![<span id="date">__02/14/11__</span> <span id="title">Tall Paul</span>
In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to take a photo of a heart. This is Tall Paul, and he has 20 removable parts - #9 is his heart. He lives in the UCLA Biomedical Library and usually has a shirt over his head - otherwise he startles people when they walk into the back room where no one is supposed to be.
Tall Paul's part number is CMT5, in case you want to buy your own. Amazon has them.
Also, Happy Arizona Statehood Day!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#788457153_t4vvA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-xKNMt2v/2/6e179614/L/2011-02-14%20Tall%20Paul-L.jpg)
__02/14/11__ Tall Paul In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to take a photo of a heart. This is Tall Paul, and he has 20 removable parts - #9 is his heart. He lives in the UCLA Biomedical Library and usually has a shirt over his head - otherwise he startles people when they walk into the back room where no one is supposed to be. Tall Paul's part number is CMT5, in case you want to buy your own. Amazon has them. Also, Happy Arizona Statehood Day! [last year]
![<span id="date">__02/27/11__</span> <span id="title">Los Angeles Panorama</span>
This is an 11-shot panorama of Los Angeles, taken from Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. Many photographers flock to this park to get photos like this after storms when the mountains are covered in snow. There's some atmospheric distortion, but overall I'm pretty happy with the level of detail in this image. Because even SmugMug's X3 size is ill-suited to viewing panoramas of this size, I've put it up on Zoom.it so you can see the details:
<a href="http://zoom.it/ZUbD">http://zoom.it/ZUbD</a>
Here are some things to look for:
Hollywood sign, Goodyear blimp (covering the Oscars), Griffith observatory, an enormous T-Mobile ad, a building at Forest Lawn in Glendale, Wilshire Blvd, West Angeles Cathedral, Paramount Studios, a glimpse of USC, and the tallest US building West of the Mississippi.
Find them all and you will WIN!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#798538783_GpSgv">[last year]</a> <em>so cute...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-TwLRVWr/2/7076c686/Ti/2011-02-27%20Los%20Angeles%20Panorama-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/26/11__</span> <span id="title">Ferris Wheel</span>
Yesterday it rained, and today it was really cold, about 45 degrees when I took this shot at the Santa Monica Pier. I had it in my head that I wanted to take a pier photo today, and my wife was kind enough to walk down here with me after we got some dinner, despite SoCal's version of freezing.
I went for a simple composition with the lights reflecting in the water. I took quite a few shots, since you never know what the lights are going to do next. If there's a lot of action and color changes happening then everything turns white in the final image. I like this shot because the light pattern is interesting, and the nice blue color goes nicely with the yellow lights.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#797794861_qkdh2">[last year]</a> <em>last year's bee-on-cherry-blossom photo...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-2mWtGp9/2/5750c892/Ti/2011-02-26%20Ferris%20Wheel-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/25/11__</span> <span id="title">Flower Ball</span>
As I mentioned in yesterday's shot, it might rain today, and indeed it did. After a break in the precipitation, I headed to the botanical gardens to capture the wetness. This plant did not have any drops on, sadly, but it's the coolest looking photo I got. Not sure what plant it is, sadly. Isn't it crazy?!
Only 3 more photos until Year 4!
Update: it's a Pincushion (<em>Leucospermum cordifolium 'Eclipse'</em>). Native to South Africa, like most cool-looking plants in SoCal.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#797239401_iXxVK">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-63WPb48/2/16d32ec2/Ti/2011-02-25%20Flower%20Ball-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/24/11__</span> <span id="title">Bee on Blossom</span>
Well, it's almost March, which means I'm almost done with Year 3! In honor of my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year1/4429824_zbVM5#265379628_sxHaz">first daily photo</a> in Year 1, I've made it a tradition to photograph a bee on a cherry blossom each year, even though I wouldn't normally repeat myself like this. I decided to take the photo today, since it might rain tomorrow, and this is the best shot I got. I think I prefer <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#797794861_qkdh2">last year's</a>, but this one's OK, too.
The main challenge was that the tree is is such full bloom that the bees have too many choices of flowers - that means I never know where they're going to land. Following around a bee with a camera is not ideal and results in many, many blurry photos. At least there were a lot of bees today.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#796607603_WsZoj">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-4gZMBnB/2/008f37e3/Ti/2011-02-24%20Bee%20on%20Flower-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/23/11__</span> <span id="title">Aztec Wedding Vase</span>
This was a wedding gift from my friend from Tucson. This side features a horned toad and the other side is a prickly pear. It's really cool, very Desert Southwest, and I've wanted to use it as a photo of the day for a long time, but wasn't sure how to light it. I had an idea for a lighting setup today - <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#1197086525_qYAGY">here it is</a>. It's certainly not perfect, but I think it's pretty good for a glossy subject and a single flash.
Speaking of flashes and lighting setups, I"m super-excited to be attending the <a href="http://www.theflashbus.com/">Flash Bus Tour</a> with Joe McNally and David Hobby (aka Strobist). My only concern is I will suddenly find myself needing to purchase a lot of equipment I don't have money for... Anyone else going from LA?
