Catching Some Rays

On this first day of 2012, I just wanted to wish you and yours the absolute best!  I hope 2012 presents endless opportunities for you and your loved ones.    Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year,

Bill Dodd

The Road Ahead

This will be my last post for the year.   I wanted to spend the next few days off, focused more on viewing others' posts than spamming the world with my own.   Plus, it is time to go dark for a few days and enjoy the end of the year with my family.

2011.    Wow, this year delivered a diverse array of experiences and lessons!

I started the year, in negotiations with Microsoft for a life-changing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chase my development dreams.   My dad's cancer was supposedly cured, my mom's health was improving, opportunities around every corner.   I had a laser-focus on family & career.

As the Microsoft deal started to move forward, we got word dad's cancer was indeed, no longer in remission.  My laser-focus now shifted to being a goog caretaker.   I hope that I was.  This culminating in the most macabre experience of celebrating my Son's life (his 2nd birthday party) while my dad, literally days from death in my home and under my care during his final days.   Mom, fell ill with lung-related illness, and she - too, passed from this earth 3 weeks later.

In the midst of this maelstrom of life and death.  The passing of my parents as the yang, witnessing my baby son become a little boy and my little girl begin her education as the yin.  

I learned from the example of a few precious friends what it is to be a great friend to someone and I've learned the importance of culminating those relationships more carefully in my own practice.  I've lost the patience to wait until tomorrow to achieve my goals and I've gained patience in tolerating the ins-and-outs of life here on Earth.

I learned the importance of slowing down, on occasion, to take the scenic route home because, at the end of the day, our journey's all take us to the same place and the adventure is how we get there.

To old  and new friends alike and to you other like-minded travelers, in earnest I wish you a very blessed & Happy New Year.  May the road ahead bring out the best in each of us.

Orion Walk

I get the opportunity to stop and appreciate the night skies more than a lot of people but almost always from my back yard.   This evening I got to enjoy them on the epic gulf coast beaches, in epic weather, while photo-walking with friend and epic photographer, awesome-fun dude -- Mr. Brody, himself.   

I'm beside myself to see some of what he came away with from another great golden hour photo walk.

I had to get a little noisy on this one to get the light I wanted.   The effect is still kinda nice, I thought.

Looks alot better than most of my starry night shots, that have my backyard shed in the picture :)

Sunset, Beneath the Pier

Going with the Theme of some of my favorite shots from the year..

After work one afternoon, I went to the Gulf Shores Public Beach at the Gulf States Pier.   It was cold, clear and the tide coming out had created this interesting little 'island' to stand on beneath the Pier, which gave a perspective of being in the water when looking up and down the beach.

I remember the day, well - because I encountered another photographer during the trip.   I saw this guy in his Mid-20's with his camera on a tripod and rifling through his gear bag for something.    A wave surprised him and he nearly knocked the tripod in the water trying to get his bag to safety.   He was about 20 ft away as the wave started to roll back out and I could see the tripod starting to move as if it would tump over.   I took 4 steps and put my hand on one leg of the tripod to steady it -- didn't want the guy's gear to go into the Gulf.

At which point he came over and yelled at me to get off his gear and then jeered at me some snide remark about having a Nikon.    I hung around but he did not.    Angrily or frustratedly, he packed his stuff up and left.   

The patience paid off and I witnessed this wonderful sunset.

It was at this point I made the distinction between photographers and programmers.   Programmers can be jerks but it's likely just a social awkwardness wrapped in layers of self-consciousness.   I think some of the jerky photographers I've met probably fit this mold, too.    I have.. however.. met far more cool photographers and artists, than engineers, though..  

The Soldier and the Boy

Now that Christmas is over, I'm excited to get back to sharing out some non-Christmas-y things.    Back to the theme of sharing some of my favorite shots from the year..

In January, 2011 I visited the U.S.S Alabama for a really productive photo walk.   On the way back, driving down the causeway, I decided to stop at this abandoned hotel, the old Ramada Inn on the Mobile Bay causeway.

