Sunday, March 27, 2011

Project 52 - Week 13


A photo a week...for a year.  Fifty-two weeks; 52 images, minimum.


                                       Aloft 1



Aloft 2



                                                                                     Aloft 3



Aloft 4



                                     Aloft 5



Aloft 6



                                                                                        Aloft 7

March 25 - Clouds.  Who doesn't like clouds?  I love their "texture", the way they reflect and absorb light, creating highlights and shadows and the way they're always moving, always changing; I love 'em! 

Friday, March 25, 2011

Tagline Roulette - Volume II, Edition 3 - "San Francisco"


I have a list of words, currently numbered at 161, and periodically I go to an online random number generator to get...(Wait for it!)...a  randomly generated number! I use this number to point me to the tag word that I'll use to create a pool of images by Etsy POE Team members.  As words get used, I cross them off the list, give the other words a chance, you know?   

It should be noted that the "tag word" in no way dictates a theme, it is merely part of the search criteria used to create the image pool.  This time out the random word turned out to be "San Francisco" which didn't produce an exceedingly long list of images, but I think you'll agree it did produce some interesting ones.  And if this outing seems to be heavily weighted toward bridges, well, it is San Francisco after all!

Please take a look; I hope you enjoy them as much as I have, and as always, please feel free to send me your word suggestions!

Zoom Goes the Judah - mattallen


record store - moonaskingtostay



bay bridge love - 4blankwalls



wear some flowers in your hair - moonaskingtostay



The Golden Golden Gate - RandomAbstracts



I Left My Heart - eringarrisondesign



Romolo Alley - mattallen



San Francisco Fountain - rrobertsphoto



Dreamy - DESIGNbyHELEN



golden gate bridge 3 - sharpobjects



Chinatown Building - dhunting



Crashing Waves at Baker Beach - mk111333



More San Fran Sea Lions - PhotosByChipperfield



San Francisco City View - thartzo



Pink House Collage - MarissaObscura



San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge - Baker Beach - mk111333



Alcatraz - rrobertsphoto



Bay Bridge in Fog - SeaLilyStudio



Sky - poofny



Rising Column - HOLLIHO



Move Fast - anaramirezphoto



Abstraction - elephantdreams



Buena Vista Cafe - JBWPhoto






Golden Gate Bridge - SeaLilyStudio

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Project 52 - Week 12

A photo a week...for a year.  Fifty-two weeks; 52 images, minimum.


The Olympics

March 16 - The Olympic Mountains, peeking through the clouds, taken from Cougar Mountain with Bellevue, Mercer Island and Seattle in the foreground. 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Stylish Blogger


I never thought I'd be accused of being stylish!

This just in: 

There's a frost warning in Hades!

Pigs are in a holding pattern over Chicago's O'Hare!

Chickens are at the Lancome counter stocking up on lipstick, and...

My blog has been given the "Stylish Blogger Award".  Who'd a thunk it?

I was very pleased today to receive an Etsy convo message from Rachel over at Raeolight, advising me that I had been so honored.  Thank you so very much, Rachel!

Requirements of the award are: 


a.) Thank the person that honored you with the award.  

b.) Present seven facts about yourself.  
c.) Pass the award on to other bloggers.  

Seven facts about me:


1.)  I've been to 23 of the 50 states.

2.)  My favorite color is green.
3.)  I smoked my last cigarette over 26 years ago.
4.)  I knew the mayor of Seattle before he was the mayor of Seattle.
5.)  I'm a big Jack London fan.
6.)  My least favorite question is, "Why...?"
7.)  Following the "Six Degrees of Separation" theory, there are 3 degrees of separation between me and JFK, and 2 degrees between me and Bill Gates.

My nominees for the Stylish Blogger are:


Jessica Rogers at Jessica Rogers Photography  

Andrea Despot at The Lighthouse Keeper
Anika Toro at Pasado

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Project 52 - Week 11

A photo a week...for a year.  Fifty-two weeks; 52 images, minimum.


Dry Aged

March 12 - Old, dead, dried and definitely past their prime; I found these flowers to still possess a certain beauty.  

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Project 52 - Weeks 8, 9 and 10

A photo a week...for a year.  Fifty-two weeks; 52 images, minimum.


Week 8


Gelateria Lorenzo

February 18 - Captured after dark on the streets of Firenze, Italy, Gelateria Lorenzo is at the confluence of Via Del Belle Donne, Via Del Sole and Via Della Spada.

Week 9

20 Via della Zecca

February 21 - 20 Via della Zecca is located within the walled portion of the Italian city of Lucca.

Week 10

Time and a Bottle

March 3 - I'm back home now and no longer in photographically "target rich" Italy...this is a still life of some of my wife's vintage collectibles; two clocks and a perfume bottle. 

Monday, March 7, 2011

Our Firenze Holiday


Ponte alle Grazie

OK, we're back.  (Read through to the bottom for a link to a slide show of images of our trip.)

We were on vacation and I just couldn't tear myself away from that to keep this blog up to date.  I thought I could pull it off, but I was wrong...sorry.

When last we visited we had received our globe trotting baggage followed by a drive to Lucca and back in the rain.  Good times!

The next day the weather started out much better, so we decided to drive to Siena.  We ended up driving south into a northbound storm, so when we got to Siena it was wet and windy and cold.  We did not know that Siena was at an altitude capable of putting a certain accent on inclement weather.  We will keep that factoid tucked away for future reference.

Friday, the weather being "postcard worthy", found us southbound yet again, but not to Siena.  We visited the medieval (and still populated) castle, Castello di Monteriggioni.  I took photos and my wife shopped.  From there we went to San Gimignano, a Tuscan hill town known for its 13 or 14 (depending on which travel guide you have) towers.  Travel guru, Rick Steves, refers to San Gimignano as a "tourist trap", and I can see what he's talking about, but it is quite picturesque and photogenic, and even Rick Steves is enamored of the sunsets from the town.  I was glad we went.  As in Castello di Monteriggioni, I photographed and my wife shopped.  Do you see a trend developing here?

I got up early Saturday to find yet another picture postcard day.  I walked down to the Arno river and, taking advantage of the "dawn's early light", got some shots of the Ponte Vecchio and other sights.  We still had the car, but decided to stay in Florence.  We walked around the old part of the city, taking in the sights, photographing and shopping; you know the drill.

While we still had the car we drove up to Pisa; it was a cloudy day that turned into some light rain late in the day.  With all the clouds, I was more than a bit disappointed with the ambient light in such an historic and famous place, but even if the light had been perfect, I wouldn't have been able to get the images I wanted; there are people EVERYWHERE!  And if that weren't enough, they're all getting photos of themselves holding up the tower; except for that one guy that's trying to push it over.  Instead of being frustrated at not getting the images I wanted, I shifted my focus and turned my lens on the people.

The next day we went back to Lucca; the weather was very pleasant, and I got some decent images, but we got there during the middle of the day and everyplace seemed to be shutting down for a couple of hours.  We walked around for a bit, then packed it in and went back to Firenze.  We really liked Lucca and would like to spend some more time there; perhaps even staying there.

We turned in our car a day early; there was really no place else we wanted to go, and we were quite satisfied with staying in Firenze and "becoming one" with our new, if temporary, home.

What's left to say?  We left Florence on Friday, February 25th and now we're home...making plans for our return.  If you're interested, here's a link to a good number of the images from this trip I found to be "share worthy" (the "Vatican" images were taken a couple of years ago):