - he races in the LeMans series and just screws around in this one. LOL!
I took close to probably a thousand pictures at this event. I hope to have some posted to my online gallery soon.
Long day for me. Time for bed.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
It's been awhile.
Sorry for the long interval between posts. I just haven't had the time to get new posts on here as often as I have had in the past. Lot's going on though. Let's see here, last Friday we had some exceptionally nasty weather come through. Tornados, hail, rain, wind, lightning... the whole gamut of the bad stuff. As far as I can tell, there was no damage to my house although my car has a few "dimples" on it from the hail. Sigh. I'll be getting an extimate to get all that fixed sometime this coming week. I was pretty bummed about that at first (I didn't notice it till this morning) but I'm over it now and just want it repaired.
Anyway, in the midst of the storm - Kyle and I were getting something to eat then meeting up with some friends to head to a concert over in Huntsville. Got over to Leslie's house just in time for the first wave of the weather to hit. Despite the severe weather, we still ended up making light of the situation and had a fun time anyway. The girls tried hidin under the coffee table then moved to the bathroom. I found myself in the tub at one point. Never made it to Huntsville - it was just as well also since the concert was cancelled.
Saturday was busy as I had lots to do around the house in addition to running errands. Eric, Kevin and Jack were coming over later in the day so we could start practicing for an upcoming gig. It's been a few years now since we had practice at my place and having the guys over brought back some good memories of "the old days" - all of us crammed into one room with drums, cymbals, amps and speakers. After about 3 hours of that, we wrapped up and had dinner at Ruby Tuesday.
Stuffed, I headed over to the bowling alley to meet up with some of my fellow MySpacers. I was worn out so I didn't play but I hung out then invited everyone over to hang at my place for the remainder of the evening. Paula, Marlo, Shama, Kyle, Jawana and Shayla all plopped down and watched TV for awhile till I had to end the party at 1:30. That was a long day for me.
A few hours later, at 6:00, I was up again getting ready for church and then packing up my gear since I had drum duty today. Things went relatively smoothly I thought. After playing for 2 services, ate lunch at Guthrie's (my first time there) then headed to the soccer complex to shoot the Duke Vs. Mexico match. I got some great shots but as usual, staying out in the sun for hours takes its toll on me and totally saps my energy. I felt like a slug the rest of the day. Had dinner in Hartselle and finally called it a day.
Anyway, in the midst of the storm - Kyle and I were getting something to eat then meeting up with some friends to head to a concert over in Huntsville. Got over to Leslie's house just in time for the first wave of the weather to hit. Despite the severe weather, we still ended up making light of the situation and had a fun time anyway. The girls tried hidin under the coffee table then moved to the bathroom. I found myself in the tub at one point. Never made it to Huntsville - it was just as well also since the concert was cancelled.
Saturday was busy as I had lots to do around the house in addition to running errands. Eric, Kevin and Jack were coming over later in the day so we could start practicing for an upcoming gig. It's been a few years now since we had practice at my place and having the guys over brought back some good memories of "the old days" - all of us crammed into one room with drums, cymbals, amps and speakers. After about 3 hours of that, we wrapped up and had dinner at Ruby Tuesday.
Stuffed, I headed over to the bowling alley to meet up with some of my fellow MySpacers. I was worn out so I didn't play but I hung out then invited everyone over to hang at my place for the remainder of the evening. Paula, Marlo, Shama, Kyle, Jawana and Shayla all plopped down and watched TV for awhile till I had to end the party at 1:30. That was a long day for me.
A few hours later, at 6:00, I was up again getting ready for church and then packing up my gear since I had drum duty today. Things went relatively smoothly I thought. After playing for 2 services, ate lunch at Guthrie's (my first time there) then headed to the soccer complex to shoot the Duke Vs. Mexico match. I got some great shots but as usual, staying out in the sun for hours takes its toll on me and totally saps my energy. I felt like a slug the rest of the day. Had dinner in Hartselle and finally called it a day.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Runnin' wide open.
Monday night's Taste of the Valley event was a good one. Plenty of great food from 20 of our local restaurants. As you can imagine, I saw a great many friends and a good number of restaurant folks I knew. I had too much to eat. Noel was fun company. After the event was over, we had some drinks at Cafe 113 before I took her home. I slept well.
I spent most of Tuesday working in Dreamweaver and also trying to figure out some weirdness in a form mail script on a client website. There's something strange going on but I think I have a diagnostic plan we can try tomorrow to see what's broken.
In other work stuff, I have a shoot involving food coming up. I haven't shot food as a subject before so I've been poring over my food magazines looking for ideas. I think I've got enough to work with. I'll just cross my fingers and hope it all works out. I do think I'll be going with hot lights though instead of flash heads. In this shooting scenario, I think the light will be easier to work with. We'll see.
I picked up and watched the latest Harry Potter DVD, The Goblet of Fire. It was a good bit darker than previous movies in the series but it fit the mood okay. Lots of action in this one.
I'm tired. Off to bed.
I spent most of Tuesday working in Dreamweaver and also trying to figure out some weirdness in a form mail script on a client website. There's something strange going on but I think I have a diagnostic plan we can try tomorrow to see what's broken.
In other work stuff, I have a shoot involving food coming up. I haven't shot food as a subject before so I've been poring over my food magazines looking for ideas. I think I've got enough to work with. I'll just cross my fingers and hope it all works out. I do think I'll be going with hot lights though instead of flash heads. In this shooting scenario, I think the light will be easier to work with. We'll see.
I picked up and watched the latest Harry Potter DVD, The Goblet of Fire. It was a good bit darker than previous movies in the series but it fit the mood okay. Lots of action in this one.
I'm tired. Off to bed.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Weekend flew by once again.
I'm glad I didn't get around to washing my car today as it's started raining this evening. I did get to vacuum it out though and besides, the exterior is still somewhat clean from the wash I gave it Sunday a week ago. Other than some minor bug splatters, it's doing well.
