Soulard Mardi Gras 2013

Sometimes, once or twice a decade, I'm willing to swim into a crowd.

We got to see a little bit of everything: drinking, crying, texting, drinking, dancing, shouting, drinking...

I'm good for a few more years, now, but the people watching was fantastic.

I have an album over on G+ with more photos.

St. Louis Central Library Grand Reopening

It's beautiful. It's going to be full of people. Thank you SLPL for making this investment.

Tower Grove Fog

First day of a five day weekend and Mother Nature gives me fog!



Naturally I went to the nearest park.



I know I should have worked this out before I left, but I'd gone about a block before I realized just how damp my scooter ride was going to be.

Bellefontaine Cemetery on a Blustery Day

So I wondered if digital infrared photography was still viable in the second week of November.



As it turned out, Julie had never been to Bellefontaine Cemetery in north St. Louis county.



We went for a stroll. She had her camera, I had mine. Occasionally we'd meet and move on to a new part of the cemetery. It's a pretty big place, and we didn't see anything on the eastern side because we didn't want to interrupt the private event over there. No, it wasn't a funeral. It was something to do with beer.



Also, I was in a contrast-y mood. It was a good fit.

Interlude

Sometimes it's good to get a little sun.

JeffCo Fire Engine Rally - Herculaneum, MO

Who doesn't want to go look at fire engines?


Okay, so the rally is harder on some than on others.

Poetry Scores at Mad Art

Poetry Scores Art Invitational - Wole Soyinka's Ever-Ready Bank Accounts

Whitewater in Missouri?

If you haven't guessed, I'm not from the flatlands. I'm from western Pennsylvania, where whitewater canoeing, kayaking and even rafting are a fairly easy sport to enjoy. I spend a lot of time canoeing as a kid, and I miss whitewater. This spring JD and I went down to Millstream Gardens Conservation Area to watch 45th annual Missouri Whitewater Championships. I'm pretty sure the St. Francois was higher than most of the participants had ever run, but I was impressed with the MWA'a attitude toward safety.

Sunday at the St. Louis Zoo

More experiments with the old 500mm mirror lens:




 And a modern zoom:

Kishi Bashi at Off Broadway

This is Kishi Bashi. He has beautiful hands and an album coming out in April. JD saw him when he played with Of Montreal at the Luminary last year. Last night he appeared at Off Broadway. Have you even gone to a show and worried that no one else would show? This was like that, except that I shouldn't have worried- he has a following. Normally I would have left the balcony and gone down front to get more intimate shots, but his fans were clustered around the stage and I didn't want to get in anyone's way. And I didn't want to get distracted from listening. So, anyway, have some slightly distant telephoto shots and go listen to his track Manchester on Bandcamp.

Tour de Frances, St. Louis Hills

I have a Reflex-Nikkor 500mm lens that I have never gotten a feel for.  My dad loved it, and it does have good points: it's sharp, it's in perfect condition, and it's surprisingly comfortable to shoot with.  On the down side, it's slow-- f8 fixed aperture (which is probably really a 1/2 stop darker in practice).  Also, I'm not much of a telephoto shooter to begin with.  Historically, I've preferred the large depth of field and sharpness of wide angle lenses.  I just can't seem to think of pictures so far away.

Yesterday I decided to play with the behemoth.  One of the reasons I bought a Nikon DSLR was so I could continue using the collection of Nikon lenses I had used for years on my F, F3HP and Nikkormat.  The results aren't all that impressive, but another joy of digital cameras is the low cost of practice, practice, practice.

We went to Frances Park to watch the bicycle races.

Wings of Hope in the Forest Park Grand Basin

It's no secret I love boats. Also, I have a fondness for things that may or may not work out the way they're supposed to. Clearly the Hope Floats cardboard boat race is made for me. Julie and I wandered out to Forest Park Saturday morning to see what we could see.


It was a beautiful morning- the heat actually broke for a few minutes.


Some launches went better than others.


Vikings don't seem to like bathing. Who knew?

After years of admiring the folks who risked their pride in the "Anything That Floats" Race at the Three Rivers Regatta, I think I'm ready to try making a cardboard boat for next year's Hope Floats. Who's with me?

The Safes at The Firebird

After a week of not wanting to put anything near my tender nose, I picked up my camera again. I didn't use it too much, but I wanted to grab some shots of The Safes when they came down from Chicago.







It was another night of playing with the new camera and my RAW software. Shooting in the dark isn't much of a challenge with the D5100. Friday night I decided to see how "filmish" I could get. It's not my normal way of working; I don't generally waste my time twisting one media to resemble another. Everyone has moods, though, right?

Ohiopyle State Park, Western PA

I try to visit this park every time I go back to Pennsylvania.

Happy Independence Day!

I didn't brave the heat for any fireworks this year. Have some colorful pics from last week's Pride Parade instead.

Wednesday night at Off Broadway

The new camera does really well in low light, and it works with all of my old Nikon lenses.


I took this pic of Holcome Waller (in his fancy shirt!) from the balcony of Off Broadway with a 40 year old 200mm lens.


And here's Haley Bonar...


and Daniel Martin Moore.

It was a good show. Exactly what I needed last week.