a slightly different focus

On Sunday the 9th, I caught a performance by someone I hadn’t seen in a while — someone, in fact, I didn’t even know performed:

Traci Kanaan

From selling advertising specialties to performing song paradies. Nice.

She opened for another interesting act:

The Disgruntled Clown

Fun time, with both of them. Photographs from the event, along with some shots from after the show, have been posted. Enjoy!

The Saturday after First Friday, Gerald and I enjoyed a photostroll in downtown Macon.

Have to tell you: although not terribly long — 90 minutes, give or take — I enjoyed both revisiting downtown Macon in fall spendor and spending some photography time with a good friend. Thanks, Gerald.

Some decent results, too. My favorite:

Fall Line-Up

Taken at Mercer Law. Others include:

Fall Cornice (Detail)

A nice shot of one of the most interesting buildings downtown:

Terminal Station (at Sunset)

And:

Cotton Avenue (at Sunset)

See more in the Macon Downtown gallery. Enjoy.

Another post, with a Florida friend and a Disgruntled Clown, tomorrow or Thursday, followed by some canoeing. Stay tuned.

Been a busy couple of weeks, but want to begin to catch up on some back photography posts.

…Starting with November’s First Friday. To do that, I’ve got to thank a few folks:

Doug’s Ballroom Art Show

The old Library Ballroom is an amazing space. Doug’s art is worthy — and he’s a good friend. Well done, man.

A few minutes later, at Macon’s Arts Exchange, I bumped into one of my very favorite couples … and fun ensued:

(A Great Evening with) Miles and Trish

We ended the evening downtown at the Tic Toc, with TT alumni Joel. They have a great space to enjoy the drink:

Bar Lights at the Tic Toc

My very favorite part of living in Macon is the people I know. Thanks to you all.

More to come from the first weeks of November — including a long-overdue tour of downtown, meeting a long-lost friend, a Disgruntled Clown, and a couple of days’ travel in a canoe — in the next few days. Thanks for stopping by.

…died yesterday. Here’s the NYT obit.

I don’t usually comment on folks’ passing, but John Leonard was someone I’ve enjoyed listening to — and learning from — for a long time. He will be missed, dearly.

Barack Hussein Obama, a black man, has been elected the 44th president of the United States. Wow.

I’m a Georgia Voter

Congrats also to Congressman Marshall. Despite some disagreements, I’m happy to see Jim prevail — in a very tough environment.

Shame that Jim Martin seems not to have joined the party. Two outta three ain’t bad. This is actually headed for a runoff election, an even tougher challenge for Martin. GOTV, folks.

Nonetheless, an historic night. Glad to have been part of it!

Later: I’ve been in Georgia, home of often-overt racism, for four years last month. I’ve been shocked on more than one occasion regarding the locals’ attitudes towards race: this is very much the South.

President-elect Obama, tonight:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

I’m excited to be part of a movement that will hopefully move Georgians past “the South.” Here’s to a larger community.

Was in Columbus for a job last week — that, unfortunately, was postponed at the last minute. Will hopefully be heading back later this week to do that job.

Meanwhile, Phillip and I took the time we’d planned on taking photographs to … take photographs. We wandered around downtown and riverside on an exceptionally pleasant photostroll.

Including at Columbus’s Heritage Park:

The Columbus Arch

And downtown:

Tracking Towards Downtown

We capped the day next to the river:

Sunset over the Chattahoochee

I’ve updated the Columbus gallery with 36 new photos (adding to the 33 already there, from January and May of this year). Please enjoy.

…has been posted. I’ve added an additional 41 photographs to the five already there, all but one from the Festa street fair.

Sorry to take so long with these. My schedule since getting back to Georgia has included a good deal of craziness.

But lots of fun to look through again:

Party on.

…was a great deal of fun — it was great to see some folks I haven’t in a while.

At Creighton and Carolyn’s, no less — a Cocktail Hour homecoming, of sorts. So:

Stop and Let Me Tell You….

Haven’t blogged for a while; been chained to the desk for weeks. Nice to have the opportunity to reconnect with this community.

Julian, Levitating

A community continuing to grow up around me. Looking forward to more.

Meanwhile, check out the other 5 photographs from tonight. Thanks for stopping by.

This weekend Soon, finally: Dobbs Ferry [NY] Festa. Stay tuned.

One word: Wow.

I didn’t expect the Maine/NY trip to impact me in the way it did.

However, “blown away” is not inaccurate. From nearly every part of Maine, which I’ve missed more than I realized, to long-lost friends and family — whose lives are well beyond what I expected — the past month or so has been … amazing.

And, I have the photographs to prove it. For instance,

A “rainy” view from Cadillac Mountain, near Bar Harbor, Maine:

My old elementary school, near Boothbay Harbor, Maine:

And, a view of New York City from Dobbs Ferry (as close as I got — very glad to have met an old friend rather than spend that day going into the City):

Every one of the above, along with many, many more from this trip, made me appreciate things in a way I hadn’t before. Taken as a whole, it could only be called a life-changing experience — one that enabled me to take the next, very needed, step.

A huge shout-out of “thanks” to all involved, from Mom (especially) to Jean, Ellen and Jennifer, Jeanna and Lissa, Ernie and Jean, Adam, Noreen, and Naomi. As working vacations go, this one was king.

Despite coming home to bills, 4am calls from the ex, and dental appointments, the past few weeks have me convinced that life is good.

But the “trip,” as it were, didn’t end where I expected. Before I could even finish sorting the photographs from Maine, I was heading out, with my very good friend “Long Trail” Phillip, to….

Providence Canyon, Georgia, this past weekend:

Additional thanks to Phillip, his lovely wife Neecee, and new friends Ryan and Thomas. Nice time.

Yeah. As I said, a pretty amazing month. Looking forward to the rest of the photographs — and what’s to come….!

Wasn’t sure what to expect from an overnight in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

What I got was fantastic — not only a great place (including wireless internet), courtesy of a longtime family friend, but a today-only street fair to boot. Once again in the right place at the right time.

Further, not twenty minutes into enjoying said street fair, I bumped into the organizer — whose camera had died. She asked me to take more photos than I’d already planned.

Okay!

A yearly event, Dobbs Ferry hosts the Ferry Festa. Originally an Italian-American festival, it’s been expanded over the years to include everything — and everyone. Nice.

Great Festa Band

These guys were fantastic. Sorry that I didn’t catch their band name. “Tramps Like Us.” Well done, guys.

Meanwhile, street candids ruled. With a couple of (more-or-less) posed exceptions — including this one:

Looks (on the Street)

Two more in the placeholder gallery (update in a week or three — Maine photos first), with another 40 or so ready for development once I get back to the big computer. Again, nice.

Thanks to Vikki Jones for the official tasking. I certainly enjoyed; hope you do, too.

Hard to believe, but I’ve been here for almost two weeks.

One the one hand, I’m eager to get back to Macon. I miss my kids cats, my community, and my home. On the other, being here has been pretty magical.

Take this photograph from a just-after-tropical-storm coastline, for instance:

Post-Storm Surf

Right place, right time. Nice.

Parenthetically, that would be 2008’s tropical storm Hanna — in case you’re keeping track.

Then there’s this shot from today. I’m not big on self-portraits, but this moment seemed to present itself — and still looks good in post:

Ebb and Flow (Self-Portrait)

I’m leaving Maine with more than twenty-five hundred photographs. Looking forward to furthering the sorting on the big computer — and posting more!

Next update: after the first of the week. Or perhaps sooner…;) Thanks for checking back.

P.S. Predicted overnight low here in Ogunquit: 45 degrees (F). In Orono/Old Town: high 30s. I mentioned cold?

Updated. One of the other Maine posts has been updated, too — please continue to scroll down. Thanks.

Taking a break from photography tonight; tropical storm Hanna is also visiting Maine this weekend, and I’m stuck indoors.

Which means an opportunity to sort through the more than seventeen hundred shots taken so far. (Damn, that’s a lot.)

Some favorites have surfaced almost immediately, however, including these couple taken yesterday in Portland:

(Signs of) Bliss

Yeah, I’m having a good time. Can ya tell? LOL.

Eventually, however, it’ll all be over — after which, all you can expect is:

Strictly Surly Service

Enjoy…;)

Update: There’s a major weather event going on here in Ogunquit, and I’m getting better upload speeds than I ever do at home. Hmph.

Meanwhile, sorted the photographs from Camden this evening, and couldn’t resist posting this one:

Camden Library and Harbor at Sunset

As I mention in the caption (all of these photos are captioned — click on any, then click again on the thumbnail), I believe Camden is the most scenic of the Maine towns I know and love. I’m sorry I could only spend one night there.

Started my trip down memory lane today, leaving Ogunquit, in the far southern part of the state, for where I went to college: the University of Maine, in Orono.