Saturday's weather finally gave me a chance to work in the yard a bit. I've SO been needing to rake leaves as they've gotten out of hand since the last time I raked. I filled up my yard waste bin pretty quickly amid also trying to teach my dog to do a handshake. (I have to multi-task you know) Having an iPod really comes in handy when doing any kind of work so I'm really appreciating having it now. It keeps things upbeat. Anyway, after filling the bin, I whipped out my handy-dandy tarp to use for moving piles of leaves to the front curb where hopefully 1 of 2 things will happen:
1. the city comes and vacuums it up
OR
2. the wind blows it all down the street into other people's yards
Bagging the leaves is an option of course but it's such a pain in the butt to do by yourself. Much easier to do it my way. There is a gamble that a number 3 might happen though and that's where the wind blows it all BACK into my yard, which would suck.
Saturday night was lots of fun as I attended the Addy Awards ceremony at the Roundhouse in Huntsville. This is an awards banquet for members of the Tennessee Valley Advertising Federation when entries are judged and awards presented. Ate some good food then collected the awards we received. Afterwards, a group of us headed over to the Jazz Factory for drinks and to inhale smoke (secondhand in my case).
Today, I hoped to have success at getting a photo of some Bradford pear trees (they're blossoming now) for a project I'm working on. I told a friend about what I was doing and he called me with a location he spotted while he was out with his family. I found the spot he was talking about and let the landowner know what I was doing so they wouldn't get too excited when I was scrambling all over their place shooting from different angles. The sky could have been a little less cloudy but I think it will still be workable.
It's getting late already so I'm going to do some light reading and then slip into bed. I'm looking forward to a good week. Tomorrow evening is the Taste of the Valley event here with most local retaurants participating by providing their signature dishes for us to eat. Got my tickets in my planner. Bon appetit!
Saturday's weather finally gave me a chance to work in the yard a bit. I've SO been needing to rake leaves as they've gotten out of hand since the last time I raked. I filled up my yard waste bin pretty quickly amid also trying to teach my dog to do a handshake. (I have to multi-task you know) Having an iPod really comes in handy when doing any kind of work so I'm really appreciating having it now. It keeps things upbeat. Anyway, after filling the bin, I whipped out my handy-dandy tarp to use for moving piles of leaves to the front curb where hopefully 1 of 2 things will happen:
1. the city comes and vacuums it up
OR
2. the wind blows it all down the street into other people's yards
Bagging the leaves is an option of course but it's such a pain in the butt to do by yourself. Much easier to do it my way. There is a gamble that a number 3 might happen though and that's where the wind blows it all BACK into my yard, which would suck.
Saturday night was lots of fun as I attended the Addy Awards ceremony at the Roundhouse in Huntsville. This is an awards banquet for members of the Tennessee Valley Advertising Federation when entries are judged and awards presented. Ate some good food then collected the awards we received. Afterwards, a group of us headed over to the Jazz Factory for drinks and to inhale smoke (secondhand in my case).
Today, I hoped to have success at getting a photo of some Bradford pear trees (they're blossoming now) for a project I'm working on. I told a friend about what I was doing and he called me with a location he spotted while he was out with his family. I found the spot he was talking about and let the landowner know what I was doing so they wouldn't get too excited when I was scrambling all over their place shooting from different angles. The sky could have been a little less cloudy but I think it will still be workable.
It's getting late already so I'm going to do some light reading and then slip into bed. I'm looking forward to a good week. Tomorrow evening is the Taste of the Valley event here with most local retaurants participating by providing their signature dishes for us to eat. Got my tickets in my planner. Bon appetit!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Now THIS is some funny stuff.
I wonder at what point this seemed like a good idea? BE sure to have you're speakers on as the audio is half the entertainment. Thanks to Heather for sending this my way. I was in tears after watching it.
Buttrocket
Buttrocket
Monday, February 27, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
One day it's nice, next day it's not.
As I endure the ever changing weather here in the great state of Alabama I realize it's always a challenge to make plans involving the outdoors of any kind. I had big plans to work in the yard today and also to wash my car BUT, it's already started raining. I'm totally out on raking and bagging wet leaves so there's not a chance of that happening at all today. If it does dry out a bit I'll do the car thing coz' it's filthy.
Usually before washing the car I'll swing by a car wash bay to use the sprayer on the wheel wells and underside of the car. That's usually where all the mud and crap collects. I had some extra time on the meter so I started working on the top of the car. Well, I took off a few layers of grime only to reveal yet more grime. Yup... gonna have to hand wash it to get it sparkling again. Allegedly it will be sunny tomorrow so if I don't get to it today, I'll have a chance tomorrow.
Last night I got hungry but wasn't in the mood to go to a "sit-down" restaurant. I was already in a sweatshirt and pants looking more like a refugee than a fine-dining patron (not implying that we have any fine-dining establishments in town) so I opted to go to the Captain D's drive through. After slowly making my way up to the ordering microphone thingy, a girl's voice asks "Can I take your order?". "Two piece fish dinner." No response. "Hello?". Still no response. "ANYBODY THERE?!?"
Finally, I hear her say "Sorry Sir. Can I take your order?".
I'm thinking, you already took my order. Don't ask "Can I take your order?" then ignore someone. I place my order again (which she has trouble with) then pull up to the window - and wait. And wait. I'm trying to tell this girl that I need some malt vinegar packets as she tries to push a big bag through my window - "You had two 2-piece fish dinners, right?" I should have just taken them both and went on my way but instead I said "No, I only ordered one." Somehow, that announcement was like a disturbance in The Force as now there were two girls in the drive-through window both looking more confused than when all this started. "Do you have your ticket?" one girls asks. "No. You didn't give me one. You just gave me my change." Finally, I told them "Give me one of those dinners and some vinegar so I can go." One of the girls says "Oh, he's ready to go". Grrrr....
To top it off, the fish was undercooked.
On a completely different front, did you know MC Hammer now has a blog
?
