Monday, December 3, 2012

Another Brian Watrous


This is not me. And this is not my twitter account. I don't tweet (but Alicia and her Twitter compadres keep threatening to create a ghost-written Twitter account for me). In hindsight, I think I'd prefer the make-believe Twitter account over this real one. Sigh...
If you want to know who I am and who I'm not, I suggest you look at this blog post from 2010.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Copenhagen, Denmark

Catching up on my photos. Here's some of Copenhagen.


Full size photos here if you prefer.


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Garden of the Gods

I spent last week attending a class on VMware vCloud Suite 5.1-- awesome class. Afterwards Alicia suggested that I visit the Garden of the Gods before the sun set. When I got there, I quickly understood why she urged me to go. It was simultaneously beautiful and fascinating and oh-so-photo-worthy.

But was I up to the task? There I was with my handy iPhone popping off shots, but I found myself wondering how to do a respectable job of capturing the beauty in photos. I often find that I need to make adjustments when photographing different places. Usually I can make minor adjustments, and I can make those adjustments quickly based on previous similar environments.

But Garden of the Gods was unlike any place I've photographed before. It was an exciting challenge for me because the clock was ticking, so I had to rush to find things I thought would make for good photos and make technical adjustments to how I took the photos.

This was a rushed project for me, but I had fun learning on the fly and I think the photos did a reasonable job of capturing what I saw.


Full size photos here if you prefer.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Scotland


After spending a week outside London with friends, Alicia and I took the train to Scotland. We spent our days there traveling through Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye, and driving the length of the numerous lochs. We saw castles, fairy pools, and only one day of rain.

Here's a video of photos from our trip:


Full size photos here if you'd prefer.





Wiesbaden

A month ago I spent a week training a customer in Wiesbaden, Germany. The weekdays were largely consumed with work, but I was able to spend the day I arrived seeing the sights. Here's a recap of my jet lagged tour of Wiesbaden.


Full sized photos here if you prefer.


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Liechtenstein

I spent last week attending a class in Munich. I took advantage of the proximity to nearby countries. This trip I popped through Austria and Switzerland, but my real goal was to visit Liechtenstein for the first time.

Here are some photos from my day trip.


Full sized photos here if you prefer.



I still need to through together my photos from Frankfurt and Wiesbaden a few weeks earlier. And the Morocco photos, and the...

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Fun with Hipstamatic in Leiden

Left the 30D behind for the day. Instead of lugging it around, had fun bopping around Leiden with Hipstamatic on the iPhone instead. Here's a few photos...

View of Mierennesthofje in the distance


Mierennesthofje from the Burcht


Mierennesthofje once more time


Oude Vest Singel


Grapes growing on the side of a bike shop of all places


Love the doors of Leiden


Hipstamatic + flowers in a pot = too darn easy


Bridge at the Junction of Herengracht and Nieuwe Rijn Singel


Herengracht Singel

FYI... The first three photos were shot with Loftus Lens, DC Film, No Flash. The others were shot with John S Lens, Ina's 1969 Film, No Flash.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Passports

Alicia just pointed me to an article I missed in last Sunday's Chronicle. Loved it. If you're a travel nut like me, you will too.

One of my favorite lines:
"... an expired passport is never invalid."

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Back from Oz


Got back yesterday from my\ trip to Australia. It was all very last-minute - little planning possible. But I did plan on staying an extra day in Sydney - one of my favorite cities in the world.

When I arrived in Sydney, I was surprised to find that United had canceled my flight home. There were no other flights out on my originally scheduled departure date, so I was "stuck" in Sydney an extra day.

What to do? What to do?

I did what I always do when I'm in Sydney. I love hopping on and off the ferries and walking the neighborhoods: Mosman, Balmain, Manly, Watson's Bay, etc.



For me it's the exercise plus the challenge of navigating from one ferry stop to the next plus the simple joy of being out on the ferries.

Speaking of things I love, here's a silly little video of an experience that never grows old for me.


I'm home again till Tuesday, then I'm back on the road - Virginia this time.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Earthquake

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck Australia last night. Just wanted to let the folks back home know that I'm okay.

As you can see from the photo below, the Aussies are in the process of recovery.

Monday, June 18, 2012

My Whirlwind Tour of Canberra


[ Click for more photos ]

[ Click to trace my route ]

After nearly twenty four hours of travel, I arrived in Canberra (that's the capital of Australia for my fellow geographically challenged Californians back home) on Sunday morning. I felt surprisingly rested even though I had managed very little sleep. Sunday was my only day for sightseeing in Canberra - I'm here for work - so I made the most of it.

This trip came together at the last moment. I bought my ticket on Thursday and I was on the plane Friday night. Consequently I hadn't had much time to plan or research what to see in Canberra. I knew that I was going to have to hit the ground running and make it up as I went along.

I hoped to get online at the hotel and do some very quick research, but when I discovered that my hotel wanted $24 AUD per day for Internet, I just couldn't bring myself to go down that path. Call me cheap if you want, but I just couldn't stomach paying that much for Internet access for a $400 AUD per night hotel. Work would have paid for it, but I just felt I couldn't do it on principle. The same goes for some Internet providers that I've encountered in Europe over the years. I'm talking to you, SwissCom!

Though I felt the pain that only a geek can feel being cut off from the 'Net, I decided to embrace the adventure that lay before me. I decided to hop in my rental and find out what I could discover just driving around aimlessly.

