Happy New Year from San Antonio

Here is wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009

Santa Spotted in Switzerland

Why is Santa peeping through a window in Wilderswil, Switzerland on Christmas Eve? I can only guess that he was making a last check on who was naughty and who was nice because he wouldn't respond when I yelled at him.

Switzerland was very nice and we enjoyed it a lot. As usual, I took a lot of pictures and now I am having to sort through them.

Some of you remember when we used to take slides during vacation and then make everyone sit through a slide show. Friends and relatives dreaded the family vacation because they knew they were going to have to sit through 6 rolls of poorly exposed film why others yammered on about how wonderful it was. I wouldn't do that to you though.

I have pulled out some of the best and posted them in the slide show window though. Now you can look through them and call me over if you want for the commentary that goes with it....

Swans

Swans, seagulls, and mallards in Switzerland.

The Seagull Says It All

Noisy Miner Bird on a Canna

Noisy Miner Birds are almost always willing to pose for a picture. There has been a lot of rain in Brisbane recently and everything is green.

V=12,800

Street Performers of Brisbane: Rope Man

Today I am in Brisbane and was down to Queen Street of course, it being the weekend and all. There were the usual street performers including Balloon Man and the Little Tramp. This guy was climbing ropes and doing some pretty amazing stuff. At one point he was horizontal on the rope and at another he rolled himself up then down it. There was a new magician over on South Bank but he was really pretty bad and didn't even warrant a picture...

Street Performers of Brisbane: Balancing Woman

Balancing Woman is part of the same group as Rope Man. See the chalk board with "How Many Sleeps?" written on it? Sleeps is Aussie for nights. So altogether now, how many nights until Christmas? 18!

BTW, I saw a good looking Santa in the Decatur mall in Illinois and I was going to take a picture of him but being a nice guy I asked permission and they said NO! Of course it is a public place and I could have taken a photo anyway but I didn't. These street performers don't mind you taking pictures at all, although most would like a donation.

Street Performers of Brisbane: Copper Girl

Copper Girl was doing her act down by a band that was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan tunes. Why did Copper Girl paint her body copper and then wrap a torn sheet around herself? I don't know, but she was getting a lot of looks. Her act consisted of slumping and holding still like a statue until someone put money in front of her. Then she chased them around and acted kind of like a scantily clad demented mime - scared the #@!* out of most of her potential audience.... There used to be an Asian guy that painted himself gold with a similar act but he didn't try to frighten people afterwards :-)

Little Girl Feeding Koi

This little girl was feeding the koi at Atagoyama Shrine with her father. I have visited it many times and it is one of my favorites in the Tokyo area. You buy the fish food as a donation and the koi go crazy. Usually, there are only a few people there, but on this day there were a fair number. It was warm and sunny - everyone was out just enjoying the weather I think....

Shinagawa

Today I am in Tokyo, having spent yesterday in meetings, and am preparing to catch a plane to Brisbane. This is a shot from the Strings Hotel in Shinagawa towards downtown Tokyo. I have noticed that my camera has dust on the sensor that I'm going to have to clean off. It does that at times when you change the lens. New cameras vibrate to shake it off.

Three pairs of hawks are circling outside the hotel window on the 31st floor. I don't know what their prey is but will get a picture and try to identify them later....

Don't Drink and Drive

This is my interpretation of what it looks like when you drive and drink. Too many alcohol related accidents happen this time of year - get a designated driver or call Dad to come get you if you have to.

Transfer House Square

Thanksgiving in the heartland, the square in Decatur, Illinois.

St. Louis Arch

It really wasn't that hard to be cool in the '60s, it just came natural. Take these two guys for example. They could have just have easily been on a fashion shoot for Abercrombie & Fitch instead of on vacation with their parents. Of course when we were young, Abercrombie & Fitch sold shotguns and outfitted explorers for expeditions instead of selling clothing to rich kids in the mall.

New Bass Player in San Antonio Symphony

This is somewhat old news but David got a job in the San Antonio Symphony and started on November 3rd. He says he is really enjoying it. You can find a link to the symphony here: San Antonio Symphony



Fortunately, the Milburn men look good in a tuxedo, even when their clip-on is crooked. I don't have a recent picture of Dave, so this is me around 1969.

