Among all the photos taken at the Eestifoto Animal Sports seminar, this one somehow appeals to me the most. The horse has such a geeky expression :)
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Shaky expression
Among all the photos taken at the Eestifoto Animal Sports seminar, this one somehow appeals to me the most. The horse has such a geeky expression :)
Monday, May 21, 2007
Jellyfish
Was totally blown away yesterday when I opened the front page of flickr: they had my photo there. Oh, turned out this was not the case. Just somebody had taken a very similar picture of the same jellyfish tank in Monterey. Here's my version:
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Back in business
Have beaten the jetlag and distilled the 1600+ photos from the trip into 128 more or less OK images. Here we go again!
An image from a series of shots taken at the Monterey Aquarium Medusa tank.
An image from a series of shots taken at the Monterey Aquarium Medusa tank.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Day 12: A lot of work and some play
Most of the day was pretty much as yesterday: a lot of work that I can't really describe here. But, after I was finished with all of it, I headed to the Big Sur. Thing is the previous time I was there a mysterious hair (turned out to be a hair from my blower brush) ruined a couple of good shots. So, since I had got some Sensor Swabs from an excellent photo store and removed most of the dust, I could hope for better quality. I ended up spending (again) most of the time on a strip of coast a couple of miles south of Point Lobos. I just did not want to leave, just didn't. At some point, however, the sun went down and I headed back. This place definitely makes my top 3 favorite places:
Monday, April 16, 2007
Day 9: California dreaming
Woke up this morning into glorious Californian sunshine. What a treat! Started off with some shopping. First was the Discovery store at Westfield mall which also didn't have any actual Discovery-related stuff in them so that chain is official given up as of now. Then my traditional target of pilgrimage, the Oakley store at Santana Row. Was initially going to look at "Unknowns" but those turned out to be far too small. However, just beside them sat a pair of Ducati Monster Dogs which happen to be my favorites: after spotting them in a bizarre small store in some Spanish airport a couple of years ago I have failed to find anything else that fits my big round face. Have been living in fear of loosing, scratching or breaking those ever since so ended up getting myself an identical pair, just to make sure.
Just beside the Oakley store, the is the local Borders which had a section dedicated to Kurt Vonnegut who has recently passed away (his Slaughterhouse 5 was one of the most influential books I read in my teenage years). "Breakfast of Champions" is now here on the table. They also had a massive two-volume The Complete Far Side (~$120) which was deemed very desirable but too expensive and heavy.
Then it was off to Monterey Aquarium which I have sought to visit several times in the past but always something happened. It was not such a big deal. Surely, they had penguins and otters and _three_ gift shops and approximately gazillion educational games for kids but all in all nothing very spectacular. Also, they had some sort of Mexican day which meant there was a large band of youngsters playing Mexican music in the center of the aquarium. I have never ever heard three people sing and so utterly miss each other and Greenpeace ought to look into what was done to these two trumpets.
After a small unhealthy lunch of some pastry and apples the sun was low enough for some photography so I headed for the Big Sur. As usual, I did not get far and got stuck quite soon at some breathtaking bay where I sat and took photos for almost three hours. Got almost swept away by the incoming tide, too. Despite the relatively low wind the waves were spectacular, hopefully some photos will escape the bin. This one is a good candidate:
A nasty hair has appeared on several of my pictures, need to get a sensor cleaning kit ASAP.
Just beside the Oakley store, the is the local Borders which had a section dedicated to Kurt Vonnegut who has recently passed away (his Slaughterhouse 5 was one of the most influential books I read in my teenage years). "Breakfast of Champions" is now here on the table. They also had a massive two-volume The Complete Far Side (~$120) which was deemed very desirable but too expensive and heavy.
Then it was off to Monterey Aquarium which I have sought to visit several times in the past but always something happened. It was not such a big deal. Surely, they had penguins and otters and _three_ gift shops and approximately gazillion educational games for kids but all in all nothing very spectacular. Also, they had some sort of Mexican day which meant there was a large band of youngsters playing Mexican music in the center of the aquarium. I have never ever heard three people sing and so utterly miss each other and Greenpeace ought to look into what was done to these two trumpets.
After a small unhealthy lunch of some pastry and apples the sun was low enough for some photography so I headed for the Big Sur. As usual, I did not get far and got stuck quite soon at some breathtaking bay where I sat and took photos for almost three hours. Got almost swept away by the incoming tide, too. Despite the relatively low wind the waves were spectacular, hopefully some photos will escape the bin. This one is a good candidate:
A nasty hair has appeared on several of my pictures, need to get a sensor cleaning kit ASAP.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Day 5: still gathering
Washington at dusk. It's raining as I'm jogging towards the White House with Sepultura "Criminals in Uniform" blasting in my ears. Two police cars pull over right next to me with their lights flashing.
