![<span id="date">_04/24/10_</span> <span id="title">RAR!</span>
What is: "what does the lion say?"
Actually, it's part of the sign on the Santa Monica Library's Montana branch which I passed on a lovely late afternoon walk. The rock wall is neat, and I like how the sun glints off the second "R." I also tried to do a photo of "BRA" but I couldn't get the framing right.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#520236731_tP3sA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-3SMmrdJ/3/1fa4ea99/L/2010-04-24%20RAR-L.jpg)
_04/24/10_ RAR! What is: "what does the lion say?" Actually, it's part of the sign on the Santa Monica Library's Montana branch which I passed on a lovely late afternoon walk. The rock wall is neat, and I like how the sun glints off the second "R." I also tried to do a photo of "BRA" but I couldn't get the framing right. [last year]
![<span id="date">_05/04/10_</span> <span id="title">Light Painting</span>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#856355677_MjvFv">Yesterday's</a> photo left me wanting more, so I used the same setup with my bicycle light (3 LEDs) and spun it all around. This was my favorite shape thingy, so I took it into Photoshop to invert and whatnot. I'm pretty happy with the erratic pattern - I used the same clamp as yesterday's photo (watch the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#856424261_UMtx4">setup video</a>).
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#528582416_6b6gs">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-RMR99C8/3/56770872/Ti/2010-05-04%20Light%20Painting-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_05/03/10_</span> <span id="title">Starbursty</span>
I was inspired today by this guy - <a href="http://www.calebcharland.com/">Caleb Charland</a> - I'd like to think that if I had a garage/studio at my disposal, I'd be creating some stuff like his. Sadly, I do not, but I'm fully capable of hanging a flashlight on a string like one of his photos, and that idea morphed into this.
See my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#856424261_UMtx4">setup video</a> for more.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#527732358_4Bp3x">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-c264tkC/3/5316fa6e/Ti/2010-05-03%20Starburst-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_05/02/10_</span> <span id="title">Blue Flower</span>
Today we went to the Getty Center, but instead of a sweeping vista of Los Angeles, I have a close up of an unusually blue flower (type of thistle?) in the gardens. The view was still nice, but it sure was hazy, despite being beautifully clear the past few days. That's LA for you, I suppose.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#526839994_Ayx6E">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-jQrbk9j/3/af20fe7e/Ti/2010-05-02%20Bee%20on%20Blue%20Flower-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_05/01/10_</span> <span id="title">Pacific Plaza</span>
Had a great time today seeing a movie, eating and walking around downtown Santa Monica with my wife. We poked our heads into various buildings along Ocean Avenue, including this one called Pacific Plaza. According to <a href="http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/CA-Santa-Monica-Pacific-Plaza-Towers.html">apartmentratings.com</a> the place is a dump, but I thought this symmetrical view was neat.
I actually took a really cool iPhone panorama of the inside but there are some major ghosting artifacts, so I decided it wasn't worthy of the One/Day Project. It's a cool scene though - I might go back and shoot it with my SLR.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#526059858_3Zgtm">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-LRKbrJF/3/a9e987ae/Ti/2010-05-01%20Pacific%20Plaza-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/30/10_</span> <span id="title">Oh, the Humanity!</span>
Looks like someone spilled some rainbow sherbet in the parking lot. What a waste. A bright, colorful, delicious waste.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#525358835_iXvZU">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-HhsLx7V/3/33d7c857/Ti/2010-04-30%20Spilled%20Sherbet-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/29/10_</span> <span id="title">Liftoff</span>
Although a bit windy, today was a beautiful day! I took some shots in the botanical gardens where the bees were quite busy. This one was enjoying some nectar from a Round-Leafed Tea Tree (<em>Leptospermum rotundifolium</em>).
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#524502863_xAZ7D">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-QwS9pNN/3/ba3ab10d/Ti/2010-04-29%20Liftoff-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/28/10_</span> <span id="title">Forbidden Love</span>
Quick 'n dirty iPhone shot today. If you don't get this, the keywords might help. I tried to position the cables so the black one was "looking" at the white one. Have a good day!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#523841405_z9g4F">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-s8jNRv5/3/45485fb3/Ti/2010-04-28%20Forbidden%20Love-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/27/10_</span> <span id="title">Baby Artichoke</span>
Ain't it cute? It's also quite tasty.
We got these at the local farmer's market on Saturday and were excited to try them. We steamed them and tossed them in olive oil and garlic salt, which was pretty good. We still had to peel off the leaves like a regular artichoke, but after a certain point we just popped the whole thing in our mouths - there's no "choke" part to remove. We should have removed the outer leaves ahead of time, but oh well. Next time!
This shot was taken with my macro lens and an on-camera flash while the 2 artichokes sat on a cutting board. I spent a lot of time editing because I want to submit it to iStockphoto.
In other news, I won a copy of Chase Jarvis' book in the <a href="http://contest.adorama.com/">Adorama Photo Contest</a>! You can find my name listed among the other 199 winners :)
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#522859918_oCLPR">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-6czSC9j/3/a75cdc1d/Ti/2010-04-27%20Baby%20Artichoke-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/26/10_</span> <span id="title">Hard Drive Repair</span>
This is my wife's hard drive that failed a few weeks ago, prompting a new computer purchase. I decided to dismantle it - I like using the super-strong magnets for stuff. The super-shiny platters are always fun, too.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#521916470_CpMA7">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-LCNq8cr/3/ae9655a5/Ti/2010-04-26%20Hard%20Drive%20Repair-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/25/10_</span> <span id="title">Shattered Table</span>
I saw this broken coffee table by a curb as my wife and I walked to dinner. The building reflected in the glass is a hospital. Too bad it's a hospital for people - the poor table never had a chance.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#521015567_sMwXe">[last year]</a> <em>I still want to stay here...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-GXvwnDX/3/f5d851c7/Ti/2010-04-25%20Shattered%20Table-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/24/10_</span> <span id="title">RAR!</span>
What is: "what does the lion say?"