Three Brothers

I got back from PNG two weeks ago or so and maybe I'll post some more pictures from there but in the meantime I've just been a bit lazy or something. So, to make up for it, here I am with my brothers, circa early 1960s. Look at the shine on those shoes. We were way cool even back then. Except, maybe, Stuart's pants aren't zipped all the way up.

Kundu

This man is carving a type of traditional drum called a "kundu" in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Various woods are used, and the head is made of lizard skin. The seed pods hanging from it rattle when shaken.

Bilum

These woman are selling handmade string bags called "bilum" in an open market in Port Moresby. Bilum are traditionally used by men and women to carry things.

Port Douglas Lighthouse

This week I am in tropical Queensland, Australia. Port Douglas is a beautiful tourist town with the Great Barrier Reef just a short boat trip away. Summer is just beginning and the stingers haven't made their way to the beaches yet.

The bad news: My luggage did not come out with the rest of the luggage. Apparently it stayed on the airplane and eventually made it's way to Narita. The next day it was back, but not in time for me to get my mask, snorkel, and cheapo underwater camera for the trip to the reef. I had to buy a swimming suit, shirt, and Crocs so I had something to wear.

The good news is that they had prescription masks on the boat, including one that fit me pretty good. I went ahead and rented a tank for the first time in a long time but to be honest it just reminded me that I enjoy snorkeling and free diving just as much anyway, especially when the reef is all at 10 meters or less. I am pretty sure I spotted Nemo. No underwater pictures, but it was a nice day out.

Real Halloween Costumes, Part 1

I am starting to get nostalgic. When we were young, kids didn't wear the cute little outfits that kids wear today. They didn't dress up like superheros or geeky space heros. No, kids were out to scare adults by dressing up like clowns gone insane, or real skeletons, or a one-eyed pirate. And they had clapper things that made a lot of noise.

Real Halloween Costumes, Part 2

Back in the day, big kids dressed up too.

Cooler Weather

The temperature is cool, the humidity is low, and the weather is close to perfect right now. It was wet during the week as the front blew in. Fall has arrived in coastal Texas.

Nutria on the Loose

It is time to do some urban wildlife and flower photography again. This nutria was enjoying himself at Hermann Park. You can't see it in this photo, but he had one big ugly orange buck tooth, and one white one. I would run the cowboy effect on him, but he is grizzly enough already.

Koi

A koi in the Japanese Garden at Hermann Park near the Medical Center in Houston.

Autumn Seed Head 2

This grass has gone to seed and is set against the blurred background of a Japanese Tea House out of focus.

Autumn Seed Head 1

This seed head is set against a background of grass.

Cowboy Lou

I was sent this picture of Lou "Shorty" the Cat with a statement that he was more cowboy than Ozzy. While very professional looking, something just didn't seem right about this photograph. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something reminded me of the "GBPD Blue" crime scene shot that had everyone scratching their heads a while back.

I have recently developed powerful software to search the internet for similar pixels in pictures to stop people from stealing my valuable copyrighted shots and using them in an illegal manner. After turning on the software and feeding in Shorty I discovered the shot below of a "Cowboy Duckling" who was photographed in a Houston park.

Cowboy Duckling

Sure enough, if you look at the hat on Duckling's head you will see that it looks like someone has rotated it, colored it white, and repositioned it for a very professional retouch of Shorty - or should I say fabrication?

But that is not what I really want to convey to you. My point is this: none of these cute animals are really cowboys. Come on people, a duck or a cat can't herd cattle. Maybe a dog, but not a duck or a cat. What is next, Cowboy Humming Bird or Cowboy Potted Plant?

And another thing - the "cowboy look" is not something out of Zoolander that a model can turn on and off. I invented and trademarked the cowboy look. The model is but putty in my hands and that gritty and direct look that everyone wants is my secret. It takes a sense of fashion and style combined with technical mastery of camera and light that only I possess. I am the one and only true artiste.

