Documented Radiation

Movin on up....

2008-01-09T22:41:00.000-05:00

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Slow as molasses in January...

2008-01-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

Life is spiraling back towards normality. I actually got a real night's sleep last night. This is pertinent because the last time this happened it was 2007. Mid December 2007 at that.

So here are some more shots that I pulled from my memory card. Some from New Year's, some from a park, and some from Tower Shops.

I hope to get a regular and more frequent schedule worked out for posting, and get the site looking less ugly one of these days. Until then, here is what I have ready to go before I run out the door. Enjoy...

HELLO!! KAI LOVE AMERICA!!

I can't be positive, but I am at least fairly certain that he just farted.

Staci, confused by the entire situation, tries desperately to discover how anything can sound THAT bad...

I think this pic turned out really well. (Get it, pic is a homophone with pick, olol, I am hilarious...)

Boring picture overall, but the sky was such an interesting shade of blue that it made the clouds look fake.

FLL tower. A very industrious looking structure.

One of the most fun go-karts that money can buy.

Cody, planning to make an escape attempt...

...and executing the plan. His plan was quickly thwarted by the stroller wielding gorilla, but he learned from the experience, and vowed not to fail again.

After extensive research in the area, this path, in fact, has the least resistance.

New Year's 2008!!

2008-01-04T16:16:00.000-05:00

I took 400+ exposures that night, and weeded it down to 106 that I will put my name near. I will be picking my favorites and posting them here, but the full dump can be found on Flickr (the system to upload images on Blogger is way too annoying for more than about 20 pictures).

If there are any that you want in a printable size or cleaned up for any reason, send me a message to kyle.lichtenberg@gmail.com with what you are looking for, and I will be happy to hook you up.

Whoops...

2008-01-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

I know my template is broken and the background image is missing. Expect the fix within a day or so.

A Whirlwind of Activity...

2008-01-02T23:17:00.000-05:00

The crazy hectic period is almost over. Here are some of the images I have ripped from my storage card during short visits to my terminal...

Emma really missed her calling as a model.

Smells like wood.

Every breath you take...

This lock makes one thing certain: No one is stealing this pole.

No, YOUR park is closed.

Jess's new toy.

Shadow Chad rockin' hard emo stylin' (no one understands Shadow Chad).

Supposed to be a picture of a guitar, but I can't stop looking at his nipple.

Window lickers and wall huggers, imo.

My baby's bag. I love this camera more than any person should love an inanimate object.

Not sure why this sign intrigues me, but it does.

One of several ventilation options on my new beastly grill.

A concrete plant smack dab in the middle of high priced Boca real estate.

It's just water under the grill.

The front of Chad's car. Not a third generation Camaro with a ten inch tach, but it will do.

Please note the dirt obscuring an otherwise sweet reflection.

Car.

This is the cover art for Dave's first album. Dave does not sing or play an instrument, so it will really just be him crying and reading laser related technical documents with flamboyant lyrical meter.

That which we call a salmon / By any other name would smell as sweet...

2007-12-27T11:25:00.001-05:00

Tracie (pictured below) was awesome enough to get us a gift certificate for sushi for Christmas! The three of us went last night, and, since I am a huge annoying nerd, I took pictures of everything.

The founder of the feast.

Zuly, still being gracious enough to smile while I learn my toy.

The waitress took one look at me and figured we must all be dirty. Warm towels and a delaucing were offered. We opted for the first part only.

The tuna tataki was awesome.

The JB roll is one of my favorite ones. Most notably due to the presence of cheese.

The only thing that survived the relentless assault was a single shrimp tail. It will live on to tell the story of the great white sushi beast, so that the legend may grow.

And in with the new...

2007-12-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

Under the Christmas tree, my wife saw fit to place a Nikon D80 paired with a Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED, and a huge high speed memory card, making me the happiest man on the face of the planet. I absolutely love it. Every time I press the shutter release, I grin like a kid in a candy shop. I am still not 100% in sync with its function and features, but here is what I have come up with so far...

They are building two houses across from my parent's place. This will be part of a wall or column at some point, but currently hangs off the side of a slab in all of its rusty glory.

A very happy man for this hour of the morning.

Ah, push it. Push it good.

Chad tried to obsure something I was photographing. Ended up looking pretty neat.

The vessel for our honey is the likeness of an animal unrelated to its production. Just odd.

My brother, excited to learn about razors and similar hair removal technologies.

The ogre looks upset, and his handler is keeping a close watch on him. We don't want another Christmas mauling... I can still hear the screams of the innocent...

Jess, being quite certain that the cat is the only one who understands her.

I don't know what they are smirking about, but I am certain it will not end well for me, or humanity on a whole.

