I am addicted to Bejeweled Blast

 

So, I have a million things I should be doing but I don’t feel well so rather than going to bed I keep trying to make it to the top of the Bejeweled Leader board.  That’s all.

By the way, this is Destro.  You can come meet him at Bark In The Park this Sunday at Liberty State Park in  Jersey City, NJ.  Bring your dog. All proceeds go to Liberty Humane Society and help furry guys like this. 

If cats are more your thing, stop on by to meet this guy.  He is too young for adoption right now but he may just be the cutest kitten in the world… ever.

Lensbaby 2.0

So, apparently the wedding pictures I took weren’t too horrible because my friends presented me with a very unexpected thank you gift in the form of the most awesome Lensbaby 2.0 (maybe they’re just really nice, awesome people).  I have had it for less than a week & have yet to dedicate sufficient time to fooling around with it but preliminary results are extraordinary.  The only downfall is that I cannot just shoot while driving unless the subject is about two feet away.  Here are some fun early pictures.

Below is Anthony, from Binky Bianca.  He is half of the aforementioned couple.  For this shot, I was borrowing a color splash flash that I intend to add to my repertoire as soon as I am done writing this.  For the record, Binky Bianca is one helluvan amazing band.  I have had their song, “Absolute” stuck in my head for months now.

 Snowball 37 shared Saturday’s bill with Binky Bianca.

For more on Lensbaby, Binky Bianca, Binky (whose married to Anthony & thus responsible for making Lensbaby a part of my life), and all other cool artsy things, please visit mimeographic.com.   I seriously don’t know where this girl finds the time…  I still haven’t posted all my photos from SXSW nor have I really begun the documentary editing process.

Where do they play music east of the Mississippi?

Snowball 37 is starting to plan a tour for October so I was wondering if your hometown has any cool places for musicians to play original music?  Primarily, the focus will be on areas east of the Mississippi and north of  (but including) Tennessee.  Please comment with any ideas you may have.  Also, if anyone knows of any compact video recorders that yield somewhat professional results, please share. 

Snowball 37 at The Phoenix Club – 07.11.09

Snowball 37 at Just Jake’s – 07.26.09

SAPCC #46 – Justapose/Juxtaposition

1 – Sometimes I have the perfect picture for the challenge & I just don’t execute it properly.  This is one of those.  My friend ordered this dinner at the bowling alley.  I took two shots but it was my turn to bowl so…

2 – Peas on penne vodka pizza? 

3 – What on earth is a “Technopulp building?”  I hate techno music.

4 – Alternate view

5 – Monsters don’t wear glasses?!?!?!

See the founders of SAPCC:

Russ

Brooks

July’s Monthly SAPCC – Compete

Ahhh, my very late entry for compete… in no particular order (however, I am partial to the black/white of Jeter).

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Russ & Brooks posted on time & took amazing shots of places where people compete.

SAPCC #45 -Shine

I am running late because I went out looking for a better picture.  Eh.  I also found a new thing on photoshop – lighting effects   I can now sort of make a vignette effect.  The only bad thing is that it overexposes some of the light areas.  I am still learning & I only have Elements so I am stuck with what I can & cannot do.

1- This is inside a Martin acoustic guitar.  I liked the shiny label but it was really hard to take this the way I would have liked.  I wanted the outside of the guitar to be more visible. 

2- This is my gorgeous niece, Kaylee.  I am back on my semi-desaturated kick.  I tried this in full color & black & white but thought her eyes only really popped (shined) in this one.   

3- This is the only shiny picture from my post-work drive.  I am not overly fond of it.  I like the blur & the colors but it isn’t as crisp as I would like it.  I also should have gotten closer. 

4 – My only shine picture that contains something shiny – silver teeth & a silver tattoo.  The original version is on facebook, but for this one I played with the lighting.  I think the original is better because the overexposure at the bottom and the darkness on the top are really bothering me.  I do like the dark corners though. 

Who else shines?

Russ

Brooks

SAPCC #44 – Nostalgia

Going to the fair is often nostalgic because of the temporary escape from reality.  Calories don’t count and for a few seconds, you can sit on top of the world dangling your toes in the wind.  For a dollar, you can see a giant horse or a midget.  I always opt for the giant horse.  Here is the nostalgia of fresh cut french fries fried in real greasy oil and dipped in malt vinegar.  Warning – not to be combined with ice cream and fried oreos if you are planning to ride the generic Dumbo ride.  Never fear the rides that spin you upside down, just the ones meant for toddlers.  I think I was a little sick.

Ahhh… true nostalgia – an old school Frigidaire complete with the markings of modern graffiti.  Isn’t most nostalgia tainted these days?

See more

Russ

Brooks

SAPCC #43 – Isolation

I finally got a new hard drive – 1TB… Woooohooo!  For the past three weeks, I have been limited in my abilities to edit photos because I had been moving videos, condensing them, deleting RAW files… It was a mess.  Add in too many events that needed photos and I have fallen behind. 

For “isolation,” I have chosen this photo of the old real Yankee Stadium as seen from a balcony in the new Yankee Stadium.  To try & be brief, I chose this because:

1.  The old stadium is isolated from the public with obvious scaffolding.

2.  The new stadium is isolated from being a part of the Bronx because of its grandness. 

3.  Pieces of the old stadium are isolated from regular people like me when Steiner sports sells them for premium prices.

4.  Capitalism at work… isolation?

Oh how I wish I had more time before work to explain this further.

Once again, these guys were on time:

Russ

Brooks

SAPCC #42 – Product

I have been waiting for a theme like this for about 35 weeks. I have always wanted to try my hand at making a plain backdrop & shooting a product in an ad-like format.  Unfortunately, some things happened that prevented me from taking the time to do that so, instead, I used my foster kitten, Billie Jean Mays, to help me out this week. 

 

All three shots were actually taken with the Nikon.  The Canon’s “Error 99″ has been occuring so frequently that I am ready to give up on it. 

These guys were on time:

Russ

Brooks

SAPCC #41 – Risk

I didn’t find the theme until Monday so I didn’t shoot for the theme this week and I am late.  Luckily, I had our bulldog friend, Reggie, visiting.  As he was sleeping on the couch, I took one look at him (maybe a few looks) & ran downstairs to get my camera before he moved.  I am at RISK of falling in love with him   Clever, huh?  Not so much.  It is a bit of a stretch so before I show you those, I do have this photo of an oddly ripped apart sidewalk in Jersey City.  I only took this because I thought it was so weird how the tree grew around the sidewalk that was torn up.  I took a few pictures but I think I would have framed it better had I been shooting with a purpose.  My bad.  It still might be a risk to walk there.  After all*, there is Caution tape & that signifies risk, right?

1. (I am numbering them now so that it is easier to reference them)

In addition for being at risk of falling in love with a dog I cannot have, every week I am at risk of falling madly in love with the animals at Liberty Humane Society that I could have (if only I lived on a farm & had millions of unused dollars). 

2.  This is Riff Raff.  He developed a bad eye infection that left both of his eyes with red scabs on them.  Luckily, the scabs are dissipating but they are still trying to figure out how much of his vision he may have lost.  Because he cannot see that well, I gave him this shiny ball because it makes a noise like plastic bags crinkling & some cats really love that.  Riff Raff loved it indeed.

3.  This little guy is Deli.  He too has some ocular issues but as you can see, they don’t hold him back. 

4. Reggie in color

5. Reggie in black & white

*Has “after all” always been two words?  I really thought it was one… “afterall” or “Afterall,”   With a capital A & a comma, it looks correct. Hmmm…

And then there were three

Russ

Brooks