A Nice Saturday Afternoon..

I started the day, thinking "darn, it's supposed to rain all day, no photos today."

Among my errands for the day was to take a dirtbike to Orange Beach R/C Hobbies and Powersports on Canal Road.    Their mechanic/owner, Matt is good people and does great work.

Since I was to be in Orange Beach, I took a canvas print, to Bravo Taco.  Really cool little upscale-taco place.  (Yep, there are such things).    The owners are great people and they have amazing food!   They were kind enough to display one of my canvases in their store, which I thought was super-cool.  They actually would like some more as, well..  I'll have to get those printed when I'm able..

Surprise, no rain so I made it to the Gulf State Pier in the last minute  for some sunset shots.   I'm pretty happy with a few.  Typical ratio, 3 or 4 out of 300 are keepers, I think :)

On the walk back to the car, after washing the wet sand out of my converse, this view caught my eye.   Clickity Clickity Click, as it were.

.. when they DO make them like they used to...... and.. the Nikon D4. I don't understand.

I suppose the exception to the "They don't make them like they used to" rule would be restorations.   I really admire the craftsmanship and detail that goes into restoring classic cars, antique pieces of americana, etc.   American Restoration has become one of my favorite shows.

Sidebar.  The D4.  Can someone 'splain something to me?

I'm going to show my ignorance on professional photography, camera science and many other things here, for a second.   So, the D4 was announced last night... everyone seems stoked about this $6k shooter.    <a href="http://nikonrumors.com" rel="nofollow">nikonrumors.com</a> has some great coverage on it.  As does, The Verge.

K, so I undersand the allure of speed.   And I'm sure it is an engineering feat to get the little mirror to flip up and down 11 times a second. bravo, smart guys at Nikon.    16.whatever megapixels is huge by wide and can print huge prints.   Full frame is awesome, though coupled with 16.whatever megapixels, I'd argue a "pixel density" issue but whatever.

The thing I don't get... is ISO.   Everyone seems thrilled about a camera that will shoot a 1 billion ISO or whatever.   I've never shot with a top-end Nikon, so maybe someone could drop the knowledge on me why ISO 16 bazillion is a good thing?   My frame of reference, is that I'm a guy that takes pictures of still things in good light or in bad light with a tripod and can't stand an ISO 6400 shot of my daughter because her eyes look like a drunk Picasso with all of the little jaggy noise fragments.   And noise reduction... helps.. but doesn't make it look much better.

I'd prefer to take a thousand pictures of her at the lowest ISO rating possible and pray they turned out okay.

So,... to the question... do the higher ISO images coming out of these super-expensive cameras look that much better than those coming from their Best Buy available Nikon cousins?

...or are people just paying through the nose for full frame, super-fast shutter, buffer..?

"They just don't make em' like they used to!"

 As I get a little older, I feel myself slipping, slowly, into that archetype of a crotchety, grumpy old man.    "Get Off My Lawn!", "When I was a kid...", "These kids these days and their ZZ-Top..."

K, so maybe not that last one.  

The "hardwiring of a person's habits", taught to me by the CFO of Standard Furniture, is one of the reasons I got back into photography.  I wanted to add some creativity to the nerv-y, grey-matter soup that makes up my brain.   

One of those hardwired ideals that has made its way into my thought patterns, is that they really don't make em' like they used to.

I became a homeowner at 18, kinda out of necessity.  The home situation with my parents wasn't quite ideal and
I needed a place to live, so we built a (small) house.    An 18 year old, should.. never.. be trusted to make decisions like that, by the way... But, I digress.   

 5 years into home ownership, the A/C unit started to die.   $1000 in maintenance and two years later, it died entirely.   $4,000 repair, cha-ching.  That (new) coil has been replaced, praise God - under warranty, 6 times now.

 7 years into home ownership, the grinder pump went.    I fixed and replace that myself, by the way. yuck.

At the 9 year mark, the good ol' trusty dishwasher blinks out and the parts are no longer available.  3 months later, the $600 Electrolux we bought to replace it went back in failure, we decided if these things are "disposable", get a cheap one, anyway. 

At the 11 year mark, washer and dryer.  I replaced with used ones.

I'd say we have a year before the Cycle starts over again.  Maybe less!