The UMaine campus is just north of Bangor, the last so-called “big” city before you head into the North Maine Woods — approx. 150,000 in the greater Bangor area, including Orono and Old Town (where I had an apartment for a while).

Aside from a pretty astonishing Wikipedia page, Bangor’s two most famous aspects are the writer Stephen King, and that it’s really the northeastern frontier. It’s already cool (mid-fifties) this morning, in early September, and because it’s so far east, the sunrise/sunset times are earlier in the day than where I usually am, at the other end of the time zone.

I’m glad to be here now instead of later, though — it gets cold. Average high temps don’t go above freezing for months, very much a contributory cause to my moving to the South two years after leaving this area.

Might explain, then, why this photograph even feels a little cold:

UMaine Library, Slightly Off Center

Despite being up over 12,000 students at the University, the town — Orono — remains small, as the business and shopping areas of Bangor are only a few exits down Interstate 95. But there’s one place in Orono that hops: Pat’s Pizza.

Pat’s Tap Room

In the cold of winter, one of the sources of heat.

Nice to have stopped by both Orono and UMaine. Glad to be moving on…;)

Today, I plan to visit Bar Harbor and Cadillac Mountain; tomorrow, I’ll start in Camden and make a couple of stops on my way back to Ogunquit. No Internet tonight, though, so look for an update Thursday night or Friday night or Saturday. (Got to get some stuff in before this weekend’s rain.)

In Maine, that is:

Ogunquit Beach, Across the River

The view from my room. Not too shabby, even in extreme wide-angle…;)

More over the next few weeks days. Thanks for checking back.

Update: ‘Nuther, from Sunday:

Perkins Cove Boats, Ogunquit

Definitely some emotion in this, well, homecoming (for lack of a better term). I didn’t expect being back in Maine — some fourteen years hence — would have such an impact.

Truly, glad to be here.

Tuesday, I’m heading off on a three-day trip around the state. It’s on a budget — gotta pay off the new gear —  so please forgive the potential lack of updates until I’m back in Ogunquit. (”Free” internet is a premium in these parts, unfortunately.)

You can bet I’m going camera in hand.

Okay, let’s get this out of the way up front: I haven’t been posting — or photographing — enough recently.

But, there’s a good reason, one regular readers of this site know — equipment that’s not up to snuff. So some changes have been in order.

As of yesterday, those changes are nearly complete.

It’s meant selling my beloved Nikon D200 (to a friend who can use it, thankfully), sending the D300 in for service, and working on what the next step should be. However, with the Maine trip looming, I needed to make a decision. This week was the deadline.

The decision’s been made. And although not without some pain, tonight was the debut of the new gear.

Most of it was good — beyond good, in fact — but some of it just didn’t work. Why? Operator error. Gotta learn how to use the new stuff properly.

Meanwhile:

Cole Street, Macon

Thad and Rebecca’s house is for sale — and for less than I would expect for such a beautiful home.

Talk to the … Hand

Despite the stress of hosting a party like this, Rebecca was obviously enjoying herself tonight. Glad I was able to capture that.

But … my favorite photo of the night was one of those that needed a little work (again, because of my error). Nonetheless, with a little massaging, it came out:

Dan’s Favorite Gift

Thus, got to celebrate a great party — and someone’s birthday tonight … with the photograph above aptly demonstrating what he’s glad to have after 41 years of possibilities, despite my inability to nail this photo the way I should have.

More to come either late tomorrow (Friday) or some time Saturday. Posted, complete with fixing the photographs above, whose addresses shifted when I reposted the gallery with captions (my mistake for not checking sooner — sorry). Thanks.

Sorry for the lack of updates to the blog recently; been behind the work curve. On the positive side, my internet issues seem to have cleared up….

• An interesting — and pretty accurate, IMHO — take on the photography business right now: The Cloud is Falling. Weddings, indeed…;)
• Rolling Stone is switching to a “regular” magazine size. Bah.
• A film about industrial design. Interesting.
• I haven’t mentioned a book design in too long a while. Thus, happy to point out American Nerd: Story of My People on Uncrate.com, a “web magazine for guys who love stuff.” (Now there’s a demographic to be proud of, eh? LOL!)
• reCAPTCHA. Anti-spam that digitizes old books — very cool. Might install here….
• Canon’s apparently patented an SLR camera powered by a fuel cell. As usual, the comments on Slashdot are priceless.

That’s it for a Friday night around here; have a good weekend, everyone.

Please note: been having connection issues for the past few days; things still aren’t running as smoothly as I’d like. Sorry this posting is a little later than I’d expected.