Usually before washing the car I'll swing by a car wash bay to use the sprayer on the wheel wells and underside of the car. That's usually where all the mud and crap collects. I had some extra time on the meter so I started working on the top of the car. Well, I took off a few layers of grime only to reveal yet more grime. Yup... gonna have to hand wash it to get it sparkling again. Allegedly it will be sunny tomorrow so if I don't get to it today, I'll have a chance tomorrow.
Last night I got hungry but wasn't in the mood to go to a "sit-down" restaurant. I was already in a sweatshirt and pants looking more like a refugee than a fine-dining patron (not implying that we have any fine-dining establishments in town) so I opted to go to the Captain D's drive through. After slowly making my way up to the ordering microphone thingy, a girl's voice asks "Can I take your order?". "Two piece fish dinner." No response. "Hello?". Still no response. "ANYBODY THERE?!?"
Finally, I hear her say "Sorry Sir. Can I take your order?".
I'm thinking, you already took my order. Don't ask "Can I take your order?" then ignore someone. I place my order again (which she has trouble with) then pull up to the window - and wait. And wait. I'm trying to tell this girl that I need some malt vinegar packets as she tries to push a big bag through my window - "You had two 2-piece fish dinners, right?" I should have just taken them both and went on my way but instead I said "No, I only ordered one." Somehow, that announcement was like a disturbance in The Force as now there were two girls in the drive-through window both looking more confused than when all this started. "Do you have your ticket?" one girls asks. "No. You didn't give me one. You just gave me my change." Finally, I told them "Give me one of those dinners and some vinegar so I can go." One of the girls says "Oh, he's ready to go". Grrrr....
To top it off, the fish was undercooked.
On a completely different front, did you know MC Hammer now has a blog
?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Soaked to the ankle bone.
Ugh - I had an extremely soggy day today. After jumping through a few hurdles this morning, I finally hit the road to Birmingham with a co-worker to visit a client and then work on a video project for another. The drive down was rainy with on an off periods of light drizzle. At my first meeting, we're at my client's office which is on top of a tall hill on the 8th story. Clouds were hanging low and we were at cloud level. During the meeting, it was interesting to see other buildings and then watch them disappear into whiteness as the clouds engulfed us. I was so enthralled (I was easily entertained today) that I forgot what I was saying during my meeting more than once. Either that or I was having a senior moment.
Off to lunch. Headed to Bottega again but this time ordered the smoked salmon pizza. Mmmm... that was GOOD stuff. I was not looking forward to leaving as the bottom had fallen out of the sky and it was pouring. I had parked on an adjacent road on a steep incline. Water was cascading down the hill like a water slide. Even though I had a parka on and an umbrella, below my knees my pants and feet were soaked. Luckily since I knew I would be participating in the video I brought along an extra pair of pants and shoes in case something like this happened. Still, it was uncomfortable to have wet stuff on till I was able to get changed.
Everything went well with the project and we headed north back home. The rain was a lot worse on the way back with relentless sheets pouring down. Made it home safely though but I will say it's very tiring to me to drive in these conditions.
I'll sleep well tonight.
Off to lunch. Headed to Bottega again but this time ordered the smoked salmon pizza. Mmmm... that was GOOD stuff. I was not looking forward to leaving as the bottom had fallen out of the sky and it was pouring. I had parked on an adjacent road on a steep incline. Water was cascading down the hill like a water slide. Even though I had a parka on and an umbrella, below my knees my pants and feet were soaked. Luckily since I knew I would be participating in the video I brought along an extra pair of pants and shoes in case something like this happened. Still, it was uncomfortable to have wet stuff on till I was able to get changed.
Everything went well with the project and we headed north back home. The rain was a lot worse on the way back with relentless sheets pouring down. Made it home safely though but I will say it's very tiring to me to drive in these conditions.
I'll sleep well tonight.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Olympics
I've never been a big fan of the Olympics in years past but for some reason, I've really enjoyed this winter session. Maybe it's because the media coverage lets you get to know the competitors in a more personal way. Whatever it may be, I've made an effort to watch as many of the events as I can. The downhill variants, the moguls, luge, skeleton, bobsled, skating, snowboarding, freestyle ski jumping... it's all been exciting to watch. I still can't get into the ice dancing or curling however. Of all the events, I prefer the individual versions the most over the team ones. Just knowing that an athlete put all that time into being able to do their very best when their time to compete came then to see their faces when they win is great. It's also painful to see when they come apart for the same reasons.
In other news, on a suggestion from Eric, I picked up the new John Mayer Trio CD while out shopping last Sunday. What a change from his last album! Grooving tunes and some great musicianship. I already have it loaded on my iPod getting some serious play. On the other end of the spectrum, I picked up Sevendust's "Next" album. So far I'm digging it too.
I need to hop in bed. Got a busy day tomorrow heading to the studio to shoot a new commercial for a client.
Have fun.
In other news, on a suggestion from Eric, I picked up the new John Mayer Trio CD while out shopping last Sunday. What a change from his last album! Grooving tunes and some great musicianship. I already have it loaded on my iPod getting some serious play. On the other end of the spectrum, I picked up Sevendust's "Next" album. So far I'm digging it too.
I need to hop in bed. Got a busy day tomorrow heading to the studio to shoot a new commercial for a client.
Have fun.
Monday, February 20, 2006
It's cold.
After the warm January we've had, we're paying for it now with the cold winds of February. I can't wait till I get my next utility bill.
Seriously, I hate being cold. I don't HATE the cold, I hate BEING cold. To that end, I try and take extra steps to keep that from happening. For one, I have gas heat at home. If I get cold, the gas unit warms things up QUICK. In the car, my seats are heated. I'm tellin ya, that's a requirement if you have leather upholstery. I first got to try heated seats out in Kevin's Expedition and made it a point to be sure the next car I got had them.
Anyway.