If I look at the debt that I've accumulated in my life, I would say that a strong 60% of it was in response to unexpected breakages that occurred at bad times.  (The other 40% is failed business attempts, "wouldn't it be cool", and gotta have that;  bad decisions.)

One of the reasons I tend to feel that "The Wal-mart Effect" is a problem for the World economic situation, is illustrated in this allegory.   How many people have debts associated with unexpected, big-item re-purchases of appliances that are shoddily built, yet considered necessary in today's society?    

What about cars?  Isn't this what got GM and Ford in trouble to begin with -- cars that died at 40k miles and the global recognition of Hondas and Toyotas still running the roads with 300k miles on them?

A CTO friend of mine confided in me yesterday that he felt like Apple products were a ripoff because of their high price.   I'm sure you could make the same claim about Nikons, Canons, Sonys...

Sure you pay a little bit of "name brand tax" and in the Apple example you pay for Jobs and Ive's design language but in the end, doesn't something that lasts longer and costs more up front, save you money over the alternative?

Companies building things with a focus on cutting costs means they make crappier gear, pay employees less, innovate less, all putting down pressure to reduce salaries and expendable income.

My personal opinion is that you can have your Wal-mart.   In my commercial utopian ideal, a refrigerator costs $4,000 and lasts your lifetime.  The guy who built it makes six figures, as does the guy who sold it, marketed it, delivered it.   

Yes- yes.. this would never work but a guy can dream, right?

In full disclosure I worked for wal-mart of several years. As an equal opportunity employer, they treated all employees equally, like crap. But, hey the prices are low.. so we keep shopping there, don't we?

I develop brand loyalty to companies that prove to me they can build quality products that last.   Right now, I love my iMac.  My 3 year Samsung notebook and televisions, my Nikon, my Canon AE-1, my foreign car with 120k miles on it that still drives like new, the 1980s Sears ColdSpot Freezer in my utility room -  have all earned my respect as a consumer.   

I really wish that "they" would start making them.. like they used to. 

Private Beach Somewhere..

 Wouldn't it be awesome for some mega celebrity to owe you a big favor and let you borrow their hookup for epic-secluded vacation destinations?    Notice, I went "the favor" route.  Because I think being a celebrity probably isn't worth the hassle, riches or not.

When I listen to Jimmy Buffet's song, Autour du Rocher, despite not quite fitting with the song-line, I often envision the servants, workers, groundskeepers and other help" of Necker Island partying in this secluded paradise when the celebrity guests and Richard Branson are no longer around.  

For me, Seclusion is an essential quality of what makes something paradisical. (That's not a real word.  I hereby INVENT it!! )  In fact, in my ideal fantasy beach, no one else is invited.   Not my family, not my friends, no mythical creatures, not Clark W. Griswold's hawaiian Pool/Lingerie counter babe.   No one!  No Soup for you!   It isn't that I don't like people, I often do find people whose company I enjoy to keep but the mental image of a tropical paradise sort of resonates with me as a comfy hut amidst a lush tropical surrounding with an open patio, mere steps away from the tide.    A couple of chairs to lounge in, catch a book or listen the ipod.

Endless fulfillment of drink and food orders without ever seeing another person. I'd like a Mojito.  WOW -- Lookie here, a Mojito.  As if Q from STTNG evacuated Oahu for a private stay with the twitch of his nose.  (Or was the Jeannie?)

But, I'm a resident of a small redneck town that lives in a small redneck house in a small redneck community.   These sorts of things aren't in my grasp... or... are they!?

I absolutely love our winters here.   After work on this day, I found my way to the public park at the foot of the Alabama-Florida state line.   iPod playing, it was just me, a tripod & camera with not a soul around.   In fact, I never saw another human being the entire walk.  

Standing by the Gulf, music playing, waves lapping in and not seeing another soul around... is a little creepy... and ... a lot of AWESOME.

I hope your return work week is going well! 

World Showcase Lagoon

 At Disney, Last year.  My son had fell asleep and my wife and daughter decided to shop for a bit.   I decided to geek out, so I wore a Go Pro on Time-Lapse mode, and walked around the World Showcase Lagoon for a "Speed Photo Walk".    I stopped a few times with a tripod and my Nikon for an HDR shot.  This was was on those stops.  

