Day 201, This guy is playing a guitar autpgraphed by Kerry King of

Day 201, This guy is playing a guitar autpgraphed by Kerry King of Slayer, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

My kids and I went to the local chili cook off. (Arlington Chili Cook off and Car Show) and they had live bands and some cool cars and motorcycles. They had some live bands and we went with our friends all on our Electras. As we are cruising through, I noticed that this guy was playing a guitar that seemed to be autographed. Sorry, I didn't catch what the name of the band was. They were playing covers and were pretty good.

When I got home and was looking at the pics, I figured out that this was signed by Kerry King of Slayer. If I had a guitar signed by a guitar legend, it would be hanging on my wall, not out doing gigs. Speaking of guitars hanging on walls, I really need to pull mine down and learn a song. I just never seem to have time for it, let alone to play with the pics that I want to post.

Here are a few more from the Chili Cook Off. Thanks for looking.

Day 200, Abandoned House, 26912 Lugonia, Redlands, California

Day 200, Abandoned House, 26912 Lugonia, Redlands, California, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

200 Days in and I find it interesting that number 200 is an abandoned house. I find abandoned buildings really interesting. This was a place that someone lived and worked at. They probably had friends over maybe kids, and it must have been a peaceful place. It was fully surrounded by orange groves. Now they are mostly pulled out. There was even a little cement pond at the side. Across the street is a new building with medical offices. This is was probably slated for new construction as well, but with the economy dumping like it has, It will probably just sit like this for awhile.

I have been addicted to Lost American and Google Earth lately. Check out his photostream on flickr, it is some cool stuff.

Lost America

His book is really cool. I definitely want to try to shoot some stuff like his.

Thanks for looking. Here are some other shots.

Day 199, Power Lines, US-95, Colorado River, Mojave Desert

Day 199, Power Lines, US-95, Colorado River, Mojave Desert, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

More from the windshield time through the Mojave Desert along the US 95.

Day 198, Vidal, California, US-95 Abandoned Gas Station Home

Day 198, Vidal, California, US-95 Abandoned Gas Station Home, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

I drive by this as I head to Needles from Blythe. I go by here once a month for my job. It is some serious windshield time, but with a camera and a book ripped and on the iPhone, I am good. I don't really mind the drive time. But it does leave me a little whipped the next day. I can tell you that I will probably shoot here again.

From Wikipedia -
Vidal, California a small unincorporated community located in southeastern California, in San Bernardino County on U.S. Route 95, 38 miles (61 km) north of Blythe, California and 55 miles (89 km) south of Needles. The town is 22 miles (35 km) west of the townsite of Earp, California and 23 miles (37 km) west of Parker, Arizona on State Highway 62. The community, which is two miles (3 km) north of the Riverside County line, lies at an elevation of 812 feet (247 m) above sea level. Vidal is 221 miles (356 km) from the city (and county seat) of San Bernardino, making it the second farthest town in the county from the county seat behind Earp. Wyatt Earp spent the last winters of his life in Vidal, working claims of gold and copper he found nearby; the aforementioned townsite of Earp is located in and around those claims.

Other Shots

Day 197, Emory Phillips, Memorial Day 2008, Riverside National Cemetary

Day 197, Emory Phillips, Memorial Day 2008, Riverside National Cemetary, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

I received an email the other day from a woman in England who was looking for some help. She had seen my post on this blog about the Riverside National Cemetery and wanted to know if I would stop by again and take a picture of a headstone for a family member. I thought that Memorial Day would be the right time to go and take my kids to do this. They were great and they cleaned the headstone, placed the flowers and the flag and held the 2 stop silk defuser to make sure the lighting was even. We had a great day and the girls got see the Memorial Day Service at the cemetery. It was packed and I think it gave us a chance to talk about things that are important but not always at the front of the pack when it comes to talk time. Death, service, the sacred not horror nature of a cemetery, the military and why we do things for others. We got more out of this then the person who wanted the picture. Thanks for asking.

Here are some excerpts from her emails. "I am an American living abroad. I am from Seattle, but moved to Poland four years ago to teach, and then to England almost two years ago. I grew up hearing about Emory Phillips, but no one really knew what had happend to him until I found his military and burial records on ancestry.com. Emory's grandfather was my great-great grandfather, so I guess that makes us cousins. My father was really pleased to find out about him, and I know he will be very touched to have a picture. Thank you so much."