Last Thursday I headed to Huntsville for the Hsv. Young Professionals gathering being held this time at the Country Club there. Food was great and the event was well attended. I saw a few people I knew from last time but made many more new friends. At one point, I was discussing x-ray astronomy with an ex-NASA physicist. Ah... an actual intelligent conversation! That was refreshing. I was espcially interested in how the x-rays were finally converted into an image. Very cool stuff. Our welcome at the club expired so we moved it on to Humphrey's where we all reconvened on the outdoor patio. A live band was the providing a nice backgound groove that made the night that much more enjoyable. Took it to the cribizzle shortly therafter since there was another day of work ahead.
Friday kicked off with a photo session for a client in the morning while the afternoon was spent on paperwork and such. That evening I ventured out to the Brick where Tim Tucker and his band were celebrating a CD release. Several of my friends were there who subsequently picked up my bar tab. That was a pleasant surprise. After leaving though, I REEKED of smoke. That always happens there. I got home and tossed it all into the wash right away before crawling into bed.
I had all sorts of things planned for Saturday but the weather threw me a curve ball. I cancelled all the fun stuff and pretty much had a big day of domesticity. I didn't get out at all that day but kept myself entertained. I recall taking a nap or two also.
After church Sunday, Eric and I headed to Hsv. where I stopped in at Best Buy for a hard drive. I ended up getting a few other things as well before getting some lunch. Food was good, checking out was a nightmare.
1st round: My drink and Eric's food was on my check (which was rang up)
2nd round: Check was right but my check got put on Eric's credit card and vice versa
3rd round: Finally right but need to keep a close eye on my bank statement to make sure it comes out right.
Wrapped up the day taking a friend to dinner that was in town to visit her family. All in all, a good weekend.
Seriously, I hate being cold. I don't HATE the cold, I hate BEING cold. To that end, I try and take extra steps to keep that from happening. For one, I have gas heat at home. If I get cold, the gas unit warms things up QUICK. In the car, my seats are heated. I'm tellin ya, that's a requirement if you have leather upholstery. I first got to try heated seats out in Kevin's Expedition and made it a point to be sure the next car I got had them.
Anyway.
Last Thursday I headed to Huntsville for the Hsv. Young Professionals gathering being held this time at the Country Club there. Food was great and the event was well attended. I saw a few people I knew from last time but made many more new friends. At one point, I was discussing x-ray astronomy with an ex-NASA physicist. Ah... an actual intelligent conversation! That was refreshing. I was espcially interested in how the x-rays were finally converted into an image. Very cool stuff. Our welcome at the club expired so we moved it on to Humphrey's where we all reconvened on the outdoor patio. A live band was the providing a nice backgound groove that made the night that much more enjoyable. Took it to the cribizzle shortly therafter since there was another day of work ahead.
Friday kicked off with a photo session for a client in the morning while the afternoon was spent on paperwork and such. That evening I ventured out to the Brick where Tim Tucker and his band were celebrating a CD release. Several of my friends were there who subsequently picked up my bar tab. That was a pleasant surprise. After leaving though, I REEKED of smoke. That always happens there. I got home and tossed it all into the wash right away before crawling into bed.
I had all sorts of things planned for Saturday but the weather threw me a curve ball. I cancelled all the fun stuff and pretty much had a big day of domesticity. I didn't get out at all that day but kept myself entertained. I recall taking a nap or two also.
After church Sunday, Eric and I headed to Hsv. where I stopped in at Best Buy for a hard drive. I ended up getting a few other things as well before getting some lunch. Food was good, checking out was a nightmare.
1st round: My drink and Eric's food was on my check (which was rang up)
2nd round: Check was right but my check got put on Eric's credit card and vice versa
3rd round: Finally right but need to keep a close eye on my bank statement to make sure it comes out right.
Wrapped up the day taking a friend to dinner that was in town to visit her family. All in all, a good weekend.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Smells.
I am inundated with smells.
Yesterday I came home for lunch. As I was walking to the front door, I heard one of my neighbors trying to start a car and not having much luck at it. I didn't think about it anymore after I got inside and got some lunch ready. My programmable thermostat lets the house cool to 65 degrees when I'm away so I temporarily bumped it up to 70. I sat down to eat and smelled fumes of some sort. Hmmm... that's not natural gas. Grrr... Turns out my next door neighbor had someone over working on their car which is RIGHT NEXT TO my A/C unit outside. By turning on the heat, it the unit sucked in all the fumes from the car starting extravagaza outside. Great. JUST GREAT. When I got home later in the day, I opened several windows and cranked up the attic fan to clear out the house. That's a lot of fun when it's 32 degrees outside. Today, there's just a hint of the gas smell so hopefully it will continue to dissapate.
Went to Nashville today on business. While cruisin' on down the road, Mr. Smokey Smokerson up ahead of me flips what's left of his cigarette out his window which then lands on my radiator and burns itself out. I'm treated to the nice smell of burning tobacco and filter in the car.
Aside from that irritation, I had a good trip up there. Weather was beautiful and the sky was clear. I picked up several things I was needing while in town: cleaning swabs and fluid to clean the sensor on my "big" camera, a case to transport my kick drum pedals in and some extra snare drum heads since I'm on my last one.
Valentine's Day is a bit uneventful for us single folks.
Yesterday I came home for lunch. As I was walking to the front door, I heard one of my neighbors trying to start a car and not having much luck at it. I didn't think about it anymore after I got inside and got some lunch ready. My programmable thermostat lets the house cool to 65 degrees when I'm away so I temporarily bumped it up to 70. I sat down to eat and smelled fumes of some sort. Hmmm... that's not natural gas. Grrr... Turns out my next door neighbor had someone over working on their car which is RIGHT NEXT TO my A/C unit outside. By turning on the heat, it the unit sucked in all the fumes from the car starting extravagaza outside. Great. JUST GREAT. When I got home later in the day, I opened several windows and cranked up the attic fan to clear out the house. That's a lot of fun when it's 32 degrees outside. Today, there's just a hint of the gas smell so hopefully it will continue to dissapate.
Went to Nashville today on business. While cruisin' on down the road, Mr. Smokey Smokerson up ahead of me flips what's left of his cigarette out his window which then lands on my radiator and burns itself out. I'm treated to the nice smell of burning tobacco and filter in the car.
