new menu item
If you look to the left, you will see a new selection has been added to the menu. "the death of ellie clausen". If you click on the link, you will be taken to a page that provides links to all of the Ellie Clausen stories in a single location. Hope that helps.
Tim
the death of ellie clausen
As time goes by and the number of stories surrounding the death of Ellie Clausen continues to grow, I thought a single place that links to all of the stories might be useful. Here are all of the stories, starting at the beginning:
tuesday was zoo day – part one
Tuesday, I spent the morning at the Columbus Zoo. The zoo is an institution in the area and as famous for it's celebrity spokesman, Jack Hanna, as for the animals. I have lived in Ohio since 1994 and I am embarrassed to say that in all those years, I have never visited the zoo.
I'll share pictures of the animals tomorrow along with my impressions of the zoo as a whole. However, I wanted to show the birds first. Not only do I love the colors and variety of the birds but, I was really impressed with how they were displayed.
The birds were grouped by geographic region with multiple species in each large aviary.
The birds were accustomed to people being nearby and were easy to photograph.
The high light was the aviary set aside exclusively for the lorikeets. You could feed them by hand with a sugar solution. They would climb onto your shoulders or arms and eat from your hands.
I know exactly what you are thinking. How cool is that? I think that I am going to gather up my friends and return next Talk Like a Pirate Day and get a picture with a keet on my shoulders. Polly want some sugar? Come on Polly, get over here, I don't have all day. Polly?
Just in case you need more inspiration, here is my favorite song about going to the zoo:
rising sun
Yesterday, I visited a lovely formal garden in Dayton for the first time. I had lunch with a good friend and on the way home, decided to stop by the gardens as I had never been there before. After lunch, on a bright sunny day, is not the best time to shoot flowers but, I knew that when I decided to go.
Sometimes, I will scout out new locations, just to see what they offer as potential subjects or locations for shooting. Verdict? I will go back another time in the evening or early morning. Another consideration is the lateness of the season. Early August is not exactly known for its phenomenal displays of blooms.
silly man, pixies are for little girls
I know, I know… my Manly Man street credibly goes completely out the door with the posting of this composite image. That's two pixie images in a single year.
Thank you to Renee Stewart Jackson for lending me the image of the little girl to use as the pixie. If you have never seen Renee's outstanding photography, I encourage you to do so. I wouldn't steer you wrong, would I?
That is all for now, I am going to go get muddy, throw some kind of ball, whistle at a pretty girl, and otherwise try to redeem my manhood.
links
Just like you, I have a number of websites that I return to over and over again. These are sites that inspire me, inform me or just plain entertain me. When I think that you visit my site regularly, I also think that you might find some of my favorite web destinations interesting as well.
Photography and photography techniques
Fellow Photographers
Photo Blogs
Photographic Communities
Digital Photography School (DPS)
Web Resources
raspberry shrub
Have you ever had a glass of raspberry shrub? Blackberry or strawberry shrub? Any kind of shrub? If you are like me, you have only thought of shrubs as plants someplace between grass and trees. In reality, at the turn of the last century, shrubs were as tied with lemonade as the most popular drinks.
Here is how you make a shrub:
1. Cover four quarts of raspberries with white vinegar and let stand for two to three days.
2. Drain the vinegar, pressing all of the juice from the berries as you do so.
3. Add one pound of sugar to each quart of the drained liquid.
4. Boil for ten minutes and then bottle.
The result is a concentrate that is added to ice water at a ratio of one cup of concentrate to one quart of water.
Vinegar? How does a drink with vinegar go down? Surprisingly well. After a couple swallows, you have forgotten the vinegar entirely. I thought it was really refreshing though, I think I would cut back a little on the concentrate when I make it.
During their day, shrub's were commonly given to farm hands working in the field to refresh them. Think of a shrub as the Gatorade of its day.
i win! i win!
Remember this still life image from last week? Looks like the hard work paid off. The photo was honored as the photo of the week at Light Stalking. If you have not checked out their inspiring and helpful photo website, you should.
You can see the image and it's results here: Light Stalking.
This is my second image to be picked as an image of the week. My foggy morning image, "Reflected Expanse", was given the same honor last month. In just a year, my photography has come a long way and I can chalk it up to the following:
1. I shoot a lot. Almost everyday.
2. My camera goes with me everywhere and I rarely miss an image because I left my camera at home.
3. I have become active on flikr, Light Stalking and other photography communities.
4. I study. Through the library, online, and by asking friends, I have been actively investigating new techniques and learning the basics.
5. I ask for honest feed back and criticism. It is always nice to get positive comments but the critical guidance is what has allowed me to grow as a photographer.
6. I follow my curiosity. When I wonder how somebody got a certain shot, I go and find out.
Some of the photographers that have been inspirational and helpful to me with their generous time and advice include: Renee Stewart Jackson, Tom Dinning, Rachel Davies, Kathleen Connolly, and many many others. It is almost unfair to make a list because I have so many influencers, teachers, and supporters.
I may not be as good as I would like to be … yet. However, I am working hard and surrounding myself with selfless friends that are willing and able to help me get there.
foggy morning redux
This morning was just as foggy as yesterday's and I was just as excited to get out and shoot in the mist. If tomorrow is foggy, I will be out there as again. I am even willing to get up early. That is how much I enjoy photography in the fog.
| Exposure | 0.004 sec (1/250) |
|---|---|
| Aperture | f/8.0 |
| Focal Length | 55 mm |
| ISO Speed | 100 |
| Exposure Bias | -0.7 EV |
To avoid posting all of the images in this post, I created a new gallery for the foggy morning images. You can find the gallery at the bottom of my gallery page.
http://justsitting.typepad.com/ephemerallife/galleries.html
I hope that this Monday morning gets you off to a great start to the week. I will be traveling to Atlanta to be spend some time with my son and family. Expect to see plenty of new images as a result. Have a fantastic week.
tim mcmurdo 