This is from the email after I sent her the picture. "I wanted to let you know that I forwarded the photo to my uncle in Oregon, and he was very touched and pleased. He asked me to pass along his thanks to you for doing that for our family. I will also print it out and send it to my father who I know will be equally chuffed (Brit speak for very, very pleased)

The fact that a stranger would do something like that really touched me. I wish I had a way to thank you other than to say that I hope you know how much your kindess is appreciated. Please let your children know that they were probably the first people to ever decorate his grave like that, as no one knew he was there."

Our pleasure.

Also the out takes for the day, they were too moving to leave out. The burly biker that had his head bowed with the entire huge crowd during the invocation. He had a tear in his eye when he looked up. That was so powerful for my kids to see. The honor guard was sharp and perfect.

It was a really great day.

Thanks for looking.
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Day 196, The Big Day, Los Angeles California Temple

Day 196, The Big Day, Los Angeles California Temple, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

Here are a few from the big day. I loved how this came out. I didn't love so much some of the others. I am doing a little dodge and burn to fix and some other small manipulations. I am such a perfectionist that these things really stress me out. Not in a bad way, I like shooting them, but it is so important for me to get them right. Not for the bride, I want to make them happy, but for me, they have to be really good for me. I want to be able to hand over shots that will look good for a long time.

Well that is why my wife loves me and sometimes can't stand me. I just can't let somethings go. I want them perfect.

Thanks for looking.
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Day 195, Bridal Portraits

Day 194, Bridal Portraits, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

Oh yeah, I put up all of the lights and backdrop to shoot these. I love my Costa Rican family, they are really good to me. It is good to be able to do something for them. They are my best friends family, but since we have been best friends since we were like 11, they have always been around. When I was a missionary in Argentina, his mom wrote me more then my parents did.

I think these came out really well. I am really enjoying shooting with the studio lights. Probably more then most of the other shooting that I do.

Thanks for looking.
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Day 194, Daughters and Electras 3 of 3

Day 194, Daughters and Electras 3 of 3, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

We love bikes here. Well, I love bikes and my kids are getting it from me. They all have an Electra and they love them. I shot their bikes as well, but they are not ready to post. I want to reshoot them to make them match.

I also want to shoot all of my bikes as well. I have 3 Electras and my Cannondale Synapse. I will get them up before I sell a few of them.

Thanks for looking,
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Day 193, Daughters 1 of 3

Day 193, Daughters 1 of 3, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

So I have had the studio lights and backdrops up in my garage for awhile now because I wanted to shoot some stuff with them to put up here. Here is the first that I am throwing up, my daughters.

They are really all pretty good to my eye. I had to up the contrast to hide the backdrop flaws, but all in all they came out pretty good.  I shot them to put up in order on the wall.  I placed number 2 in the middle of the frame just to make it work with the side of the frame shots for 1 and 3.  They hang pretty well on the wall.

Thanks for looking.
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Day 192, Chicago Benefit Concert for Cystic Fibrosis

Day 192, Chicago Benefit Concert for Cystic Fibrosis, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

This is the only shot that I think came out at all. We attended with our good friends a charity dinner and concert with Chicago. It was really a lot of fun. I think that the fun was not anticipated. Chicago was not ever one of my favorite groups. But these guys worked hard to put on a good show and it came through. It was really good.

It was also interesting to try to shoot with the little Olympus that we carry around for snaps. It is great since it is both water and drop resistant. It fits nicely in a pocket and can be brought along for this kind of thing. It is not my Canon DSLR, but it fit and they were anti pics. All in all, a fun night, but I wish I could have brought my big camera...

The guy who played the trombone (I know really rude, he is not 'the guy' and he has a name, but I told you I was not a big Chicago guy) was really fun to watch.  He looked like my good friends dad, and then he kept throwing in these pelvic thrusts and all I could see was her dad.  It was really hard to watch with that image of her dad.

Thanks for looking.

