waterproof case!

waterproof case!, originally uploaded by billaday.

I finally got a waterproof case for my camera: the Canon WP-DC17 Underwater housing. I looked into dSLR housings, but gave up after discovering that they cost $1000. This is roughly 10% of that, so I'm pretty happy. If summer would just keep going, I could keep taking cool pictures underwater. Wednesday should make for some underwater fun...

Day 238

wicker

wicker, originally uploaded by billaday.

I like the weave and the shadows. SImple, yet interesting.

Day 237

city hall by night

city hall by night, originally uploaded by billaday.

I must say, this is one of the coolest places to play a concert at. This is the back side--we played in front for L.A.'s first Relay for Life. Thanks to Wayne for helping me choose today's photo-a-day... I had lots to choose from.

Day 236

climb.

climb., originally uploaded by billaday.

Alas, the final day of my brief San Diego trip. I've had lots of time to myself between visiting friends, and this shot reminds me of those times. I arrived three hours early to my friend's house, and spend most of the time in this building, sorting through my zoo photos. I threw away 400 shots, and am now down to 130. I suppose this would be a good time to talk about the philosophic notions this photo holds (climbing the ladder of _____), but I won't.

Day 235

Handout

Handout, originally uploaded by billaday.

I went to the San Diego Zoo today while waiting to hang out with my friend Ryan. This chimp saw a churro, ran over, and firmly put her hand out.

Day 234

carve

carve, originally uploaded by billaday.

I went in the ocean with Brent and my underwater camera housing. It was a blast... way more fun the surfing (badly). This is Brent's favorite secret spot, south of San Clemente. The cliffs in the background are pretty cool.

Day 233

earthquake damage

earthquake damage, originally uploaded by billaday.

There was a 5.8 earthquake, and I was at home to feel it. Even though I was just 8 miles from the epicenter, it didn't feel too big. Friends in high rise buildings in downtown L.A. and San Diego said it was strong. I was on the phone with a friend, casually walked to the front doorway, and kept chatting. After the quake, I moved my guitars off the shelf, and checked for damage. As you can clearly see, our house was hit hard. One picture frame was slightly off center. Whew.

Day 232

after the jump

after the jump, originally uploaded by billaday.

I got a new underwater camera housing. This is my first test with it in my pool. I like the lighting on this shot; the bubbles are right after I jumped in the water.

Day 231

Lid

Lid, originally uploaded by billaday.

There's always an interesting angle to photograph when it comes to my good ol' Nalgene bottle. With the lid off, there's a nice depth of field.

Day 230

Top Gun is the greatest movie ever made

Top Gun is the greatest movie ever made, originally uploaded by billaday.

If Top Gun is the greatest movie ever, why isn't this photo the greatest photo ever? Or is it? Or isn't it?

Day 229

the moth

the moth, originally uploaded by billaday.

The Moth don't care if The Flame is real,
'Cause Flame and Moth got a sweetheart deal.
And nothing fuels a good flirtation,
Like Need and Anger and Desperation...
No, The Moth don't care if The Flame is real.

Day 228

Computer lab

Computer lab, originally uploaded by billaday.

Here's my summer school computer lab. We set up three drops for all the cables. It looked pretty sweet.

Day 227

grassy shadows

grassy shadows, originally uploaded by billaday.

A bit of running around to wear out the little ones before dinner. I like the long shadows in this.

Day 226

old hotel

old hotel, originally uploaded by billaday.

Here's the outside of our summer school program. It used to be a hotel, and out program rents it out. I like the repetition.

Day 225

this place is swingin'

this place is swingin', originally uploaded by billaday.

Remember the days when being on a swing was awesome? Remember the days when you could still actually swing? Remember the days when you swung anyway? I do.

Day 224

latched

latched, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is the case I put my guitar accessories in. Extra strings, extra stands, extra sheet music, extra cords, extra wire cutter, extra string winder. It all goes here.

Day 223

seasons

seasons, originally uploaded by billaday.

I took the wife out to lunch on her break from work. I went to Corner Bakery early and ordered, so that the food would be ready when she arrived. In the meanwhile, I took this photo.