During the summer of 1993 my family experienced a house fire.  Our home in Indiana went up in the most curious and as it turns out: illegal, way.  We were on vacation in the area when the fire occurred and ended up staying in Foley for a few weeks.   My Dad found work in Mobile, AL - working in the used tire business with an acquaintance from the past. 

It turns out their meeting in Mobile wasn't quite so happenstance.

A months later, an insurance investigation led to the conclusion the house fire was the cause of arson.

I'll write more on that, another time. :)

So, homeless and transplanted to the beautiful Gulf Coast, we moved into the Ramada Inn in Mobile, Alabama - just down from the battleship.   My parents chose this location because it allowed pets (o, lord did mom ever have pets) and it was close enough for Dad's commute to Mobile.  

On the day of my Battleship photo walk, I wanted to explain all of this to the nice Spanish Fort Police Officers who stopped to question why I was trespassing.   I decided to just go the route of looking official and claiming myself to be a "photo blogger, reporting on the economic situation of tourism on the Gulf Coast". 

They bought it and I got this really cool exposure of some Banksy-esque tag work by a tag-artist called 'Priest'.

Oh yeah and to make this official... blah blah blah, "economy", blah blah blah, "Gulf Coast".  See, officer, I wasn't lying.  :) 

Merry Christmas!

To Santa and all of those many helpers who may have a long night ahead, I just wanted to send our warmest holiday wishes to you.   And to anyone that reads this, have a Merry Christmas!

Hazy Daze

(click through for full image)

I finally finished my Christmas shopping today and made my way to Gulf Shores Public Beach to find the strangest haze hovering around the entire city.

I couldn't help but think of the characters of a Stephen King book as I watched this couple stroll off into the mist. As far as I know, no tentacled creatures jerked them up and into the fog.

Christmastime: A Little Piece of Wales, in Alabama

Years ago, my wife worked at a local bank.  She started to tell me about these workers who would come in to cash their checks, that were helping to build an extraordinary RV Resort.   They would spin tales of a large steam locomotive, intricate architecture and stonework and a massive effort in construction.

I'm not a RV person.  I'm a sailboat person.  So, my naivity kicks in when I hear "RV Resort".  I immediately imagine a few shotgun-style roads lined with lots and power hookups, sparse trees, filled with RVs, usually at a nice location such as a forest, lake or waterfront.

Fastforward a few years and we hear from friends these references of a place called "Wales West", primarily famous for Thomas the Train, Halloween and Christmas train-events.  That year, my wife, daughter, son and I, all dress down into our pajamas and head to their take on The Polar Express.  (Called, I'm sure for legal purposes, The Arctic Express)

What we found when we arrived was trully more than I expected.  Beautifully decorated grounds connected, largely with intricate stonework and european architecture.   Smiling faces all-around.  

On the grounds, numerous buildings stand, all with super attention to detail and a very classic styling, surrounded by endless droves of Christmas decorations of all kinds.

As we waited at the train depot for our trip to the North Pole, a small clean shop sits with some of the most welcoming and delightful Christmas decorations.  You can't help but stop and view them with the eyes and wonder of a child.

You board a train, something right out of a Walt Disney home video - and embark on a journey to the North Pole the kids with likely not forget.  

The 5-10 minute train ride snakes through the resort and out past a small lake, adorned with the brilliant reflections of Christmas lights on the shore.  A photograph cannot do this scene justice!  The train works its way into the woods just far enough that on a cold night the child in you can imagine that you may have actually been magically transported to the North Pole.

At your destination, you unload and find Santa Claus, ready to pose with photos and bearing a gift for the youngsters.    Around Santa is a creative and fun arts-crafts style play area for the kids and more fantastic decorations and music.

Upon your return home, you find a spacious tent with a wooden railroad track and tables around it.  Parents can sit and relax, enjoying hot cocoa and cookies while the children's imagination go wild on this large wooden railway.

With the point of this blog being to share interesting sights and sites, I feel like Wales West is one of those best-kept-secrets that families in our area need to know about.    

