Wine Tasting

My wife and I don't do much drinking.  We actually don't really do it at all.  Since we got together six years ago, I have had one beer, about one glass of wine, and a couple mouthfuls of vodka.  She has had less than half of that.  We do, on the other hand, do free things.  So when we were notified that our also not so big on the drinking but big on the free things doing friends were going to a free wine tasting (at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire) , we opted to join them, figuring the free side of it negated the fact that I'd be drinking.  I can now say I have had about one and a half glasses of wine in the past six years.

 Fill 'Er Up

Our little group are real connoisseurs when it comes to wine.  We use terms like motor oil to describe the essence of fine wines and flock to the booths that have slushy wine because it's a slushy...it's gotta be better than the regular thing.  

Subtle Colors

I won't lie, some of them were very good.  The blueberry wine was quite delicious.  I tried to emulate it's subtle blues in this image.  

Ideas for Series

I came up with two new series ideas today.  One isn't really mine, I've seen it all over the place, in fact.  The other is mine...as far as I know.  The first is an urban alphabet of sorts.  Basically, I find different things that you might come across in a city that resembles a letter of the alphabet.  My intention is to get the entire alphabet, as well as 0 - 9.  This then allows you to write out a word or name or what have you with your hometown, or whatever city you chose to do it in. 
My second series idea was to create a self portrait.  My desire is to, from time to time, take a picture of different body parts and then create a collage from those single shots.  In addition to just having these separate shots to piece together, I also will be shooting each body part in a situation or with an object that relates to that body part as well as exposes something about me, such as an hobby, an interest, a characteristic, or whatever.  The final collage will be both an actual portrait of me as well as a less physical, more metaphorical portrait of me.

Urban Alphabet

This will be an urban alphabet from the quaint little town known as Ephrata.  The first three letters of the alphabet are shown here.  Limited to these letters, I can create the abbreviation for "already been chewed", a necessary abbreviation for the younger generations, as well as the word "cab."  That's about it.  Once I build my repertoire, the possibilities will be endless.

My Left Hand

This photo shows not only my left hand, but also my love for the outdoors.  I am grasping a tree in the photo, but it looks enough like a rock that the image can be taken as pretty much any nature related physical activity...rock climbing, hiking, climbing a tree....anything.

So It Goes.

Today's post is a game.  Someone, anyone, know what book this phrase can be found in.  It's one of my favorite books of all time.  By one of of my favorite authors of all time.

 So it goes.

In my copy, it is found on the bottom of page 214.  Maybe that will help...go to the library and check every book's 214 page.

Wildflowers

My wife put some pretty wildflowers in a pretty mason jar.  I needed to find something worthy of being photographed.  The events converged and this is the result...

Not so Wild Anymore

These wildflowers are now tamed flowers.  I love the soft background and the contrasting definition of the petals.

Strawberry Patch

Today was my wife's last day of college.  Within just a few months, she will be going to grad school.  In Ireland.  I get to go with her.  I thought this was deserving of a gift of sorts.  We have been talking about getting a plot of land to grow some fruits and vegetables on for the summer.  I figured, in case we don't get one, we should have something regardless.  So I purchased some strawberry plants.  As well as a little makeshift planter.  And I gave it to her.  She was quite pleased.

From Within The Strawberry Patch

Sadly there are only two strawberry plants.  Few things look more awesome than a row of strawberry plants disappearing into the distance.  Never ending strawberry shortcake.  Glorious.

The Earth

I had pretty decent pictures of an earth mover today.  I wasn't satisfied with them for some reason.  It wasn't about the quality of the pictures, they were fine pictures, I guess I just wasn't feeling like the landscaping, development developing, forest destroying machinery should be today's subject.  So instead, let's take a closer look at the dirt, and the cracks that appear when the earth is pushed around.

Cracks Appear

This dirt is too packed.  It's unnatural.

Alleys

There are a bunch of alleys around my house.  A bike ride down them will result in sights such as the following...

Paint The Walls

Here is my attempt at an "urban art" stylized image.  A can of paint was slowly emptying itself into the streets and down the wall.

  Pile O' Bricks

Nothing more than a pile o' bricks.  Except for the interesting pattens in the wooden planks, in the way the wooden planks are positioned, and in the shingled wall.

More Mandolins

I am excited.  I am doing my first photography stand at a craft show tomorrow.  Hopefully it goes smoothly and is slightly profitable.  If not, oh well, I shoot for myself...if other people enjoy it and want to give me money for it, great.  At least I have my mandolin project, which will be monetarily beneficial.  You will probably see a few new mandolin photos as my daily photos as I try to get exactly what my buyer is looking for and since I will have my brother's rather nice mandolin for the next week.  Here are today's quick ones.

F Style Mandolin

Beautiful instrument.  Fairly standard positioning.

Angled Mandolin

A much less conventional angle.  Not sure if I like it, but different can be good.

Pepper Grayscale Study

Three delicious sweet peppers.  A yellow, an orange, and a red.
Once these three peppers were converted to the grayscale, where they fall on the scale becomes visible.  The red, the one all the way to the left is much farther from the orange (middle) then the orange is from the yellow (right).  Also, I would have thought that yellow would have been closer to absolute white than orange is.  Unless my photograph didn't convert properly, or the lighting ruined something, I was wrong, and orange is actually closer.

Pepper Grayscale Study
I wonder if we would be as inclined to eat fruits and vegetables if they were just shades of gray.  