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Day 191, Reflections, Pyramid Skylights, National Gallery of Art West

Day 191, Reflections, Pyramid Skylights, National Gallery of Art West Terrace, by I.M. Pei, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

Last of the Washington DC stuff, I promise, well not double dog dare level promise or anything, but that is it for now. Outside of the National Gallery there are these pyramids that have a reflective coating. It is probably to cut the sun and heat, but the result is that they are highly reflective, almost mirror like, and it seemed something different to try to shoot. I wanted to get the reflection of the reflections but make it look like it belonged. I lined up the trees to be in continuation and shot. I like the results. I really like the shot in the out takes of the of my me as a reflection.

Anyway, Thanks for looking.

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Day 190, Hanging Guitar Sculpture, Wasginton DC Convention Center,

Day 190, Hanging Guitar Sculpture, Wasginton DC Convention Center, Donald Lipski, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

This Hanging Sculpture by Donald Lipski is in the Washington DC Convention Center. This is part of his Five Easy Pieces, 2003. Five Easy Pieces is a collection of giant, geometric shapes made from everyday objects like tennis rackets, kayaks, guitars, bar stools and bicycles — a nod to Lipski’s fond childhood memories with his father who was in the bicycle business. As you approach the suspended sculpture from a distance, the individual objects reveal themselves. You can also find Lipski’s world-renowned sculptures in national and international museums. His work has been written about extensively and celebrates the common object.

Here are some of the other shots that I played with.

Thanks for looking.
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Day 189, Lingua Two, Sculpture Installed in Washington DC Convention

Day 189, Lingua Two, Sculpture Installed in Washington DC Convention Center, Jim Sanborn, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

Lingua One

Original

These two 16' tall cylinders, with waterjet cut text in Russian, Chinese, Ethiopian, French, Spanish, Latin, Greek, and Iroquois are installed in the Washington DC Convention Center. They were made by artist Jim Sanborn. They have lights inside of them that then cast the characters in light on the surrounding surfaces. I think that they make some great art for a big venue like the Convention Center. The artist, Jim Sanborn has a lot of cool versions of this idea, google him and check out his work, it is great.

I took the original shot and then played with it in Aperture to produce one and two. When I shot this, I thought that it would be conceptual in nature and a shot worth playing with. In Aperture I adjust the Highlights and Shadows and then fully turned up or down the High Tonal Width, Mid Contrast, and or Low Tonal Width. Note that the difference in the tow tweaked versions is simply that one has the high tonal width pushed all the way while the mid contrast is pushed all the way and two has the high tonal and low tonal width both pushed to zero.

Here are a few more shots that I took of these.

Thanks for Looking.
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Day 188, Benjamin Franklin, Statue at the Old Post Office, Washington

Day 188, Benjamin Franklin, Statue at the Old Post Office, Washington DC, by Jacques Jouvenal, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

I faced down that dilema again, color or black and white? Of course I went pansey and did both. This is the sculpture of Benjamin Franklin in front of the Old Post Office in Washington DC. There is an argument here for both. I caught it at a great time of day since the Post Office was lit up nicely and gave the statue a nice contrast. But the Black and White does the same and forces you to focus a little more.

What do you think? Color? or Black and White?

Thanks for looking.
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Day 187, Metro, Washington DC, Metro Center

Day 187, Metro, Washington DC, Metro Center, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

I rode the Metro almost the whole time I was here. I stayed in a hotel up by the zoo and everyday I came down to the convention center. I also used the Metro to check out the capitol. I have not really ever used mass transit like this, SoCal is all about the cars. This was enjoyable. I couldn't resist trying my hand at getting some pics down here. Unfortunately, a lot of it did not work, but I like these.

Thanks for looking.
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Day 186, Horse Drawn Wagon, Arlington National Cemetery

Day 186, Horse Drawn Wagon, Arlington National Cemetery, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

I promise, the last shot from my visit to Arlington National. Have you ever witnessed a funeral here with all the ceremony. I came here to get some pictures and see for myself what it was like here. I came upon a funeral for someone who was of some rank in the Air Force. I was so overcome by the respect that I put my camera away. The playing of Taps, the 21 gun salute, the moment of silence. It all was amazing.

As I came out of it when it ended, I walked away a bit and then I shot some pics of the horse drawn carrage and the honor guard as it left. I wanted to take more shots. I think that as I watched the 21 gun salute that it would have made such a dramatic shot. The bugeler playing taps over the flag draped coffin. Instead I bowed my head and said a prayer.

I was so lucky to witness this.

Thanks for looking.
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