Always Breaking

I have a bunch of old Hi8 and 8mm tapes that I want to transfer to my computer, so I searched Amazon for “Hi8 player” and the results came up with a $1,000,000 VHS-C adapter. And to think I gave one of them away about 10 years ago. I could have retired if I would have just held onto it for a few more years… Oh, well, now I have to keep my day job. I’m pretty sure this is a mistake that will be corrected, so I took a screen shot.

The truly funny thing is that 75% of the people that view this page end up buying the item for $1Million. I wish I could afford a VHS-C adapter. Not that I have a VCR anymore, but wouldn’t it be cool to show your friends at the next kegger. Those poor suckers that opted for the adapters under $20 just don’t understand the true value of this adapter. And there’s only one left, so you’d better buy it right away. Shipping is only $99, so it’s steal.

You might also consider the bundle that comes with a Super High-grade VHS-c Videocassette 4 pack and a Nickel Cadmium Camcorder Battery For Panasonic PV-BP18 for only $1,000,023.60.

This past weekend was the annual Tribute to American Graffiti car show in Petaluma. I’m not much of a car aficionado, but I love seeing all the old cars. I don’t get into the engines and mechanics of the cars, I just like the aesthetics of the old cars.  There’s something about the designs that car makers just can’t replicate in cars today. The car show takes over downtown with more cars than I could count, a couple hundred easily.

This year I went with my father-in-law who grew up in Detroit. He likes the classics to be original and stock. I tend to agree with him, but I appreciate the craftsmanship and originality that goes into some of the hot rods. As we walked by the cars he would say things like “My brother had this exact car” or “My uncle had this car”, and so on. His knowledge of the American cars pre-1970 is astonishing. It really added a lot to car show to hear stories of people who drove the same cars in everyday life.

I took a couple of hundred photos with over 60 that I liked. I’m still processing and uploading them to Flickr and Zooomr. I have a set on Flickr with shots from this year. There’s also shots from the 2008 car show in a separate set.

Like every other Netflix subscriber that opted to get Blu-Ray disks, I got the email today from Netflix detailing the price increase. And like every other subscriber I am most unhappy. For me it’s going up from the $1 per month Blu-Ray surcharge to $4 per month. That’s an extra $36 per year.

Netflix’s stated reason: “Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs” That is BS. I just checked the prices on Quantum of Solace at Amazon. The two-disc collector’s edition on Blu-Ray is $19.99 while the two-disc collector’s edition on DVD is $20.99. The Blu-Ray is actually cheaper! Maybe those are sale prices, but it shows the downward trend in Blu-Ray pricing. Then consider the fact that Netflix is buying in bulk and not paying anything near retail on a per disk basis. I’d like to know how much more Blu-Ray disks actually cost Netflix.

My Netflix account is $16.99 per month, with the new Blu-Ray charge it will be $20.99, about the cost of a Blu-Ray movie. The major difference is that I can go buy the Quantum of Solace Blu-Ray today, but I can’t get it from Netflix for a “very long” time.  Wait times for new release Blu-Ray titles are always “Very Long Wait”. So I get to pay more money for what is already an inferior service offering. Couple that with the fact that I rarely get  Blu-Ray movies from Netflix and this looks likes extortion. In the last year I’ve averaged about one Blu-Ray per month from Netflix, but now I’ll be paying a price that assumes all three of the rentals I have out are Blu-Ray. Even if I paid $1 per Blu-Ray, I’d still be paying less per year than the new price increase.

So what will I do? Vote with my wallet. Like many other Netflix customers, I’m dropping the Blu-Ray option. I’ve been keeping an eye on Twitter today, and from what I see people are pissed and aren’t going to pay the extra money. It’s not a lot of money, but money isn’t the point. It’s the idea that Netflix needs to charge extra for something that really doesn’t cost them that much, and the charge is not equitable based on usage. If every title I wanted to watch was available on Blu-Ray and I didn’t have to wait for them, I’d consider the extra charge. But that is not reality and the bulk of what I watch is not on Blu-Ray.

I’m joining the hordes of other Netflix subscribers and dropping the Blu-Ray option, and I’m reducing my DVD plan from 3 to 2 to save even more money. I think I’ll donate that $40+ year to a charity that could really use the money. Netflix seriously needs to reconsider this massive blunder.

I’m back to shooting for the 2009 Photo Challenge this week with this shot for the Curves theme.  We took a day trip to Bodega Bay to do some whale watching, but the wind was furious and the surf too wild to see anything.  Fortunately, the tide was low so the tide pools were easily accessible.

