The Coronado Ferry

A Smile Always Belies the Darkness You Are Looking Toward

This is another picture from the luau. This is one of the dancers and if you enlarge the picture you realize that what appears to be a smile at first glance isn't that at all.

It May Be Called A Passage

Conch

This weekend the hotel I work at hosted their annual public luau (we do private luaus quite regularly) and I was able to snap a few pictures before I became to mired in the work of the evening. This is the opening of dinner, which is heralded by a trumpeting through a Conch Shell, leading the Hawaiian tradition of parading the Imu.

They Don't Call It Sunset Cliffs For Nothing

Architects in the Night

San Diego Skyline

King Palm

Sign On San Diego: University Heights

San Diego is broken down into different neighborhoods, which for a city with nearly a million and half residents, goes a long way toward making it feel smaller than it really is. Many of these neighborhoods have signs distinguishing them. I've been wanting to go around and get photos of these different signs. So, a new series called Sign On San Diego, which is a local reference in itself, will be posted as I get pictures of these signs. I decided to start with the neighborhood sign nearest me. (Some will argue that The Boulevard sign is closer and it may be, but it doesn't depict a neighborhood and it's picture will make it on here soon.)

Castle Aflame

Things I See Everyday: My (Supposed) Terrorist Plot

So, I usually do not do two "Things I See Everyday" posts, but today was something special. I was driving home from work this evening and was going to pick up some food and knew I would be driving past this building I see most every evening. I see this building usually from the freeway and I think about how I like the white vertical lines contrasting with the black windows and the fact that it is well lit in the evening. Today I was on surface streets and I had my camera with me, so I decided to stop. I parked, got out, and snapped two shots immediately. I was moving around to find a better angle when I was approached by a security guard who informed me that "The owners don't want people taking pictures because of the 'political climate'". Anyone who knows the geography of San Diego will realize that this mediocre building in Mission Valley is a morale center for the public of San Diego. I spoke with him a little more and left, leaving unsaid the fact that I can go to Downtown San Diego and take pictures of "impressive and important" buildings all night long without being hassled by some security guy. Not to mention that on the other side of the bay is the largest Naval Base on the West Coast.

In short, I am flabbergasted by the self-aggrandizing things that people say to me in thinking of their importance to terrorists. About 5 months after September 11th, I was a manager for a movie theatre in my hometown in Central California. We were required to sell these pins for charity. I went into the theatre to give my spiel to the audience before the start of the film. The projectionist is supposed to turn the lights up for this, but had failed to do so. I left my bag at the front of the theatre and ran upstairs to do it myself. I was walking back downstairs when a lady was hysterically talking to one of my employees, who directed her to me. She was telling me how she got scared that I was a terrorist come to blow up this amazingly important theatre, wearing a name tag, suit and tie no less. I explained to her what I was doing and she felt so embarassed she bought like 10 pins. It's a small town that most people have never heard of and she thinks that is where the terrorists are going to strike. Right in the middle of a stupid Sunday matinee. Come on. I'm glad these people have a good amount of self esteem to think that they are so important with their mediocrity.

So, now you've had two long winded stories and I leave you with a mediocre picture to match. I think sometime I'll go back to that building and take my chances again. But, way to go security guy on making what probably would have been a less interesting final picture, (if I had been able to take more) that I was only taking to quell my nagging interest in the building, into a rant and now a mission to take that uninteresting photo I really wanted. Nice.

Things I See Everyday: The East Atrium

And To Think That I Never Liked Rye...

As The World Washes Away

Davy Jones Has Nothing On These Guys

Obstructed: The Neighbor's Bamboo

I'm starting a new series today entitled Obstructed. I find myself thinking about obstructions as I walk around. It might be something simple like a fence with flowers just poking over the top or a building that was so self-righteously placed to allow a few a great vista and the masses outside a great view of a building with hints around the edges that portent the beauty beyond. So, today's post will get a quick story about the bamboo...
When Cindi, Carly, and I were looking for apartments 3 years ago we fell in love with the tall, thick miniature bamboo grove that was growing on the neighbors property. A tenant next door left and a new one moved in. This new tenant had a problem with the bamboo and asked the landlord to remove it (she was afraid hobos or something would hide out in the bamboo, which would not be very practical, since I've been in there and it's thick, the leaves are surprisingly sharp, and there are little bamboo pikes of old bamboo ready to make your stay very uncomfortable). Anyways, so the landlord had someone cut it down. This was a very sad day for us, but noticed that this did not kill it. So, we watered it and brought it back to it's respendant glory of about 14 feet tall. This quick regrowth seemed to vex the landlord, so he cut it down again and then tried everything he could to kill the stuff. He even tried the industrial stuff they use to kill corn fields. Nothing worked. He would need a tractor to take this stuff out. He seems to have now contended himself with periodic choppings. This has been the progress since the last chop and it always brings a smile to mine and Cindi's faces when we see the bamboo reaching out over the fence to once again thwart all the efforts thrown against it.

Sometime Things Don't Go The Direction You Hope

Lightbox

Matt put me onto a link for a quick and cheap way to make a lightbox, so that was my project today and well, I'm very impressed with the results. You can't get bad light in this thing. I immediately got great results, in fact this was the first thing I shot. You can find the instructions for building the lightbox here. This is one shot from another day of photographing Cindi's work which is being sold here. Unfortunately I got a late start and most of the pictures aren't prepared to be posted yet, but in the next few days the new work (including a line of magnets) will make it's way on there.

Jewel Work

I might be a few days on having a real post, because I'm devoting my photo time to helping Cindi put her work up on a site where she's trying to sell her wares. It might be a day or two until she gets around to adding them to the site, it definitely won't be tonight, since she is already fast asleep. If you want to buy some of her stuff you can find it here and if you want you can see her blog of random stuff here