It's Funny Because It's True, BLOGTOBER 2009 Edition

Came across this while reading the comments to this Gizmodo Explains: post on why you should almost never even think about using the flash on your camera (easiest way to link to a bunch of comments is to screencap them)



OK, it's probably not true, but it is funny.

Yeah, Sure, with a $4000 Camera and a $7600 Lens, I Could Take Shots That Good, Too...

Robert Scoble, the Scobleizer, is at the Twitter 140 conference, and he rented a huge honking lens (photo by Brian Solis) to cover it.

Yes, I'm jealous, and yes, the pics he's taken look fantastic.

But, though I'm enjoying taking snaps and have no problem walking around with $1100 worth of camera body and lenses (that's the $850 Nikon D5000 with kit 18-55mm lens plus the $250 55-200mm zoom), I'm not ready to step up to the big leagues and carry kit worth the same as a brand new econobox (also that Canon 600mm lens looks like it weighs about as much as a Kia Spectra, too).

Me and My Folks (Christmas 74)

(picked up a slide scanner, testing it out, this shot was underexposed, might have overcompensated a bit, I'm the wee one, and those are my parents, my grandparents had traveled to Japan that year, hence the kimonos as presents)

UPDATE:

For the record, my father is not Richard Pryor (firstly, Richard is much skinnier than my father, and secondly my father did far less coke and never freebased, or set himself on fire), though maybe the kimono, and memories of the sketch below might have lead to some confusion...

From the Archive . . .

When spring sprung last year, it really sprang to life. This year, not as dramatic, but there's plenty of blooms blossoming, just haven't shot them this year yet, so let last year's sprungy spring pictures stand in for this year's springy sprung pictures. And this post is in no way meant to taunt you folks who are facing a major winter storm as February slides into March.

Who's Going to Buy This For Me So I Can Take Some Really Great Pictures?

Nikon D5000 budget DSLR rumored to be introduced next week at PMA

(I promise to up my picture taking game if someone gifts me with this bad boy)

My Hollow Shell Gives You These Pictures . . .

It was a brutal 78 degrees F today near the beach. I forced my hollow shell to take a hollow walk and record a bunch of hollow images to document the hollowness of a life lived bereft of seasons.

There's a conversation regarding hollowness over at Althouse, consider this post, these photos, and this set over at Flickr my contribution.



First up, the obligatory shot of palm trees



Next, a hollow vent, venting hollowly (probably venting over its location out here in the land without seasons, and largely without anything interesting to vent from beneath the street)



See, we have seasons, so our "fall" is happening a bit late, and amounts to a few trees, but dammit, this looks pretty damn fall like to me, maybe we aren't so hollow after all



If she's hitchhiking, she might be there awhile . . .



Nothing but knee slappers out there, but that doesn't stop some from suiting up and sitting on their boards









We may not have the character building joys of surviving subzero temps, but if you can remain hollow after seeing another golden sunset over the wide blue, well, I think you have bigger problems than living in a bankrupt state with a sunny and pleasant clime.

I'm Still, Still Stuck in the Desert

Mojave Dessert?



Sunset off I-15 (near Apple Valley) [the colors are false, but the image is true, and it's cropped at 16x10, perfect for a widescreeen desktop background]

I'm Still Stuck In the Desert

Posting wise, anyway.

Above, a photo from the Kelso Dunes set. Hard to tell scale in these pictures, but the tallest peak is about 600 feet.

This shot gives you a good sense of the middle of nowhere-ness of the place. I could have taken that shot in any direction and it'd look much the same.

Next up the Kelso Depot set. It's restored nicely, no longer useful, and a bit out of the way.

I wonder how well this lunch counter will do, or how easy it will be to staff? I arrived after closing time, don't know if it's open for business yet, by the looks of things, looks like it's still not being used.

Look, I found a colorful flower of which to take a close-up (I have Althouse envy).

Still uploading more sets, the Kelbaker Rd. set (taken while moving, forgive the lousy composition), the Baker set (experience the wonders of the Mad Greek Diner), and the Sunset set (air pollution and forest fires are good for something, spectacular sunsets).

I'll link to those sets in this post, once they're uploaded.

Uploading is iffy in my neighborhood at the moment, I blame E3 being in town, the local internet is groaning under the strain.

A Sad or Happy Tale?

One of the stops along the way on my trip into the Mojave, was Daggett Pioneer Cemetery (flickr set at link). It's a sandy, rocky place. The decay may only be due to the harsh conditions, or might be due to neglect and even vandalism. There's no grass, no trees, no live flowers, just a few shrubs, a few fake flowers, a few American flags. But this cemetery is still serene, still holy, still a place of reverence.

There are old graves, the earliest death on a marker that was still legible was in the 1890s. There's new ones, too, even sites waiting for a husband or wife to join their beloved who preceded them. The graves whose markers are legible tell stories. You have families who've suffered losses, many men proud of their service to this country (mostly WWI and WWII), and lots of weather beaten crosses that bear no indication of who rests below.

