Category: Photography

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The Statue of Income Tax

Inflatable Liberty
It’s a sign of the times. In our town, waving a sign isn’t just a job, it’s a career. Here we see Lady Liberty and her employees, on Lake Boulevard.
Sign guy
There is dignity in all labor, but you’d be hard pressed to identify that quality here; dressed up as a mock Statue of Liberty, hawking income tax services to passers by. I am in the car reflected in the window.

I was reminded only a little of the real statue. The original statue is a powerful monument, along with nearby Ellis Island, gateway to waves of hopeful immigrants. Below, we see one of my favorite family photos, from one of our trips to New York. It was taken by a passerby, who got on the ground with my camera to fit us in the frame with the non-inflatable version of Lady Liberty. It was a nice moment.

Family in New York

Our icons are disposable, apparently useful to the extent to which we can commercialize them. I just hope I don’t ever have to wave signs to eat.

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Amphibian affection

Frog
One of the big (secret)bonuses of being a real estate agent is going into so many houses, and seeing how people really live. I’ve seen some unusual pets, but I hadn’t seen a frog in somebody’s livingroom before. She said it was two years old, and had arrived as a tadpole you could see right through.

I moved up close for a better look.

“Kiss me” it said, “I am a frog prince.”

“Uh, sorry,” I whispered. “Not today.” A talking frog.

“Lick me then.” the frog continued, “I send colors you can hear, and sounds you can see.”

“Hmmmm,” with wrinkled brow as I looked it in the eye, “Gonna have to pass on that. Hey, isn’t that whole licking thing about toads, not frogs?”

The frog spoke no further.

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Insane Clown yard art

We drove by this on our way to show the house next door, southeast of Anderson. Every Realtor’s dream, to have yard art like this in the neighbor’s yard. Needless to say, our client was not thrilled with the house next door. Looks like a really bad horror movie scene.
Insane clown yard art
And of course they felt compelled to put it under cover for protection. Of course.

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A basket of Tulips

February is early Spring in Shasta County. We have lots and lots of emerging bulbs.
Tulips
These showy tulips look wonderful all bunched together. Ironically, Tulip Mania was responsible for an economic bubble and collapse, similar to the housing cycle we are experiencing now. From Wikipedia: “At the peak of tulip mania in February 1637, tulip contracts sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.” It seems our economic history is filled with bubbles and collapses.
Tulips
It’s hard to capture an image that accurately displays their deep scarlet loveliness.
Tulips
Such is the transitory nature of beauty.

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Hawk on a limb photo

Took this one yesterday. Only got one shot before it flew off. Still, I like the composition.
Hawk on a limb
I like to shoot birds. With my camera, I mean. Still, my shots are nothing compared to what you can find here:
http://CloudBoxer.com
Birds fighting in air. Really amazing high shutter speed shots. Seeing those, I don’t think the dinosaurs went extinct. I think they just became birds. Click on the image to go to their site:

Sparrows in flight

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1,474 Megapixel view of the Inaugural

Click on the image below to see a spellbinding view of the recent innaugural by David Bergman.
Obama inaugural in impossibly detailed resolution

The photographer’s blogsite is here:

http://www.davidbergman.net/blog/2009/01/22/how-i-made-a-1474-megapixel-photo-during-president-obamas-inaugural-address/

Or at GigaPan here:

http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374&window_height=867&window_width=1663

Really quite a technical photographic achievement that now has become an amazing artistic accomplishment as well. Well worth your time. Scrolling around, you really get a feel for how cold it was. And it’s also interesting to see just how many cameras were there, between the crowd and the pros. Obviously, it was an important moment, and it was covered. I have done many stitched panoramas for online home virtual tours, but this is more extraordinary by an order of a magnitude. The equivalent of 220 photos stitched.

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Dinner and a Movie at the Cascade, with a few pix

Dinner and movie
We attended last evening’s Dinner and a Movie at the lovely Cascade Theater.
Dinner and movie
Sponsored by chef Doni Greenberg of Food for Thought/A News Cafe among others, this series showcases a food themed movie, and then features a cooking demonstration onstage. Last night, it was Doni, along with Nancy Matthews of Chocolat de Nannette fame. Mmm. Truffles. They have the recipe at the website. I learned a new word for mouth-watering: Ganache. You can click on the link for more.
Dinner and movie
This was the 3rd in the 4 part series. The movie “Babbette’s Feast” was unknown to me. To say it was slow starter would be an understatement. But the film really grows on you, until the climax, which was as satisfying as the treats Doni and Nancy had made for us all.
Dinner and movie
We had a glass of Shiraz and enjoyed the exquisite treats they’d made for the audience.
Dinner and movie
Slow-shutter hand-held view. What a great evening! I hope they continue the series.

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Redding Dragstrip Awards Banquet

Dragstrip Awards Banquet
Saturday night we attended the Awards Banquet for the 2008 Drag Racing Season for the Redding Dragstrip. It was held at Win River Casino Meeting upstairs. They gave a great prime rib dinner.

WinRiver Casino

We really like the staff of Win-River. They are very professional and every bit as good as any meeting providers I’ve ever encountered. And I’ve met many, in years at management at Kodak. I was impressed.
Dragstrip Awards Banquet
I’m only a casual fan of the sport, not a racer. I do their website, and do enjoy taking pictures out there. And it’s important to me that the dragstrip provides a safe place for street racers who would otherwise be racing on your streets. I really like that among the pros, it’s very much a family thing. There were lots of kids running around the banquet. A great time for all.
Dragstrip Awards Jacket