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Lightning – Photo 52 Project [Week 29]

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While racking my brain for a photography idea this week, it started to storm so my problem was solved. I have been wanting to get a picture of my Boxster and some lightning for this project, and I ended up getting them both this week.  I have taken lightning pictures before that I am very happy with but they are a little boring so I figured adding a car and the road signes would add some color and depth.

I drove out to the unfinished road in our neighborhood armed with the camera bag, a tripod, and an umbrella. I was keeping the gear as dry as possible while neglecting myself so my back was soaked. Earlier, Mari Ann and I washed and waxed the Lincoln and she sprayed me pretty good so I was not in the mood to be wet again but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It’s funny, I took this shot within the first 5 minutes and spent the next 45 minutes repositioning the car and taking more pictures, sans-lightning.

While the umbrella kept the lens dry, it also nearly ruined this shot. I let it tip forward too far and you can even see it obscuring the lightning a little bit. I cropped out what I could, but that is always going to bug me whenever I see this picture. That’s the thing about creating anything. Whether it be a picture, painting, software program, or even a house remodel, the luxury of ignorance is taken away from the creator. When you have not created something, you see it for its implied function or beauty without any intimate knowledge of the process of its creation. Knowing exactly what went into something intensifies its deficiencies. This can be especially true when you try and fail to correct those deficiencies.

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Home – Photo 52 Project [Week 28]

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When I don’t know what to shoot, I usually don’t travel far. This Saturday, I went as far as my back yard. It was a clear night and not too hot. I wanted to get a nice long exposure with the house lit up and the stars bright in the sky. This was my result. There are much better examples of this type of photograph but I think I needed 2 more things. A darker sky with less light pollution as well as more distance form the house the get it closer to the same focus as the stars.

My focus was purely estimated based on how far out I figured the camera was and using that figure to dial in the manual focus. I think I was pretty close but not right on the mark. My room was lit up by the flickering of a CRT television.

I attempted to draw some light with my Zippo and a glow stick since I was taking about 20 seconds worth of light in. I was not pleased with my results but may try again.

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Borg Trash – Photo 52 Project [Week 27]

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Hollywood Casino, near St. Louis, sent me free room nights so I made it into a half birthday celebration for Mari Ann.  I am not a high roller but I think since they are remodeling, they are giving out rooms until it is all complete. The next day we headed out into St. Louis. We ate at Pappy’s Smokehouse, went to the Galleria, got a drink at the Silver Ballroom, and ate dinner at Hwy 61.

Afterward, we decided to head home around 6:30pm. Before we got out of the city I remembered that I wanted to take Mari Ann to the Big Bang Bar. They are a dueling piano bar and put on a great show. I decided to put in directions on my phone to the landing but I didn’t remember the name of the bar just then. I figured if we put in the Drunken Fish, at least that would get us to the landing.  On the way, Mari Ann saw this really cool painted dumpster. I pulled a quick U-Turn and got out to snap some pictures. The sun was starting to go down and it looked great.

Apparently, either there are two drunken fish restaurants, or Apple just wanted to screw with us. Now we pull into a church parking lot and look up the name of the bar and put it in manually. We were off again and realize we are heading way out of St. Louis. We pull into a gas station and I look at the overview. It was taking us to the wrong place again. Now, I enter Big Bang Bar into Google maps and confirm that indeed we are on our way to the landing. With our route confirmed, surely nothing could possibly go wrong.

As we see the lights of the city once again coming into focus, some fireworks start going off over the river. Having the top down made this a really great experience. We are nearly at the landing only to see that it was closed down due to the fireworks display. We ended up on the MLK bridge toward Illinois. With the fireworks still going on, people are just stopping on the bridge taking up a lane of staffing. I stop at well but not wanting the unfortunate caboose; I get in the left lane and start again on my way. Then, I see a gap in the cars and say what the hell and pull to a stop again. Mari Ann and I watched the fireworks literally right above the river. As the not too distant shells burst against the buildings, and the water, we have the best seats in the world. It was as loud as a war zone and the finally was spectacular.