The wind was definitely a force of nature yesterday. The Sonoma Coast can get darn windy, but yesterday was something else. I was worried about sand blasting my camera so I kept it tucked into my jacket when I wasn’t shooting. The wind literally pushed my 6 year old backwards as she walked and our parked mini-van was shaking from the wind. We didn’t spend a lot of time out in the elements, but long enough for this shot of natural curves.

I took a dozen or so shots of these mussels trying to get the curves just right, but in the end none of the shots compared to how they look in nature. The patterns and colors were truly spectacular if you took the time to appreciate it. Most people gravitate to star fish or sea anemones, but these guys are worth a look.

I took last week of the 2009 Photo Challenge off.  I just couldn’t get into the theme – Emotion. Emotional shots to me can’t be planned. I knew there was no way I could take an honest emotional shot given that I work full time. I see a lot of joy and happiness in my kids, but I didn’t want to use them as subjects. I’m also not entirely comfortable taking pictures of strangers. That is an area I need to work on, but I don’t think the Photo Challenge is the right venue.

I have certainly hit the ground running this year, at least in terms of photography. I decided to attempt the 2009 Photo Challenge so I’ve been taking a lot of photos. I’ve only missed one day so far, which means I’ve posted 34 photos for the challenge alone. I’ve also posted about 40+ other photos to Zooomr and Flickr. That has to be one my best months ever with about 75 photos in the month.

I’ve also been very pleased with the quality of the shots I’ve been posting, and several have received a lot of faves and views. While I’d like to think I’m growing as a photographer, I’m certain the 2009 Challenge has helped me improve. In fact, a friend is buying prints of three shots taken specifically for the 2009 Challenge. That will be my first photography sale. I’m also contributing a photo to a fund raising auction for my kids’ school later this month.

One of the high points of January was my first photowalk with Jeremy Brooks and Andrew Lighten. I was on a jury in San Francisco and Jeremy and I decided to meet up one evening. It just happened that Andrew flew into SF that day. Hanging out even for a short time with other photographers is very rewarding. Thanks guys. I’m definitely going to make more of an effort to get to other Bay Area photowalks this year.  This is one of the shots I took on that walk:

January was a good start to the year for me. I know the economy sucks and California is heading into a severe drought, but I’m looking forward to this year. And looking back, this is my favorite shot of the month:

One final thing, I want to give a little promotion to the PhotoNetCast podcast. I’ve only recently started listening to this and have really enjoyed it. It’s entertaining and informative. I know everyone listens to TWIP, but you should also listen to PhotoNetCast. Really.

Last week I posted my best shots of 2008 as part of Jim Goldstein’s blog project. Jim provided the complete list of photographers who submitted photos. It’s an impressive list.

From Jim Goldstein
Once again 2008 proved to be an incredibly productive year for the many photographers who read the JMG-Galleries blog. The results of this “Best Photos From 2008″ blog project puts a twist to the normal “Best of Photo” list by aggregating links to the work of 93 photographers from around the globe who are passionate and dedicated to their craft.

The results from “Best Photos From 2007″ by JMG-Galleries Blog Reader’s were impressive, but this year not only did the number of participants exceed expectation the quality and vision of those who submitted were exceptional. This year participants ran the gamut of experience from enthusiasts to professionals.

Enjoy and good luck picking out your favorite from these great submissions

1. “My Top 10 Favorite Photos of 2008” – Jim M. Goldstein
2. My Favorite Shots of the Year – View from the Little Red Tent by Edie Howe
3. 2008 Favorites – Photine by Laurie Ballesteros
4. My Nephew – Amit Goyal
   My nephew woke me up in the morning and was in a very chirpy mode when this was clicked
5. Another world (+Vorher/Nachher) – Visuelle Gedanken by Martin Wolf
   