Cowboy Ozzy

Stu asked if I could give the cowboy look to Ozzy after seeing the posting below. Here he is. Does he look better or worse?

p.s. I thought there was too much red color in the original Cowboy Ozzy shot I posted and desaturated it a bit more.

Reading Oprah

I don't know why my children don't like me taking candid shots of them...

Reset the Map

They reset my map and took all my red dots away. They do that every year whether you want them to or not. Anyway, the map at left is a copy from just before the reset. Click on it to blow it up and see the location of people who looked at my blog over the last year.

V = 12288

It is Not the Camera

On occasion, people have remarked that they liked a photograph I took and that I must have a "really good camera". I do, but I like to think the reason that they are appealing is that I took a good photograph, not because of the camera.


It is true that the new cameras are amazing, some of the new lenses have their own computers, and in automatic mode the camera can get a decent exposure out of almost anything. But really this just means you can get a technically OK photograph much more easily today. And this is significant - The advances I appreciate most are: 1) immediate digital feedback, 2) fast autofocus, 3) low light performance, and 4) digital post-processing. But in truth it is not necessary to own a camera that costs thousands of dollars to get these advantages. Even the $200 digitals today capture most of these advantages.

And you can use film to get great digital pictures. I spent this week cleaning and repairing my old film cameras. The photograph above was taken with a camera that was the cheapest SLR made at the time I bought it 30 years ago. A roll of 35mm film cost me $7 to process, scan, and print at Walgreens. I thought the scans weren't that good though and I am going to look for another place to develop my film. To continue my experiment, I have my "good" 35mm loaded up now and am running a roll throgh it.

If it isn't the camera then what is it? Well, it helps a lot to have some technical proficiency, but it is the ability to see appealing subjects and capture them in an artistic manner that is what really makes a difference. I don't claim anything special about the photograph above but I like it. It was taken on a walk in the neighborhood while testing the camera to see if it was working OK. I shot it laying on the ground looking up and let the camera set the exposure. Being an old camera I had to advance the film and focus it, but with a new one I could have just pushed the button. To the degree it has interest, it is because of the way I saw it and framed it in the camera - it's the photographer, not the camera :-)

Ozzy

This is Ozzy the cat photographed on his front driveway. This has been a relatively slow week for photographs other than playing with my film cameras, so thanks to Ozzy for providing some interest.

I did observe some things this week that were interesting to me...

At the Exxon station they were playing Jimi Hendrix over the speaker system out at the pumps! Admittedly it was Foxy Lady and not some of his wilder stuff, but how can it be that Hendrix is now muzak?

I took last week off and mostly did nothing. Have you ever noticed how many people are out driving around in the middle of the day or just sitting and having coffee? How can this be? Don't they have jobs?

I got my hair cut by an old geezer who said he wasn't eligible for social security (it had to be he didn't pay into it and not his age) so he was planning a trip to Vegas with a goal to win half a million dollars. He had done a lot of internet "research" and basically his scheme involved buying a computer program that charted lucky periods and then being at the craps table when his luck was pegged out high. He needed $2,000 to go out and win his retirement. He showed me the program printout and it had red or green bars wherever he was especially lucky or unlucky. I am thinking our government might try out this program for bailing us out of the mortgage mess.

Forbidden Gardens

This is a photo of one of the models in the Forbidden Gardens. This exhibit is part of a private museum built by Mr. Ira P. H. Poon of Seattle. He wanted people of Asian descent to know more about Chinese culture. The museum covers 40 acres in what was a rice field in Katy, Texas.

Chinese Regiment Spotted near Katy, Texas

Here is a photo of the 6,000 one-third scale reproductions of Emperor Qin's terra-cotta army baking in the Texas sun. The originals were first unearthed in 1974 and each figure is thought to be have the individual features and adornment of an original member of the army.

Qin became the first emperor of China when he conquered what were then 6 warring factions over 2,000 years ago and forged them together with iron rule. The army was built for his tomb and accompanied him into the afterlife as protection against his many enemies.

These are full size figures, about 6 feet tall, the same as the originals. In the background right you can see the smaller scale replicas.

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a beautiful country. This is a view from the highway back towards the center of town. I am not sure how traditional it is to build out over the water like these homes, but I've seen several areas like this from an airplane.

