What I did on my President’s Day Vacation

Greetings and Salutations from that most reverent of holidays, President’s day. Unlike the majority of the population I had the day off in honor of our four-score forefathers so of course I spent it taking some photos. The black carrion crows of sloth did not circle around me on this day.

From 2012-02-20

Though they did circle a bit around this dead badger(?) I found in the woods. Finding animals to photograph has always been a challenge for me. I don’t feel like I’m particularly in tune with the tread of the native fauna. I do, however, have a knack for finding former fauna.

From 2012-02-20

Small game aside, the real highlights of the day were to be found at 7 o’clock this morning. I found my way to the top of a parking garage and watched the sunrise.

And a bit of traffic.

And that’s the day that was.  How did you entertain your fine selves?

Here, There and Everywhere

Yesterday, after that somewhat introspective beginning, turned into rather a scattered but interesting affair. Not long after completing my posts for the morning I got a comment from a rather unlikely source. During the Super Bowl I went out into the crowds and just did some random people shots. One would calculate that in a crowd of 100,000 people these are as close to public anonymity as one might get. Amazingly though, my commenter was writing to say that the people in my shot were actually with him that day and that he was out taking their photos at the same time! I won’t rehash all this here as you can read his blog post on the topic but suffice to say that I was taken aback. Apparently Google really DOES know everything. Yikes.

After that little revelation Laura and I headed out in a random direction with no particular destination in mind, headed simply, towards the light. As always, click any of the photos to view them in Smugmug and do whatever activities Smugmug allows including flipping through the whole album without my commentary.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

I’ve learned, I think, more or less the art of taking a photo without actually stopping the car. Shutter speed up, keep the shot level, and don’t expect anything too particularly detail-filled.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

We finally pulled off on a little dirt road in the country…

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

…wherein we found a small and VERY old cemetery boasting stones from the early 1800s.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

Of course I got distracted by the lichen. The stones were old enough and shaded enough and undisturbed enough to have some great examples of these intriguing life forms.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

Moving on we made our way around a few small towns in the area. This shot, another drive-by, struck me as unsettling in composition.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

This… yeah… hard to know exactly what to say about this. I can sit around and assign meaning to it all day long. You’ve got the church steeple, the stoplight and the camera lens. Is this symbolic of the union between church, the state and art? Perhaps the camera is the watchful eye of… man that keeps vigil over them both? I dunno, but for some reason I like it. Which means, of course, that everybody else looks at it and scratches their head. C’est la vie.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

Speaking of the State, we did see Officer Obie.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

Alright, so here’s where things get really interesting. Lafayette is filled with factories and in particular this Tate & Lyle one has always stood out for me. Even as a young boy when my grandparents went to the mall I saw this ever-present smoke stack and was a bit awestruck. For a long time I’ve imagined what it would be like to capture this landmark behind a sunset. This, apparently, was the day though I’ll admit it didn’t QUITE turn out the way I’d imagined. Firstly, the item sans sunset.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

And here… well, here are a few. I’ll not say that I’m disappointed but they’re not nearly as clean as I would have hoped for. They look rather apocalyptic which in some ways is actually BETTER since my whole point to the pieces was to represent the struggle between nature and mankind. Man, thoughtlessly hurling his waste into the air while an angry, glowering sun looks on. I’d say… well, I’d say it does look rather angry.

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

From Lafayette 2-18-2012

In summation, it was an interesting day that was, and in allways unexpected. I have to applaud Laura, as usual, for patiently driving about all of known creation with me chasing sunsets and sundry other things.

Indy to Lafayette: 2 Minutes

Alright, well, I think I’ve expended my ability to be entertained by this exact sort of time-lapse photography, specifically car-based straight ahead. The result here is, plus or minus some sun-flares, about as good as I could expect I suppose. Time to move on to some other angle or subject or something…

I need to do the whole dawn/dusk thing properly and perhaps germinate a few seeds. Other thoughts?

Dawn over Carmel

Well, here lies my first attempt to time-lapse a sunrise. I honestly have no clue why there’s so much wobble as the tripod was stock still. Apparently some unknown wind of some sort. Anyway, a reasonable first shot, I suppose.

Greenwood to Zionsville in 40 Seconds…

Lately I’ve been piddling about with time-lapse photography.  This is the 40-minute trip from the south side of Indy to the north side condensed to about 40 seconds.