6. Boy, Hanoi – The Sun Shines & The Igloo Melts by Jon Gresham
7. Best Photos from 2008 – Abraham Neben
8. Apocalyptic Capitalism – Sultana Sandwich by James Hill
9. Top 10 Photos of 2008, My first year in Wisconsin – Sierra Visions by Steven Bourelle
10. My Best Photos: 2008 – Shutter Photo by D Travis North
    This past year was a huge growth year for my digital photography skills which I feel is exhibited quite nicely in my photo favorites of 2008.
11. Best Photos From 2008 – G Dan Mitchell Photography
12. Protesting Prop 8 - Quan Photography by John Quan
13. Bir y?l böyle geçti… – Caglar.ca by Caglar Tukel
    Most of Photos taken during our traveling around Turkey and hiking around our hometown, Izmir.
14. My best shots of 2008 – Jonesblog by Bryan WIlliam Jones
15. Flamingo and Desert Landscape – pl?dys’s photoblog by Mike Reys
    Both pictures are from one of the most beautiful places on earth: Chile’s Atacama desert. The salt lakes there provide for some stunning colours and beautiful wildlife.
16. Suspended – Mark Groves Photography
17. My Favorite 10 Images from 2008 – IM Digital by Ivan Makarov
18. My Best Photo of 2008 – Matt Ward Photography
    This photo was taken in Oct at 7am after a cold night in Atlanta, GA.
19. Highlights of 2008 – Lori Jackson Photography
    In 2008, I picked up my camera again after a year long hiatus following pregnancy and my son’s birth.
20. Favorites from 2008 – Adventures Through The Lens by Rebecca Jackrel
21. Top Ten Photos of 2008 – Chris Moore Photography
22. My Photo Record – Kriz Cpec Photo Blog
23. Best of 2008 – Catavino by Ryan Opaz
24. Looking Forward and Back – Graf Nature Photography by Mark Graf
25. Lloyd’s Favorites of 2008 – L.D. Cross
26. My Favorite Photos from 2008 – Epic Edits by Brian Auer
    A selection of my favorite photos from 2008, broken down by each month and supplemented with a few thoughts.
27. Derryclare Lough – Focus Pocus by Albert MacSweeny
    My best photo of the year was when I was lucky enough to get a still lake in the usually
    turbulent west of Ireland
28. Best of 2008 – News and Views by Dave Wilson
29. Needle – Andel’s Photoblog by Andel Früh
    This photo has been shot with the kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) in retro position (front lens to the camera)
30. Year in Pictures – Marcin Retecki
31. 2008 Top Ten – Lois Elling
32. My Best Photos of 2008 – Out of My Mind by Steven L. Mullen
    These are travel and nature shots taken in Michigan, China, and locally.
33. One from 2008 – Hockley Photography by Aaron Hockley
    It’s a photo taken at night, looking across a bridge towards another photographer also taking a picture of the same ferris wheel as I was.
34. 2008 in Pictures – Sawlani Photography by Hitesh Sawlani
35. My Top 10 Photos for 2008 – by Neil Creek Photography
36. Best of 2008 – The Quiet Picture by Minna Kinnunen
    My 10 favourites from 2008, everything from flower closeups to landscapes and starry nights!
37. Best of 2008 – by Stig Nygaard
    Just a quick little mixed selection of what I consider my best photos from 2008
38. My Top Ten Photos from 2008 – Korn on the Blog by Justin Korn
    Of the 1,800+ images I uploaded to Flickr this year, these are what I thought were my top 10.
39. Blog Project: “your Best Photos from 2008″ – Jim’s Photography by Jim Wheeler
40. My Best Photos from 2008 – TrevorCarpenter.com by Trevor Carpenter
41. Best Photos of 2008 – by Dave Reichert
42. 2008 Favorites – by Beth Madison
43. 01/01/2009 Best of 2008 – Brad Barton Photography
44. 2008: My Favorite Photos – My Digital Life by Jeremy Brooks
45. 2008: The year in photographs – Katie the Scrapbook Lady by Katie
46. Gotham. Or maybe London – SFT Photography by Steve Thomas
    I love the dark and moody feel, combined with the futuristic look of the building. I really enjoyed shooting it!
47. My Best Photos of 2008 – Malphoto.com by Andre Maltais
    I’m particularly proud of these submissions this year, as it seems I’ve made some great strides in my photography from the beginning of the year.
48. Best of 2008 Project – Photos From The Top Floor by Carsten Fischer
49. La Arcada seating on a rare rainy October morning – gZphotoGraph
50. Jaguar – by Jarrod Erbe Photography
    This jaguar image was taken at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The background was generated using a combination of Aperture, Photoshop Elements, and DFT Light.
51. Best of 2008? – Suzy Walker, Underwater Photoblog
    My top ten fav travel, underwater and macro photos taken in 2008
52. My best shots of 2008 – TemujinPhoto Blog by João Almeida
53. Best of 2008 – by Rick Goldwasser