Aside from that irritation, I had a good trip up there. Weather was beautiful and the sky was clear. I picked up several things I was needing while in town: cleaning swabs and fluid to clean the sensor on my "big" camera, a case to transport my kick drum pedals in and some extra snare drum heads since I'm on my last one.
Valentine's Day is a bit uneventful for us single folks.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Busy.
I know my posting frequency has dropped considerably this year. Last year I was posting almost daily! I'm still just as busy if not busier but one thing I'm trying to do differently is to actually spend LESS time on the computer. I already spend a good bit of time online for work things but I also spend lots of time in front of the PC doing photography related tasks. When I finally take a break, the idea of spending MORE time online blogging isn't that appealing.
At any rate, I've got plenty of things happening. Right now, I'm going through a bit of a black and white phase on the photography side of things. B&W shots just have a really nice feel to them and at times looks more appealing than their colored counterparts. That's been a lot of fun to experiment with. In other photography news, I went ahead and got a backpack for my gear so next time I head off into the woods, I won't be stumbling around with a heavy shoulder bag while wading across a stream. For those that are interested, I went with the Lowepro Mini-Trekker AW. The problem I had last time was on a trip to Bankhead forest, I had the shoulder bag on one side and carried my tripod in the other hand leaving only one hand semi-free to help me hang on or keep me steady. You REALLY need to have both hands free if you're gonna be scrambling around like that otherwise it'll be really easy to bust your ass if you slip and can't catch yourself.
Yesterday, I scouted out a location for a photo shoot with a local band. Originally, I was wanting to do the shoot in a "backstage" kind of location but the ideal spots weren't avaialable. Luckily, my friend Daniel had a friend that had a large garage that would possibly work. Headed over early in the morning and decided it would work out although it was a little narrower than I would have liked.
I left there and called Preston to let him know to get the band together and where to meet me before I headed to Cracker Barrel to meet up with Kyle for some breakfast. I had just brushed my teeth and put on a hat before heading out the door in what could best be described as "outdoor" clothes. If you had run into me on a hiking trail or something I would have fit in. In the city though, I looked like well... like I slept in my clothes and walked out the door with a had to hide the bed head - which would be accurate.
Got a table in front of the fireplace which was nice. A table next to my was filling up with a group of women that quickly ran out of room. I offered to slide our table over to give them more space (while Kyle and I were still using it) and made conversation with the woman next to me. Keeping in mind my appearance, she looks at me and says, "Hey! Didn't we go out before?". In that moment, several things went through my mind:
1. Who is this?
2. Why didn't I take a shower before going out this morning?
3. If she and I had gone out in the past, did something bad happen?
She told me what her maiden name was and I remebered her - from about 15 years ago! She was now married with two kids and is a teacher in a neighboring town. What a small world. Although I don't remember any details from when we went out, I do remember she was extremely attractive. Now I'm curious as to why we stopped seeing each other. She gave me her contact info so maybe I can ask sometime down the road.
That's about all the excitement this weekend... oh, except for the extremely bad service at Camino Real for lunch today. What a cluster that was. Now I recall why I haven't eaten there in years.
At any rate, I've got plenty of things happening. Right now, I'm going through a bit of a black and white phase on the photography side of things. B&W shots just have a really nice feel to them and at times looks more appealing than their colored counterparts. That's been a lot of fun to experiment with. In other photography news, I went ahead and got a backpack for my gear so next time I head off into the woods, I won't be stumbling around with a heavy shoulder bag while wading across a stream. For those that are interested, I went with the Lowepro Mini-Trekker AW. The problem I had last time was on a trip to Bankhead forest, I had the shoulder bag on one side and carried my tripod in the other hand leaving only one hand semi-free to help me hang on or keep me steady. You REALLY need to have both hands free if you're gonna be scrambling around like that otherwise it'll be really easy to bust your ass if you slip and can't catch yourself.
Yesterday, I scouted out a location for a photo shoot with a local band. Originally, I was wanting to do the shoot in a "backstage" kind of location but the ideal spots weren't avaialable. Luckily, my friend Daniel had a friend that had a large garage that would possibly work. Headed over early in the morning and decided it would work out although it was a little narrower than I would have liked.
I left there and called Preston to let him know to get the band together and where to meet me before I headed to Cracker Barrel to meet up with Kyle for some breakfast. I had just brushed my teeth and put on a hat before heading out the door in what could best be described as "outdoor" clothes. If you had run into me on a hiking trail or something I would have fit in. In the city though, I looked like well... like I slept in my clothes and walked out the door with a had to hide the bed head - which would be accurate.
Got a table in front of the fireplace which was nice. A table next to my was filling up with a group of women that quickly ran out of room. I offered to slide our table over to give them more space (while Kyle and I were still using it) and made conversation with the woman next to me. Keeping in mind my appearance, she looks at me and says, "Hey! Didn't we go out before?". In that moment, several things went through my mind:
1. Who is this?
2. Why didn't I take a shower before going out this morning?
3. If she and I had gone out in the past, did something bad happen?
She told me what her maiden name was and I remebered her - from about 15 years ago! She was now married with two kids and is a teacher in a neighboring town. What a small world. Although I don't remember any details from when we went out, I do remember she was extremely attractive. Now I'm curious as to why we stopped seeing each other. She gave me her contact info so maybe I can ask sometime down the road.
That's about all the excitement this weekend... oh, except for the extremely bad service at Camino Real for lunch today. What a cluster that was. Now I recall why I haven't eaten there in years.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Super Bowl Sunday
Today was a somewhat eventful one for me. Church went well this morning with the added THUMP from the subwoofer. We still need to do some tweaking but we're definitely heading in the right direction after being stalled for more than a year.