The rest of the day started off in a very slow and jetlagged manner. We were given a tour of the Jefferson building and I honestly tried to take pictures. Just nothing I came up with didn't do the place any justice so here's a picture of the neighboring Supreme Court instead. Aren't we just ants?
The rest of the day started off in a very slow and jetlagged manner. We were given a tour of the Jefferson building and I honestly tried to take pictures. Just nothing I came up with didn't do the place any justice so here's a picture of the neighboring Supreme Court instead. Aren't we just ants?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Day 4: the gathering
Finally got to what I was sent here for - the Seminar. It was extremely tiring (9 hours of alphabet soup could kill a horse) but useful. And the venue! Jefferson building of the Library of Congress. Just fabulous. However, I did not bring my camera which meant I could hardly take advantage of the glorious morning and evening light with no tourists around. This is something that shall be righted today.
Oh, one more thing. The basic message of Washington seems to be "if you don't live here, you don't belong here". Hadn't I protested the hotel would have made me move rooms for just one day. After which I would have stayed in another hotel for one day. Why would anybody do that? Also, the metro is just driving me nuts: the ticket machine is happy to sell you a day pass 8AM but nothing indicates that these things do not work till 0930. The fare system is also quite cool: when buying a ticket, you need to enter the price of your journey. Which is not indicated anywhere. After talking to the guy in charge I learned that my trip would cost me $1.35 (at least it's cheap), thank you very much.
Another day of the seminar awaits, and this time I'll bring the camera.
Oh, one more thing. The basic message of Washington seems to be "if you don't live here, you don't belong here". Hadn't I protested the hotel would have made me move rooms for just one day. After which I would have stayed in another hotel for one day. Why would anybody do that? Also, the metro is just driving me nuts: the ticket machine is happy to sell you a day pass 8AM but nothing indicates that these things do not work till 0930. The fare system is also quite cool: when buying a ticket, you need to enter the price of your journey. Which is not indicated anywhere. After talking to the guy in charge I learned that my trip would cost me $1.35 (at least it's cheap), thank you very much.
Another day of the seminar awaits, and this time I'll bring the camera.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Day 3: The zoo
The jetlag is still there. The hammer comes down around 7PM. But before that, the day contained my first business meeting here (quite a strange experience to talk to a guy who has his name in the name of a law firm in downtown Washington) and a long walk in the zoo.
To get to the zoo, I decided not to walk but try out the metro. Boy, is it different from the one in London. Where the tube is a tight but somehow light and lively and vibrant place, Washington metro is a huge, gloomy, dark place without any decorations: the walls are plain concrete.
The zoo rocked. It was run by the Smithonian Institution, like all of the museums around the Mall, and was free. Turns out in 1826 mr. James Smithson figured donating his legacy to "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men". Well, there's a plan that has worked out just fine. Although the place was a tad cramped, the exhibition was well layed out and nicely accessible. Even photography was possible (which is not true in Tallinn, for example):
I was especially impressed by the giant pandas and the place where they keep the butterflies. Fabulous!
To get to the zoo, I decided not to walk but try out the metro. Boy, is it different from the one in London. Where the tube is a tight but somehow light and lively and vibrant place, Washington metro is a huge, gloomy, dark place without any decorations: the walls are plain concrete.
The zoo rocked. It was run by the Smithonian Institution, like all of the museums around the Mall, and was free. Turns out in 1826 mr. James Smithson figured donating his legacy to "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men". Well, there's a plan that has worked out just fine. Although the place was a tad cramped, the exhibition was well layed out and nicely accessible. Even photography was possible (which is not true in Tallinn, for example):
I was especially impressed by the giant pandas and the place where they keep the butterflies. Fabulous!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Day 2: cold, very cold
Who would have thought that there is a place where it's actually colder than in Tallinn? It was -2 (was supposed to feel like -6 according to weather.com) this morning when I stepped out to make my rounds with the camera and find some food. Real, bitter, windy, cold. The light was pretty nice, though: the sky was mostly cloudy but not the grey damp uniform mass you get in Estonia but rather a moody changing sort of thing with small gaps for the sun to peak through. Like this:
After I had frozen my butt off taking pictures of all the landmarks of the Mall (could not figure out a way to properly picture that corner of the Reflecting Pool where Forrest met his Jenny, seen far right on the picture above) I declared retreat and went to the National Air and Space Museum. Which was very cool. It did not contain a SR-71 Blackbird but there was a real U2 barely fitting into a huge hall dedicated to all sorts of espionage affairs. The coolest parts of the museum were various places where one could try out different laws of physics that apply to flight and astronomy like see how various telescope systems work and how wind angle affects the turbulences . None of them could have cost much but boy, were they cool! Why the heck can't every darn school in Estonia have at least some of them? Four laser diodes, 6 lenses and 4 mirrors can't be that complex to obtain, can it?
