Well, Bishop has come and gone. A good time was had by all.

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Tags: bouldering, california, climbing

This is one of the older macaques in the colony near Phra Nang beach in Railay.

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Tags: thailand, wildlife

When I was sixteen, the idyllic isthmus of Railay was my idea of paradise. At 26, I finally got the chance to visit. Aside from the plethora of tourists, it was everything I’d hoped for: the rock climber’s dream of limestone cliffs set among crystal clear waters.

This is Phra Nang beach at the tip of Railay at sunset.

Song of the Day: Margot & Nuclear So and So’s - Cold, Kind, and Lemon Eyes
A ballad for a rainy day here on Catalina…

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Tags: beach, boat, ocean, thailand

This is a pretty straightforward shot of one amazing animal feeding in a meadow in the Bong Duet National Park.

Song of the Day: Andrew Bird - Anonanimal
Yes, Andrew Bird may be the most prolific visitor to my ”Song of the Day” feature. But he deserves it - this song is amazing. I must admit that before I ever heard it one of my closest friends had told me many times that this song would blow my mind… and it did. First of all, it’s like three stellar mini-songs in one larger epic song, and one of those mini-songs is about a fish-eating anemone. I mean, seriously… To a marine science geek like me that nearly earns it song of 2009 in January. No doubt in my mind, Andrew Bird is a genius.

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Tags: b&w, thailand, wildlife

The King’s Palace in Bangkok is an ornate maze of Thai architecture. This was one of the Palace Guards, featured here bored out of his mind, I’m sure. Watching tourists take photos is mind-numbing even if you’re one of them.

Song of the Day: TV on the Radio - Love Dog
I featured this song a few days ago on my year-end list, but I had never posted it before then. I have never been much of a TV on the Radio fan, but this song is awesome. It combines the weirdness and intricate percussion of Menomena with vocals a little like Bloc Party. It’s been on repeat for the last month.

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Tags: b&w, people, thailand, toning

These are some of the hard-working locals on Phi Phi Island (Ko Phi Phi) in the Krabi Province of Thailand. Ko Phi Phi is a weird place - one of the most stunning locations on the planet, but the only ”town” is a tourist ghetto that I found utterly unappealing. What a shame.

Song of the Day: Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
Okay, I’ll believe the hype for this song. I’m not sure about the rest of the album yet, but I can’t get this song out of my head. It reminds of 2007’s ”Fireworks” in that way. I want this song on repeat in my head… even rainy days might seem sunny in that case.

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Tags: boat, kids, ocean, people, thailand

This photo is from a visit with a Mae Manai Karen Hill Tribe a few hours north of Chiang Mai in Bong Duet National Park. Katie and I trekked a number of miles into the jungle and met many villagers along the way. If you’re a westerner and you’ve never been to Thailand, I have to clarify a few things for you. In Thailand, every westerner is treated like a walking ATM and every Thai is an entrepreneur. Even the children. In this case, these three kids attempt to sell the Thai version of Lay’s Potato Chips to people that trek by on the trail. They could not say a single English word - but they would do everything in their power to sell you something. At least until you demonstrate clearly that you’re not buying. Then it’s doodling on cardboard time.

More photos of these kids later.

In the meantime, enjoy my annual year-end ”Favorite Music of the Year” list:

Top Songs of the Year

20. The Notwist - Boneless
19. Mates of State - My Only Offer
18. She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
17. Portishead - Machine Gun
16. Sigur Rós - Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
15. Annuals - Sore
14. Death Cab for Cutie - Cath…
13. The Hold Steady - Sequestered in Memphis
12. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood
11. Thao - Beat (Health, Life and Fire)
10. Wolf Parade - Call It a Ritual
09. Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened
08. Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s - As Tall As Cliffs
07. TV on the Radio - Love Dog
06. The Dodos - Walking
05. Kaki King - Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be a Bad Person?
04. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Glue Girls
03. Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof

02. Blitzen Trapper - Gold for Bread

Coming on the heels of last year’s Wild Mountain Nation, I was hoping Blitzen Trapper would release another upbeat, twangy gem in 2009. Fortuntately there were many of them on Furr. My favorite one is this track, ”Gold For Bread”, an up-tempo, hybridized indie rock slice of perfection.