Ate lunch with a huge crowd at Quizno's where I tried their new triple Q sub. I highly recommend it. Very tasty. Made the obligatory stop at EB Games to see if there was anything new there I couldn't live without which there wasn't. Headed home for a bit to pick up my camera and to dig up the measurements of some windows in my livingroom I was wanting to get new blinds for. Got everything then popped into Lowe's. I found what I needed then stood around waiting on the blind-trimmer chick to get done with another customer. THEN SHE WENT ON BREAK OR SOMETHING while I was standing there obviously waiting on her. Back on the shelf went the blinds and out the door I went. I'll go to Home Depot next time.
It was a nice afternoon out so I drove over to the Mooresville area looking around for something to photograph. Eh.. I wasn't really "feeling it" there so I went the other direction and drove around Belle Mina. I found some great spots to shoot once some vegetation grows back but today, nothing stood out to me. Heading back into town I took some shots from under a bridge. While I was there next to the river, the coast guard pulled over and boarded a boat. I didn't have a long lens on me to get a better look so I just ignored them and went about my business. My friend Ty had shot a really cool picture of this bridge that I wanted to try and duplicate. The light just wasn't right today but at least now I know how to get where I need to be to take the shot.
In other news, I'm still trying to get rid of an irritating cough I've had all week. My chest has gotten a bit sore from all the coughing so I hope the coughing subsides soon. I picked up some "Mucinex" at the store which is supposed to help. We'll see.
Watched the Superbowl tonight with the church crowd. I was hoping that Seattle would win but it wasn't meant to be. I'm not a big NFL fan anyway.
Off to bed. Gotta work tomorrow.
Ate lunch with a huge crowd at Quizno's where I tried their new triple Q sub. I highly recommend it. Very tasty. Made the obligatory stop at EB Games to see if there was anything new there I couldn't live without which there wasn't. Headed home for a bit to pick up my camera and to dig up the measurements of some windows in my livingroom I was wanting to get new blinds for. Got everything then popped into Lowe's. I found what I needed then stood around waiting on the blind-trimmer chick to get done with another customer. THEN SHE WENT ON BREAK OR SOMETHING while I was standing there obviously waiting on her. Back on the shelf went the blinds and out the door I went. I'll go to Home Depot next time.
It was a nice afternoon out so I drove over to the Mooresville area looking around for something to photograph. Eh.. I wasn't really "feeling it" there so I went the other direction and drove around Belle Mina. I found some great spots to shoot once some vegetation grows back but today, nothing stood out to me. Heading back into town I took some shots from under a bridge. While I was there next to the river, the coast guard pulled over and boarded a boat. I didn't have a long lens on me to get a better look so I just ignored them and went about my business. My friend Ty had shot a really cool picture of this bridge that I wanted to try and duplicate. The light just wasn't right today but at least now I know how to get where I need to be to take the shot.
In other news, I'm still trying to get rid of an irritating cough I've had all week. My chest has gotten a bit sore from all the coughing so I hope the coughing subsides soon. I picked up some "Mucinex" at the store which is supposed to help. We'll see.
Watched the Superbowl tonight with the church crowd. I was hoping that Seattle would win but it wasn't meant to be. I'm not a big NFL fan anyway.
Off to bed. Gotta work tomorrow.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Wider is better.
I've had a few days to mess around with my wide-angle lens now. I'm happy to say that it was a wise purchase. I find myself reaching for it pretty regularly. My main workhorse lens is the 24-70 f2.8L but many times 24mm just isn't wide enough. Now having that 10-22 in my camera bag leaves me confident that I can get the view I need. It's the widest lens available for the camera body I use.
In more photography news, I stopped in to visit a photographer friend of mine over in Madsion. He's just moved into a new studio that I was eager to see. He's got plenty of room to do the type of work he prefers. Great place! While I was there, I checked out his Epson Pro 4000 inkjet printer. Whoa... the output of that printer is a m a z i n g. I'm going to have to get one of those eventually. It's that good. There's actually a newer model out but still, the older one he has gets the job done.
I've focused primarily on portraiture-type subjects in the past year as I got better and better at it. The downside of that is having to work with people. Nothing irks me more than planning a shoot and then the subject not show. Grrrr... I have a plan on putting an end to that.
Anyway, I'd like to shift over to panoramas and maybe architecture. Scouting out locations and watching how the light on them changes throughout the day to pick the best times to shoot sounds like it would be a fun challenge.
In more photography news, I stopped in to visit a photographer friend of mine over in Madsion. He's just moved into a new studio that I was eager to see. He's got plenty of room to do the type of work he prefers. Great place! While I was there, I checked out his Epson Pro 4000 inkjet printer. Whoa... the output of that printer is a m a z i n g. I'm going to have to get one of those eventually. It's that good. There's actually a newer model out but still, the older one he has gets the job done.
I've focused primarily on portraiture-type subjects in the past year as I got better and better at it. The downside of that is having to work with people. Nothing irks me more than planning a shoot and then the subject not show. Grrrr... I have a plan on putting an end to that.
Anyway, I'd like to shift over to panoramas and maybe architecture. Scouting out locations and watching how the light on them changes throughout the day to pick the best times to shoot sounds like it would be a fun challenge.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
One thing after another...
My excitement last week started Wednesday when Lesa wanted to head up to Nashville to see Jen Foster play at a new venue there. Early in the day it sounded like a good idea, but as the day wore on, it wasn't nearly as appealing. Several things not in our favor:
Jen was an opening act and would only be playing 3 or 4 songs.
Nashville is a 90 minute drive one-way.
$18 each is the admission price.
The thing started at 7:30 and we weren't going to be able to leave from home till right at 6.
I tried to put off going until Jen had a full show, but Lesa talked me into going anyway. "We can be there in an hour" she says. Um... Nashville is about 100 miles away. Unless you're planning on driving 100...
We get there at 7:45. Luckily (or so we thought at the time), we found a parking space in a lot near the venue with only one of 2 spaces that were open. We found out from the ticket people at the door that Jen was gonna be on in about 5 minutes. We made it JUST in the nick of time.