These two markers seemed to have quite a bit to say.

Above you have Joseph L. Balderas, Jr., dead before his 32nd birthday. Not yet old, but not exactly young either. Still too young not to be around, you wonder what might have been the cause of a death at that age.

Then you look next to Joseph, and you see the grave of his mother Susie May, and you see that Joe L. is still alive, still waiting, "Until we meet again". Susie May died less than a year ago, and Joe, Jr., almost 20 years ago. I wouldn't be able to guess which Joe mourns for the most, though. But, despite this, I bet Joe is a happy man, a good man, a man you'd want as a neighbor and a friend. Joe, Jr. probably wasn't Susie and Joe's only child, hopefully he's their only child that preceded them in death. Joe probably has grandkids that keep him busy, and keep him wanting more days here.

That's a lot to infer from two grave markers, and I could be completely wrong, but it's certainly one of the many possibilities.

Giving the People What They Want . . .

. . . and what the people want is NAKED MANNEQUINS!!!

Noticed that on sitemeter the majority of my hits lately have been image searches through google to old posts. The image that comes up most frequently was the naked mannequin image that capped this post.

Well, if you look at the flickr set in which that shot was included, there are more naked mannequins where that one came from, so here are all the naked mannequin shots in one convenient blogpost.







I'm all about service.

(and if you click on the photo you'll be taken to the flickr page where you can get the full sized shot for whatever it is you plan on doing with it)

2006 LA Auto Show, An Electrifying Sports Car

The Tesla was at the show, but as part of Yokohama Tire's display rather than one of their own.

Yokohama claims their tires are eco-friendly, too.









The car, it looks awfully similar to the Lotus Elise, but that's not a bad thing.

The charging station, unfortunately, this isn't a regular wall outlet plug in like many of the new wave of electric vehicles, but I guess they figure those buying this car can afford the price tag for installing one of these bad boys.

Also, probably wouldn't have even noticed that this wasn't a Lotus Elise (pictured below) if my friend hadn't pointed it out, plus I post this mainly cause Instapundit has expressed interest in the Tesla (link, link, link and link), I guess I'm hoping for a Glink.

I'll Be There

At the LA Auto Show, it's an annual tradition with me and my friend.

Instapundit points to the Popular Mechanics coverage.

Going early Saturday and I'll be snapping shots like a mad man.

Expect a series of posts starting Saturday evening (whether you like it or not).

Any requests on which vehicles to focus?

(besides the Focus, that is, those are boring)

Personally, I'm a Subaru fanatic, so expect deep, deep coverage of their display (which is almost always rather disappointing).

Yes, Los Angeles Does Have a Downtown

UPDATED to fix factual errors

It's a special extra urban edition of Sunday Dog Walking photoblogging. Ventured into the wilds of Downtown Los Angeles. The set can be viewed here.

The two tallest building this side of the Mississippi. OK almost got that right, the US Bank Building (appears smaller, but is taller) is still the tallest building this side of the Mississippi, but the Aon Center has been surpassed by a few building in Dallas during the 80s building boom.

A close up of the Aon Center. also, while I'm at it, I like my shot better than the one that accompanies the Wiki on this building.

An even closer up of the Aon Center.

A*Hole



You can't tell very well from this photo, but that bright spot in the middle is a driving rig with two motorcycles, one of them with Mary J. Blige perched upon it. Most likely a video shoot. I passed two different shoots while walking the dog today.



City Hall (from a distance)



A rather poor snap of Disney Hall (see, I don't hate everything Gehry's done)






Went down Broadway on the way back to the car, it's the vibrant center of the area, and almost like stepping into a foreign country. Also, my doggie didn't seem real popular, I think he looks a bit too much like the kind of dogs dirty cops use to intimidate in Mexico and beyond.



How long since they changed that marquee?



A couple of tempting shows upcoming at the Orpheum




A few shots of the exterior of the United Artist Theatre (now a church).



Finally, NAKED MANNEQUINS!!!

Yet More Photoblogging, Hancock Park + Miracle Mile Edition

Sundays are for watching football, and driving someplace different to walk the dog.

Did not anticipate temps in the mid 80s on November 19th, but sometimes you have to suffer for your art. Doggie did o.k., though his tongue grew to prodigious lengths by the end of the walk.

Went to Hancock Park "aka" LACMA "aka" La Brea Tar Pits. Wasn't as much shoot worthy as I anticipated, but it was a pleasant walk, and it was opening day for the big Magritte show (which I'll try and get to sometime in the next two weeks, naturally I'll blog my impressions).

Whole set here, below a select few with comments



Doubt and Pain



Anxiety



Belief



Sloth?







A shot of the big poster at the entrance, and some shots outside the exhibit area for the Magritte show, I was shooed away by security, big dogs aren't welcome on the plaza between the museum spaces (just in the park area surrounding).

That's enough pictures, if you want to see more, go over to flickr.