.. one of these days I'll cut together the helmet-cam footage into a video or something :)

The Sun Rises on a New Year

It is an exceedingly rare event for me to witness a sunrise.   I live about 20 miles from the Gulf and I am not a morning person :). However, this day I felt compelled to make my way to the Public Beach at Gulf Shores.    I envisioned this shot in my head on the way down but I was really surprised by the rays shooting up from the horizon.  I think it turned out much better than my "plan."  Though, I can take no credit for that..

I once heard it said that..

God is a master painter and the sky is His canvas.

..and I never really caught the meaning until I started this photography project and became a better observer of nature...

I suppose we all return to work, this week.    As such, my posts will be a bit more spaced, probably two or three days between posts for a week or so while I get back into the groove.

Catching Some Rays

On this first day of 2012, I just wanted to wish you and yours the absolute best!  I hope 2012 presents endless opportunities for you and your loved ones.    Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year,

Bill Dodd

The Road Ahead

This will be my last post for the year.   I wanted to spend the next few days off, focused more on viewing others' posts than spamming the world with my own.   Plus, it is time to go dark for a few days and enjoy the end of the year with my family.

2011.    Wow, this year delivered a diverse array of experiences and lessons!

I started the year, in negotiations with Microsoft for a life-changing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chase my development dreams.   My dad's cancer was supposedly cured, my mom's health was improving, opportunities around every corner.   I had a laser-focus on family & career.

As the Microsoft deal started to move forward, we got word dad's cancer was indeed, no longer in remission.  My laser-focus now shifted to being a goog caretaker.   I hope that I was.  This culminating in the most macabre experience of celebrating my Son's life (his 2nd birthday party) while my dad, literally days from death in my home and under my care during his final days.   Mom, fell ill with lung-related illness, and she - too, passed from this earth 3 weeks later.

In the midst of this maelstrom of life and death.  The passing of my parents as the yang, witnessing my baby son become a little boy and my little girl begin her education as the yin.  

I learned from the example of a few precious friends what it is to be a great friend to someone and I've learned the importance of culminating those relationships more carefully in my own practice.  I've lost the patience to wait until tomorrow to achieve my goals and I've gained patience in tolerating the ins-and-outs of life here on Earth.

I learned the importance of slowing down, on occasion, to take the scenic route home because, at the end of the day, our journey's all take us to the same place and the adventure is how we get there.

To old  and new friends alike and to you other like-minded travelers, in earnest I wish you a very blessed & Happy New Year.  May the road ahead bring out the best in each of us.

Orion Walk

I get the opportunity to stop and appreciate the night skies more than a lot of people but almost always from my back yard.   This evening I got to enjoy them on the epic gulf coast beaches, in epic weather, while photo-walking with friend and epic photographer, awesome-fun dude -- Mr. Brody, himself.   

I'm beside myself to see some of what he came away with from another great golden hour photo walk.

I had to get a little noisy on this one to get the light I wanted.   The effect is still kinda nice, I thought.

Looks alot better than most of my starry night shots, that have my backyard shed in the picture :)

Sunset, Beneath the Pier

Going with the Theme of some of my favorite shots from the year..

After work one afternoon, I went to the Gulf Shores Public Beach at the Gulf States Pier.   It was cold, clear and the tide coming out had created this interesting little 'island' to stand on beneath the Pier, which gave a perspective of being in the water when looking up and down the beach.

I remember the day, well - because I encountered another photographer during the trip.   I saw this guy in his Mid-20's with his camera on a tripod and rifling through his gear bag for something.    A wave surprised him and he nearly knocked the tripod in the water trying to get his bag to safety.   He was about 20 ft away as the wave started to roll back out and I could see the tripod starting to move as if it would tump over.   I took 4 steps and put my hand on one leg of the tripod to steady it -- didn't want the guy's gear to go into the Gulf.

At which point he came over and yelled at me to get off his gear and then jeered at me some snide remark about having a Nikon.    I hung around but he did not.    Angrily or frustratedly, he packed his stuff up and left.   

The patience paid off and I witnessed this wonderful sunset.

It was at this point I made the distinction between photographers and programmers.   Programmers can be jerks but it's likely just a social awkwardness wrapped in layers of self-consciousness.   I think some of the jerky photographers I've met probably fit this mold, too.    I have.. however.. met far more cool photographers and artists, than engineers, though..  

The Soldier and the Boy

Now that Christmas is over, I'm excited to get back to sharing out some non-Christmas-y things.    Back to the theme of sharing some of my favorite shots from the year..