Jen did well. It was the first time I heard her live and I really enjoyed it. It was time for dinner though and I thought it would be nice to eat there in town before we headed back. As we approached the lot where we parked, I realized there were NO cars in that parking lot. Where there were 12-15 before, there were NONE. Lesa thought I was looking at the wrong parking lot. No, I remember exactly where we parked and her car was gone. On a chain link fence there was a small sign attached indicating cars parked there would be towed 24 hours 7 days a week. This sign wasn't visible earlier probably because there was a car in front of it blocking it. There was a number on there to City Towing. I called and confirmed that they had Lesa's car. Oh, they would bring the car BACK to us for $65... ON TOP of the $80 towing fee. Forget, we'll get a cab which we promptly did.
Anyway, we got the car back and decided to just come on home. It was late already and neither one of us had an appetite. I really think that parking lot deal was a scam. I wouldn't be suprised if that towing company bought that small lot in that area SPECIFICALLY to generate income from unsuspecting guests and then parking a "planted" vehicle in front of the towing sign. With that tactic, they can make money over and over on a busy night as the lot fills up and they empty it. Thieves I tell you.
Jen was an opening act and would only be playing 3 or 4 songs.
Nashville is a 90 minute drive one-way.
$18 each is the admission price.
The thing started at 7:30 and we weren't going to be able to leave from home till right at 6.
I tried to put off going until Jen had a full show, but Lesa talked me into going anyway. "We can be there in an hour" she says. Um... Nashville is about 100 miles away. Unless you're planning on driving 100...
We get there at 7:45. Luckily (or so we thought at the time), we found a parking space in a lot near the venue with only one of 2 spaces that were open. We found out from the ticket people at the door that Jen was gonna be on in about 5 minutes. We made it JUST in the nick of time.
Jen did well. It was the first time I heard her live and I really enjoyed it. It was time for dinner though and I thought it would be nice to eat there in town before we headed back. As we approached the lot where we parked, I realized there were NO cars in that parking lot. Where there were 12-15 before, there were NONE. Lesa thought I was looking at the wrong parking lot. No, I remember exactly where we parked and her car was gone. On a chain link fence there was a small sign attached indicating cars parked there would be towed 24 hours 7 days a week. This sign wasn't visible earlier probably because there was a car in front of it blocking it. There was a number on there to City Towing. I called and confirmed that they had Lesa's car. Oh, they would bring the car BACK to us for $65... ON TOP of the $80 towing fee. Forget, we'll get a cab which we promptly did.
Anyway, we got the car back and decided to just come on home. It was late already and neither one of us had an appetite. I really think that parking lot deal was a scam. I wouldn't be suprised if that towing company bought that small lot in that area SPECIFICALLY to generate income from unsuspecting guests and then parking a "planted" vehicle in front of the towing sign. With that tactic, they can make money over and over on a busy night as the lot fills up and they empty it. Thieves I tell you.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Stuff.
Last week was a busy one for me. I think I had 3 photo shoots... one Monday, Tuesday and Friday. That along with all the other things I also do at work besides photography kept me humming along. I finally did get a chance to go out with the Huntsville Young Professionals group for a social at the Museum of Art. When I arrived, I got recruited to help pour wine along with a client of the agency so that was fun. Saw quite a few people I knew there but there were plenty more to get to know. I'm going to make it a point to try and attend these things with some regularity and get myself into some other social circles.
Anyway with all the shooting I've done lately, it's time for me to go ahead and get a wide angle lens. Up to now, the widest lens I have for my Canon was this cheapie 18-55 one. There's a 10-22 I plan on getting to cover the wide range. In the meantime if I've had to go wider, I've used a Nikon D100 with a 12-24 lens which did the job nicely. Only thing is, I don't want to have to carry around 2 camera bodies and have to learn 2 different systems just because of me not having a wide lens for my Canon. Hopefully I'll have the new lens in the next week or so.
I've also learned that I need to go wireless to trigger the power pack on the studio lights. The 15" sync cord I've been using is a hassle in more ways than one. First, it's only 15' long. Second, it gets tangeled around everything. Third, it's a pain to move the cord back and forth between the camera and my meter as I set up a shot. My meter already has the wireless option installed so it can pop the lights. I just need to get the transmitter for my camera and a receiver for the power pack and I'll be good to go.
Still, there's more stuff I need but I'll get to that over time.
I fooled around with B&W stuff more last week. I found 2 pictures from an older shoot that I converted to B&W using some new techniques in Photoshop that I had learned with some very good results. I really like the way those turned out so I'm sure I'll be doing more of that in the future.
Oh, I went over to the Museum of Art to check out the Ansel Adams and Maxfield Parish exhibit. Good stuff. I enjoyed seeing originals of Ansel's work, not only of his nature photography but some of his portrait photography as well. His compositions are stunning. I got a few ideas from looking at his work that I think will help out mine. There was one shot on display that he took in my old stomping grounds at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I have to get back up that way again soon and spend at least a weekend there roaming around just like I did as a teenager. The Maxfield exhibit was nice too. The color palette he used in his paintings was very bold and vivid, especially his blues. I came to find out later that he was known for that.
Oh I almost forgot. My Friday the 13th started out on cue. The server at the office was hung and when I rebooted it, the data drives did not come up. Nice. Luckily, I was able to get them back with a reboot and reset sequence that saved me from painfully having to restore from backup. Whew!
Anyway with all the shooting I've done lately, it's time for me to go ahead and get a wide angle lens. Up to now, the widest lens I have for my Canon was this cheapie 18-55 one. There's a 10-22 I plan on getting to cover the wide range. In the meantime if I've had to go wider, I've used a Nikon D100 with a 12-24 lens which did the job nicely. Only thing is, I don't want to have to carry around 2 camera bodies and have to learn 2 different systems just because of me not having a wide lens for my Canon. Hopefully I'll have the new lens in the next week or so.