Calvin is one of the first people I met after moving to Macon, back in the dark days of 2004-5. We’ve been close since.

He’s an unconventional guy in more ways than I can count, something I’ve come to truly appreciate. Also appreciated has been watching the relationship develop between he and Allison that culminated in last weekend’s event.

From the moment he told me that they were getting married, my photographing the ceremony and goings-on was a given — and truly, I’m honored.

I’ve selected and captioned eight photographs from this weekend that are not only favorites, but tell a good story; the rest will be posted in a few weeks (there’s more I like than expected which, of course, means it’ll take longer than predicted to get through it all). Thanks for your patience.

Let’s cover a couple of highlights from those eight, starting with the lake house setting:

The Dock, Decorated (and Explored)

Nice to have an outdoor wedding, but this was Alabama in late July. Two saving graces: it was a morning wedding, and the day was perfect.

The lake house is in the bride’s family, and her parents, especially, deserve credit for the house and grounds looking so nice:

Michael and Susan

…with the help of this guy, the bride’s sister’s boyfriend. The hard-laboring assistant, certainly; if he was working to impress, it certainly worked on me.

Ray, the “Go-To” Guy

I really like how Calvin is framed in this photograph. There’s a lot of Calvin, and getting a little of him and getting it right ain’t easy…;)

Here, for instance, I feel there’s a good balance — with Marian, the officiant, and Allison (plus the neat connection between them with the arbor) on one side, and Calvin on the other:

Prayer Ceremony

The ceremony itself was short, so getting a depth of photographs covering everything was difficult. Very glad, then, that I caught this moment afterward:

The New Couple, Together

My favorite shot of the weekend. See the preview photographs in Allison and Calvin’s gallery, here.

Once again, I’ve captioned the published photographs. The best way to view with both title and caption is to click the link above, then click again on the first photo. Then, use the arrows to the left and right of the photographs to scroll through the gallery. If you’re not using a large screen, the system will let you click on a photo to enlarge; click again to close the enlargement.

A bonus: the youngest family member there over the weekend was two-year-old Mary, who hammed it up for the camera at every opportunity. Didn’t hurt that she was adorable:

Mary’s Pear

Thanks, everyone, for a great weekend. Back with more in this gallery soon.

…are not only wonderful people, they, together with Martha Kelly — Trish’s amazing Mom — hosted this week’s Cocktail Hour. As expected, it was fantastic.

The happy couple:

Miles and Trish (Enjoying their Cocktail Hour)

Couldn’t stay the duration, alas, and can only look at a few of the photographs from tonight before getting back to work — an expected project came complete with a shorter-than-expected deadline, sorry — but will try to post the rest tomorrow evening.

…Before getting set to photograph a wedding this weekend. Fun times!

Meanwhile, enjoy a typically-Giles photograph from tonight:

Flowers (and Cocktails) #2

Update: the full gallery has been posted; 21 photographs in all. Enjoy.

Once again, I’ve captioned the published photographs. The best way to view with both title and caption is to click the link above, then click again on the first photo. Then, use the arrows to the left and right of the photographs to scroll through the gallery. If you’re not using a large screen, the system will let you click on a photo to enlarge; click again to close the enlargement.

…but have been otherwise occupied. Thus, there are a few stacked up.

Next time you have a moment, pull up to the computer with your favorite beverage and enjoy:

• Metallophile, my favorite font in a while — nice.
• This has been around for a while, but it’s still a great storm photograph. Just wow.
• Also from the NYT, When Images Galvanized the Nation. Hoping to get to the High in Atlanta to see.
• Keeping the NYT theme going, Down with Helvetica: Design Your Own Font. Making a good font — see Metallophile, above — is not an easy thing. Give it a try.
• Walmart’s new logo. Doesn’t, uh, burst my bubble.
• 13 Typefaces Every Designer Needs. I don’t necessarily agree 100%, but nonetheless, a good — and interesting — list.
• Speaking of typefaces, what do you think type designer’s handwriting looks like? Not boring.
• Annie does Disney. It’s not porn — but it’s damned close, frankly. The woman is an inspiration.

Last but very much not least,

• Thom Hogan says, that in order to become a better photographer, “you must become the best at your niche. Period. But that brings up the inevitable question: do you know what your niche is?” (I’m working on it…;)

And a bonus:

• Do you know what a grawlix is? Sure you do — you’ve seen one before, probably dozens if not hundreds of times — you just didn’t know it. Enjoy.

Didn’t make it to this week’s Cocktail Hour; sorry. Will post more photographs soon.