Bokeh Cokey

Bokeh Cokey

There’s no real consensus on how to pronounce Bokeh. For me it rhymes with ‘okay’. Did you know in America the Hokey Cokey is the Hokey Pokey? That’s one of my favourite ‘liddle differences’. From Wolfe’s Neck park again as threatened in my last post…

Power Line Trail

Power Line Trail

Today I went off to explore Wolfe’s Neck State Park half an hour down the road near Freeport. It’s a nice mix of coast and wood and I’ll probably post a few more from round that way this week as the gaps in the trees made for some well nice bokehery.

The Golden Hour

This is one of the first shots I took in Maine, the only monosyllabic US state.

Bifurcation

This was a week ago, there’s barely any blossom left now. Which means you’ll be spared more spring pictures for the forseeable future…

Trillium

Up at Tryon State Park this weekend there was a Trillium Festival celebrating this rare little flower that’s bustin’ out all over the woods there. The main events seemed to be childrens’ face painting, plant sale, and indoctrinating a new generation to support the Oregon State Lottery.

Prime Blossom

This one won’t win any prizes for originality, but since I’ve been posting rainy/dark/forboding pix all week it’s time for a change. Behold! Spring comes to the Pacific Northwest.

Tillamook Dog

Hello! Here’s a photo of Atticus on one of his rare solo forays. He’s rarely off the lead because, although he responds pretty well to clicks and ‘come back here ya little bugger’ shouts, it only takes one seagull for him to head off far out of earshot towards the horizon.

This is from 10 miles north of Tillamook and I think I’ve saved up enough pix to provide one photo a day this week. Gorgeous part of the world, and fine company what with my folks and an adventurous little schipperke.

Vote for Joop

Vote for Joop

Mornin’ folks, I got an email from a mate of mine I’ve mentioned here before, Mr. Joop. He needs 3 minutes of your time…

I need your help!! I am pursuing a grant to photograph wedding celebrations around the world.

My goal is to highlight the many cultural and colorful differences of this world while emphasizing the huge similarities of people across borders. Please vote for my project & Please, forward this link to anyone you know who would be interested in this… This is crucial! If you forward this, and ask people to forward further, my chances increase tremendously. Deadline is April 3, 2009.

Thank you!!
Joop

http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com/the-ideas/jooprubens/for-richer-or-poorer/

Go on, send a Belgian around the world… Thanks 🙂

Catkins

Lovely word that, catkin. While doing some (brief) research on wikipedia I found out they’re called amentos in español. I was wondering whether catkin was a UK English thing or not, I’ve not heard it crop up in conversation in the States, but then again, I s’pose it wouldn’t really…

This was taken within 10 minutes of the teasels one from yesterday.

More teasels

I’m not sure where my obsession with photographing teasels springs from. Maybe because they were omnipresent on walks in the country when I was little. Maybe because my Grandma used to make little figures out of them. Maybe because I got read Mrs. Tiggywinkle & other Beatrix Potter books from an early age. Or maybe it’s because you don’t have to bend down and contort your body to get a decent angle, they don’t reflect the sun too much, and the way they grow lends themselves to basic composition rules…

Anyroad, please find attached some teasels. Hope you like’em.

Slug Crossing

Slug Crossing

We used to live in Santa Cruz. UCSC has the banana slug as its school mascot (“No known predators”). This sign is from yesterday’s wanderings about Lewis & Clark campus in the snow. It’s all melted today. Weird weather… weird signage…

Anyroad, a few business items… First off, one of my mates who is a proper, professional photographer, Mr. Joop Rubens has started a photoblog to go with his flashy pro site, and I urge you to check it out. He’s been into photography for donkey’s years and got into digital about 5 years ago and has enviable portrait skillz.

Next off, I’m considering consolidating my RSS feeds so that if you’ve signed up for photoblog emails, you’ll get my blog updates too. If that sounds like a bad idea, contact me in the next day or two and I may well reconsider. I try to put photos in all my blog posts too… If you’re signed up for both already, you can still unsubscribe from one or t’other.

Thirdly, I’ve still not printed the photos I promised you and for that, I suck. I’m on it, it’s always on my mind and maybe this is the week I’ll make good on my promise.

Fourthly, I got ebaying over the weekend and should have  a 50mm 2.0 prime lens to play with in the very near future which is a whole new area to me and I’m looking forward to experimenting. I’ve another vintage viewfinder on its way too, a Kodak Duaflex II, hopefully full of dust, scratches and blemishes all ready to have a Pringles tin strapped to it.

I won’t write any more here cos it puts the whole balance of the design out when there’s tons of text. I’m offski 🙂

Tryon Walkies

Tryon Walkies

And we’re back! Happy MLK day… This is Atticus leading the way around Tryon State Park on a cold morning (you can see his breath)…

We’ve got visitors

Having a fine old weekend with friends from Mexico staying. Here’s a quick pic from yesterday’s expedition…

Small world

Still haven’t been out with the camera properly, so here’s one from a month ago or so taken in the little park at the end of our road. Today I’m definitely getting organised with the prints… and hopefully this evening with the pints too.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

The Fugitive

Taken surreptitiously as I wandered through a very pretty golf course that was 100% free of golfers for a change. Hope they don’t mind the size 11 foot prints across their well-tended putting greens…

Escarcha

Escarcha

There was frost in the garden, and probably if I’d been inclined to go further afield, it was elsewhere too. Couldn’t resist a few pictures… Here’s one 😀

In other news, I’m starting to make navigating this phlog a bit easier. Phase one is an archives page which will display 77 day’s worth of thumbnails for your viewing pleasure.

Oaks Park

At least I think that’s the name of it… Sellwood, between the river and the railway… can’t miss it. This is another zoom-while-you’re-shooting, small aperture shot. Less pronounced than the last one I took in Tryon Park.