 

Christmastime, above all, is about family and making memories.  Wales West, the unlikliest place to a programmer-sailior such as myself, has earned a special spot in our Christmas family tradition.  There's still time, this year!  Check them out online, at: http://www.waleswest.com/

Excitement of a new paintbrush...

Being a person who understands Science and Technology, I've always had a sense of wonder for artists.  One of my friends in High School was this amazing artist.  He wanted to be a cartoonist and he could amaze by sitting down and pencilling these creative, simple - yet, lifelike drawings.    People who can draw, paint, play music "by ear".  I've always been in awe of those skills because, I do not possess them.

Photography and post-processing is the closest skill to painting tnat I do possess.   This week, with my primary paintbrush (A Nikon) in the shop, I found myself buying another. (A Sony Alpha)

There is something exciting about getting new tools and learning how they can be used to express your creative urges.   This, is based on my first outing with this new, very different, paintbrush.

Winter Tones

Save & Close

... I'd never actually walked this far away from the pier, before when I took this shot. I thought it was interesting how the clouds reflected in the Bay and how sometimes a "cold day" can come through because of the tones in the shot.

Happy Monday Friends!

Black and Blue

I usually don't like posting two shots from the same location, so quickly together.   This shot, was actually part of the bracket I used to build an HDR Panorama of this location last week. When I was perusing the files, I saw this one and thought "Dang, that was better than the resulting HDR".. 

I really enjoy shots where elements are fully blacked or whited out in interesting ways.   Touching up the contrast here, made the walkway to the right completely disappear and I thought the result was kinda interesting and worth sharing...  Happy Thursday, Friends.

Fairhope's Municipal Marina

Bonus post for today to come to Parity with G+ and Flickr. :)

Yes Virginia, Santa Moonlights at the Mall to help make ends meet

My little girl, this year, I found out today, vouched for me with the man in red.

There's a small backstory..    Jena was going through her growing list of must-haves that the man-in-red should deliver.   Faced with seemingly endless possibilities, (the sky's the limit, right?  :)  ) 

she asks me, "what would you like for Santa to bring you this year, daddy?"

I explained that I, in fact, was bad for a good portion of the year and will not be receiving anything from her favorite portly benefactor.  But, not to fear -- I would indulge myself by buying another R/C Plane or other toy at some point in the new year.

So.. my little frustratiingly cute 6 year old goes up to Santa and runs down her little list..  Then she vouches for me, "..and please bring Daddy and Airplane, he says he'll be better next year"

I'm posting these, so that.. in 10 years when she steals my wallet and rides off on a hover-motorcycle with some boy whom I don't approve of, I can reference it as "aww.. that was cute.  she was nice to me.. a decade ago.."

So.. what of Santa pics?  How do you handle them?  I just can't imagine you professional and semi professional photographers standing in line at the Mall for take-your-ticket Santa Photography.

This will sound wildly redneck but we go to the Bass Pro Shop near us every year.   They have a good looking Santa, nice setting with good lighting, allow you to use a DSLR and sell you a digital print for reasonable of their capture (which was great this year)

This capture, however was from my DSLR, then softened up a bit to reflect the wonder and magic children must fill when meeting Santa.

Year - End Review: Down the River

I looked at my calendar today and realized how quickly the New Year is going to be upon us.  Holy 2012-Apocalypse batman, this month is going by quickly!

I thought it would be cool to intermix some of my favorite shots of 2011, between other blog posts, with the twist of some sort of "alternate" treatment so it isn't just a boring, re-post of the original.

I came across this photo and knew this was easily one of my favorite shots for the year.  Not, because I think the shot is particularly awesome but for more whimsical reasons.    As my desktop wallpaper cycles to this shot, I tend to daydream for about 2 nanoseconds that this shot was captured along some back-country river in Asia during some multiple-week trek to shoot a non-touristy portion of the Asian countryside; old monasteries or something.