54. My Top 10 Images of 2008 – The Jim Stamates Collection by Jim Stamates
55. #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 – Mannedspace: Photographs by MT Fanders
56. Best 10 of 2008 – by Duffy Knox
57. Future Christmas Card – by Massimo Belloni
58. 
    target=”_blank”>Best Photos of 2008 – MIZSPONTANEITY: A Girl With A Camera by Elaine
    I got a Nikon D40X for Christmas 2007, and although some of these photos were with my trusty Sony W70 point-and-shoot, these are my favorite 10 results of my first year with a digital SLR.
59. Best of 2008 – Changing Perspectives by Jenni Brehm
60. My Best of 2008 – by Eliya Selhub
    In 2008, I have found myself increasingly drawn to animals as subjects, and a slight cartoonish absurdity always appeals to me.
61. My Best Photos From 2008 – Lilahpops – Plunging into Photography by Anthea Brown
    Looking back over my photos for the past year shows my increasing interest in post-processing experimentation alongside my favourite macro format.
62. My top 10 favorite photos of 2008 – The Taeleman’s Blog by Kris Taeleman
63. My Favorite Photos of 2008 – Coulter Photos by Scott Coulter
64. Favorites of 2008 – XGray Vision by Stephen Gray
65. My Top 10 Favorite Images of 2008 – Cornforth Images by Jon Cornforth
    Spectacular nature and wildlife photography, photos, and pictures by award winning professional photographer Jon Cornforth.
66. Sitting Backwards on My Horse – latoga photography By Greg Lato
67. Top ten images of 2008 – Enlightened Images by Gary Crabbe
    These are some of the image I took in 2008, and which rose toward the top of the – I Like – pile.
68. Best 10 photos of 2008 – Have Camera Will Travel by Paul Dymond
    Images from professional Australian travel photographer Paul Dymond which ironically were all taken pretty close to home.
69. Best of 2008 – Heidi Donat
70. Best Photos of 2008 – by Luca Filigheddu Photography
71. Favourites of 2008 – by Chris Brown
72. Best of 2008 – by William Kahn
73. Pics of the pops 2008 – fotoVoyager by William Fawcett
74. My Top 10 Photos of 2008 – Always Breaking by Gary Hegenbart
75. Best of 2008 – by Trevin Chow
    This is a set of my best photos that I took during 2008 which is a combination of Flickr’s “interestingness” meter and my own selection.
76. Best of 2008 – Hotel Yankee Foxtrot by Alex McGeagh
    A collection of the better images captured in a progressive and productive year for me.
77. Top 10 Photos of 2008 – Digital Kloc Photography Blog by Brian Kloc
78. Burrard-Lucas Top Ten Photographs of 2008 – Burrard-Lucas Photography by William Burrard-Lucas
    We are brothers from the UK with a shared passion for wildlife photography – in 2008 we followed Meerkats in the Kalahari, stalked Jaguars in the wetlands of Brazil and waded through swamps at night to photograph Caimans…
79. My best 10+3 pictures of 2008 – All Day I Dream About Photography by Antoine Khater
80. Best of 2008 on Highway 89 – Ann Torrence Photography
    Transecting the west from Mexico to Canada on US89.
81. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance – by Dave Fitch
    A railway bridge in Leith [Edinburgh] that was restored and then left to rot. It’s not perfectly symmetrical, but then neither is the bridge
82. My Top 10 Photographys of 2008 – Nuwomb Bits by Scott Webb
83. Best of 2008 – Matt Sallee Photography
84. My 10 best photos of 2008 – Stephen Trainor Photography
    Mostly landscapes, mostly of the Southwest, but with a hint of other anglophone countries.
85. 10 in 2008 – k|d loftis photography
    My favorite images from 2008 which include weddings, maternity and newborns, families and babies and a few personal images from the year.
86. 
    target=”_blank”>My 10 Favorite Images of 2008 – Della Huff Photography
    My ten favorites from 2008 include California landscapes and cityscapes, with a couple of extra goodies thrown in for fun!
87. Best Photos of 2008 – by Dave Schumaker
88. Best of 2008 – by Jay Goodrich Photography
89. My best photos from 2008 – All Narfed Up by Bryan Villarin
    Choosing my best photos from 2008 was really hard to narrow down, especially since it was my first year with a SLR camera.
90. Mein Flickr Photostream 2008 – Best of – by Stefan Neuweger
91. My Best Photos from 2008 – Why Yet Another Photo Place by Rafa
92. Best Photos from 2008 – by Daria Sukhanovska
    Only until i created this set of 13 photos, i realized how much progress i have done this year: I have traveled a lot, got one photo printed in the magazine and had my first own personal exhibition in the university library and simply had fun with my photos
93. My Best of 2008 – by Phil Price Photography