Day 222

torn

torn, originally uploaded by billaday.

It's not easy being green. Sometimes a kid or small animal rips you apart.

I really like how crisp the dead edge of the lead came out.

Day 221

waiting line

waiting line, originally uploaded by billaday.

In a lot of ways, shopping carts are like puppies. They sit around, patiently waiting for you to come and give them attention. They also occasionally end up somewhere they're not supposed to be... except shopping carts end up denting your car and puppies end up pooping on your carpet.

Day 220

Planet Glendora panorama

Planet Glendora panorama, originally uploaded by billaday.

Here is a 360º view of a field just below downtown Glendora; you can see the post office in the middle left.

The full panoramic can be viewed here. You can zoom in and stuff; it's really cool, and took a long time to figure out.

Day 219

micah cup

micah cup, originally uploaded by billaday.

Micah is a guy that everyone knows. I don't know how, but when I go to a cool place, I see him there, and everyone knows him there. It's impressive, and strange. So when I saw this cup with his face on it, I had to make it the photo-a-day.

Day 218

this is my outlet

this is my outlet, originally uploaded by billaday.

So the title of the photo (this is my outlet) has two meanings. First, it really is my power outlet; I plug stuff into it. Secondly, I took a picture of this outlet; figuratively, photography is a creative outlet for me. But you probably already knew all that.

Day 217

grill

grill, originally uploaded by billaday.

If you ever find yourself leaning over a speaker, cover your ears and take a photo.

Day 216

I believe I can fly!

I believe I can fly!, originally uploaded by billaday.

Landon loves to be tossed up in the air. His hair does a little poof thing when he reaches the apex of the toss. Classic.

Day 215

IMA

IMA, originally uploaded by billaday.

I read a cool article that suggests we think about gas mileage as gallons per mile, rather than the typical miles per gallon. At this rate, I'm using just over two gallons for a 100 mile trip. Interesting stuff.

Oh yeah, and 46.4 is my typical mpg.

Day 214

first photo

first photo, originally uploaded by billaday.

Woo hoo. I got a new compact camera! The Canon Powershot SD 870 IS. This was the first shot of it. It's pretty much the same as my older SD 800 IS, but it doesn't have tons of dirt inside the lens and isn't (literally) falling apart. The screen's bigger, and it focuses on macro objects easier. I suppose I should take a shot of the new camera, and not just a shot with it.

Day 213

power lines and distant rain

power lines and distant rain, originally uploaded by billaday.

This shot feels both amatuer-ish and satiating all at once. It seems like the pros avoid cliché shots like this, but I still really like a nice photo of some super cool clouds. It looks nice, and that's good enough for me.

Day 212

yin and yang of pizza

yin and yang of pizza, originally uploaded by billaday.

So what exactly is the antitheses of a half-eaten pizza? btw, I'm teaching a photoshop class, so I probably will be doing awesome/lame/funny/lame photoshop work in the near future. I guess after 5 hours of teaching photoshop, I still want to come home and do it, but don't want to spend too much time to make it really interesting, which is kinda strange...

Day 211

spelunking

spelunking, originally uploaded by billaday.

Today I did not go spelunking in a dark cave, nor did I take a photo of me approaching the exit of the confined space.

Day 210

light up the road

light up the road, originally uploaded by billaday.

Don't rear end this truck... or drive under it.

Day 209

turn around

turn around, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is not photoshopped. I was driving down the street and found a sign upside down. I turned the photo upside down, so that the sign is now right side up, but the world is now upside down.

Day 208

pink

pink, originally uploaded by billaday.

Any guesses what tv series the wife and I are watching? Here's a clue: I took a picture of the box set cover.

Day 207

chevelle

chevelle, originally uploaded by billaday.

Since this is an old Chevelle, I decided to give it an antique treatment. iPhoto is great for stuff like this. Although this car is pretty cool, I'm pretty glad I have my Civic.

Day 206

important panel

important panel, originally uploaded by billaday.

This panel was in the back of what used to be a hotel lobby. It looks really important, like a fire alarm panel, but it looks different from my fire alarm at home. That one is a small circle glued to the ceiling. It slowly drains a 9-volt battery. This is not that.