I can't express how happy this shot makes me. It is not particularly good, but when I saw the birds overhead, my camera was in its case, turned off. I was able to draw, power, and snap SIX FREAKING EXPOSURES before they got out of range. (The fuji or my point and shoot would still be focusing by the time they were gone) The speed and power of the D80 is remarkable.

This one is mostly for my wife. Not a particularly great shot either, but they are baby birds, and a mommy watching over them. She will love it.

A single male bird, showing off of all of the hot chicks at the beach. (Get it, chicks?!?! OLOL!!!)

A little one broke off from the pack and started exploring on his own. Before he was herded back in, we bonded a bit.

An older bird, looking disapprovingly at the previously pictured bird.

This is a revisit of a shot I did long ago. Now with better hardware and a polarizing filter on my vastly superior optics. I am happy with the result.

Out with the old...

2007-12-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

I had already taken many, many exposures with the fuji, and transferred them prior to getting my beautiful new monster. Here is the last set of images that came from the SuperZoom that taught me so much...

Goody goody.

For Mr. Mc.

Same train, longer exposure.

Alice (in front) is actually the one making the funny face.

This is why you don't say 'just act natural' at my family gatherings.

This was supposedly an art project. I am fairly certain that it is actually a blood altar related to an ancient monkey god. Also remotely related to the blue meanie.

My brother's chest. One of my favorite pieces of his.

HOLY CRAP!!!

2007-12-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

I have the greatest wife in the world, and she got me the D80 and lens I wanted for Christmas. (I understand an ogre was involved, and I am quite appreciative there as well.) I could not be happier!! Also, I can not stop playing with it long enough to post images. I will try to get some up in the next day or two, but no promises.

And so this is Christmas (eve)...

2007-12-24T13:20:00.000-05:00

The day before Christmas is here. And, oddly enough, I found myself with some down time. Most of the presants are wrapped, things are ready for this evening, and I actually got to spend some time with my images. Here is more random stuff from the camera...

After missing the collar on Han Solo, Boba Fett had to expand his horizons and explore other business opportunities.

Whatever this is, it has seen better days.

A farmer's market on federal highway in Hollywood. Probably a good 75 miles from the nearest thing remotely resembling a farm.

Arwen, putting on her sexy face for the camera.

These paws belong to a great dane. This picture does not do the 1 year old puppy justice. I am quite certain he could pick up baseballs with those beastly appendages, if need be.

I honestly feel bad for the rest of the males roaming the earth, in search of the perfect booty. I have already found it, and you can't have it.

(Singing) And it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in my crapper...

My super-awesome attack/navy rescue/space alien fighting/ninja transport helicopter.

Socks hanging in the kitchen.

Merry Christmas!

December pic dump

2007-12-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pics I dumped off the camera. Expect more regularity in posting in the new year...

I think these birds are conducting (get it, conducting) experiments with electricity and testing the limits of pressure on power lines. It is quite possible that they will soon take over the world... or pop when one bumps the other during takeoff... could go either way.

Not sure what this thing does, but it looked interesting and industrious.

The tank and double doors remind me of Half Life. Hillsboro inlet bridge, I think.

Hillsboro Lighthouse. I don't think it still does much of anything, but it still looks neat.

An awesome mailbox.

The silver tablecloth contrasted amazingly with the salad, cheese, and tomatoes. Also, that lasagna (under the foil) was epic.

Ryan, trying his best to keep it real.

Practice makes perfect (or less suck), and headphones keep everyone from getting angry at you for practice.

Since I took up photography, I knew it would only be a matter of time before Chad's knobs would end up on the internet.

I think he is playing Dashboard Confessional or something. Looks emo imo.

Axe.

Had to crank the shutter speed down to 1/39856973265872634857sec to capture him shredding this hard.

Please note: they do not got to 11.

Axe again.

Codie... or Codey... or something similar. Luckily it is many years before he can correct me.

Busy busy...

2007-12-09T23:56:00.000-05:00

Things have been getting hectic with the holidays upon us, I have been quite busy and a bit behind on posting. So, here is a bunch of pics that have been sitting in my lightroom. A few of frank's car, a few from holiday park, and a few randoms...

A sign near the dock out at Holiday Park offers sound advice.

I was stuck at a bridge, and the blimp was kind enough to draw my attention.

I was setting up the camera for the light out at Holiday Park, took a random frame, and ended up liking it.

The guts of our lighted polar bear on the front lawn.

This is either a set of lights for 4 different soccer fields, or one of the first of out digital overlords who will rule our minds with ruthless and unavoidable microwaves.

Another of our lawn decorations.

It is best to let sleeping ogres lie.

The ogre sled, in a bed of burnt rubber.

Goat.

It would be hard for a plastic grille to look any more aggressive.