Actually, it's part of the sign on the Santa Monica Library's Montana branch which I passed on a lovely late afternoon walk. The rock wall is neat, and I like how the sun glints off the second "R." I also tried to do a photo of "BRA" but I couldn't get the framing right.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#520236731_tP3sA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-3SMmrdJ/3/1fa4ea99/Ti/2010-04-24%20RAR-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/23/10_</span> <span id="title">Possessed</span>
Did I mention I enjoy photographing children and families?
So I'd been meaning to figure out how to do repeating flash on my SB-800, and I finally sat down and did it tonight. Sadly, I don't think it can be triggered remotely from the camera - I think I need a 2nd SB-800 to do it (or SB-900, of course). Not completely defeated, I took self portraits in the mirror.
I held the camera and flash under myself and set the repeating flash to 1/32 power, 4 Hz and 8 flashes. Doing the math, that left me 2 seconds to twist my head around while making funny faces. Ok, so it's super-creepy, not funny, but that's just how it evolved.
Have a great weekend!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#519639054_HTCtg">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-NrgbBqh/3/7beb3696/Ti/2010-04-23%20Possessed-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/22/10_</span> <span id="title">Party Hat</span>
Happy Earth Day!
This is Alan, a coworker of mine. We had a Mad Hatter-themed party today that was a lot of fun. Another coworker set up a photo booth to get shots of everyone and their fun hats. This isn't from the booth - it's just a candid I shot.
It's a German submariner's hat - kriegsmarine translates literally to "war navy" (as opposed to peace navy?) I found a <a href="http://www.fundomsmilitary.com/details.php?prod_id=120">website</a> that sells them for $75. Interesting piece of history!
I wore a USC hat, which got a lot of... well... let's call it <em>criticism</em> :)
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#518931341_qLpYz">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-wV9zC6Q/3/580eec78/Ti/2010-04-22%20Kriegsmarine-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/21/10_</span> <span id="title">Bee on Flower</span>
Yeah, so I've done bee-on-flower photos before, but this one is all about the smell. The bee is checking out a mock orange tree (<em>Pittosporum tobira</em>, native to China and Japan). It smells wonderful! I walked by and was hit with this delicious orange blossom smell and decided I would have to take a photo of it. This bee just happened to land on it :)
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#518156112_AKJqd">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-HMwPSkv/4/12819553/Ti/2010-04-21%20Bee%20on%20Flower-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/20/10_</span> <span id="title">Pain</span>
This is an artist book called Pain, created by Lise Melhorn-Boe. You can't tell from this shot, but the pins, cheese grater and clothespin spell out "pain." It's neat!
All I had was my SD400, so it was pretty hard to get a sharp photo in the low light. I took a lot of shots, hoping a few would be sharp. I chose to give it a blue-ish hue because it made the pins look more interesting, and it isn't the color you expect when you think of pain.
See it in the <a href="http://catalog.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v2=1&ti=1,1&SEQ=20100420180517&Search_Arg=pain%20melhorn-boe&Search_Code=GKEY^&SL=None&CNT=50&PID=emPBWjjwgwJ2O7XSQHdsXd53ZN7Wt&SID=1">UCLA catalog</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#517380193_Fc9ur">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-cF5Td3j/3/b92d0d7b/Ti/2010-04-20%20Pain%20Book-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/19/10_</span> <span id="title">Table Art</span>
I got a pretty bad headache this morning and ended up watching Watchmen and Hulu all afternoon. Before I left work, though, I took a quick photo of this cool sculpture-type thing on campus. I didn't see any identification, so I don't know anything about it. It's neat though, and I might go back with a better camera and try to get a more interesting photo. The shadows it makes are pretty interesting.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#516378372_oqFgB">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-zNXJD6B/3/8cc71ab4/Ti/2010-04-19%20Table%20Art-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/18/10_</span> <span id="title">Advice?</span>
Written on the concrete base of a light in the corner of a parking lot.
So far I'm on a 6-day iPhone streak for the dailies. Hopefully next week I'll use my SLR for something cool.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#515537709_rdgP5">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-f92r7HS/3/e76c78ab/Ti/2010-04-18%20Advice-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/17/10_</span> <span id="title">Street Llama</span>
Went to Apple store on 3rd St. Promenade to get a new laptop. They didn't have the one we wanted in stock. Walked outside the store and - hey! It's a llama!
Llamas are a rare sight in LA, so we were a tad bit surprised. So was everyone else, judging by the crowd. I'm not sure who this guy was or what point he wanted to get across. I wish I'd gotten a better photo, but like I said, there was a crowd. Also it was dark and this was shot with a phone. The poor technical quality can't hide their expressions though :)
PS - every time I see a llama I think of the Far Side cartoon titled Llamas at Home ("Llook out Llarry, it's the llandllord!")
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#514769962_6xAFR">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-4MQL9J8/3/d7907b93/Ti/2010-04-17%20Man%20and%20Llama-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/16/10_</span> <span id="title">Paper Flowers</span>
These flowers were at work today. They are colorful. They are pretty. They are made of paper.
Have a great weekend everyone!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#514166308_U6byz">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-QxBw5t6/3/6601b3bd/Ti/2010-04-16%20Paper%20Flowers-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_04/15/10_</span> <span id="title">Loafing</span>
Happy Tax Day!
These shoes were leaning against a palm tree at a bus stop this morning. I do not know why. Any ideas?
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#513528373_g2JbW">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-qZGwMRG/4/7ccbf2fb/Ti/2010-04-15%20Loafing-Ti.jpg)