I've also learned that I need to go wireless to trigger the power pack on the studio lights. The 15" sync cord I've been using is a hassle in more ways than one. First, it's only 15' long. Second, it gets tangeled around everything. Third, it's a pain to move the cord back and forth between the camera and my meter as I set up a shot. My meter already has the wireless option installed so it can pop the lights. I just need to get the transmitter for my camera and a receiver for the power pack and I'll be good to go.
Still, there's more stuff I need but I'll get to that over time.
I fooled around with B&W stuff more last week. I found 2 pictures from an older shoot that I converted to B&W using some new techniques in Photoshop that I had learned with some very good results. I really like the way those turned out so I'm sure I'll be doing more of that in the future.
Oh, I went over to the Museum of Art to check out the Ansel Adams and Maxfield Parish exhibit. Good stuff. I enjoyed seeing originals of Ansel's work, not only of his nature photography but some of his portrait photography as well. His compositions are stunning. I got a few ideas from looking at his work that I think will help out mine. There was one shot on display that he took in my old stomping grounds at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I have to get back up that way again soon and spend at least a weekend there roaming around just like I did as a teenager. The Maxfield exhibit was nice too. The color palette he used in his paintings was very bold and vivid, especially his blues. I came to find out later that he was known for that.
Oh I almost forgot. My Friday the 13th started out on cue. The server at the office was hung and when I rebooted it, the data drives did not come up. Nice. Luckily, I was able to get them back with a reboot and reset sequence that saved me from painfully having to restore from backup. Whew!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Wow. What WAS that?
After spending all day Saturday in and out of bed feeling like poo, I once again got ready to go to bed for the night. This time, I rummaged around the medicine cabinet and found this Robitussin FLU stuff in there from a previous malfunction. I checked the expiration date and TA-DA, it was still good. Took it and slept peacefully and comfortably.
I cautiously woke up this morning ready for another day of feeling rough when suprisingly, I felt okay. I took it easy most of the morning afraid I was going to have a relapse or something. I did manage to go ouside and get my mail from yesterday and today's paper. It was a gorgeous day out - mid's 60's and breezy.
Normally, I would have washed my car on such a nice day but I'm thinking that wouldn't be a smart move in my situation. I kept it indoors today and got laundry and dishes done then spent time reading and watching TV.
So much for an exciting weekend.
I cautiously woke up this morning ready for another day of feeling rough when suprisingly, I felt okay. I took it easy most of the morning afraid I was going to have a relapse or something. I did manage to go ouside and get my mail from yesterday and today's paper. It was a gorgeous day out - mid's 60's and breezy.
Normally, I would have washed my car on such a nice day but I'm thinking that wouldn't be a smart move in my situation. I kept it indoors today and got laundry and dishes done then spent time reading and watching TV.
So much for an exciting weekend.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Sick.
I don't know what happened since I was just fine yesterday. Spent the afternoon on a photoshoot for a client then went out to eat with friends. Later that night, I'm lying in bed and suddenly start to get cold. That was odd... my waterbed temperature is up, I'm in a t-shirt and PJ bottoms (not commando tonight), and I have a sheet then a comforter on top of me. I put on a fleece sweatshirt over my shirt and now my legs were cold. Put on sweatpants and thick socks then my HEAD was cold. Put on a toboggan and finally got warm. I was thinking to myself at the time, "this can't be good". Sure enough, woke up in the morning with aches and soreness and a fever. Just great.
I did haul myseld up to take a shower to see if that would make me feel better. Well, I'm now clean and still feel like poop. Spne my day laying around drinking fluids and getting rest. I hate that the weekend is passing me by but I have to get well again.
I called Kevin this morning to let him know he might want to find a backup drummer for church in the morning since there's a chance I won't be any better in time. Looks like Jeremy is on standby now. Whew. Thank goodness we have more dummers around.
This is one of the times that I really think how nice it would be to have someone around to look after me when I'm under the weather. Hmmm... wish my mom was around.
I did haul myseld up to take a shower to see if that would make me feel better. Well, I'm now clean and still feel like poop. Spne my day laying around drinking fluids and getting rest. I hate that the weekend is passing me by but I have to get well again.
I called Kevin this morning to let him know he might want to find a backup drummer for church in the morning since there's a chance I won't be any better in time. Looks like Jeremy is on standby now. Whew. Thank goodness we have more dummers around.
This is one of the times that I really think how nice it would be to have someone around to look after me when I'm under the weather. Hmmm... wish my mom was around.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Well it's ABOUT DANG TIME...
for an update.
First off, my vacation time was well spent resting and relaxing. I had plenty of time to do some reading, go to the movies, spend time with friends - basically using my time leisurely with no planned schedule. It was very nice. I did have some kind of sinus funk that slowed me down a little but I quickly recovered in time for the new year.
Ate dinner new year's eve with Kevin's crew at Kyoto. Started off with sushi before the main course of a filet and lobster tail was served. Mmmmmm.... I had planned to join back up with them later for some fireworks but ended up at a party Scott was having at his place. There were probably 20 people there. Each one seemed to have a digital camera which was kinda funny because every few moments a flash would go off. As things started to pick up, I went out to my car and got the big camera out. Plenty of goofy stuff was going on that I got some shots of so there should be some good laughs to come out of it.
Hope everyone else had a good new years celebration. Now that it's all over with, it's back to work. ;-)
First off, my vacation time was well spent resting and relaxing. I had plenty of time to do some reading, go to the movies, spend time with friends - basically using my time leisurely with no planned schedule. It was very nice. I did have some kind of sinus funk that slowed me down a little but I quickly recovered in time for the new year.
Ate dinner new year's eve with Kevin's crew at Kyoto. Started off with sushi before the main course of a filet and lobster tail was served. Mmmmmm.... I had planned to join back up with them later for some fireworks but ended up at a party Scott was having at his place. There were probably 20 people there. Each one seemed to have a digital camera which was kinda funny because every few moments a flash would go off. As things started to pick up, I went out to my car and got the big camera out. Plenty of goofy stuff was going on that I got some shots of so there should be some good laughs to come out of it.
Hope everyone else had a good new years celebration. Now that it's all over with, it's back to work. ;-)