Frank and his beast.

Tried a little High Dynamic Range magic.

Keeping it real in a business setting.

El Día de Acción de Gracias 2007

2007-11-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

Finally, an escape from city life and an trip into the woods for a few days. Good food, good family, good memories. And, of course, lots of pictures. Over 300 in total, but I narrowed down my favorites. If you want the rest of them, email kyle.lichtenberg@gmail.com and I will burn you a CD.

The Meadow. In the evenings, pigs and deer can be seen here.

Doing the right thing and helping to dispose of a fallen tree. :)

Canoe and slew rhyme. That is all.

Coffee around the fire in the morning is one of my favorite aspects of camping.

Kerry with a K, taking pictures with her Canon Digital Rebel XT. I like taking pictures of people taking pictures. It is funny to me.

Mike and Laura enjoying some of the finest cuisine that you will not find in a Johnson & Wales course book. I speak, of course, of the Pie Iron.

Sweet Pea, keeping herself busy.

This guy was hiding by the road, keepin it real.

Down in the meadow, a little bit to the west, there was an odd growth. Looks like it should be underwater.

A shot of the campsite.

The hardest parts of cooking Thanksgiving dinner in the woods are maintaining the proper temperature in the ovens, and keeping everyone out of it until it is done. Here, Bill is effectively doing both.

A parasol which has seen better days.

One of the grills, acting as a warming tray.

Pants, drying on the wood pile.

A night around the campfire.

A FINE specimen of pie iron production.

The moon poking through the canopy.

Mike again, enjoying what may be the perfect pie iron.

Most of the fuel used to cook thanksgiving dinner is wood, but the charcoal makes things a little easier to maintain.

Everglades seasoning, a Florida classic. This container, however, is quite empty.

Bill, in his element, coaxing the fire into a raging monster.

The easy-ups keep us dry during storms, and bug free during meals. This, is the heart of those beasts.

The camp on a shady afternoon.

Out on a walk, I found this guy lying in wait.

Mack.

Forged in the sacred fires, the dark lord made an additional pie iron, to rule over the others.

I think this is a baby pine cone.

Extreme heat peeking out of the side of the fire ring.

It was cold this night. The fire was quite popular.

We keep a pretty clean camp, but junk gets through some times.

The road to the promised land.

I am out of fire captions.

Smoke wafting up to the canopy.

Well used grill grate.

Almost etherial path.

I drove past this sign a few times on the way to and from camp. Please note, this is not a cow crossing sign, just a cow sign.

Berries and Carnies

2007-11-18T19:22:00.000-05:00

This set starts out with some shots from one of the parks near the house, in which I found some berries, very neatly placed on a picnic table.

It was odd.

I took pictures.

The rest of the images are from the Broward County fair, which was largely an exercise in shutter speed research. I didn't bring the tripod, so I got to brace against trees, poles, and such for anything over 1/50sec... which was everything. This camera's vibration reduction is based on shutter speed, so it was the only option.

The bright purple berries definitely didn't seem to fit in woth the surrounding flora.

Though they looked delicious, I could not bring myself to try them. I remember too little from the boy scouts to call it safe or stupid.

I believe this was a pirate inspired ferris wheel.

Bazooko's Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday nights if the Nazis had won the war. This was the Sixth Reich. </Thompson>

All of the rides are in spectacular shape. Also: creepy guy looking at camera.

This beast swung you on more axises than I think it is even possible to manipulate.

This ride does not look too bad... until you view a 1/5sec exposure of it.

The pirate wheel from the bottom.

Traci and my wife are in there somewhere... anyone's guess where.

This was the most amazing grill I have ever seen. It has 2 axels. Not typically the best method to use to judge a grill... but undeniably cool.

Days of Camelot

2007-11-12T15:03:00.000-05:00

AKA: The Crappy Renaissance Festival.

We headed down to TY park on Sunday for an incredibly mediocre renaissance festival. If it hadn't been blesses with near perfect weather, and decent vendors, it would have been an incredible bust. However, its few saving graces made it a decent afternoon. Plus, there was a photograph contest, so there were lots of really nice hardware to sneak peaks at.

A slightly dirty and well used maypole by the entrance.

One of my favorite aspects of any fair or festival is food. These little slices of heaven will kill you fast.

Dear lord, not the bunnies.

Best shoes I saw all day.

A company claiming Norse god involvement sold beverages tasting much like A&W products in cool bottles.

Great weather... finally...

2007-11-05T14:58:00.000-05:00

The temperature is slowly coming down from broil in Florida. This means outside is far more enjoyable. So, here are a few shots from a park, and a party where much of the mingling happened on the back porch.

A little lake with a nice, calm reflection. Beautiful day.