In January, 2011 I visited the U.S.S Alabama for a really productive photo walk.   On the way back, driving down the causeway, I decided to stop at this abandoned hotel, the old Ramada Inn on the Mobile Bay causeway.

During the summer of 1993 my family experienced a house fire.  Our home in Indiana went up in the most curious and as it turns out: illegal, way.  We were on vacation in the area when the fire occurred and ended up staying in Foley for a few weeks.   My Dad found work in Mobile, AL - working in the used tire business with an acquaintance from the past. 

It turns out their meeting in Mobile wasn't quite so happenstance.

A months later, an insurance investigation led to the conclusion the house fire was the cause of arson.

I'll write more on that, another time. :)

So, homeless and transplanted to the beautiful Gulf Coast, we moved into the Ramada Inn in Mobile, Alabama - just down from the battleship.   My parents chose this location because it allowed pets (o, lord did mom ever have pets) and it was close enough for Dad's commute to Mobile.  

On the day of my Battleship photo walk, I wanted to explain all of this to the nice Spanish Fort Police Officers who stopped to question why I was trespassing.   I decided to just go the route of looking official and claiming myself to be a "photo blogger, reporting on the economic situation of tourism on the Gulf Coast". 

They bought it and I got this really cool exposure of some Banksy-esque tag work by a tag-artist called 'Priest'.

Oh yeah and to make this official... blah blah blah, "economy", blah blah blah, "Gulf Coast".  See, officer, I wasn't lying.  :) 

Merry Christmas!

To Santa and all of those many helpers who may have a long night ahead, I just wanted to send our warmest holiday wishes to you.   And to anyone that reads this, have a Merry Christmas!

Hazy Daze

(click through for full image)

I finally finished my Christmas shopping today and made my way to Gulf Shores Public Beach to find the strangest haze hovering around the entire city.

I couldn't help but think of the characters of a Stephen King book as I watched this couple stroll off into the mist. As far as I know, no tentacled creatures jerked them up and into the fog.

Christmastime: A Little Piece of Wales, in Alabama

Years ago, my wife worked at a local bank.  She started to tell me about these workers who would come in to cash their checks, that were helping to build an extraordinary RV Resort.   They would spin tales of a large steam locomotive, intricate architecture and stonework and a massive effort in construction.

I'm not a RV person.  I'm a sailboat person.  So, my naivity kicks in when I hear "RV Resort".  I immediately imagine a few shotgun-style roads lined with lots and power hookups, sparse trees, filled with RVs, usually at a nice location such as a forest, lake or waterfront.

Fastforward a few years and we hear from friends these references of a place called "Wales West", primarily famous for Thomas the Train, Halloween and Christmas train-events.  That year, my wife, daughter, son and I, all dress down into our pajamas and head to their take on The Polar Express.  (Called, I'm sure for legal purposes, The Arctic Express)

What we found when we arrived was trully more than I expected.  Beautifully decorated grounds connected, largely with intricate stonework and european architecture.   Smiling faces all-around.  

On the grounds, numerous buildings stand, all with super attention to detail and a very classic styling, surrounded by endless droves of Christmas decorations of all kinds.

As we waited at the train depot for our trip to the North Pole, a small clean shop sits with some of the most welcoming and delightful Christmas decorations.  You can't help but stop and view them with the eyes and wonder of a child.

You board a train, something right out of a Walt Disney home video - and embark on a journey to the North Pole the kids with likely not forget.  

The 5-10 minute train ride snakes through the resort and out past a small lake, adorned with the brilliant reflections of Christmas lights on the shore.  A photograph cannot do this scene justice!  The train works its way into the woods just far enough that on a cold night the child in you can imagine that you may have actually been magically transported to the North Pole.

At your destination, you unload and find Santa Claus, ready to pose with photos and bearing a gift for the youngsters.    Around Santa is a creative and fun arts-crafts style play area for the kids and more fantastic decorations and music.

Upon your return home, you find a spacious tent with a wooden railroad track and tables around it.  Parents can sit and relax, enjoying hot cocoa and cookies while the children's imagination go wild on this large wooden railway.

With the point of this blog being to share interesting sights and sites, I feel like Wales West is one of those best-kept-secrets that families in our area need to know about.    