Woman on a Gas Cylinder

This woman was sitting on an old gas cylinder on the side of the road on the way out of town. Port Moresby is a sleepy kind of place.

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds

I am back to photographing birds again. Interestingly, the hummingbirds made it through Ike just fine. I don't know where they perched during the storm (they weigh about as much as a nickel) but they were all around Cody's feeder both before and after the storm. The males are feisty little guys too. Anyway, they provided some entertainment when the electricity was off.

And here is the little female...

Snowy Egret

This Snowy Egret and the Tricolor Heron below were photographed from the Lake Houston Parkway bridge. They were fishing within chatting distance of each other the entire time I watched them.

Tricolored Heron

The Tricolored Heron was formerly known as the Louisiana Heron and is somewhat variable in color. This one was a fine fisherman and must have caught 10 or so shad while I was watching him.

While walking across the lake, I also photographed Turkey Vultues and a Neotropic Cormorant. The pictures weren't that good though. I think I'll start a picture album with Texas birds.

Final Ike Report

Today we got power and things are getting back to normal for us. There is water, internet, television, stores open, and I am back to work - we pretty much have everything. The only thing we lost was an ornamental bush at the front of the house. Others are not nearly so lucky, and many still don't have power or even water.

If you are reading this from somewhere outside the area that was damaged by the storm, it is probably hard to identify with it. Just like it is hard to really identify with victims of earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters when they aren't experienced.

I am fascinated with how long events like this stay newsworthy - Ike will be news only for so long, and then it is back to Paris Hilton, the latest "reality" show, and maybe if you are a little more interested in current affairs the election. There are people who lost everything though and they will be rebuilding long after it is out of the news.

I wonder sometimes about Galveston, New Orleans, and other cities on the coast within distance of the storm surge from hurricanes. What is storm surge? It is the area where flooding occurs due to water pushed up by the storm and is constrained to a fairly small area. These areas are dangerous to be in during the storm and recovery takes longer - they are likely to be wiped out in the next storm too. Wind damage occurs over a wider area, but in many ways is easier to design for.

Some of these areas I don't think should be rebuilt, at least with public money. I am not saying the people shouldn't get assistance - I am just saying the assistance should probably go towards locating them somewhere a little safer.

By the way, the artistic collection in the photograph is courtesy of high water caused by Ike and various folks who littered along the San Jacinto River. People, Lake Houston provides drinking water for the city...

V = 12,051

Ike Update

Today the water was back, and I got to shower. In general, things seem to improve every day. More people have their power back, but not us yet. The lines for gasoline are getting shorter. There is food in the stores, and ice. Teresa went to the POD in Humble but the line was too long, so no MREs for us. We have a gas stove and ate pasta with chicken instead.

Ike Update

Bad old Ike. It doesn't pay to get too cheery after a hurricane. We lost our water pressure just after dinner. Maybe we will get it back in time for me to take a shower tomorrow before work.

Ike Update

It is another day without power (that is getting repetitive isn't it) and some are saying it could be until October for us. I went into work today and traffic was light. There was only one place to get lunch but I was thankful for that. I charged up all my electrical stuff like computers, phones, etc. while I was there. At least I had hot water to take a shower before I went in since we have a gas hot water heater. Not everybody has hot water.

Ike Update

It is another day without power. I have cancelled my trip to Japan, Australia, and PNG. Fortunately the weather remains cool and we are starting to get more ice, gasoline, etc. A lot more of the stores are open. We saw the power company in our area so maybe there will be power soon. Teresa talked to them and this group had come all the way from Illinois.

Ike Update

It is another day without power. I have cancelled my trip to Japan, Australia, and PNG. Fortunately the weather remains cool and we are starting to get more ice, gasoline, etc. A lot more of the stores are open. We saw the power company in our area so maybe there will be power soon. Teresa talked to them and this group had come all the way from St. Louis.

Ike Update

We have water, ice is starting to show up, and batteries too - but of course being without power wears after a while. Worse, we went down to Mothers and a large tree smashed into her house but there isn't any water damage so even there it could be worse. No work tomorrow for me...