Imo, she would buy it. (Thin Zepplin Reference)

A gaggle of costumed gatherers at Alice's Halloween party.

Guitar hero between Chad and Alice, who appears to be lookin at old JD's pooper.

Shortcake, on vacation from Strawberryland, having a beer and a cigarette on the porch.

Can't wait for Thanksgiving.

2007-10-30T14:53:00.000-04:00

My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. Being a fan of food, and having a great family, this is a natural fit. To add to that, we have a tradition of partaking of this holiday in the middle of the woods for several days, shedding as much technology as possible, and enjoying nature and simpler things.

Excitement for the upcoming event and the weather starting to cool off a little has put me outside more frequently, and here are a few pictures that reflect that.

Not starring Mel Gibson or Goldie Hawn.

The back yard and a few puppies. Both of the girls appear to be in the witness protection program.

An active silhouette and interesting shades of pink.

This tree had seen better days, but its willingness to sharply contrast the sky for me makes it a winner in my book.

Waiting at the airport

2007-10-22T10:56:00.000-04:00

My wife went to New York on a shopping trip recently. Waiting to pick her up at the airport, I got a few interesting shots of the underpasses and such at the 'Cell Phone Waiting Area' at FLL.

I am fairly certain that is some sort of bird poo on the sign. What I am not sure of, is how the birds are able to get it on there.

An unexciting and well illuminated underpass.

The east parking garage. Looks really cool at night.

The bottom side of departures drop-off. The lights are really bright, and make a nice contrast to the unlit areas.

OMG PICS!

2007-10-15T16:05:00.000-04:00

I guess I am gonna go to a once a week update. This seems way more achievable goal than daily. I will just put more pictures in them. I recommend scrolling down slowly to prolong the experience.

Back behind an electronics store in the area, I found a compelling wall.

Alice at his birthday party. He has had a few.

Alice thinking taking pictures is hilarious and cracking up. Ok, maybe he has had more than a few.

A grill at a park. I liked the way it looked askew with some negative space to compliment it. Also, I was hungry.

Frisbee golf is an odd sport. Even odder is this contraption which is somehow related.

Same odd device from another angle. I like the grainy chaotic look of it.

A water spout looming over the road at Esterland Park.

New Beginnings

2007-10-03T10:44:00.000-04:00

Somehow I fell out of the habit of taking a few pictures every day and putting them up on the website. This is partially a schedule issue, where I have not had a lot of time to take pictures during periods with favorable light, partially frustration, where I get angry every time I snap a frame on the equipment I have, while thinking about how nice it would be on the equipment I want, but for the most part I would blame laziness.

I do still take pictures. I have a bunch in storage that I just haven't posted. Mostly boat themed or related, as that is where much of my free time has been spent lately. Taking pictures effectively from a platform that bares no resemblance to anything that could be called stable has been a learning experience, but I think pretty much have it down at this point, and the quality of the image produced is on the rise.

New month, new season, new outlook on my hobby. Basically, due to an inability to get too far ahead financially without life cropping up and taking its cut, and the addition of the constant money drain known as 'a boat' (the hole in the water you throw money into), it would seem that my dreams of owning a prosumer DSLR can get stored with my dreams of riding a dragon, wielding a lightsaber, traveling by stargate, and exploring Middle Earth with a Dunedain ranger as a guide (I am a huge nerd, fyi).

I am going to appreciate what I have to work with more (Dad's camera is really sweet, all things considered), take the 20 min to snap some pictures on a daily basis, and stop dragging my feet on the posting. Please hold me to it.

So, without further adieu, here are some recent shots...

One of the many container ships that come in and out of port everglades.

Not sure why I like this shot, but I do.

Chad navigating a speed zone.

At John Lloyd (where we stopped so the girls could use the bathroom), this little guy was chasing the crap out of a lizard that he never caught.

We were floating at the sand bar by the Haulover inlet, and the dash caught my eye.

Sunset at port.

Snapped a shot of a plane overhead, then poked at it in Photoshop a while at Kai's behest.

Another shot of the sunset at port.

Chad and kai, keeping it real.

I had a dream...

2007-09-21T09:08:00.001-04:00

That I was taking pictures. I should really start doing that again...

Back in gear

2007-09-05T15:03:00.000-04:00

Got the camera out today, checked the batteries, and remembered that there were still shots on it from when we picked up the boat. None of the boat itself, but the dock, pier, and surrounding area. I was apparently having a vertically oriented day.

The first pier we strapped The Filthy Maiden to as a team.

I liked the way the water rippled slightly around the pole.

Pier in Daytona Beach.

Back in the saddle

2007-09-04T09:18:00.000-04:00

New computer built, life back in drive (out of the little used 'drive in every direction randomly and spastically' gear. I have accepted the loss of all of my images, and I am going to start snapping photos again. Here is one of our boat to get you started.

The Filthy Maiden

KABOOM!!!

2007-08-21T19:54:00.000-04:00

My computer blew up a few days ago. Ordering new parts, but no pics until things are back up and running. 8^(

The beast has arrived!

2007-08-16T19:52:00.000-04:00

After many years of driving what was available, and what would get him where he was going, Frank has finally purchased himself a new vehicle. Not just any vehicle, but a GTO. It is comfortable, it looks sexy, and is quite fast. I am sure there will be more pictures to follow, but here are the first ones...

It is a sexy beast.

3 characters which which can also be read: 400hp.

So the engine is bigger than the one on my truck... I am not bitter...

Waitin for the world to change...

2007-08-09T15:06:00.001-04:00

Thanks to the lovely and generous Theresa, we were lucky enough to get tickets to the John Mayer show last night. Calling them tickets is a bit of an understatement, however. They were VIP passes to a box with plush seats, a waitress, and room to stretch out. This is, of course, after parking 2 seconds away from the VIP entrance, leading to the VIP lounge, where you don't have to deal with the masses going through security and such.

Then the show itself was nothing short of incredible. Listening to the tracks that are available on his CDs, you can tell that he does, in fact, have a decent amount of talent. However, after seeing him live, you realize what a spectacular musician he really is.

He snuck out during Ben Fold's set, and jammed with them for a good ten minutes, then extended his own songs a few minutes here and there for some both technically and artistically beautiful solos and such. Gained a LOT of respect for his musical ability.

A discussion with a security guy about why the camera I was using was actually NOT a professional camera as he described, ended with the sentence 'You can put it away or I can take it.' Luckily, I had the Olympus with me as well, which he felt was fine. What I gained from the encounter: We don't mind if you take pictures, so long as they aren't that good.

Here is what I came up with:

Woohoo!

The seats were amazing. The 8 seats and 2 tables were our designated area.

The girls. There was a lot of color noise, so they are an artistic Black and White.

Ben Folds was a lot of fun. At one point, there was a ground hum coming from the bass amp... so he wrote a song about it while they were working on it. Later he jumped on the piano to direct an audience participation part of one of his songs.

John (right) came out with a few of his guys (drummer and guitarist... who is on the piano) and played around with them at the end of their set. Last show of the tour, and it looked like they were all having a blast.

I like how the light was bouncing off the silhouettes of the crowd. This was shot with the camera sitting on our table.

The sax player was awesome.

Here is John, singing a song he wrote about his love for me...

The plasmas hanging in the back were a really neat effect. Each was controlled independently, and showed various things throughout the night.

This is how the show would have looked if you were colorblind and drunk.

Found this video when I was poking around youtube...

I have been remis

2007-08-02T14:29:00.000-04:00

I have not been photographing as normal, and as a result I have little to post. However, the archives produced a shot of Annie that I have yet to release (since the royalties she wanted for these rare nude photos are INSANE). So, here ya go.

She seems to have missed her calling as a professional model.

17th Street

2007-07-31T17:01:00.001-04:00

I had been saving this place for when I get my new camera, but their efficiency at destruction and the expenses that are stepping in front of the purchase made me decide to go snap a few off, just in case. All black and white, for no apparent reason.

It looks like they just push the crap off the side into huge mounds, then it gets sorted into different piles, probably based on what can be sold for scrap and such.

The 17th Street bridge had something in its teeth. OLOL!!!

Shoveling stuff off of the 4th floor of what used to be a hotel and restaurant.

They planted new palm trees, no doubt to spruce up the old nasty buildings they are tearing down.

The guy in the Bobcat jumped off the machine, waved and danced a little at one point, but I was between shots and unable to capture the moment.

The famous Pier 66 rotating restaurant.

This side of the building looked particularly tore up. It looks like The Incredible Hulk tore-ass through he middle of the wall on each floor, making ragged openings.

Greynolds once again

2007-07-28T10:08:00.000-04:00

Another trip to this neat park in North Miami.

They were canoing on the lake, so the reflection is less than spectacular, but still an eerie bridge.

This old dude meandered across the path, and just stopped there. Looks like he has a bit of a scar on his back, probably due to his minimal fear of humans.

I stumbled upon this guy as he was reading philosophy and drinking tea, obviously deep in thought.

Neat windy road.

There are a bunch of these stone structures throughout the park, in varying levels of repair.

Playing around out back

2007-07-26T21:59:00.001-04:00

Inspired by sprint commercials and my wife...

Cemetery, Round 2

2007-07-24T01:03:00.000-04:00

Picked out a few more that I liked. Heavy on the black and white, but the halls were all shades of gray stone at the first facility, so it lent itself to the style.

The bathroom had really neat, vintage light fixtures.

Is this gate to keep troublemakers out, or the restless un-dead in?

When it stopped raining, the sun had an interesting effect on this otherwise fairly boring hallway. Also, I peed myself.

These flowers have seen better days. I would be willing to wager the inhabitants of the crypt have too.

This guys was keepin it real all up in his 'heezy fo sheezy' in his words. (The cemetery is off of Sistrunk.)

The light peeked through the gates, making this hallway look significantly more intense than when it was overcast.

I have driven past this place a billion times. Did not realize we had family associated with it or that it did not contain cursed gold and booby traps (though mummies are quite probable).

The inside of the massive structure, on the second floor over the chapel type room.

Cemetery, Round 1

2007-07-23T17:43:00.000-04:00

Went over to see the cemetery today with mom. It was a lot less creepy than I had anticipated. It is a decent looking place, but seems to be in a bit of disrepair. They claim work is going to be starting on the property soon, but who knows the truth of it.

I took a lot of pictures at two of their facilities (One off of sunrise and Sistrunk and one on Davie and 595). I will put up a few more tomorrow, once I decide which ones I like.

American flags stood out strongly on the crypt of a well decorated veteran.

I don't know what this is, specifically, but I can speculate that when the bodies inevitably turn into zombies, they store them underground. This is most likley one of the feeding/ventilation holes, where brains can be dropped to pacify the undead mob.

Some vivid flowers along the bottom row. I took the names off of the walls at the request of the director.

Living Room Lights

2007-07-21T12:48:00.000-04:00

Played with the tripod in the living room last night. Nothing of real note came out of it, but these look pretty neat.

Bedroom lamp shot from the living room.

Lamp behind the couch.

Greynolds in North Miami

2007-07-19T20:47:00.000-04:00

Chad suggested a GREAT park today, which I have driven past a few times but never realized how large it really is. Greynolds park has stone bridges, a little castle, a golf course, a lagoon, a butterfly garden, and a ton more stuff. It is huge. Here are a few pics from there. Also, happy birthday Abby.

In the middle of the park, there is a little castle with an American flag on it. These are some of the steps leading up the structure.

There were a few raccoons on my way out that I shot from the truck (would have rather gotten closer to the ground for a better angle, but I don't think he would have hung out). He was eying my rims, so I snapped a few shots and moved on. Something about his face made me uneasy.

His sister chillin' under a shady tree, obviously unwilling to participate in the theft of my wheels and tires.

Little known fact: When mom was pregnant with Abby, we wanted her to come out as an iguana. Her name would have been Iggy. I know this one is hard to see since he is hidden so stealthily behind the blades of grass, but if you squint, you can make him out.

Mom vs the doorknob in the bathroom. The real winner is anyone who tried to use the bathroom in the last few days and didn't say anything...

A gray day

2007-07-18T16:07:00.000-04:00

Stopped by a park down the end of Johnson street in Hollywood for lunch today. We went there to launch a boat once, when our regular spot was full, and I had thought it was just a boat launch park. I was wrong.

There is a series of boardwalks out over the Intercoastal, a bike path, a dog area, and a large wooden observation structure. Pretty neat place.

I decided to go black and white today, just to try taking some shots with that method in mind, instead of adding it later when it seems like it will work.

Also, there was an adorable raccoon who seemed to know the shortcomings of my current equipment, and was only adorable and accessable immediately after a picture (knowing the S9000 has a large write delay and no cache), or deciding to move abruptly in the time it takes for the autofocus lock (or whatever it is doing in manual focus mode) to let you cycle the shutter. So, he will not be featured here... little bastage...

View looking down fromt he top of the tower structure. Would be great to watch a boat parade from here... when it is not 1200 degrees outside.

I really liked the way that the sun was lighting up the stairs but not the rails. Turned out better than I had hoped with a little tweaking in development.

Looking up from the inside of the tower. The sun was peeking through the steps and giving them a neat little glow.

OMG NO PIX WTF?!?!

2007-07-17T16:50:00.000-04:00

Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today. Or pictures for that matter. Instead, the sliver of my day that is usually spent on this activity will be spent on general photo housecleaning.

Since the end of April, I have accumulated 2,991 pictures (average of 37/day). This is not a huge number by any stretch of the imagination, but when you identify that each one is roughly 18 megs, I am using about 50 gigs of space on my machine, and will never use most of the images.

So I am going to use the powers of Lightroom (software from Adobe that is good now, but has great potential) to clean out my stash, and zap anything I don't need.

I will post up some of the things I find and want to keep that have not hit this blog as I come across them.

Park by the courthouse

2007-07-14T18:08:00.000-04:00

Zuly joined me for lunch today at a little park downtown near the courthouse. For being in the middle of the city, it is in pretty crappy shape. In fact there is a whole condemned building.

Was nice to eat lunch with my wife, and she was kind enough to read a magazine and not complain about me running around taking pictures. :^)

I was shocked to see that there were softballs laying around. Figured they would have had legs. These ones are labeled with the name of another park for some odd reason.

On the condemned building, this vine seems to have taken control of the south side. Given its magnitude and ominous nature, I don't think its claim will be disputed.

Second base, looking towards third.

This interesting structure has two openings on large concrete slabs on either side (not pictured) with heavily chained lids. This is most likely where the emergency anti-alien zombies are stored.

Would a moose by any other name smell so sweet?

2007-07-14T01:06:00.000-04:00

The flash that goes with the fuji would probably not ever be described as 'consistent.' Nevertheless, there are some decent shots that came of the outing. Most of the ones of the band either had obscured faces from microphones and Christmas lights, or closed eyes and silly expressions.

Sepia and grayscale filters seemed to get the right feeling for the evening, and help with the color noise as a result of auto-iso related issues.

Accept no substitutes.

Everyone is looking back, and Bill is grinning. Willing to wager he farted.

My wife, thinking about cheese and cheese related products.

Another shot of the band. I washed out the color to make it look like a really old photo (to match the decor).

This is what dad would look like if he was a black painted plywood cutout of a cowboy.

The one that is set to 10 is obviously the awesome knob.

The font used on the amp makes sure you know that Peavey is hardcore.

Memoiral Park in Delray

2007-07-13T17:29:00.000-04:00

There is a park right on Atlantic and the Intercoastal that houses memorials, a nice looking archway and an artistic fountain. It was about 5000 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, so I did not snap too many shots off.

One of the monolithic memorials. Though this one focuses on soldiers specifically of Jewish faith, the bottom (out of frame) does acknowledge the sacrifice of soldiers of all types.

The fountain had a bit of a ripple to it. The orange mass in the middle is a starfish on a vivid blue tile background.

The fountain was really neat looking, with a bunch of fish embedded in the tile work.

This is a crop of the above image (prior to destructive editing for the web). This camera does really well in situations with lots of light.

This ball is hanging from the top of the fountain. There was a blowfish on the other side, but it was catching a terrible shadow from a palm tree.

Olita River State Park

2007-07-12T18:05:00.000-04:00

Down around the northern part of Miami, there is a large park offering mountain biking trails, a beach, tons of pavilions, and a nice parking lot to eat lunch in (my favorite feature of any park).

Mangroves and similarly durable plants run the length of the beach here. The high water mark seems to be right around the large stones in the shade.

A lonely picnic table in a clearing along the beach. If the tide was in (covering the dark part of the stones), it would be a spectacular place to relax.

This shot took for FREAKING ever to get right, with the auto-focus not caring that I set it to manual, and trying to correct me. Hopefully my next camera won't think I am an idiot.

An access path that disappears around the bend. Though it was a nature trail, but turns out it leads from the parking lot to the trash receptacles near the pavilions.

I really liked the way that the light was catching this rope. Exaggerated the effect using sepia.

A nice blue sky with clouds creeping in from the North.

There was a cement mixer truck who was apparently also on lunch (driver was eating in the cab) as I headed back to my truck. Really liked his springs and the way the that the rust coming off of the cab bolts showed up in black and white.

Airport Park

2007-07-12T01:13:00.001-04:00

There is a tiny observation area at the executive airport, where you can listen to the radio chatter on a provided speaker, and watch aircraft land. Pretty neat. Difficult to get shots of the planes with the equipment I use (not quite as responsive as a DSLR), but there was a chopper crawling by that was kind enough to pose.

Little dinky one, but still really neat to watch it hover and wait its turn to move across the field.

Vibrant white flowers growing on an otherwise boring tree.

There was a large pipe of some sort off in the bushes. It appears that this chain and cable rusted, were painted, and then the paint rusted too.

The first lock is to keep people from messing with the valve. The second lock is to keep people from messing with the first lock.

Power Park

2007-07-09T18:25:00.000-04:00

Just off the main road leading to Chad and Jess's development is a neat park I have driven past 100+ times and never noticed. Hight current power lines loom overhead, occasionally cracking and popping, and generally striking fear into the hearts of anyone who watches enough Discovery Channel to know what is going on there. The I decided to try the AutoISO setting on the camera, with mixed results.

A great looking sign understating the danger of the structure, courtesy of Florida Power and Light.

The support cables are massive and numerous.

I guess once they are in, they paint the bolts with some sort of sealant. These ones did well on their test, and received the highest grade, ruining the curve for the rest of the bolts.

