Day 59 (2-28-11)

Rest in peace, GG.  You will be missed greatly.

So after the service I opted to drive Cate around so she could nap.. because she was starting to get bitchy.  So I pass the reservoir next to Blue Hill Golf Course, and the fog sitting on top of it is so intense, it looked like a lake of dry ice.  I pull over to  take some pics only to realize the battery to my camera is still sitting in the charger at my parents house.  This is, of course, typical.

So I race to PR to get the battery and by the time I get back to the reservoir, most of the fog has disappeared.  I got about a half dozen shots, with the above being the best one.  And it wasn't until I unloaded the memory card on my computer that I realized how dirty my sensor is.  The entire shot is covered with dust bunnies.  I cloned out about a dozen of them in Photoshop before giving up.  It's much easier to just drop the $25 and have it cleaned than spend an evening cloning that crap out. 

55mm

f/22

ISO 800

1/125

Day 58 (2-27-11)

Rockland Psychiatric Center is home to some of the creepiest buildings I've ever seen.  Abandoned, boarded up, vine and ivy covered run down buildings are spread out all over the 600 acres which make up the campus. Since childhood, this place has both intrigued and frightened me.  I hope one day to be able to photograph this place in detail, and be able to get inside some of the abandoned buildings because I'm sure it's twice as creepy as it is in my head.

32mm
f/11
ISO 400
1/249

Day 57 (2-26-11)

Saw lots of great people today.  Ended up at The Saloon for zuppa de clams and a Guinness or several.  Then to The Hotel for another Guinness.

105mm
f/4
ISO 1600
1/15

Day 56 (2-25-11)

On the road to NY, taken at about 60mph while going through the Washington/Baltimore tunnel.  Several times during the trip I balanced the camera on my left arm and just shot randomly as I was driving.  Most of the shots were pure crap but there were a few keepers.  Made the trip in about 11 hours with only a few incidents of traffic (all due to accidents).  I wish the trip was being made under happier circumstances, but it is what it is I guess

24mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/5

Day 55 (2-24-11)

Spicy Hawaiin pizza from dominos.  So delicious.

On a serious note, I learned some pretty sad news today.  Please take a moment and give thanks for life, and for what you have, and hug a loved one and tell them that you love them.  Thanks.


135mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/125

Day 54 (2-23-11)

There's a lot of interesting crap to photograph in my backyard.  The way the light was hitting the small Carolina Palm in our backyard had me glued to it for about 15 minutes.  The symmetry of the fronds and the leaves that grow out of them is fascinating if you get your face in there and look closely.


135mm
f/4.5
ISO 800
1/2500

Day 53 (2-22-11)

Movies played in Dolby Digital Surround Sound kick ASS.

105mm
f/4
ISO 3200
1/13

Day 52 (2-21-11)

Caught an evening movie tonight.  Unknown, with Liam Neeson.  It wasn't bad.  Cool concept.  Anyway, on my way home I stopped downtown for some night photos.  The above was taken by the river, across the street from the courthouse.  There are benches placed amongst the trees there, and the trees all have lights strung throughout them.  I just aimed into the center of all the trees, and zoomed back out as I shot, creating the streaked light effect.  You can still make out one of the benches in the lower center of the photo.  I captured a bunch of cool night shots from downtown, although I'm partial to the coolness of the above shot.

95mm
f/14
ISO 3200
1/10

Day 51 (2-20-11)

I still think Lost is probably one of the greatest television series to ever be made.  Top 5 without a doubt.  Its writing was creative, fresh, and took you on a journey in ways television had never done before.  I would always look forward to Wednesday night when the new episode was set to air... and then be so bummed when it was over because it would be another week before the story was continued.  Thursday at work was always Lost discussion and analysis day, and when the end of each season came around?  I practically went into mourning.

I'm happy the show ended, because I'd hate to have seen it lose its edge and turn into the garbage that long running series usually do.  Take Heroes for example.  That show was very very cool when it first came out.  The premise was interesting, the characters were pretty cool, and the show had so much potential.  Then by about the end of season 2, I kept asking my self WTF?!  I don't even know if the writers were the same by the time season three came around.  Is that show still on?  I don't know and I don't care.  It sucks.

But Lost to me was amazing.  Everything from the characters down to the soundtrack.  (I own the collector's edition box set of the show and the entire score for all 6 seasons by Michael Giacchino).  I liked the ending, even more so after watching it again.  The last season and the ending in particular are where most people changed their minds on Lost, but I happened to enjoy it - and found myself very satisfied with how it turned out.  To all the haters out there:  bite me.