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#795915864_SaDTs">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-WCxZ6wm/2/5a817a90/Ti/2011-02-23%20Aztec%20Wedding%20Vase-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/22/11__</span> <span id="title">Agave Flowers</span>
Them bees sure do love them some agave flowers this time of year. The last time I posted a photo from the botanical gardens was on <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1182072599_oe7n6">2/8</a>, which was also my last full day of work. Thanks to the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e">New Orleans trip</a> and being sick all last week, today was my first day back at work in almost 2 weeks. In other botanical garden-related news, the cherry tree is in full bloom! Stay tuned for an amazing bee-on-cherry-blossom photo that has become a yearly tradition.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#795073259_G2BtQ">[last year]</a> <em>one of my favorites...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-3j2Fvgd/2/0f18b832/Ti/2011-02-22%20Agave%20Flowers-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/21/11__</span> <span id="title">Tile Stairs</span>
Gotta love little details like this. I took a walk around the neighborhood this evening and found this staircase - more detailed than it needs to be, but it's very tasteful. Plus, you only notice it if you're right in front - the bushes block the view from the sides. I know it's just some stairs, but it makes the area seem a little more special. OK, that's enough feel-goodery for now.
Did you see? I just posted a gallery of <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/travel/NewOrleans2011/">New Orleans photos</a>! Check them out, a blog post will be forthcoming.
Oh, and don't forget to click Map This - they're all geotagged thanks to Jeffrey Friedl's geoencoding plugin for Lightroom. It works with Google Earth - so much easier than doing them through SmugMug's interface.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#794171573_4JZa4">[last year]</a> <em>this guy was so awesome...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-zChZXtK/3/541d92cc/Ti/2011-02-21%20Tile%20Stairs-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/20/11__</span> <span id="title">Pa</span>
The 'Pa' is for parking. This is, in fact, a parking garage. If you want to see the crazy lights yourself or park in it, it's in Santa Monica on 2nd Street between Arizona Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Also, consider seeing a movie at the Laemmle's theater across the street. We saw The King's Speech. It was good, in case you haven't heard.
In other news, I finally posted some photos from my recent <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e">New Orleans trip</a>! Check it out!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#793126858_x6h6B">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-dbXjSVX/2/048fd4ba/Ti/2011-02-20%20Pa-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/19/11__</span> <span id="title">Drop Farm</span>
Thanks to rain and still being a little sick, I didn't venture far for a photo of the day. This is the fence right outside my front door, turned upside-down of course. Drops drip down, they don't grow up. Did some editing in Lightroom, including the split toning effect.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#792360254_nyLYY">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-kz8L9DV/2/c4d946fa/Ti/2011-02-19%20Drop%20Farm-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/18/11__</span> <span id="title">Mardi Gras Beads</span>
My wife and I got these beads from our plantation tour guide that drove us around last week near New Orleans. He told us that during the [family friendly] parades, you have to say 'throw me something mister' in order to get your beads. Yes, yes, I know that's not the typical method on Bourbon Street.
For this shot, I chose the widest possible aperture so I got circular, not hexagonal, light spots and lit the beads from above as the rested on a white presentation board.
By the way, my New Orleans photos are pretty close to being posted. I've been pretty sick all week, so my time has been spent mostly sitting around and watching movies.
Update: it's finished! Check out my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e"> New Orleans gallery</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#791643538_25DZo">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-L4hp325/2/2b81f09f/Ti/2011-02-18%20Mardi%20Gras%20Beads-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/17/11__</span> <span id="title">Zapp</span>
I bought a bag of <a href="http://www.zapps.com/">Zapp's</a> potato chips while in New Orleans last week. We'd never heard of them, but apparently they're big there. I can't say I'm particularly impressed - they're just super-greasy and super-salty. Every single chip was translucent. On second thought, I am impressed - that you can get 12 grams of fat from a 1.5 ounce bag of something that used to be a potato.
For this photo, I set the chip on top of a glass pot lid that was resting above a white surface, then bounced my flash off of that surface to get some nice even backlighting. Processed in Lightroom.
Check out my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e"> New Orleans gallery</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#790981429_Sc3iy">[last year]</a> <em>bloat...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-Q7nbWZK/2/f532284b/Ti/2011-02-17%20Zapp-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/16/11__</span> <span id="title">Blue Agave</span>
Another sick day, another desperation shot...
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#790331724_GkuTv">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-j8XrS3h/3/efb511e7/Ti/2011-02-16%20Agave-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/15/11__</span> <span id="title">Green Juice</span>
It's actually orange juice in a teal glass. Also featured in this fabulous photo is a box of kleenex. I've been pretty sick the past 2 days, so I just did a quick desperation shot while I laid on the couch.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#789641927_SbtgX">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-RDS6sP3/2/dfe9d0a6/Ti/2011-02-15%20Green%20Juice-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/14/11__</span> <span id="title">Tall Paul</span>
In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to take a photo of a heart. This is Tall Paul, and he has 20 removable parts - #9 is his heart. He lives in the UCLA Biomedical Library and usually has a shirt over his head - otherwise he startles people when they walk into the back room where no one is supposed to be.
