The Occasional Odd Crop

Fallen bloom

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Where: My front yard, San Diego

When: January 2012

As much as I like black and white, sometimes a photo *is* all about the pretty colors, and when that happens, you just need to embrace it.

Shadows on the bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:49:00 +0000

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Where: Downtown San Diego, on the newish footbridge connecting Petco Park with the Convention Center

When: January 2012

Trolley yard

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:35:00 +0000

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Where: Downtown San Diego

When: January 2012

San Diego's trolley cars are a striking red. But I wanted the focal point to be the lines on the left, where the tracks converge and make that claw shape. The pretty red would just draw the eye away from that. So, black and white.

Condensation and the Columbia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:40:00 +0000

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Where: Looking out the window at Coffee Girl, Pier 39, Astoria, Oregon

When: December 2011

In some ways, Astoria has changed a lot in the 17 years since I moved away. As a visitor in town for just a couple of days, I most enjoyed the addition of the Riverwalk, a 5-mile paved path along the Columbia River. It's a great way to see Astoria's best feature.

There was also no place like Coffee Girl when I lived in Astoria. It's a nice little coffee shop in a 135-year-old cannery building sitting over the river.

Coffee Girl might never have happened if Starbucks hadn't happened first, but I don't care. It was 43 degrees with a bit of a breeze when we - me, my son Brad and his daughter, Fiona - went for a little stroll on the Riverwalk. When we were done, I was thrilled to have a place to sit and drink a cup of hot tea (something I never do at home in San Diego, by the way).

From my point of view as a tourist, Coffee Girl and the Riverwalk are welcome additions to the town. In other ways, Astoria hasn't changed a bit, but I have. Before I drove out of town, I stopped at a fast-food burrito place for lunch. It was in the low 40s and raining. In San Diego, weather like that would keep me and just about everybody else in San Diego huddled indoors.

But in Astoria, it was just another day in late December. The burrito place was packed, and plenty of people were on the streets, just doing what they do, usually without the aid of an umbrella, or even a hat. Meanwhile, my other son, Kyle, was spending the day putting in about 70 miles on his racing bike.

I should have remembered that kind of toughness from the seven years I spent in the Astoria area. I shouldn't have been surprised. But I was.

Custard King

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:44:00 +0000

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Where: 16th and Commercial, Astoria, Oregon

When: December 2011

I didn't get anything this time, but when I lived in Astoria, this place had the best milkshakes in town. It still has one of the best signs.

Ship on the Columbia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:18:00 +0000

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What: The cargo vessel Hao Ying

Where: Columbia River, Astoria, Oregon

When: December 2011

The Columbia River is my favorite body of water. The Pacific Ocean, about 20 minutes from my house in San Diego, is fantastic, but I like the Columbia for the shipping traffic. And you can see the other side, which makes it more interesting photographically.

I do not miss Astoria's winter weather, of which I got a reminder over my Christmas break, when I went back to visit my sons and their kids. Forty-one degrees and rain. No thanks. But having that river nearby would make up for the chill.

Two towers

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:43:00 +0000

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Where: Near Bay Marina Drive, National City, California

When: November 2011

Banksy and the cone of shame

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:32:00 +0000

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Where: Our front yard

When: October 2011

Our puppy, 5 months old at the time, hadn't actually done anything shameful, of course. But she'd just been spayed and had been paying some unhelpful attention to her incision, so the vet suggested the cone. That thing was photographic gold.

Banksy sans cone, along with more info about our pound puppy.

Boats on the bay

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:41:00 +0000

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Where: Pacific Tugboat Services, seen from Cesar Chavez Park, Logan Heights, San Diego

When: December 2011

My photos are usually more about shapes and textures than colors, but this is one time I needed the riot of color. The blue and green water, the orange rust - those were vital parts of this scene. At least a couple of these are probably worth reworking in black and white, but not today.