..of course… even my kindergartener knows better.  This shot came from Disney's Animal Kingdom.   There was no ride through rice patties in a 60's model truck filled with chickens and farm animals to get to this point.   There were no guides and there was no hiking on snow-covered mountain peaks.  Just a jolly frolic from the frozen banana and mickey-headed ice-cream stand.

Still, a boy can dream, right?   So, that was the theme I went with in processing this.  Some over-the-top patina, overlay of an old nautical map and some other textures.

The original photo is here:

YardArm

How would you like to spend your retirement?

With full knowledge that fewer and fewer of us will achieve our goals in this area..  I'll share my dream with you. So many people, get RVs and travel the country.  I ... really don't like driving long distances, so I'm pretty sure the RV is out.

I'd like to spend a good deal of my retirement, sailing but I have some portions of this plan, still to work out.

I can sail.   I have a small sailboat that doubles as my "head down, tasks" office.   She's 29 ft, older than I am and not pictured here. Her name, Stargazer, is an omage to my real plan for retirement, one day.    To sail the seas in a 40+ footer. With a Wind Generator, Solar Panels and the loves of my life.  My wife, my telescope and camera while my children drink away my life savings in search of college degrees.

I decided to take a step in this direction, this year when I got Stargazer.. for quite a deal.  

So, now I have some practice sailing.   I'm no expert but I can drive the boat, work the sails, navigate with wind direction in mind.   Basic Skillset, Check.

My wife gets seasick.  This could be a snag.

I'm making plans to hopefully attend a week long sail school in the spring.  Get certified and when I'm really old and deranged, I can make people call me Captain.   

Much, sooner than my retirement, however -- I've been considering a change of careers.   Sort of, my pre-mid-life crisis.  I'm a really good developer but I know I'm not getting any younger and software development is a young persons' career.    Management opportunities aren't exactly falling from the sky.   Maybe I should have held on to the one I once, had.

I've seriously considered working towards a 2 year goal of trading up into that 40 foot sailboat and doing private charters on the beautiful gulf coast.   Coupled with my love for photography and some contacts, I'm sure I could make it lucrative.

Then, today as I looked up YardArm's website to post some details about the really neat restaurant/marina pictured here, I see details of a private charter that has gone out of business that was home, here.

I believe in signs.  So, is this a sign to call and buy their boat (which is for sale) or to quit daydreaming and get back to work.    My checking account leans towards the former option, so I guess I'll go program something...

Happy Monday! 

White Fence

Whenever I see a fence, I automatically think about Tim Taylor's neighbor, WIlson.  

(Fun fact, his name, for the sake of that show, was actually, Wilson Wilson, Jr. )

Of course, for this to be that fence and Wilson to almost peer over it, he would have to be about as tall as a leprechaun.    If only I had a neighbor like Wilson, I could ask him about how tall Leprechauns were. He would surely know.

I guess, that was before Siri and Andrew, before Google was a verb and everyone had a powerful computer in their pocket disguised as a phone.  

Except for maybe James Bond and Q.  Pretty sure, they had smartphones, then.

Well, the James Bond, Q did, anyway.  The Star Trek Next Generation Q, didn't need smartphones.  He could just wrinkle his nose and alter reality @ will, so silly trivia wasn't a major problem for him.

.. or was that Jeannie that could wrinkle her nose and make things happen?

I wonder if Tim would have found a way to give a Smartphone,   "More Power!"

Maybe he would have come up with WebOS and a power-guzzling 8 core processor and in the last minute, Al would install the latest Android or IOS build, add some battery capacity and turn off 4 unused cores...

I guess, these days, he can just tell Curtis the Elf and he can make that happen.

...if you don't have a Television or didn't have one in the 80's, this post will make little sense to you, sorry.  Check
Netflix on your smartphone and you'll get the references.

Embracing Imperfection

This time of year, a few years ago, I sat next to this professional photographer on a flight coming back from a U.S. Customs conference for Brokers and Broker-related technologies.  He, being a photographer with an interest in software-technology and me, being a programmer with an interest in photography: we traded business cards and had a nice chat.   We shared two legs of the itinerary and had some time to grab a beer in Atlanta's airport and chat about our respective careers.  