Tall Paul's part number is CMT5, in case you want to buy your own. Amazon has them.
Also, Happy Arizona Statehood Day!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#788457153_t4vvA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-xKNMt2v/2/6e179614/Ti/2011-02-14%20Tall%20Paul-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/13/11__</span> <span id="title">LaFourche Bayou</span>
<em>New Orleans, Day 5</em>
Today we flew from LA to LA - Louisiana to Los Angeles. Shortly after taking off Louis Armstrong International Airport, I got this shot of farms plots extending out from a river which turned out to be the LaFourche Bayou - not really a river at all but an offshoot of the Mississippi. The land use pattern reminded me of the old plantation map of the Mississippi that we saw on the tour we took on Thursday.
Converted to B&W since there wasn't much color to begin with. I've re-uploaded my last 4 iPhone daily photos that I did during the trip - they now are properly labeled and have EXIF data and all that good stuff. Stay tuned for a gallery and blog post... right after I go through these 800 photos I took :)
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e">More New Orleans Photos!</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#788422320_vjv5W">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-dTPv6TS/4/00be8aac/Ti/2011-02-13%20LaFourche%20Bayou-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/12/11__</span> <span id="title">Crescent City Connection</span>
<em>New Orleans, Day 4</em>
I earned this bridge shot - I was miles away an hour earlier, but two streetcars and a brisk walk later, I made it to the banks of the Mississippi.
It was a nice end to the day that included a trip to Audubon Park, a cemetery and the Insectarium. It's probably the last daily photo from the city, since we fly back early tomorrow. Stay tuned for a mostly non-iPhone gallery!
See a higher resolution version, as well as other views of this bridge in my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e#1193896859_AmVCm">New Orleans</a> gallery.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#787680012_FFyzV">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-TwmWfmB/4/60c74505/Ti/2011-02-12%20Crescent%20City%20Connection-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/11/11__</span> <span id="title">Saint Louis Cathedral</span>
<em>New Orleans, Day 3</em>
This here be the oldest cathedral in the US. I took the photo from the gate to adjacent Jackson Square in the French Quarter. I like the symmetry, although it makes me wish my phone had an even wider lens :)
I spent most of the day in the French Quarter, which was cool. The variety and denseness of the buildings kept my eyes busy. The abundance of wrought iron was impressive. Unfortunately for photography, it was hard to get a good shot of it all, but I guess we'll see when I get back to my computer.
Despite the harsh shadows, it was nice to see the sun, even if it didn't get to 50 (F) degrees.
See a higher-res, wider angle photo of this facade in my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e#1193887009_2hBhb">New Orleans gallery</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#786657928_5LHJW">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-xDbpgRC/4/101a3042/Ti/2011-02-11%20Saint%20Louis%20Cathedral-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/10/11__</span> <span id="title">Slave Cabin</span>
<em>New Orleans, Day 2</em>
This afternoon my wife and I took a plantation tour. Back in the day there were hundreds of sugarcane plantations lining the Mississippi river North of New Orleans. We took guided tours of Laura and Oak Alley. Laura had quite an interesting history, but Oak Alley was much more impressive. Stay tuned for more photos of that. Also stay tuned for photos I took this morning walking around downtown, including an abandoned power plant.
This shot is a slave cabin with a garden at the Laura plantation. Despite the terrible injustices and inequalities of the time, it was really interesting to learn how the plantations were run. It was also really neat to drive through the cypress swamp and over part of Lake Ponchartrain.
See a better, higher-res photo of this scene in my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e#1193892745_w54av">New Orleans gallery</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#785849332_3Mz72">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-SVkMWzn/4/5ea55f49/Ti/2011-02-10%20Slave%20Cabin-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__02/09/11__</span> <span id="title">Blanca Peak</span>
<em>New Orleans, Day 1</em>
Day zero, really, since we spent all of the daylight hours traveling, thanks to a plane malfunction that left us in St. Louis for 4 hours instead of 1.
The highlight of the day was flying over the Western US at sunrise. I like the rugged scenery at midday, so seeing the early morning light was a special treat. This shot was taken later in the morning, but I think it still looks pretty cool. Somewhere in Colorado, I believe.
<strong>Update:</strong> The tallest mountain in the foreground is Blanca Peak, and the range is the Sangre de Christo mountains - a subrange of the Rockies. The grayish-brown spot nestled in the curve of the range is Great Sand Dunes National Park.
See a cooler closeup of the peak in my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/NewOrleans2011/15869305_3pC5e#1193894552_WWrui">New Orleans gallery</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#785161072_6gW6M">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-XMsnxsf/5/88852cca/Ti/2011-02-09%20Blanca%20Peak-Ti.jpg)