The Occasional Odd Crop

Getting some sun

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Where: University of Washington, Seattle

When: July 1, 2009

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Mainsail

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:58:00 +0000

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Where: Aboard the America's Cup yacht Stars & Stripes in San Diego Bay

When: June 27, 2009

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

The Abracadabra cuts across our stern

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:23:00 +0000

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Where: Aboard the Stars & Stripes, in San Diego Bay

When: June 27, 2009

What: For our anniversary, Dani bought us tickets for one of the daily races between these two America's Cup yachts. I'm not really sure who won on our day, and I don't care. It was an exhilarating afternoon on the water.

And I learned a couple of things:

1. Cranking the "coffee grinders" to move the sails can be incredibly hard work. Dani and I worked the main sail for about 45 minutes, and moving that big boom and a 100-foot-tall sail against the wind was, at times, nearly impossible. My back hurt for days afterward.

2. These boats are more responsive than my car, which explains why the Abracadabra cut so close behind us at least a half-dozen times. I got to drive for about 20 minutes, and I had to steer very small not to turn too quickly. Surprising. (Yes, I have now driven an America's Cup yacht, which kind of blows my mind. Best anniversary present ever.)

Media criticism

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:45:00 +0000

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Where: Oakland International Airport, Oakland, California

When: July 3, 2009

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Jenny and Randy

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:01:00 +0000

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Where: First Lutheran Church, downtown San Diego

When: June 12, 2009, right after their wedding

Jenny and Randy got married

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:32:00 +0000

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Where: First Lutheran Church, downtown San Diego

When: June 12, 2009

The occasion: After the wedding, we gathered outside the church for a group photo. It took a little while to get everybody together, and during the milling around, I took the opportunity to shoot a few photos myself.

Old wife new wife

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:25:00 +0000

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Where: Spanish Village, Balboa Park, San Diego

When: June 12, 2009

The occasion: The wedding reception of our friends Jenny and Randy. Many of the galleries were open, but unfortunately, this one wasn't. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who wanted to see what the front of this painting looked like.

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Sunflower

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:30:00 +0000

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Where: My front yard

When: May 12, 2009

What: Part of Dani's Mothers Day present

Copper and blue

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:39:00 +0000

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Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

When: May 16, 2009

Carwash donations for funeral

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:40:00 +0000

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Where: Barrio Logan, San Diego

When: June 4, 2009

Seems timely: This photo looked pretty good in black and white, too, but I really like that green along the roof line and didn't want to suppress it.

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Used car super stor

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:01:00 +0000

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Where: El Cajon Boulevard, La Mesa, California (just east of San Diego)

When: May 28, 2009

Nothin' up my sleeve: Part of me wanted to really create a mood here by darkening the photo, sucking out most of the color, that sort of thing. I've performed such cosmetic surgery on plenty of photos. And when I did it today, it looked pretty good.

But I'm starting to rebel against that sort of embellishment. I've seen too many crummy photos that have been turned into crummy Art on a computer screen, and too many good photos ruined by overblown digital magic. It's easy enough that everybody can do it, but hardly anyone does it well. I'd rather just shoot photos.

Most of the time, at least. I'm sure I'll continue to use Photoshop's bag of tricks now and then. But not today. Other than a minor adjustment for contrast, I decided just to show this place as I saw it.

Xiangqi player

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:11:00 +0000

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Where: Columbus Park, Chinatown, New York City

When: Oct. 19, 2007

Show time: I posted a black-and-white version of this photo a while back. This color version is one of my entries in the Art of Photography Show, which opens in August in downtown San Diego. I've posted a set of my four entries at Flickr.

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Meet the Beetles

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Sat, 30 May 2009 09:37:00 +0000

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Where: North Park, San Diego

When: May 21, 2009

Women in uniform, one with leftovers

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:34:00 +0000

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Where: Horton Plaza, downtown San Diego

When: Today (May 28, 2009)

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

If not now ...

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:21:00 +0000

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Where: Ray Street, North Park, San Diego

When: April 30, 2009

Branches and chairs

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:08:00 +0000

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Where: North Park, San Diego

When: April 30, 2009

Painter in the median

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:52:00 +0000

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Where: North Park, San Diego

When: April 30, 2009

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Ink

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:39:00 +0000

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Where: Little Italy, San Diego

When: April 26, 2009, during ArtWalk

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Sodypop

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:52:00 +0000

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Where: North Park, San Diego

When: March 16, 2009

What do you call it? My grandma, who was from southern Missouri, said "sody" or "sodypop," so this billboard reminded me of her. Out here in San Diego, most people call it "soda"; I'm one of the few who call it "pop." I've also heard about people who call it "Pepsi" even when it's Coke, or "Coke" even when it's Pepsi.

Is there a regional word for brown, fizzy water where you're from? You can let me know in the comments.

Keeping the sun away

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:49:00 +0000

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Where: Little Italy, San Diego

When: April 26, 2009, during ArtWalk.

For the second year, Dani showed her paintings at San Diego ArtWalk. Very successful weekend - she did well, and I got some fun photos. You can see more photos at my Flickr site.

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

You make your face, I'll make mine

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:37:00 +0000

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Where: Little Italy, San Diego

When: April 26, 2009, during ArtWalk.

For the second year, Dani showed her paintings at San Diego ArtWalk. Very successful weekend - she did well, and I got some fun photos. You can see more photos at my Flickr site.

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.

Used to be a door

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:46:00 +0000

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Where: Upland, California

When: April 11, 2009

Camera: My Samsung camera phone. I accidentally and foolishly left my trusty Canon at home that day. This photo looks like I subjected it to some weird Photoshop filtering, but I didn't, just a black-and-white conversion and some adjustments to increase the contrast.

The Occasional Odd Thought

ArtWalk, Day 1

For the second year, Dani is showing her paintings at San Diego ArtWalk. Today was Day 1 of the two-day event, and it was great.

Not only was it clear that a lot of people appreciated Dani's art, but the weather was better than anyone could have hoped for. There was a chance of rain, but we got sunny skies and temps in the 60s. Perfect, or at least a vast improvement over last year's 85- and 95-degree days.

ArtWalk is also a great place to make photos of people. I didn't have to stray far from Dani's tent to shoot a wide variety of interesting folks, human and canine. I'm looking forward to more of the same Sunday, when the festival winds up.

If you're in San Diego, you should stop by and say hello. You can find Dani's tent here.

Closed for restoration

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:05:00 +0000

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Where: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, near Borrego Springs, California

When: April 3, 2009

Teddy-bear chollas

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:37:00 +0000

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Where: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, near Borrego Springs, California

When: April 3, 2009

They're called teddy-bear chollas because they look so fuzzy from a distance. Up close, though, they're even less cuddly than a lot of other cactuses.

This spiny spheres littered the ground around the chollas. I didn't see them until it was too late.

This one, stuck in my shoe, wasn't so bad. The one that got stuck in my leg (not pictured) was a bigger problem. I had to pry the things off with my car key. People who know better suggest using a hair comb.

Also, next time I go to the desert, I'll take some tweezers and maybe a pair of pliers. Once I'd removed the ball, some of the spines remained in my leg. Pulling barbed cactus spines out of flesh with your bare fingers is not so easy.

Fennel

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Dodge Medlin) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:32:00 +0000

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Where: My kitchen

When: March 14, 2009

Too big? There's a smaller version at Flickr.