A Tour through the Old Office and the Rest of the Day…

It’s been my long-standing belief that as a people we don’t really give our everyday surroundings the respect they deserve. These are part of our lives for a long time yet we record them with little more than our rather fluid memories of them. My company’s corporate office is moving to another building at the end of the month so this afternoon, in an effort to capture the moment permanently, I went to the office and treated it as I would any of my other photographic subjects, capturing but not manipulating.

The staff has looked at this old building with no small nostalgia since the move was announced. This post-it along with several others placed on a plate glass window in a conference room termed “the aquarium” sums it up rather nicely and is the cover of the album online.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

The company, along with its founder is the winner of many, many awards. It was difficult to do these relics of the company’s history justice without moving them.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

This bit of abstractness and florality is the first thing visitors see to our little company.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

That’s what the public sees, but there’s more behind the scenes.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

One thing you have to admit about my company (which is rather intentionally not mentioned by name here since this little tour isn’t in any way sanctioned) is that the people who work here are dedicated. I popped into the office on a Sunday afternoon expecting to find the place empty but instead I actually found two other people doing real work. Chandra is our manager of QA and not only was he in the building but also actively doing work and seemingly happy about it.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

This is cubeland. Here’s where all the great things happen. We work here, argue here, laugh here and curse here. It’s the real heart of the plebeian life of the company.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

Every office has its stories. In this case I say simply that our IT staff are militant recyclers. If you accidentally put a staple into the recycle bin you might just get a rocker-launcher dart to the forehead.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

If cubeland is the land of the plebes, the boardroom is the land of the executives. If you think it’s hard deciding on a calling pattern for the new subroutine you’re writing, try figuring out how to provide health insurance to 115 employees and their dependents while still remaining profitable enough to keep the board of directors off your back.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

But as with any company, it’s not all about work, work and more work… We have our points of recreation and relaxation too.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

The breakroom is also where all the free sodas live. Mmmmmm….. soda.

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

And the pool table…

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

Not to mention the occasional chess game that breaks out…

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

Oh, and there’s also some… ummm… storage! Yes, that’s it! Storage!

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

Alright, that’s all I can show you without having to kill you. Time to…

From T2 Systems Office – Before the Move

So after finishing up at the office, I had to go somewhere and unwind. I have to admit that when I discovered that other people were in the office it did create a fair bit of anxiety. My photographic techniques are fairly undignified and the idea of doing it where people I work with can see it freaked me out a bit. So what better place to end up than the park in Zionsville.

Zionsville road, the major thoroughfare through the city, has undergone many iterations it seems. On either side of the current road there are old bridges long since fallen into non-existence but the old pylons remain.

From Zionsville Creekside Park – 2-12-2012

Under the current bridge, the drainage pipes always offer interest in the winter.

From Zionsville Creekside Park – 2-12-2012

On the other side of the road, I paid a price to take this photo. I spotted it from below and climbed up an embankment to get it from a different angle. Sadly, as I was walking and watching my footing closely on some lose gravel I forgot that there was a 20-ton concrete bridge overhead and walked right into it head first. Regardless of potential concussion, I got the shot.

From Zionsville Creekside Park – 2-12-2012

Zionsville is an affluent town. There’s not really a ton of disaffected youth here. Need proof? Check out the graffiti under the bridge:

From Zionsville Creekside Park – 2-12-2012

Water levels were low so it was easy enough to find a place to stand in the middle of the creek.

From Zionsville Creekside Park – 2-12-2012

I’ll close with the first flowers I’ve found of this not-really-springtime. These seem doomed but at least they had their day.

From Zionsville Creekside Park – 2-12-2012

And that’s the day that was.

A Romp around St. Mary’s of the Woods – Terre Haute – July 2009

Since the beginning, as those of you who peruse here regularly know, I’ve always been a rather “take what fate gives you” sort of photographer. Very early no I picked a direction and that direction happened to be west so I found myself in Terre Haute, Indiana. It’s not exactly the first name that come to mind when you think of Indiana but it certainly one of the most beautiful bits of urbanity that we have. On this day I visited several landmarks of the town including St. Mary’s of the Woods’ campus. This stop was fairly far along in the day so I didn’t really give it as much attention as it deserved as I was just about spent for the day.