Ike Update

We are all OK. The power went out just at midnight early Saturday morning as I was blogging and we still don't have it back - not sure when we will get it either. A few stores are opening now but no ice or perishables. Some restaurants were giving away free food to empty freezers. No work tomorrow for most of us either. I am entering this by cell phone! Have to log off now to conserve batteries.

Ike Report, 12:00 Saturday

The storm is expected to land in Galveston in about one and a half hours.

Ike Report, 11:30 Friday

Ike's eye is about 40 miles off Galveston. There is heavy rain from downtown Houston east to along I-10 east of the city (more than 2" per hour). Downtown Houston is getting gusts to 65 mph. Along the coast there is a lot of rain and most of the west part of Galveston is under water.

Ike Report, 11:00 Friday

There is a very light rain at the moment but we still have power and the wind hasn't changed much in the last hour.

Ike Report, 10:00 Friday

The winds continue to pick up and are said to be up to 50 mph in parts of Houston (must be gusts). They are less than that here and we still don't have any rain. Storm surge into parts of Galveston Bay are said to potentially get to 20'. For an idea of what that could mean, go to this site to see before and after scenarios: Storm Surge

Ike Report, 9:00 Friday

We still have all utilities, but according to the news, about a quarter of a million people have lost their power now. Curfews have been declared in most towns, including Humble. I stepped outside and we are having winds, but still haven't really received any rain. I am sure it is coming...

Ike is coming

Ike is definitely coming. These are the last photographs I am likely to take before morning. The wind is picking up and apparently power is out in some places south....

Sunset before Ike

Red at night, sailor's delight. I don't think so...

Haiku for Ike

boarded homes
streets and stores empty
Ike comes

Another Self Portrait

It must have been a better day at work - I am much more relaxed in this photograph :-) And you may be thinking I have become my own favorite photographic subject, but not really. It is true that I am quite fond of myself, but not as a photographic subject. Teresa has been a good sport, but I take a lot of time fooling around and trying to find the right setup.

My rule of thumb used to be it took 10 shots to get a photograph I thought was pretty good. My standards have gone up though and most human subjects get bored before I get the picture I want. So lots of times I am stuck with inaminate objects or when I really get desperate, myself.

In this case the goal was to find lighting that looks good on me. It took about 20 shots to get this one. It is soft light with me looking almost directly into an umbrella bounced flash. There is a white reflector camera left to soften the shadows. Another flash is pointed at the wall just to lighten it a bit and for separation. It is time to go back to pictures of inaminate objects again...

Self Portrait

This is me after a really bad day at work and then the dog bites me when I get home and there is no beer in the refrigerator. Except that I don't have a dog. But it was a hard week at work and yesterday there wasn't any beer.

You get this kind of look in Photoshop by increasing contrast, taking out color, and highlighting wrinkles and such. I let the eyes shine through (double click and look at the eyes). Creepy in a cool kind of way.

Helping Hand

I have taken an interest recently in lighting and portraiture. Edgy lighting appeals to me, but it isn't always flattering to the subject. So I tried photographing my own hands. Hands in some ways are as expressive as faces and men are supposed to have rough hands anyway. For this picture, I had hard direct light from camera left, and then blended some color from the original back into a B&W version of my hand. I then increased the contrast and added noise to make it look grittier.

Ring lit Teddy Bear

Over the weekend I was squandering my time and got to looking at different kinds of lighting used in photography. The ring light is a fairly esoteric light that completely surrounds the lens and gives a flat, but at the same time somewhat soft light - especially to close items. It is used mainly for lighting super models and insects from what I can tell. Oh yes, they are expensive.

So I made my own ring light out of styrofoam, reflective paper, duck tape, and poster board. I didn't have a super model at hand but pressed Megan's old teddy into service. It gives really nice light as you can see, but it can also highlight any imperfections. That is why you don't see a picture of me posted here.

Teddy is lit from two directions. Daylight is coming in through the window to camera right. The ring light of course is coming straight from the camera. If you click on the photograph and look in the bear's eyes you will see the window in his left eye and the ring light in both. OK, I am ready for super models now. Or bugs. More likely, bugs.