Decide for yourself: Blitzen Trapper - Gold For Bread (From the Furr LP)

01. Tokyo Police Club - In A Cave
This song is a grower. I wouldn’t have said this was my favorite song of the year unless I sat down to make this list. It never really blew my mind with unique instrumentation or stunning complexity… but I did find myself giving it more spins than anything else in 2008, and it’s continuing into 2009. Give it a listen and try not to get hooked.

Decide for yourself: Tokyo Police Club - In A Cave (From the Elephant Shell LP)

Top Albums of the Year

10. Wolf Parade - At Mt. Zoomer
09. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
08. Portishead - Third
07. The Dodos - Visiter
06. Sigur Rós - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
05. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
04. Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s - Animal/Not Animal
03. Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell

02. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Few albums were as divisive in 2008 as this one was. I can see both sides of the argument because Vampire Weekend is not necessarily one of the most complex or even ”best” albums of the year… but it is still one of my favorites. It’s an immensely enjoyable and consistent album with a few sub-par songs that interrupt the flow a little bit. If you take the great songs from this album and put them in a playlist, though, you’re hard-pressed to find any downsides… even if the lead singer did steal your friend’s ID in college.

Decide for yourself: Vampire Weekend - A-Punk - A-Punk

01. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
If Vampire Weekend failed at all due to inconsistency, Blitzen Trapper made up for everything. Furr is an astounding achievement in its consistency - almost every track can stand out at any given time. The only downside, ”Love U”, is really only a downside because of how grating it is following the sublime ”Not Your Lover”. Portland’s best kept secret is out… buy Furr as soon as you can.

Decide for yourself: Blitzen Trapper - God and Suicide

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Tags: children, music of the year, portrait, thailand

This was a test. I was playing with desaturation and I wanted to see what it looked like on the site. So I posted it a year in advance so I could look at it online and figure out whether I liked it or not. Well, a year passed without making a decision, and the image popped up all on its own. Oh well. What do you think?

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This is the first of many photographs I will post from my trip to Thailand, where I was from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I will also write much more than this in the future, too… including my annual music list starting very soon.

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Tags: purple, thailand, wildlife

Here’s to posting again in 2009.

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Tags: night, fireworks

Alright, I lied. One more photo before I leave for Thailand. I couldn’t stand the idea of that ridiculous-looking deer being the front page of Optic Distraction for the next month. So I chose something far less ridiculous… a 50-foot tall STATUE OF JESUS!

Unbelievable. This is just outside Puerto Nuevo, Baja Norte. This shot was actually taken from the highway as we sped as rapidly as possible to get south of Ensenada. I wasn’t really prepared for this thing, but how does one prepare for something like this? On the bright side, the lighting made for one dramatic photograph of this enormous… thing.

In case you were worried, a Bishop from Tijuana did actually bless our beautiful 50-foot tall Jesus.

See you all in six weeks!

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Tags: mexico, statue

I suppose this one necessitates an explanation.

The story, as I see it, involves a young, teenage male. Unfortunately for this young male, he startles easily and is prone to panic. One fine Catalina evening, he sauntered across the volleyball court, enjoying the cool ocean breeze. Suddenly, a monster leapt from the darkness, snagging the top of his head. In just a few moments, the monster had wrapped his head up and the handsome youngster panicked. In so doing he just thrashed himself deeper into the grasp of the monster.

Of course, the young male is a mule deer and the monster… the volleyball net. This buck somehow wrapped his antler in the volleyball net, ripped the volleyball net support out of the ground, and ran back and forth across the court, dragging the 10-foot long 4×4 around as he ran. We found him in the morning, still attached to the net, and thus also the light post that the net was attached too, and not surprisingly, thoroughly exhausted.

He was freed by two lassos, a sleeping bag, and a pair of bolt cutters to cut the cable from his antler. Sad, I suppose, but somewhat hilarious. Especially when I imagined some sort of ”When Animals Attack” scenario. He is still running around Toyon with a bunch of volleyball net wrapped around his antler. Ridiculous. Both the deer and this crazy place I call home.

On another note, this will be my last image until Christmas time, as I leave for a month long journey through Thailand in a week. I hope the next 6 weeks treats you well - lots of exotic Thai images in just a couple months…

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Tags: b&w, catalina, wildlife

Baja has a lot of space. A lot. I wanted to capture some of that feeling - it’s pretty much dirt, sky, and ocean (if you’re near the ocean, that is). A lot like Catalina, but without the mountains. Quite beautiful… once you get the grit out of your teeth, that is.