The campus is very well integrated with the surrounding woodlands so it’s sometimes difficult to know if you’re on the campus or in the woods.

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

Unsurprisingly, much of the statuary is centered around the school’s religious affiliations and history.

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

And if this statuary doesn’t just scream, “Don’t mess with a girl from St. Mary’s!” then I don’t know what does. I suspect all the dates with the gents from neighboring Rose Hulman are unusually civil.

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

The buildings themselves are looming and have all the solidity of mountains.

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

But there’s still room for light moments in the signage among all this stolid serenity.

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

And I’ve forgotten what this thing signifies, but whatever it is it’s over there..

From St. Marys of the Woods, Terre Haute

And so that’s the day that was.

1920s Kodak 2c Jr

Reblogged from Golden Oldie Ads:

As much as I love modern photography equipment in all its technological greatness, I still think it would be rather cool to carry about a camera with a bellows. This sucker would have run you between $12 and $19. That’s $129 if you account for inflation which isn’t a bad deal.

Is it Time for Vacation Yet?

I resolved when the year began that I was NOT going to let this year slip by without some great photographic mementos. I look back on 2011 and there were some nice pictures but they were all from Indiana and Michigan. This is not to insult Michigan but there’s a LOT more to see in the world than two states. Late in 2010 Laura and I went to Arizona and just…. drove. We rented a car in Phoenix and played the “which direction do you want to go?” game. We covered Hoover Dam, Vegas, Lake Mead and Bryce Canon and a million little places in between. Planning, I posit, is for the uncreative. The photo below is from Zion National Park in Utah. View the whole album if you like.

From Zion National Park, Utah

This year’s vacation plans are pointed to Oregon are slated for July. Why Oregon? I’ve never been there and it looks interesting on the map. What other reasons do you need? Generally I’m averse to planning anything, but I’m all for suggestions as to what the must-see locales are. Suggestions?

Ten Feet From My Desk

To start off, this is the first time anyone has ever prompted me to write a post because they spotted a new batch of photos on my Facebook page before they saw them here so congrats to rommel for being on the ball there.

So, the theme of this post is rather a cliche one but I’m posting it anyway since I bothered to take the pictures. The venue for the photos in this post are all within ten feet of my desk. I’ve often argued that there is great beauty and meaning just in our everyday lives waiting to be captured. Not to mention, I had a new flash that needed to be played with.

Today’s photo set is up on Smugmug. Smugmug is nice enough to let you buy prints of anything you like.. Also, if you have anything you want photographed, drop me a line. Just know that the results will also be put online and free for the world to use.

OK, down to it. So there are some photos that I think as photographers we just have to attempt. Among these must-do photos is the old water drop shot. This is my first attempt at this bit of cliche photography and I’ve seen a LOT better results than these but ya gotta do it so here it is.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

Focus in this is soft but the flash reflection makes it worthwhile.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

Now for this I put on my science hat. Water is sticky. Look at that surface tension. All those water molecules with a very slightly different charge on one end that makes them all stick together like so many magnets. Please ignore the fact that I need to de-lime my faucets.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

More sticky water. Just love the depth in this shot.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

Focus is a bit soft here, but it’s the best I could summon up in the hour I spent on this.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

So hereby hangs a tale. Due to… circumstances… in my childhood, I was raised primarily by my grandparents. For as long as I can remember they had an old radio on a table in the front room and this was the spot wherein all the bills and mail accumulated. It was, for me, their iconic possession. When they died, I attended their estate auction and bought only one item and you see it below. The story runs that grandma bought this during the war and it somehow made it through their decades of married life and then to me. I’m afraid to plug it in but I do sometimes take it down and look at it and think about the woman who showed me how to really care about someone else. Any part of me that is giving, is self-less, is comparing, is compassionate, I attribute to the woman who owned this radio.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

From Ten Feet From My Desk

Returning to the world of water, I found the shape here interesting in black and white.

From Ten Feet From My Desk

And the deluge from the common tap looks much different at 1/8000…

From Ten Feet From My Desk

And shots like this make me want to photograph everything I eat and drink… forever. I wonder if that would be a reasonable diet plan?

From Ten Feet From My Desk

From Ten Feet From My Desk

And that’s the day that was…. within 10 feet of my desk. What’s within 10 feet of YOUR desk?