 

Christmastime, above all, is about family and making memories.  Wales West, the unlikliest place to a programmer-sailior such as myself, has earned a special spot in our Christmas family tradition.  There's still time, this year!  Check them out online, at: http://www.waleswest.com/

Excitement of a new paintbrush...

Being a person who understands Science and Technology, I've always had a sense of wonder for artists.  One of my friends in High School was this amazing artist.  He wanted to be a cartoonist and he could amaze by sitting down and pencilling these creative, simple - yet, lifelike drawings.    People who can draw, paint, play music "by ear".  I've always been in awe of those skills because, I do not possess them.

Photography and post-processing is the closest skill to painting tnat I do possess.   This week, with my primary paintbrush (A Nikon) in the shop, I found myself buying another. (A Sony Alpha)

There is something exciting about getting new tools and learning how they can be used to express your creative urges.   This, is based on my first outing with this new, very different, paintbrush.

Winter Tones

Save & Close

... I'd never actually walked this far away from the pier, before when I took this shot. I thought it was interesting how the clouds reflected in the Bay and how sometimes a "cold day" can come through because of the tones in the shot.

Happy Monday Friends!

Black and Blue

I usually don't like posting two shots from the same location, so quickly together.   This shot, was actually part of the bracket I used to build an HDR Panorama of this location last week. When I was perusing the files, I saw this one and thought "Dang, that was better than the resulting HDR".. 

I really enjoy shots where elements are fully blacked or whited out in interesting ways.   Touching up the contrast here, made the walkway to the right completely disappear and I thought the result was kinda interesting and worth sharing...  Happy Thursday, Friends.

Fairhope's Municipal Marina

Bonus post for today to come to Parity with G+ and Flickr. :)

Yes Virginia, Santa Moonlights at the Mall to help make ends meet

My little girl, this year, I found out today, vouched for me with the man in red.

There's a small backstory..    Jena was going through her growing list of must-haves that the man-in-red should deliver.   Faced with seemingly endless possibilities, (the sky's the limit, right?  :)  ) 

she asks me, "what would you like for Santa to bring you this year, daddy?"

I explained that I, in fact, was bad for a good portion of the year and will not be receiving anything from her favorite portly benefactor.  But, not to fear -- I would indulge myself by buying another R/C Plane or other toy at some point in the new year.

So.. my little frustratiingly cute 6 year old goes up to Santa and runs down her little list..  Then she vouches for me, "..and please bring Daddy and Airplane, he says he'll be better next year"

I'm posting these, so that.. in 10 years when she steals my wallet and rides off on a hover-motorcycle with some boy whom I don't approve of, I can reference it as "aww.. that was cute.  she was nice to me.. a decade ago.."

So.. what of Santa pics?  How do you handle them?  I just can't imagine you professional and semi professional photographers standing in line at the Mall for take-your-ticket Santa Photography.

This will sound wildly redneck but we go to the Bass Pro Shop near us every year.   They have a good looking Santa, nice setting with good lighting, allow you to use a DSLR and sell you a digital print for reasonable of their capture (which was great this year)

This capture, however was from my DSLR, then softened up a bit to reflect the wonder and magic children must fill when meeting Santa.

Year - End Review: Down the River

I looked at my calendar today and realized how quickly the New Year is going to be upon us.  Holy 2012-Apocalypse batman, this month is going by quickly!

I thought it would be cool to intermix some of my favorite shots of 2011, between other blog posts, with the twist of some sort of "alternate" treatment so it isn't just a boring, re-post of the original.

I came across this photo and knew this was easily one of my favorite shots for the year.  Not, because I think the shot is particularly awesome but for more whimsical reasons.    As my desktop wallpaper cycles to this shot, I tend to daydream for about 2 nanoseconds that this shot was captured along some back-country river in Asia during some multiple-week trek to shoot a non-touristy portion of the Asian countryside; old monasteries or something.

..of course… even my kindergartener knows better.  This shot came from Disney's Animal Kingdom.   There was no ride through rice patties in a 60's model truck filled with chickens and farm animals to get to this point.   There were no guides and there was no hiking on snow-covered mountain peaks.  Just a jolly frolic from the frozen banana and mickey-headed ice-cream stand.

Still, a boy can dream, right?   So, that was the theme I went with in processing this.  Some over-the-top patina, overlay of an old nautical map and some other textures.

The original photo is here: