Blog Silence

One reason I haven't been posting recently is that staying on the internet here is highly frustrating. The internet provider here has a monopoly and their service is crap. The connection cuts out every few minutes. I spend half my time simply trying to reconnect to the web. It is analogous to trying to drive anywhere in this city. I'm spending half the time "traveling" sitting at a stop light going nowhere. It makes me less willing to get out of the house.

Thunder Over Louisville

The largest display of fireworks in North America is here in Louisville and marks the kick-off of the Derby festivities. There were an estimated 800,000 people there! It was 30 minutes of highly choreographed pyrotechnics. This photo is not in any way representative, but I think it's visually interesting. Right around sunset a volley of the snappers was sent up. This is some of them going off.

On-Line Photos

At the urging of a couple 0n-line friends I have opened a Flickr account in order to post more photos. The link is to the right. I have included some of the same ones that are in the Tribe album, but also some different ones. I had many more to post but had already reached my monthly quota and was prevented.

Yesterday I purchased a zoom lens to go with my new Nikon. I'm hoping to have it by Monday. Being able to use a good telephoto lens is one of the reasons I upgraded cameras.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663945@N05/

Attack Goose

I was out for my weekly photo shoot walk when this silly goose charged me. I don't know what got it feathers all in a twist, but it seemed to take a dislike to me.

Lazy Sunday

I got up early to catch the light of the morning sun. I was going to go for a run when I got done taking pictures, but it has gotten a too hot. Maybe I'll go later.

This photos is a regular shot without any photoshop trickery involved. I was fortunate enough to catch the light of stained glass on one surface and the scenery behind me reflected on the glass in front of me all at the same time.

Photo Op

Yesterday was a perfect day to go out and take pictures, so I headed the the best place I know around here - the local cemetery. It's large and old and as well kept as any park. Dogwoods and early flowers are beginning to bloom. When the cemetery is in full bloom it will be a profuse with color in every corner. I enjoyed walking around for a couple hours taking shots.

A Springtime Casualty

Looks like this lil' guy won't be seeing summer time. It was not even as big as a dime through the middle. I was walking down to my favorite place to take photos when I saw this in the sidewalk. A large bush was overhanging the sidewalk but I didn't see a nest in it.

Damned Squirrels

The landlords plugged the holes in the building the squirrels were coming through and that kept them out of a while. But it's 4:02 a.m. Sunday morning and the reason I'm up is because they were running, thumping, and scraping around so much I couldn't sleep. There's nothing I can do about it. I'd kill them with my bare hands if I could.

To understand my extreme reaction to this squirrels it might help to know that I put up with similar situations in countless shelters on the Appalachian Trail so my patience tank for this sort of thing is on empty. Furthermore, Sarah refused to make the call to the landlord for 2.5 months the last time we had this trouble.

I didn't take this picture.

Taking Photos

I have gone out on several walks lately with the idea of taking photos. I got a few gems from the batch. On the most recent beautiful day when the local park was mobbed with parents, children, and dogs, I got the chance to experiment with the fast action setting on the camera.

To any who are interested, the link posted to the right will lead you to more of my most recent photos on-line.

Spy In The Sky

The white rectangle with the arrow pointing at it is my '71 VW bus parked at Burning Man. This is a satellite image.