Anyway, Spaceship One was also there in it's full glory right beside The Spirit of St. Louis. On it's tail, a writing: "a project of Paul G. Allen". Dang, you might be rich and all and sponsor numerous cool undertakings and what not but this ain't a show'n'tell back in the elementary, you know. Unbelievable!
Anyway, here I am, totally exhausted from the day (of course the clouds disappeared at once after I had arrived at the hotel making for perfect evening light) and ready to hit a very early jetlag-induced sack. The trip indeed did take a turn for the better.
After I had frozen my butt off taking pictures of all the landmarks of the Mall (could not figure out a way to properly picture that corner of the Reflecting Pool where Forrest met his Jenny, seen far right on the picture above) I declared retreat and went to the National Air and Space Museum. Which was very cool. It did not contain a SR-71 Blackbird but there was a real U2 barely fitting into a huge hall dedicated to all sorts of espionage affairs. The coolest parts of the museum were various places where one could try out different laws of physics that apply to flight and astronomy like see how various telescope systems work and how wind angle affects the turbulences . None of them could have cost much but boy, were they cool! Why the heck can't every darn school in Estonia have at least some of them? Four laser diodes, 6 lenses and 4 mirrors can't be that complex to obtain, can it?Anyway, Spaceship One was also there in it's full glory right beside The Spirit of St. Louis. On it's tail, a writing: "a project of Paul G. Allen". Dang, you might be rich and all and sponsor numerous cool undertakings and what not but this ain't a show'n'tell back in the elementary, you know. Unbelievable!
Anyway, here I am, totally exhausted from the day (of course the clouds disappeared at once after I had arrived at the hotel making for perfect evening light) and ready to hit a very early jetlag-induced sack. The trip indeed did take a turn for the better.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Start of a tradition?
I have been quiet for almost a week because last weekend kind of slipped past before I could grip it and this week I have been in London (missing my camera badly as the weather was brilliant). On flights and airports I did some organizing on my feeds, added a bunch of friends and decided to start posting daily (or at least very frequent) photos, maybe with some stories attached to them. Let this be a good start and let's see how far do I get.
A guard at Tiananmen Square at sunrise. October 2005.
A guard at Tiananmen Square at sunrise. October 2005.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Some old photos
Got delivery of Epson R800 last week which, after some initial issues with paper handling, is doing brilliant work. Printed out some views of the Golden Gate Bridge I took almost a year ago and discovered they are not in flickr yet. Fixed it. Also uploaded some new pictures of our Maine Coon. What a tail, eh?
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Copyright issues
Some things need to get out: I think I just figured out (actually thanks to the post from yesterday) why I felt so hurt when a darn tabloid published one of my images they had snatched from flickr despite of clear copyright notices. This image is a piece of me: it is firstly a personal thing and only then something I choose to show others. It has history, it has emotions associated with it, it means so very much to me. The image itself is not very spectacular but same feelings apply for all of them.
The tabloid (published by Presshouse, god bless you, fellas!) chose to pay me around $20 for the image. From consulting some friends with a law degree I learned that I could hardly expect more. You see, even if I go to court, the judge will most probably only state that I am to paid the "usual" fee. Well, and it is something like $20 around here.
So there's a question: is it just that one could go and take my innermost feelings and thoughts and push it out in the cheapest and dirtiest way possible and get away with no consequences whatsoever?
The tabloid (published by Presshouse, god bless you, fellas!) chose to pay me around $20 for the image. From consulting some friends with a law degree I learned that I could hardly expect more. You see, even if I go to court, the judge will most probably only state that I am to paid the "usual" fee. Well, and it is something like $20 around here.
So there's a question: is it just that one could go and take my innermost feelings and thoughts and push it out in the cheapest and dirtiest way possible and get away with no consequences whatsoever?
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