Day 205

Rounding second

Rounding second, originally uploaded by billaday.

My dad invited me to the Angels game... same awesome seats. The first time I was lucky enough to sit this close, I took about 400 pictures. This game, I kept it to under 50. I spent more time actually paying attention to the game--it was fun, and it took about 3 hours less time to go through and edit the shots.

Day 204

Bowl

Bowl, originally uploaded by billaday.

Covina Bowl has one of the cooler signs around. I finally pulled over after work to grab this shot.

Day 203

spin cycle

spin cycle, originally uploaded by billaday.

UFO? Nope.
Ferris wheel? Nay.
Top? Affirmative.

Day 202

Stone

Stone, originally uploaded by billaday.

Stone Brewery is known for their hoppy ales. It's taken me a while, but with the guidance of Jason, I now enjoy both stouts and IPAs.

Day 201

La Tolteca

La Tolteca, originally uploaded by billaday.

La Tolteca is a great place to get mexican food. I always order the beef quesadilla. This is the brand new building in a brand new location. Go Day 200 photo-a-day!

Day 200

Old Griswold's Hotel

Old Griswold's Hotel, originally uploaded by billaday.

I'm teaching summer school at the Old Griswold's Hotel. Since our non-profit program is summer only, we change locations every year. This year, we get to be in a building that will be demolished in 4 more weeks. Stuff is falling apart, if you look carefully. This broken lighting fixture sums up the location. The best part, however, is that we can write, draw, paint, and hammer into the building. I'm mostly teaching Photoshop, so I'm writing all the commands and shortcuts all around my computer lab. It is super cool.

Day 199

out of focus

out of focus, originally uploaded by billaday.

I went for an out of focus shot on purpose here. Sometimes the impression of a shot can be more interesting than what's actually there (like a bathroom floor).

Day 198

sprinkles

sprinkles, originally uploaded by billaday.

The Francis Band played at a week-long retreat held at the University of Redlands. We got to eat for free at the cafeteria. My living-in-the-dorm strategies immediately came back to me... one dessert, two sodas, three entrees. The strategy is that one of these is bound to be edible, except for the soda. It was dangerous to leave your food unattended with friends while you refilled a beverage. Anyway, Paul had an ice cream cone, and I had to take a picture of it.

Day 197

benched

benched, originally uploaded by billaday.

The symmetry of the shadows caught my eye on this concrete bench. The texture popped out when I was looking at this at full resolution. I spent some time with adjustment layers in Photoshop, then changed the layer properties to get the contrast I wanted. The minimal style is definitely influenced by Zel Nunes.

Day 196

crate

crate, originally uploaded by billaday.

So here's a plastic holder for the 5 gallon Arrowhead water container bottle. Here's what I did: I took a half second shot and rotated the camera 90º. I got the center octagon to remain centered while I rotated it. If I were Spiderman, this might be how I see the world.

Day 195

afternoon breeze

afternoon breeze, originally uploaded by billaday.

I made a slight detour when I was in Pasadena. Instead of going straight to my car, I walked around the block first. It was an old, nice, quiet neighborhood. The kind of neighborhood I could never afford to live in,

Day 194

demo in red

demo in red, originally uploaded by billaday.

It's pretty obvious that I rotated this picture 90 degrees, but I like the composition of it better on its side. So there.

Day 193

shutter

shutter, originally uploaded by billaday.

long exposure, one second. I moved the camera to add the ghostly trails. Yup.

Day 192

iPod vending machine

iPod vending machine, originally uploaded by billaday.

I joked about iPods being sold in vending machines before. But seriously? In real life? Yes. iPods are now sold in vending machines at Macy's. All we need now are vending machines that sell vending machines...

Day 191

bell

bell, originally uploaded by billaday.

I haven't seen one of these old fire alarms in a while. It's pretty cool. I like the texture of the whole picture.

Day 190

After

After, originally uploaded by billaday.

You saw the before and during photo. Now, here is the after picture. Most people only take before & after. Not me.

Day 189