The above picture is a rather lazy composition for me.  I took my box set, placed it on a shelf, and took a picture of it.  I duplicated the image and flipped it 180 degrees to place it on top of the original.  (If you look closely at the bottom of the image, you can see where I got sloppy and careless with making the selection).  Then it looked kind of weird and boring, so I through a layer of colorized difference clouds on top of the whole thing and lowered the opacity.  And for those of you who don't understand Photoshop lingo, it's basically one image duplicated on top of itself, with some shit thrown over it to make it not so boring, lol.

32mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/60

Day 50 (2-19-11)

Day #2 of gorgeous weather.  Sunny and about 72 or so.  Had a 9:24 tee time at Belvedere Country Club with Shorty, Ray and Joe.  Couldn't tell you what I shot, because we stopped keeping score by the 4th hole.  I can tell you it wasn't good, but it was good to get out and play.

Oh yeah, there was a massive wildfire in the area.  At one point, there was ash blowing on the course, and for about 2 hours straight, the sound of fire trucks and sirens never ceased.  Not sure where in Hampstead it was, but it was close.  I also saw another fire in the vicinity of my neighborhood when I got home.  Everything is dry and it was windy as hell today, so the conditions were ripe for fires.  It also helps that idiots around here burn their trash and yard waste despite the dryness and windy conditions.  Idiots.

50mm
f/20
ISO 400
1/200

Day 49 (2-18-11)

Got to sleep in today, but missed having everyone around the house.  Thankfully it was gorgeous out: sunny, breezy and in the low 70's.  Spent the afternoon at Airlie Gardens.  This is a 3 exposure HDR from the fountain area.

32mm
f/8
ISO 400
1/332 total

Day 48 (2-17-11)

The long dreaded day has finally come.  Kris, Liam, and Cate left Wilmington for New York.  And while it is what we long planned and have worked towards for a while, the parting was bittersweet.  This home is where our lives as a family began, and it will be missed.  Tonight I go to sleep in a quiet house, and won't be woken up tomorrow morning by the sound of Liam singing.  Or Cate crying.  :-(


24mm
f/14
ISO 400
1/200

Day 47 (2-16-11)

Little man came to visit me at work today.  All he wanted to do was sit at my desk and "talk" on the phone.  (I have 3 at my desk).  He would pick up the receiver and go "Hello?  Who is this?  This is Liam.  ok, hold on..." and then put it down and reach for the other phone and do the same thing.  We toyed with the idea of sending a heated escalation to my phone and letting Liam pick it up, but alas - none came in while he was there.

I got to introduce him to many people; we went and raided the "snack" room (aka the Kure Beach room) and he got some M&Ms and a granola bar; we took the elevator and went down into the cafeteria where he picked out an orange juice and bag of Sun Chips; we hung out in the lobby and he got to meet our H.R. rep, Robert.  It was a great day, and he had a blast.  It was a great last day in Wilmington for him.

This pic was taken with my phone.

Day 46 (2-15-11)

Didn't feel like it today.

105mm
f/4
ISO 1600
1/25

Day 45 (2-14-11)

Sunset tonight from the parking lot at work.  Not the best, but nice.  Happy Valentine's Day.

67mm
f/10
ISO 800
1/125

Day 44 (2-13-11)

This is Terrordactyl - one of two motorized and interactive dinosaurs Liam wanted for Christmas.  He played with them every time we went to Toys R Us.  Of course, when Christmas came and Santa had indeed brought these for him, he seemed to lose much of his interest in them.  Honestly, I think they scare him a little, thanks a little in part (I think) to me.  Terrordactyl's partner, Screecher, shoots water from his mouth.  It's very cool.  Liam did not know this, and thinking it would be funny, I filled it up and persuaded Liam to look in its mouth.  Stunned when the water hit, he didn't run away or turn his head.  Instead, he just stood there and got shot about 3 or 4 times right in the face.  This I believe is when the interest started to wane, lol.  He still does play with them, but not as much, and definitely not with water.  When he does play with them, he rarely turns them on.  They are cool, however, even if they make really loud high-pitched noise.

102mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/13

Day 43 (2-12-11)

  Today was the first sunny, nice day in what seems like forever.  It was probably in the mid 50's or so but it felt warmer (I wore pants and a t-shirt).  We spent the afternoon at Wrightsville Beach because a) it was nice out and my only day off in the last 6 days and b) it was probably our last beach outing as a family for a while -- at least down here.
  The surfers were out in droves, and there was a considerable number of people hanging out on the beach.  A group of guys near us ended up running into the water for a cool down after running sprints on the sand.  I told Kris I might jump in myself - she dared me to, and I did.  The water was a brisk 45 degrees (according to the national weather center), and for the first 3 seconds or so, bitterly painful.  After about 3 seconds my entire body went numb and it actually wasn't that bad.  I felt nothing on my arms and chest, and the only thing that I could really feel were my feet.  They actually hurt.  Also annoying was that the surf dropped to about knee level about 5 steps in or so - and then rose back up to like ankle level for another 10 steps.  I had to go out a good deal to get to a depth where I could dip under the water... although I was numb by this point so it didn't really matter.  Anyway, it was a great day.