This shot gave me a headache when I had it in the 'lightroom' cleaning up some of the color noise. Thought I would share. :^)

The grass in this area was about waist high, hiding whatever this coupler connected to on the bottom side.

Some palm trees.

This guy ran off as I came up the path. I felt bad at first, but then I wanted to jump in too. The water looked great, and it was scorchin' hot out.

A pipe relating to the water management system (the electronics and such relating to it were to the right) a bit off the path and through a gate that someone left open.

This tree obviously has leprosy.

Un día en la casa de Parsons

2007-07-06T20:53:00.000-04:00

Steve and Dave were delayed in town due to some automotive issues. Between all of us, we got the car taken care of, and we spent a while hanging out with Jess while waiting for the car to be repaired. Had a great time.

Cool looking bowl that resides on the coffee table. Sweet reflection off the granite with the window back light.

Our friend from New York is a stone-cold fox. Sorry ladies, he plays ball for the other team.

Jess in sepia (as requested) with a neat light emanating from the kitchen.

A paper flower that Toni made at the party on the 4th found its way to the coffee table.

Steve and Jess chatting about something amusing.

Two new ones

2007-07-05T16:15:00.000-04:00

Got a few shots from the 4th of July party, but I am not overly thrilled with the quality of the shots, so I have not decided if I am going to put them up yet. Instead, here are two that I took today during lunch.

We have been getting a decent amount of rain the last few days, so the grass is growing like crazy.

I am not sure what it is that draws me in about urban decay, but I love it.

I have been lazy

2007-07-02T11:01:00.000-04:00

And I have not gotten out anywhere to take new pictures. Have some friends in town, so it does not help the situation either. With any luck, when I get around to pulling all of the random stuff off of the CF card, there will be some good shots. However, in the mean time, here are some old shots that I like, and wanted to add to the pile on the new blog...

Anytown, USA.

This art was painted on some of the rocks that border the seawall at the Biscayne inlet. There were a few there, but this one grabbed my attention for some reason.

At the park where we grew up playing conductor on the train, you can no longer climb on or in the old locomotive. However, they did do a little restoration on the beast, including shining up its old nameplate. Looks nice, but I would have rather jumped up and cranked on the old levers that are welded in place, just like old times.

We were going through a pretty bad drought here. Don't worry, the plant pulled through. :)

Secret Woods

2007-06-20T13:44:00.000-04:00

There is a small park off of 84 called Secret Woods. Drove past it constantly when we lived over at Hacienda Cove, but I never stopped by. I finally did with a camera and trusty sammach today.

It would be a neat place to walk around (they have a bunch of boardwalk trails) if it were 20 or so degrees cooler.

I don't recall ever seeing moss this color before.

I though I had found a bunch of ladybugs, but it turns out that they were actually vibrant red berries.

The water was crystal clear with a riverbed of mud. It reflected the sky beautifully, however, instead of coming out as brown water.

Random things that caught my eye

2007-06-19T16:05:00.000-04:00

Tower of some sort at a little park off of federal.

I love the colors they use on the new construction in Delray. Not a bland building in sight.

This stump got totally pwnt by the grass, imo.

Dia de padre

2007-06-19T11:57:00.000-04:00

Had breakfast with the family on Sunday. Dad made biscuits and gravy, and my sister made a frittata (which tasted WAY better than it looks). Food was great, as always, and it was nice to get the whole family together (seems to be harder to do as of late).

Pretty sure that there is a swath of heaven that looks very similar to this.

This tatta was, in fact, free. The upgraded version, tatta pro, required a subscription fee and online activation.

If there is one thing that my father, my brother, and I agree on, it is our preferred hot sauce.

Hollywood Beach

2007-06-15T15:01:00.000-04:00

Hollywood beach has an 'old Florida' type feel to it. The wood is a little warped, the metal is a little rusted, and many of the storefronts, though still in operation, are falling into disrepair. A neat area, but I don't know if I would want to hang around after dark.

And a few new ones.

2007-06-14T21:46:00.000-04:00

Spending a lot less time in Photoshop since I switched to Dad's camera. It is nice to be able to get the desired results with the hardware instead of having to rely on 'post processing.'

A few reposts

2007-06-14T18:45:00.001-04:00

Trying out the upload and arrange settings with a few older images (varying sizes, too).

I think I have tried them all...

2007-06-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

I have gone through about 20 or so possible blog candidates in the last week, and none of them have really stuck out. The ones that are really good have bad photo tools. The ones with great photo support have little to nothing in the way of text-blog kinda stuffs.

The ones that are in the middle of the road on both fronts want to crapofy my photos to save space.

Blogger.com seems to have the best feature set, and be the most customizable. I am gonna try here (again), and see if I can live with the shortcomings.

More to follow.