Whimsical Photo Contest Grand Prize Winner

 Title: "Chili Fire"

 The expression by David is exactly what I was going for in this humorous image. It is a straight forward shot requiring no Photoshop special effects. Just timing, some preparatory work, and simple lighting.

Photo.net's "Whimsical Photo Contest" guest judge awarded my entry the grand prize a couple weeks ago. The prize is this really cool wireless 2TB portable hard drive. It has a battery that can last up to 20 hours, and a SD slot. The judges' comments can be found HERE as well as the other winning entries.

The Road Less Traveled

  Jerry Seinfeld is quoted to have said "Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason". Today, I literally went down a road less traveled by me - 36th street SW. Evidence of the recent economic crash was shockingly apparent. A sky-walk to nowhere.

This sky-walk once led to one of the largest factories in Wyoming Michigan. It filled a city block - probably close to half a square mile of space. For some reason GM (General Motors) left this sky-walk structure in place after completely wiping the ground clean where the factory once stood.

 It seems a gesture kind of like giving the middle finger to the community where thousands toiled to make GM millions of dollars. I can't imagine the number of  lives destroyed by this decision, but it is a very good reminder of the actual stewardship and care that a large corporation has for the local community. There is a reason that some roads are less traveled, and 36th street is now one of them.

Monthly Project Win on Photo.net

 In January there was a monthly project on Photo.net that was about DOF (Depth of Field).

I had just acquired a beautiful used Nikkor 105mm f1.8 ais lens off the popular auction site which proved perfect for the project. So, I shot the nearest model available...Charlie.  Here is the lens...

There was a prize for the project, and I used it to purchase a canvas print of my tribute to Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" - though my version is an antithesis of his sunny bright yellow - live flowers - round vase etc. The unfortunate thing about the tribute is I shot it with another ancient Nikkor - the 35mm f2.0 ai, but I sold it a while back. I wish I had not sold it. I think of lenses as brushes...at least I got to use it a few times. Here is my "Vincent".

 If anyone wants a discount on a canvas print - Canvas Pop does an excellent job. I have a 2' x 5' print in the receptionist area of my studio that I look at everyday. Discount is HERE