Under the Pier (for Katey & Jason)

I have a ton of shots from our California trip this past summer that I haven't yet posted.
This shot was a request from our hosts Katey & Jason, who wanted a photo taken of this view under the San Clemente Municipal Pier. I think this one was their favorite.
As they are now in the process of relocating back to the East Coast, I hope this shot reminds them of the good times they had out west.
Best of luck, guys!

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Remember remember the 5th of November
The gunpowder treason and plot...

I almost forgot that today was Guy Fawkes Day - what with the panic as I realized I had forgotten to post anything yesterday.
This photo was taken during the same session that produced this shot .

Hope our friends in the UK are enjoying the fireworks!

Tumblin' down

Like this section of wall at the Bethlehem Baptist Church site, my posting record has already crumbled - only 3 days into National Blog Posting Month. Oy.
So, gonna try to make up for it today with 2 posts. Look for another later this afternoon.
I must post to my blog... I must post to my blog...(ad nauseum)

Outside, looking in (and back out!)

Another shot from the series I started yesterday: this is Bethlehem Baptist Church ruin in Perryville, NJ. The POV is looking through the front window to the back wall.

Cemetery Wall - Perryville, NJ

Funny how things work out...
I was hoping that my participation in NaBloPoMo would allow me to post a lot of old pictures. But here it is, only day 2, and I'm posting a brand new one!
I passed a wonderful historic church ruin and graveyard this morning after a job-site meeting in Perryville, NJ.
The site is the former Bethlehem Baptist Church, founded in 1837. The congregation was disbanded in 1906, but folks were still buried in the cemetery up into the 1920s.
This is a portion of the largely intact cemetery wall. The moss and the light filtering through the colorful leaves caught my eye.
More pictures from this site to come in the next few days...

Wow - I can't remember the last time I posted a photo the same day it was shot. I feel so... bloggy!

Towpath Mules

At my friend Chris' recent wedding (congratulations to you and Karin, sir!) in New Hope, PA, we were treated to an unusual diversion: a ride in a barge along the remnants of the Delaware Canal. Shown here are one of the guides with the mules (count the legs, there ARE two) up on the towpath.
As you can see, those mules were HUUUUGE. When the barge-tours were over, the guide above mounted one and rode them back to their stable.
Did you know mules can eat poison ivy without harm? So said our barge pilot!

This post is also my first entry into National Blog Posting Month. Ani over at Syndicate Product encouraged me to take part, and this year it seemed like an especially good idea. I've certainly been guilty of neglecting my poor little blog over the years, usually in favor of the neato, featured-packed Flickr page. But I've got a lot of un-posted pix that (I feel) deserve to be seen, hence this great opportunity to post post post!

Wish me luck!

Iced Tea

It's pretty much all I ever drink (friends and family will vouch for that). So for this week's Photo Hunt challenge "Beverages," there really wasn't any other choice for me!
This shot was taken at a wedding last year - my frustration with the low light levels got me fiddling with macro shots of stuff at the table.

No Swimming!

Another Photo Hunt challenge, another archive pic! For this week's topic "beach," I dug up this old favorite that I've been meaning to post.
Despite the snow, it's still not too cold for the gulls! But even in summer, you still can't swim here. This is a surfing-only beach at the very north end of Asbury Park.
This picture was taken with Old Camera on December 9th, 2005.

Pier Fishing

For this week's Photo Hunt challenge of "Fishing," I took another trip back through the California 2006 Trip archive and found this photo of fisherman doing their thing off the San Clemente Municipal Pier.

Limerick Day face painting

It's not often I'm even tempted to go into such Geoff-ish territory, subject-wise. But while strolling around this year's Limerick Day at Manderach Park, camera luckily in hand, I spotted the scenes above. Perfect angle, perfect light, perfect subjects. Who could resist?

Of course, Geoff would use that lovely soft-focus, but that's just not me... ;)

Thanks for the unexpected inspiration, Geoff!

A quick history of cameras

For this week's Photo Hunt challenge of "camera," I dug through the archives for this image taken on our California trip last year. This is the window display for Arcade Camera on Avenida Del Mar in San Clemente. Anyone who takes the time to create a display like this deserves a shout out.
The quality isn't great (my auto-focus kept going for the reflection in the glass), but I like it for the sake of the subject matter.

UPDATE - 10/01/07

Once again, it's the one you'd least suspect that prevails: this shot won First Place in the Photo Hunt challenge! Focus problems and all!
Thanks to everyone who voted for it!

Sun-dappled Clover

I spotted (no pun intended!) this clover while cooking on the grill on our front porch. The sun was shining through a leaf that was partially insect-eaten, producing these tiny points of light on the clover leaves!
Luckily, the kebabs didn't burn as I ran to get my camera.

Field Trip to the Beach/Coneheads

While on our recent trip to California, we were eating breakfast across from the pier in San Clemente when a school bus pulled up, disgorging a whole bunch of kids ready for a day at the beach. I especially liked these "coneheads"!
I'm posting this for the "Baggage" entry into Photo Hunt .
More pix from San Clemente coming soon to my Flickr page.

King without his Crown

While doing some work-related surveying in Port Colden, NJ (a small area just outside of Washington, NJ in Warren Co.) I noticed this steeple sitting under a tree, next to a church. Further investigation revealed it's orginal home behind the church. As I lined the shot up, the Matisyahu. song "King without a Crown" occurred to me (hence the title of this post).
I don't know the history of this oddity (and had no opportunity to research it at the time), but I think it makes for an interesting shot.

Cohshohocken's Soap Box Derby

It was the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the need for speed all rolled up into one great event: Conshohocken's annual July 4th Soap Box Derby!
Part block party, part the human drama of athletic competition, this was a fun way to spend the morning of Independence Day.

Tons more shots coming to my Flickr page..

In the future, all churches will look like this...

... parking for flying cars & jetpacks in rear.

This interesting geodesic dome church is in Lake Havasu (visible in background).

(I was shooting through a truck windshield, hence the small blurry spots.)

Partying on Lake Havasu

For the Photo Hunt Season 6, week 1 subject "fun": this shot of folks enjoying Lake Havasu in Arizona. I know we certainly had fun tooling around the lake, dropping anchor & hanging out at the sandbar, and just taking in the spectacular scenery!
Thanks again to our gracious hosts Darcy & Fernando - it was a great day, guys!

More shots to come, both here and on Flickr.

"Real" Stained Glass

Having attended a "modern" church while growing up (or as my sister succinctly puts it, a church that "looked modern in 1960"), I've developed an appreciation for more traditional churches. Especially the stained glass - modern churches usually skimp on this detail.
The examples above are from St. Francis of Assisi in Norristown, PA, one of the most beautiful and striking traditional churches I've ever been in.

For more pictures from St. Francis, see my Flickr page.

Venus over Philly

Another shot from Camden - showing the planet Venus (top center) high over the Philly skyline.

For more skyline shots, see my Flickr page.

Old Ben

I don't know whether it's ironic or appropriate that one of the best places to view Philadelphia from is Camden, NJ. Whatever the case, here is a shot I took from that vantage point of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

[Side note - sorry for the lull in postings for April. Early in the month, photographic opportunities seemed to dry up, and I felt that I could use a break, anyway. Now that I've built my photo stockpile back up a bit, I'll hopefully begin posting more - as long as time permits!]