Commisioning a Symphony of Mandolins

I was commissioned to create a canvas print of a mandolin.  I don't have the beautiful mandolin that will be used for the final photo, but I do own one.  I used mine as a stand-in, hoping that I could get a good understanding of the curves and lines and how best to work with them.  Here is the first attempt.  Hopefully the purchaser finds it suitable for just that - a first attempt.

The Lines and Contours of a Mandolin

The way the curving accented sides of the mandolin end in darkness makes it appear that the darkness and the mandolin are one and the same.

Vegan Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

This delicious soup was my addition to Easter dinner at my mother's house.  I also made a garlic and lacinato kale dish, but that was just a quick three minute side.

Vegan Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

I used fifteen pounds of potatoes.  There was maybe one bowl's worth remaining.  I'll consider it a success.

Midnight Mist

Apparently having rather busy weekends gets in the way of posting pictures...also taking them.  Luckily I had my camera with me while driving around with my wife, brother, and his girlfriend.  I shot this photo with a long shutter speed, partially to blur the outside world (I was in a moving car (hoping the extra blurry effect would be interesting)) but more so because it was late at night and without it I would not have been able to get an image at all. 

Midnight Mist

It might not be anything special, but the minimal amount of defined subject makes for a style rather different from my usual style.  The trees were lost in the dark mist to begin with.  The long shutter speed made them even less defined.

People

It's late.  I took this picture after midnight, but it still counts for my 4.22.11 picture.
Here is my brother and his girlfriend.

How Nice

How nice?  So nice.

Ode to Scruggs

Today's photo is a banjo.  The accordion from the other day got me into the instrument photography mood.  Nothing special today, just an isolation with some color alterations.  Enjoy.

Ode to Scruggs

 Earl Scruggs is known for a certain three finger picking style.  I don't know how he would feel about this modern-ish looking banjo, what with his back country, blue grass background.

Where Have all the Flowers Gone?

...young girls have picked them every one. 
A nice bike ride led my wife and I to a field with many a wildflower.  My wife picked a few and knelt down to tie them together.  She then proceeded to tie the tiny bouquet to the handlebars of her bike.

The Tiniest Bouquet

I had a hard time trying to decide if this should be in black and white or color.  The obvious choice for flowers is color, but I really like the simplicity of the photo and I feel like the black and white adds to that simplicity.

I Brake for Flowers

I couldn't let both photos be in black and white, and wouldn't have.  This photo is definitely better in color.  I am intrigued by the bokeh underneath the hand brake.  It looks like motion blur, but it definitely is not. 

For Eugene

I've been listening to a lot of Gogol Bordello as of late.  They are a fantastic gypsy punk band, and I would recommend them to anyone.  Even those that are fans of neither gypsy nor punk music.  They create such a unique sound that I feel it is impossible to categorize them and thus, really feel that they deserve a listening to by everyone and anyone before judgments are made.
I figured that with listening to so much of them lately, I should do a picture in honor of them.  I have an old accordion laying around and, well, there are few better things to photograph while listening to the wheezing sounds of an actual one.  The beautiful wheezing sounds, mind you.

Accordion Isolation

I've done detail shots of this accordion before, but felt that this time, the whole thing needed to be in the image.  I love the way the slightly open and curved chambers blend and disappear into the black background.

Mushroom Forest

Today's subject became part of a delicious spaghetti dinner.  There are few better spaghetti sauces than ones that are a combination of every vegetable you have laying around.  And so the mushrooms I had sitting in my fridge doubled as my subject and my dinner.

Mushroom Forest

At the risk of sounding like some Mario level, I shall call this photo Mushroom Forest.  This image is worth two extra lives.

Mushrooms Before Swine

...Or at least mushrooms under swine.  It didn't take long for Confucius the Pig to make his way into one of my photos.  Here he is playing "King of the Mushroom."

Vegan Garlic and Herb Knots

My wife and I did some baking today.  She is the master baker in the house, but I am the master creative force behind her amazing baked goods.  So really, we are nothing without each other.  I knew exactly what I wanted, and I knew what ingredients would provide the flavor for that.  My only issue was the lack of knowledge on how to make a good dough for rolls.  Enter wife.  She made the dough, I threw in the necessary herbs and garlic, we waited for it to rise, then we weaved the dough into braids and knots and baked them.

Basket of Deliciousness

These garlic and herb knots and braids tasted even better than they looked.

Confucius the Pig

I've been toying with the idea of a series that would be based around a single figurine making its way into many different scenarios and environments.  The only thing really holding me back was the lack of an awesome figurine.  Today, while chopping up some mushrooms for lunch, I looked over my shoulder and saw the perfect thing for the series.  I apparently had missed this little guy every time I searched my house for something awesome.  Maybe I just never checked the kitchen, it seemed like a reasonable assumption to assume nothing awesome would be found there.  I was wrong.  Today, I present the subject of many future photographs... 

Confucius the Pig

This little pig is filled with wisdom.  He is an awfully photogenic swine, what with his quizzical expression.

A Study Of Energy Transfer

My friend and I decided to go run amok with a camera.  He is a ninja, so we ended up doing some high speed shots of him doing ninja-like things.  Here is a study of the motion required to send a rock through the air at warp speed.  It is easy to see in each frame where the energy is building up and where it is being transferred to.

Truly Ultimate Power (a Study of Energy Transfer)

Note the 6th frame, the frame right before the release of the energy/rock.  It is the only frame that the ninja appears tense in.  Every other frame is either the fluid motions leading into the release or the continued fluid motions of the spin after the release.  It is in a single split second that all the pent up energy from the spin is dominated by the ninja and then let loose.

Dominated Energy

A larger image of the ninja exposing his truly ultimate power.