100th Post

Transitions - Best of 2008

Slideshow best viewed at 3 seconds per frame, while accompanied by these three songs in sequence:

1 - Didn't it Rain?
2 - Spiral Re-born
3 - Some Other Time
(All songs composed by Yoko Kanno, they are from the shows
Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna,
∀ Gundam, and
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, respectively)


For my 100th post, I wanted to do something big. I went through all of the photos I had taken so far this year, and picked out what I thought were the best. I then proceeded to try and whittle the selection down to the best 100. I got fairly close, but it kept getting harder and harder to go any further. After a while I realized that it wasn't too important to reduce it to 100. I discovered that when I viewed the pictures in sequence, the images took on more significance. They start to describe my way of seeing and exploring things, such as how I like to take a picture of a subject within a wide view, and then zoom in to see more details, or how I like to go back and photograph something in different light at a later date. It is these transitions that tell the story. It is through observing the transitions throughout an hour, a day, a week, a season, and a year that I feel connected to a place.
I really enjoy looking through my photos, partly because I can remember the experience of being in that place and seeing that thing, but also because I can often see things that I hadn't noticed at the time. In the picture of the yarrow flowers near the beginning of the slideshow, you can see a tiny spider camouflaged against the flowers. I didn't notice that for a long time, even after repeatedly looking at the photo. I hope you will also observe closely, and enjoy.

Backpack Camping at Afton

Backpack Camping at Afton State Park

I used Picasa Web albums to upload some of my photos from my trip to Afton State Park. It was a great trip, and I learned a lot about backpacking. On my previous backpacking trips, my dad did most of the hard work of planning, packing, and cooking. I want to travel and explore many remote parts of the U.S. and the world, and so I need to learn how to be efficient at these things. Thanks to my employee discount, I at least had much better gear this time, so that made it a more comfortable and simple trip. Kelty tents, bags, and packs are all quite good. Kelty products have a great attention to detail that makes them easy and enjoyable to use. I learned the most about cooking on this trip. I didn't plan or prepare too well for that aspect, although I did manage to make some memorable and tasty meals. I had to improvise a bit as is common in my recipes, an example of which you can see here.



It was an interesting trip, because I bookended it with a ride at Afton Alps Friday afternoon and a race there Sunday afternoon. That race was also a learning experience for me. I ended up taking a DNF along with 30% of the rest of the comp class. The heat was pretty brutal, and I made some major mistakes with nutrition and fuel for my body before the race that forced me to drop out after my first lap. I have done things well in that regard pretty much every time before, except for one time when I didn't have enough food or water for a really long race. This time I had too much food and salt, which led to me taking in too much water since my electrolyte levels were so out of whack. I'm looking forward to an even better trip next year. While my solo trip this time was definitely fun and relaxing, I'm hoping that I will have a friend with whom I can share the trip by then.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is my favorite season for photography. Beautiful transformations are taking place, the weather is pleasant, and there are no mosquitoes yet. I enjoy photographing all of the seasons, but spring seems to be the easiest to work with. I hadn't done much photography over the last several months, but I got back into it this spring. It is fun to be in photography mode, where I turn on my "artist's eye" and I am always looking for interesting scenes and subjects. It's fun to find a great photo in an unexpected place, just because I was being extremely observant. For example, I spotted a crawling caterpillar on the bike path in Carver Park in the evening as I was speeding along at 20 mph. It was fun to see it crawling along with the light shining underneath its legs and through the fuzzy hairs on its back. I'm trying to turn up my creativity levels, and photography is one way I can do so.