135mm
f/6.3
ISO 100
1/800

Day 42 (2-11-11)

Frozen bush-thing next to my car.  Snapped it from inside the car as I waiting 15 minutes for it to thaw out. Yeah, I'm tired.

135mm
f/2.8
ISO 3200
1/20

Day 41 (2-10-11)

Worked 13 hours today.  The highlight of my day was open gym this morning.  Ahhh... good times, good times.
:)

102mm
f/4
ISO 1600
1/60

Day 40 (2-9-11)

Yes.  They're fake.

105mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/64

Day 39 (2-8-11)

Greenfield Lake Park today at lunch - rushed to get there as the sun was going down.  Took about 50 shots (mostly in groups of 3 for HDR) and just looked at them.  Most of them sucked, lol.  This one was ok.  Some of the HDR shots might be ok after I tweak them more, I was just too tired tonight to do it.  Tomorrow starts the 12-hour work day madness.

58mm
f/7.1
ISO 400
1/160

Day 38 (2-7-11)

Went on a wild goose chase to bumfuck nowhere tonight to pick up boxes from a house that ended up being in a gated community.  I say wild goose chase because I was not privy to the security code to get me in, and the security camera which is aimed at the gate is either not functional, or not monitored.  After several minutes of flashing my high beams at it and waving, I gave up and drove the 35 minutes back home.

On my way back, I passed the above building (not finished yet but well lit as you can see) in the relatively empty section of Brunswick Forest.  It is set a good distance off the road, and lit by what appears to be 1000 watt lights.  After driving around the empty lot a few times, I parked and got out.  I probably didn't make it 5 steps before security in a 4x4 came high tailing out of nowhere.  Literally nowhere.  This building is several hundred yards away from anything, and because it's not even finished, there were no roads that I could see except for the one I came in on, and the parking lot.  Yet from the other side of the building this dude shows up.  After exchanging pleasantries for a few minutes, and promising to be quick and leave, he allowed me to take a few pictures.  It's a pretty cool looking building.. at night at least.  Except I can't figure out why it's called New Hanover Regional Medical Center Health & Diagnostics, considering it's in Brunswick.

24mm
f/7.1
ISO 1600
1/8

Day 37 (2-6-11)

There's always next year.

Pic taken with my Droid X.

Day 36 (2-5-11)

Day number two of rainy, windy, crappy weather.  Since I actually got a break this weekend, we decided last minute to take a road trip to Myrtle Beach.  We spent the afternoon at Ripley's Aquiarium and then had some Friendly's ice cream for the ride home.  Good times!

24mm
f/4
ISO 1600
1/40

Day 35 (2-4-11)

Another fun adventure at "facility", although there's always an awkward moment or two before (and after) we hit the pool - Liam always stares at the other people in the locker room.  "Look - that guy is going pee pee!"  "Look, that guy is nudie!"

Yes Liam, he is.

28mm
f/3.5
ISO 640
1/160
(taken with an Olympus waterproof p&s)

Day 34 (2-3-11)

Every night around 11:45 or so I seem to be scrambling to get my shot of the day.  Hopefully tomorrow, when I'm off, I'll get one during the day, and not of something around the house - although I kind of like the shot above.  It is rather photoshop-y, but still looks cool in my opinion.  Maybe I'll try it again and put a little more effort into it.  (The above was lit by a flashlight from above, and the camera was resting on a wicker basket placed on a cardboard box.  Yes, I was too lazy to go to the car to get my tripod.)

With some careful lighting, my other lens, and my tripod, I might not have to resort to solarization.  But whatever.  It looks cool.

Oh yeah, the iPhone went on sale today at work.  Two million phones sold in just over 12 hours.

65mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/60

Day 33 (2-2-11)

I don't know - just random crap lying around the house.  Now I can call it a day and go to bed.  The iPhone goes on sale in 4 hours, and shortly after that my 80 hour unpaid work weeks begin.  Joy!!!

105mm
f/5.6
ISO 800
1/30

Day 32 (2-1-11)

Best damn burritos, period.  And don't forget the pineapple jalapeno salsa.

55mm
f/4
ISO 800
1/25