Hello Kitty helmet

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:20:00 +0000

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Where: Silver Strand Boulevard, between Imperial Beach and Coronado, California

When: September 2011

NRG Cabrillo Power

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:11:00 +0000

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Where: Carlsbad, California

When: November 2011

It's an imposing structure, but my favorite part might be the power lines.

Underpass, Union and C

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:44:00 +0000

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Where: Downtown San Diego

When: November 2011

We had to come home from New York at some point, didn't we?

People of New York

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:58:00 +0000

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Where: Around New York City

When: October 2011

The guy in the cast, by the way, was watching a skywriter. And those three guys in the second photo look like they just came from shooting a vodka commecial, don't they?

I made a photoset of these at my tumblelog. Just a different way of looking at them, and the captions tell where I shot each one, in case that interests you.

In case you missed it: A couple of my photos from Mood Fabrics worked nicely as a fun animated GIF. Have a look.

Thank you, Mood

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:25:00 +0000

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Where: Mood Fabrics, New York City

When: October 2011

Why yes, my wife and I do watch "Project Runway." Why do you ask?

A couple more of my photos from Mood worked nicely as a fun animated GIF. Have a look.

Bronx Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:12:00 +0000

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Where: New York City

When: October 2011

The Bronx Zoo is great, but the contrasts between it and my hometown San Diego Zoo are striking. For one thing, the San Diego Zoo doesn't have a river. Nice touch, Bronx.

For another, the train tour at the Bronx Zoo is fantastic - the place is laid out so that everything you see is on the same side of the train, and all of the seats face that side. No lurching from one side of the vehicle to the other, as happens in the San Diego Zoo.

On the other hand - and this is more important than trains and rivers - the Bronx Zoo made me appreciate the horticulture department in San Diego, which labors mostly behind the scenes to make the animals' surroundings at least somewhat like their natural habitats.

They do an incredible job, which I didn't fully understand until we went to the Bronx Zoo. In the Bronx, it was just weird to see the giraffes, lions and other animals lounging and foraging among extremely North American maples and elms.

Full disclosure: My wife works for the San Diego Zoo.

Waiting for the train

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:30:00 +0000

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Where: Various subway stations, New York City

When: October 2011

Ladies Liberty

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:24:00 +0000

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Where: The Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City

When: October 2011

Brooklyn Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:55:00 +0000

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Where: New York City

When: October 2011

Good photographers say you should visualize your final image when you trip the shutter. I usually don't do that, but this time I did. I was walking toward Manhattan, turned around into the sun, saw the wires silhouetted against that iconic bridge structure, and thought of exactly this image.

Granted, it might not be much of a stretch, but it's nice when a plan works out.

A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:20:00 +0000

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Where: New York City

When: October 2011

You know what we should do? We should get everybody we know who doesn't like New York City and take them to two places - High Line Park, and the walkway across the Brooklyn Bridge. Then everybody we know would like New York City.

Staten Island Ferry

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:12:00 +0000

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Where: Between Manhattan and Staten Island, New York City

When: October 2011

This ferry trip was the last thing Dani and I did in New York. Even on a gray, drizzly afternoon, it was a fantastic way to end our trip - boat rides are fun, the people watching is great, you get to see the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of lower Manhattan, and it's free. Can't beat that.

Amy's Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:51:00 +0000

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Where: The bakery at Chelsea Market, New York City

When: October 2011

A rooftop in Queens

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:32:00 +0000

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Where: Near the 39th Avenue stop on the Q train, New York City. (We were headed back from our fantastic lunch at the Kabab Cafe in Astoria.)

When: October 2011

At work, at rest on the High Line

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:09:00 +0000

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Where: High Line Park, Chelsea, New York City

When: October 2011

Naumburg Bandshell

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:20:00 +0000

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Where: Central Park, New York City

When: October 2011

The Lake

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:44:00 +0000

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Where: Central Park, New York City

When: October 2011

Ordinarily, the colors aren't the strongest features of my photos. I'd say this is an exception, even though what drew me to the scene was the contrast between the tiny building on the shore and the skyscrapers in the reflection. In any case, I'll take it; I'm pleased with this one.