I hadn’t considered doing a post summing up my year in photography, but today I saw a tweet from Phill Price reminding people to submit their Top Ten to Jim M. Goldstein’s blog project. I’ve run across Jim’s blog before, but for some reason I haven’t subscribed in Google Reader. Well, that has been fixed.

I usually find it hard to pick shots I like. The shots I like are often not the ones that get the most views or faves. I went through my Zooomr photostream and picked the ones I like best that were also favorites of the Zooomr community. So here are my best shots of 2008, in no particular order:

Dreaming of Summer

Elk Lake, Oregon. One of my favorite places.

Seeing Stars

My wife always has fresh flowers in the house, so I get a lot of opportunities to take flower shots.

Barack Obama, plate 6

I had to include one of these shots. I was one of the highlights of the year for me, and the nation.

Return to Earth

Morrison Planetarium, Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

Heartland Dreams

Somewhere near Southwick, Idaho. Another shot from our summer vacation.

What do you hold in

A fence post near Petaluma, CA

Everything you want

Taken in Redding, CA at the Sundial Bridge. Also from the summer vacation.

untitled

Another shot of flowers in my house.

Visual Pollution

Power lines in Petaluma, CA

Benches

Petaluma, CA

I’m trying the Photo Challenge again this year. Last year didn’t go so well, I gave up pretty early. I’m going into the 2009 Challenge with modest expectations. The challenge is a photo-a-day with a new theme everyday. The details of the 2009 challenge are on the Photo Challenge blog. The daily theme is posted the day before, so you don’t have much time to plan.

I know I won’t be able to take and post a photo everyday this year. With work, kids, vacation, etc it just isn’t possible. I’m hoping for 300 shots for the challenge. Even those 300 might not be daily, but if I know starting out that I can’t get one a day, I won’t be disappointed if I don’t make it. If I get 300, I’ll feel I accomplished my personal goal. And I think that is the point of the challenges – grow as a photographer and have fun.

After five days I’m keeping up. I’ve taken and posted a shot everyday. It’s not easy, and they aren’t are all shots I would normally post. Since the Photo Challenges use Flickr, I finally went ahead and upgraded to a Pro account. I still prefer Zooomr, but will be posting all my photos on both sites from now on.
Day 1 – Chair

Day 2 – Pen

Day 3 – Music

Day 4 – Book

Day 5 – Window

It rained all day, and I was bored by about 9 a.m so I decided to shoot some macros indoors. I don’t have real lights, so I grabbed the lamp from my desk and set up on the dining room table. It’s not an ideal lighting situation, but it worked. I used my reversed 50mm lens mounted on the kit 18-55mm that came with my camera. These are the best of what I came up with. The reversed lens adds a lot of vignetting, which I cropped out to varying degrees on each of these shots.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many shots more because I broke my little toe. That made it a little hard to stand up and move around. I spent some time at urgent care and then a lot of time laying around wishing I could pay better attention to where I walk. I am, truly, always breaking something. This time it was myself.

The sound we wish for

Finding What We Lost

Chip

src="http://static.zooomr.com/images/5971578_2abcd08d3a.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Below the surface" />
After five years, the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park reopened this weekend. Opening day was free, so we decided to go on Sunday hoping the crowds would be a little smaller. We’ve been anticipating the re-opening for a long time, and even got an annual membership. We expected to be impressed, and were not disappointed. The Academy of Sciences is simply amazing.

It was crowded, but not jammed with people. There were lines to get into the Rainforests of the World exhibit, but it moved quickly. The show at the Morrison Planetarium was completely packed, but we had no problem getting tickets and all the seats had good views of the show. It was a little too crowded at times to truly enjoy and experience all that the Academy has to offer, but we’ll have plenty of time over the next year to see everything.

After spending a couple of hours exploring and enjoying the Academy, we sat down on a bench to rest and have a snack. An older man walked up and asked us how we liked it. Turns out he was the Director of the Academy of Sciences. We told how much fun we were having and how much the kids enjoyed it. I thought it was cool that the director was out just casually chatting with guests. He seemed very pleased, and for good reason. The opening was huge success.

From a photography point of view there is no lack of shots. The vast concrete and metal structure housing the Academy is an exhibit itself, drawing your eye into the prominent geometry of the design. The main level features two giant spheres that house the Rainforests of the World display and the Morrison Planetarium separated by a naturally lit plaza.

One suggestion, go see the series of black and white wildlife prints on level 3. They are spectacular. Since I love photography, they were my favorite exhibit. They are essentially wildlife portraits. I didn’t make it to the gift shop, but if they have book of these shots, I’m definitely getting it.

View all the shots in the set.