pan the motorcycle

pan the motorcycle, originally uploaded by billaday.

We went up to Idyllwild this weekend with some friends. The girls shopped and the guys (me and Wayne) took pictures. I was starting to get bored/uninspired when I saw some long exposure ideas from Wayne. It was bright and midday, but there he was, taking 1/2 second shots, aiming at the big intersection in the town. I stole that idea, and panned my camera as bikers passed us.

Day 278

winding staircase

winding staircase, originally uploaded by billaday.

My original photo-a-day idea for today was a star trails picture. We were up in Idyllwild, and had a great balcony view of the stars and the valley. It was a full moon, though. So instead of stars, I took a picture of stairs. Just one letter difference. Special thanks to Wayne for holding my wireless flash (SB600) at the bottom of this staircase.

Day 277

fire

fire, originally uploaded by billaday.

There was a giant brown bear loose in the foothills today. At one point, there were five helicopters in the air. I drove around and took 100 pictures; it turns out, helicopters need to be far away from each other so they don't collide. Feeling defeated, I turned around and started walking to my car. This was what I saw. Not bad. The sky looked like it was on fire. I suppose it's all that smog.

Day 276

wax

wax, originally uploaded by billaday.

Melted wax is cool. This almost looks fake, the way it sticks to the tablecloth. I like the light in the background, shining through the candlestick holder.

Day 275

environmental print

environmental print, originally uploaded by billaday.

I find I'm taking more pictures for my classroom. Teaching kindergarten, I need to find examples of stuff that seems obvious to adults. This was one photo from a lesson on environmental print. Letters convey meaning.

Day 274

the foothills

the foothills, originally uploaded by billaday.

Bummer. I just realized that today's photo-a-day is quite similar to the Microsoft "sample desktop." That means it's cool, but unoriginal.

This is cool, however, because it's where I live (and not where Microsoft says I should have visited). I occasionally notice how cool it is to have the foothills right next to my home. It's tough to capture that feeling, but the depth in this shot (silhouette to light sky) reminds me of that feeling. And I suppose for that reason, this photo is a success. Even if some dude from Microsoft® sorta did it first.

Day 273

The Robert Kochis Trio

The Robert Kochis Trio, originally uploaded by billaday.

Here's The Robert Kochis Trio. I'm one of the three, but I was the one taking the pictures, so Junior Barnes filled in so as not to confuse anyone about the number three.

The one in the middle is Junior Barnes--he's moving up through the ranks. Once a bratty son (of Robert), Junior Barnes is now an accomplished drummer, percussionist, and sound engineer (and still obnoxious son). Now we just need to figure out why we call him Junior Barnes. That's not his name.

On the left is the nefarious Mark Gusek. He's a killer drummer. Besides driving The Robert Kochis Trio, he is a freak jazz drummer. Really good. He plays with Julie Day, who is also an amazing jazzer, and The Carnevel Kings.

And last, but least, is Robert Kochis, on stage right. He started the record label New Light Records, and has a Christmas album that's set to come out around Christmas (he's a marketing god). He rocks the microphone, and rocks the suburbs.

And I took the photo. If you look carefully, you can see me in Robert's sunglasses reflection (maybe).

We rock. Hard(ly).

Day 272