Billabong

Billabong, originally uploaded by billaday.

First off, View On Black.

I'm finally getting rid of my old surfboard. I was getting the old wax off of it when it started raining. So I propped up the board and snapped a few shots. There was a yellow light above it, so it was tricky balancing the available light and my flash. I settled with a 1/20 exposure and slow sync flash (that keeps the shutter open after the flash fires, so there's more than one light source).

Day 96

I Am the Vine

I Am the Vine, originally uploaded by billaday.

Looking down our backyard wall. I like the depth of field (or DoF, if you're cool) in this shot.

Day 95

blue palmday

blue palmday, originally uploaded by billaday.

I do love California because it's the middle of March and I needed my AC on to get home comfortably.

I do not love California because I got a pink slip today. Our governor, in his infinite wisdom, is cutting $4.5 billion in education. Bad news for us all. But I do get a nice view at work (while it lasts).

Day 94

I see a red wall, and I want to paint it... striped

I see a red wall, and I want to paint it... striped, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is actually the side of this building. I tend to notice places that I have used for my photo-a-day. As I continued to look at this building, I noticed how cool the side of the building was.

And I think the Rolling Stones should re-record their hit, using my parodied lyrics.

Day 93

Drink Me

Drink Me, originally uploaded by billaday.

"It was all very well to say 'Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Remember these from years ago? I do. And I was a kid.

Day 92

Disguised cell tower

Disguised cell tower, originally uploaded by billaday.

2 big gripes with this cell tower...

first off, I'm sick. I slept at least 12 hours trying to get better. I don't like sleeping during the day, but everything hurt and I knew I needed it. Not 20 feet from my house, they decided to put up a new "tree": this ridiculous looking cell tower that's supposed to make me believe it's a pine tree. Come on. Seriously? It looks like an ugly cell tower that flashes.

I have never seen a perfectly straight, flashing pine tree.

so my issues:
1) they were loud all day long
2) this cell tower looks horrible

Day 91

Slurp

Slurp, originally uploaded by billaday.

I firmly believe in getting my money's worth when it comes to drinking soda in a restaurant. Since drinks are expensive now, I need to get at least 3 cups full before I leave. Sometimes, I'll have 5 or 6 glasses of diet coke.

Oh yeah, the photo... as I was consuming drink #3, I noticed the cool textures going on with the lid. I like how the background contrasts with the lid edge.

Day 90

Suicide Bridge

Suicide Bridge, originally uploaded by billaday.

Wayne and I went photo shooting for his birthday. We ended up at Suicide Bridge in Pasadena (right next to the Rose Bowl.) Apparantly, 150 have jumped off this bridge, landing tragically in the Arroyo Seco River. You can find the whole set of photos here.

And this looks killer on black!

Day 89

zeL A

zeL A, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is the side of some building near Little Tokyo. I had to go to the Japanese American Museum for work, so I put extra money in the meter and walked around downtown. Taking good/interesting photos of the sides of buildings is way harder than I thought it would be.

(If the title isn't funny to you, go look at Zel's photos. This shot reminds me of his work.)

Day 88

ceremony

ceremony, originally uploaded by billaday.

After 2 years of construction, our new library media center had its grand opening at my school. This is the ribbon for the official ceremony. It was a dark red, so I used my flash here. I didn't quite imagine this, but I'm really glad with the result. I read somewhere that every one of your photos is better or worse than you intended. I'm glad this ended up better than I thought it would.

Day 87

My tummmy huhts

My tummmy huhts, originally uploaded by billaday.

One of my best memories of being a kid was when I got to eat endless strawberries. My mom laid out a blanket outside (cuz I was sloppy), and I would eat and eat until I could eat no more. For my finale, I would always end (with a 4 year old's lisp, of course) with, "My tummmy huhts," because I would always eat too many.

Day 86

The Burning Bush, except for the burning part

The Burning Bush, except for the burning part, originally uploaded by billaday.

Pruning plants is a strange thing to me, unless you make a topiary giraffe. This just looks strange and artificial to me. Edward Scissorhands is, of course, exempt.

Day 85

unplugged

unplugged, originally uploaded by billaday.

I think that guitar stuff is still pretty cool. After 450ish photo-a-days and 14 years of guitar, though, I am cautious/worried/aware of taking the same photo. So, here's another part of playing guitar--the cable. Plug it in, rock it out.

Day 84

The Primaries

The Primaries, originally uploaded by billaday.

Obama vs. Hillary vs. McCain vs. Nadar... just kidding about the Ralph Nadar part. I think Newsweek should run with this photo on the cover: Red vs. Blue. Just kidding, sort of. Really, it's just a curb that has political undertones. Yeah.

Day 83

Circle of Trust

Circle of Trust, originally uploaded by billaday.

"But the fact is, Greg, with the knowledge you've been given, you are now on the inside of what I like to call... 'the Byrnes family circle of trust.' I keep nothing from you, you keep nothing from me... and round and round we go." -Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), Meet the Parents

Day 82

Long day at the office

Long day at the office, originally uploaded by billaday.

Sure, your life is tough. But so is the life of a western lowland gorilla. And we've all felt what he's feeling right now.

Day 81

Staircase at the Pantages Theater

Staircase at the Pantages Theater, originally uploaded by billaday.

We saw Wicked at the Pantages Theater. It was super cool. Fortunately, we arrived in Hollywood without hitting much traffic (a rare thing), so I took some shots of the Pantages lobby.

Day 80

554

554, originally uploaded by billaday.

First off, this looks nice on black. Second off, I pass this building every day on my way to work. So I finally pulled over this afternoon and took some shots of it. I originally thought it would look great cropped closely with the blue paint across the photo. But it didn't. I like a wider framing, which is strange, cuz that's not what caught my eye. There's no real point here, I'm just reflecting on my original thoughts and what the final shot was.

Day 79

Support

Support, originally uploaded by billaday.

This ceiling was pretty rocking. I noticed it while we were sound checking... right before we were rocking.

Day 78

the perfect laugh

the perfect laugh, originally uploaded by billaday.

One of my favorite parts of Isabelle is her laugh. I'll never capture that emotion on film, but this is close.

Day 77