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Tags: blue, mexico, sky

After a couple of shots of the location, I might as well show you one of the surf. This is the leader of our little journey, Mark, getting down with the Mexican swell. It wasn’t big, but it was definitely fun. And it sure beats Shark Harbor on Catalina.

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Tags: mexico, ocean, surfing

This is the same wrecked freighter as yesterday’s image. The lighting was amazing that evening, as evidenced by the colors and even lighting in the photo.

I posted a color version on behalf of my father as today is his birthday… Happy birthday, Dad! He always prefers the color version of my photos to the black and whites, so there’s a small gift for him.

Let me know what you think in the comments section.

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Tags: blue, boat, mexico, rust, sky

I just got back from a ”surfing” trip to Baja. We stopped by a break known as ”Freighters”, a not-so-subtle reference to this shipwreck marooned just off the beach. The ship is the ”Maria De Carmen” (or so a few sources say), and is now just a rusty home to birds. I took a number of photos of this thing in some outstanding lighting conditions, so I will probably post a few different images… let me know which one you like best.

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Tags: b&w, boat, mexico

Felt like posting again. This is some copper vents and such that were just put in place on a new building around the corner. The blue plastic protective covering is starting to peel back.

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Tags: circles, copper, blue

It’s been awhile, and I just felt like posting something. That’s me on the lower left in the window reflection.

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Tags: blue

I processed this one in the hopes of making it appear like a painting. Let me know if you think I succeeded. This is actually an old photo from last winter that I never did anything with. I like it now though!

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Tags: colorado, sunset, trees

This girl was one of an oddly large number of people that were facing away from the music during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Of course, her weirdness did made it possible to get a nice portrait.

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Tags: b&w, colorado, people, portrait

Even the best need to do it sometimes…

This is Béla Fleck performing at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on Friday. He was playing with Abigail Washburn, and while I’m not a huge bluegrass fan, it was pretty amazing to watch him play. He certainly turns the banjo into a much more versatile instrument than most other bluegrass artists do.

I’m traveling back to Catalina today, so I’ll return to regular song of the day posting on Wednesday.

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Tags: b&w, colorado, portrait

I’m currently at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, enjoying the scalding sun at 10,000 feet as well as some live music. There are all sorts of little shops around the outskirts of the festival, including this one - a shop that sells nothing but tie-dyed t-shirts. Big surprise there. But it does capture the essence of the show… freakin’ hippies everywhere.

Anyway, more bluegrass stuff to come.

Song of the Day: Ryan Adams - If I Am a Stranger
Ryan Adams played the final set on Thursday night, though he didn’t play this song, one of my favorites of his. Not exactly ”bluegrass”, but oh well.

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Tags: color, colorado

This building is known as the ”Bay Window House” at the Colorado ghost town of Animas Forks. Animas Forks is hidden high in the mountains at about 11,200 feet of elevation, and lies between the towns of Silverton, Lake City, and Ouray. It’s an old mining town, and is pretty awesome looking - check back in the coming week for more images. Odd fact: my father slept in that house over 30 years ago on an Outward Bound trip…

Song of the Day: Sigur Rós - Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
Surprisingly upbeat for a Sigur Rós song, this track is off the upcoming album Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, or ”With a Buzzing in our Ears, We Play Endlessly”. Most people know of this band, but I swear they seem as though they would have to try really hard to write a bad song. Highly recommended!

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Tags: b&w, building, colorado

Well, it’s been exactly 3 months since I last posted. So, I figured it was time to get back on the horse, so to speak. Not the most scintillating image to launch my comeback with, but as always, I like the grid like composition.

Also, I’m not sure if anyone has been trying to comment, but the comment form has been on the fritz. It’s fixed now, so uh, comment away…

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Tags: graffiti

Katie and I circumnavigated the island on kayaks to finish off the season this year - just about the perfect way to top it all off and appreciate our little paradise. We discovered some awesome caves - this one is on the Lava Wall, and the entrance is tiny. Once you’re inside, though, the cave opens up to a huge, dome-shaped room. This image was shot super wide angle looking at the west wall of the room with Katie right by the entrance.

Song of the Day: Mount Eerie - In Moonlight
This is an odd song. At first, I though it was a slow, spooky track about lost love… but at 1:22, it becomes a fuzz-heavy rocker that somehow still allows the beautifully layered vocals to shine through. And the haunting line, ”I will find you…”, repeated many times sticks with you long after the song ends. Interesting, different, and recommended!

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Tags: catalina, Negative Space