From that chat, I remember vividly this quote, (regarding Portraits, specifically -  Christmas Portraits) he said, "I help capture the lie that people like to perpetuate of having the perfect family."

Now.. I will admit that is a total-hipster statement but...in my own experience I've found some truth in it.

Last year, I picked up Trey Ratcliff's photo book.  Among the many fantastic photos in that book, is this very awesome and magical Christmas portrait..

 (.. I mean, really... how awesome is that?)  
A very inspiring image... in fact, it inspired me into a moment of insanity but, in the end, helped us to develop a new holiday tradition.. read on.. 

So, in my very Clark Griswold way, as the Holiday Season approached last year, I projected onto my family the impossible task of creating this perfect family Christmas Portrait.  Not because I wanted to impress anyone, outdo the Jones's or cousins.   Not to try to portray the image of a perfect family.   Just... because.

With a 2 year and old and 6 year old, our house isn't the most clutter-free place.   One of the reasons I'd rather do Google Hangouts from my Boat than my house.   But, we  do have this corner where we  always place our Christmas tree and we have this Grandfather clock that means something to me because.. my mom and grandfather built it.  We set up stockings around the Grandfather clock, buy some Christmas floral arrangements and cute little outfits for the kids and I set off in the misguided journey for the perfect image. The idea was for the image to look like we were beginning to decorate the tree.   False - Candid Portraits.

Perfect lighting, the perfect poses, the perfect clarity, the perfect angle.   It must all be PERFECT!  Miles, turn in towards your sister and fold your arms on your lap.  Jena, chin up but face me.  Smile!  No - The real smile! ... Miles, put that down and sit here.  Jena, stay where you are..   Miles -- no wait, don't do that -- over here!!

Click Click Click Click

I went shutter-mad.   Took hundreds and hundreds of photos.   At the end, I looked alot like my favorite scene from National Lampoon's Christmas vacation.   Sipping Egg Nogg and wondering where my chainsaw is so I can cut down the tree in disguist.   

..and ma in her defeated pose and I about to snap, the kids flopped down to the floor with Christmas lights in their lap...

Then, it happened.   While Dina and I looked at each other in stress-induced defeat, the kids sat down beneath the tree and started playing with an extra strand of Christmas lights.  I pulled off the boot flash and took the camera off the tripod.  Snapped a half dozen shots and ended with this.. my favorite holiday shot of our kids..

It isn't a perfect image.  Because of my lens, it is a little higher-ISO than would be ideal.  They had both changed into random PJ's, so these were not the cute little clothes we wanted. There was some motion blur and neither kid is looking at the camera...  But.. the thing about this image is... it is real..

So now, we have a new family tradition.  Instead of trying to get the perfect family Portrait for Christmas.. as we decorate the tree we pulll out the lights and let the kids play.   I snap some shots and most of them, don't turn out.   But, I always find one or two that will pass for the sake of capturing the memory.

I haven't even gone through all of the photos from this year but this one stuck out to me as appropriate for this post.  As a casual photo-snob perfectionist passerby sees the photo I posted today, they'll see amateurish imperfection.   Mid-High ISO and softness from the Lens I used.    Motion blur from the wrong shutter speed.  Incorrect focal point and maybe the wrong F-stop.

As Dad and Photographer.  I see the memory.  This shot and the 20 before and after it of my children enjoying the Christmas Season.  Isn't that, the point, after all?

Perfection.. can be.. a fool's errand.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday Season..

Bill, the Not Perfect Dad-Photographer

Sunset from the Pier..

About halfway down the Fairhope Pier, the Sunset on a nice, cool afternoon.

TGIF!

The Oak and The Barn, Panoramic

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No Wide Angle? No Problem!

During the photo walk in Fairhope, I found myself in a position where I'd like to have had a true wide angle lens, instead of the do-everything lens I usually carry..   No Wide Angle?  No problem.  Shoot your image in quadrants and let photoshop stitch them together for you!

Video of the making of this: