Pink Neon Time

I took this photo of a neon-clad clock during a lunchtime stroll on an overcast day in 2003. It's one of my favorite photos, and proof that you don't need a fancy-schmantzy, gigapixel SLR to take a decent photo - I used my first digital camera, a Canon A40 Powershot with all of 2 megapixels.

Every time I see this photo, I here the 1967 song, Incense and Peppermints in my head. That song was a big hit, just around the time I started college, by Strawberry Alarm Clock, arguably the first psychadelic rock band. Being an engineering student, I was to busy to be psychadelic, but I always liked the song. And my neopsychodelic photo, Pink Neon Time just reminds me of Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Quilly and tthe Giant Arm

Here's my friend Quilly contemplates art, nature, and the meaning of life under the Giant Arm.

Quilly is one of my Shutterbug Excursion buddies. One of the great things about this group is that when we go out to shoot, if there's nothing to noteworthy to shoot, we can always take photos of each other. Quilly helpfully stuck a contemplative pose while he stood just beyond the mega-arm.

Hero Photography

Here's Lt. Bernard Roach of the DC Fire Department. He and his fellow everyday heroes were keeping a safety watch at the Chinese New Year Parade and, at the same time, providing some excitement for the kids.

click on the photos to see larger versions

Little Drummer Boy

"When you see red, shoot it!"

Someone told me that a few years ago, and I've found it's usually good advice.

So the Chinese New Year Parade was a great opportunity, as red is considered a propitious color, and red was all over the place. The reddest group at all was this group of young musicians and their red drums. I loved it!

By the way, when I was a kid, Little Drummer Boy (the song, that is,) scared the crap out of me. As a seven-year-old in 1957, I couldn't understand the words over my Uncle Heniek's crackly old radio, and they wouldn't have made sense to me back then anyway. But that ominous, dirge-y music!

I like this Little Drummer Boy much better.

Proud Flag Bearer

Belated Happy New Year, my friends!

Last week, I finally did what any sane person should do on Chinese New Year - I went to the nearest Chinatown to watch the New Year parade. This one was in DC, and I went with Shutterbug Excursions, the local photo group to which I belong.

Naturally, we all had a great time. I'll post some more photos soon, but I wanted to get this one up first.

This fellow's determined gaze and the proud way he is holding the flagstaff reminded me of the propaganda posters during the Mao era. Of course, it was just a fluke of the moment I pressed the shutter that he happened to look up like this. I didn't notice the poster-like expression until I reviewed my shots on the subway heading home (the full image is here.)

Shutterbug Excursions at National Harbor

I had to get up at Oh-Dark-Thirty this morning in order to get to National Harbor, but a chance to hang out with my Shutterbug Excursions gang is always worth it.

To tell you the truth, while the new National Harbor is nice enough, I wasn't really all that photographically inspired there this morning. On the other hand, I had a lot of fun with the gang, as always.

After shooting in the cold for about 1-1/2 hours, our gang regrouped at a nearby coffee shop, where we took over all the sofas and big cushy chairs. Jim B had been shooting with a nifty pair of 1950's-vintage German rangefinders (a Voigtlander and an Agfa,) but when he pulled this Leica iiic out of a pocket, I just had to have my picture taken with it.

Brought back good memories.

Our group is really growing, with over 200 members now signed up. Most have not attended one of our meetups yet, but we seem to be attracting a lot of attention. Today's meetup drew fourteen photographers, and we've had more than 20 on several occassions. That's not bad for a group that just came into existance last July.

Despite the cold weather, February is a busy month for us. Last week, we went to the Chinese New Year Parade in DC, and next week, we're going to the National Zoo.

Denounce False Metal

I don't know what it means, either.