To be fair, I should point out that my excursion through Canberra really didn't do the city justice. I knew that I had limited daylight - it's winter here - so I was rushing around trying to see all I could in the limited light I had. Given more time, I could have spent time trying to understand the city better. I could have learned much more about its history, its people, and such, but that wasn't meant to be. Instead I approached the city as an opportunity to explore it with a photographer's eye, rather than someone trying to learn about the city.

I began by driving south on Commonwealth Avenue. I drove around the eastern half of the Vernon Circle roundabout, crossed the Commonwealth Avenue bridge, and drove up the hill to the Parliament House. Word has it that it's the politicians that periodically descend upon the city who cause the hotel rates to double and triple, so I decided I'd go hang out at there hang out. The Parliament House is unlike any building I've seen before in many ways. The flag pole upon which they raise the Australia flag is unlike the flag poles I've seen anywhere else. The water gently ripples down the fountain in a way that seems to defy gravity. The artwork inside is a departure from what I'm accustomed to seeing. So the whole experience - rushed though it was - was fascinating.

Though it wasn't necessarily meant to be a piece of art, I was drawn to this - for lack of better word - blueprint of the city.  It details the city's designer's vision of how Canberra was to be laid out. The city does, indeed, mirror the blueprint in many ways. And I would find out later on in the day on several occasions that from different viewpoints throughout the city, you really get a sense of what they were striving for. More on that in a bit. I loved this blueprint. There's something beautiful about it for me that I'm failing to put into words. Do yourself a favor and click on the photo and view it enlarged.

From the Parliament House, I drove northward intending to head to the peak of Black Mountain to see the Telstra tower. I figured that there was likely to be a good view from atop the peak. Turns out that the tower has an observation level, but I decided to pass on the $7.50 AUD entrance fee. Again, call me cheap again if you like, but I'm trying to conserve the little Australia cash that I picked up Sunday morning at Sydney International Airport. They slammed me for $20 USD in exchange rate conversion and fees on the $100 USD, so I was trying to conserve the ~$80 AUD that I had in my pocket. Ordinarily I like to exchange currencies at home with my bank because the exchange is soooooo much better than the friggin' cambios in the airports. But when you are flying overseas on a moments notice - I didn't even go home from Palo Alto before departing to Oz - you don't have the luxury of obtaining an optimal exchange. Sigh...

But my navigational skills were lacking when I tried to head to Black Mountain. Seems kind of lame to get lost on the way towards a mountain that you can see from pretty much anywhere in town, but that's what I did. In my defense, what they call a "mountain" 'round these parts isn't exactly what we'd call a mountain back home. But still the fact remains that I got lost on the way to the mountain.

But that, it would turn out, was for my good fortune. The wrong turn(s) I made led me to something that I'd seen from the distance when I was at the Parliament House. I'd seen an unusual loopty-loop architectural thingy in the distance from the Parliament House. But now I was right the under the thingy. I suppose "architectural art installation" would be a more apt description, but I'm going to stick with "thingy" for now. By the way, I know that the proper terminology is "thingamajig", but I'm going to stick with "thingy".

I don't remember the name of the video game I played as a kid, but there was this game I used to play in the video arcade in which you drove a car - I think it was a Ferrari - on a virtual race track. But being virtual, this race track allowed you to do things that you can't do in the real world. For instance, this video game had a thingy just like the one I found in Canberra. You would floor it - mind you this is an ancient video game and by no means would a kid today feel like the video game let you do anything remotely akin to "flooring it" - and if you had the car on the right trajectory and at a sufficient speed, you could ride a 360 through the thingy. It took all my years of acquired maturity - you're dubious about that I know - to keep from hopping back into my rental and trying out a 360.

As I continued to explore the area, I came to realize that I was at the National Museum of Australia. I didn't see any of the exhibits - no time remember? - but I toured and was fascinated by the buildings. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.












After exploring the museum, I head towards and - believe it or not - found my way to the peak of Black Mountain. I saw the tower, took in the semi-panoramic view (pay the $7.50 if you want the full pano), and headed back down the hill ... err I mean mountain. On the way down I saw - as I've seen previously in other parts of Australia such as Sydney - one of those clumpy mud mounds (see photo). They always seem to be at the base of a tree, and I suspect they're created by some sort of insect. But I'll be darned if I've ever seen anything to indicate what creates these mounds. Anyone know what these mounds are? They get quite large. The one in the photo was just shy of three feet tall. What creates these?

From Black Mountain I headed eastward across the center of town to the War Memorial. It was there that I began to really get a sense of the city's designer's vision.

I'd seen something - turns out it was the War Memorial - off in the distance when I was at the Parliament House. I didn't know what I was looking at, however. Now that I was at the War Memorial, I could see and identify that I was looking at the Parliament House. Even though the two locations are separated by Lake Burley Griffin, you feel like they are connected as you look down ANZAC Parade, a long boulevard lined with memorials.

Hopefully this non-stellar photograph (by the way I was only using my iPhone, so please forgive the occasional lame photo) will give you a sense of what I'm talking about. I've zoomed way in, so you don't get the full grasp of the view, but zooming in allows me to show you the Parade, then off in the distance the white building you see is the National Library (I think), and in the distance behind that is the Parliament House. What you can't see in this photo is the lake which lies between the library and the Parliament House. Use your imagination.


Growing up in the US, you don't spend a lot of time studying the armed conflicts other countries engage in. So it can be surprising to discover just how many battles a country has been in even though it so far removed from the rest of the world - separated by a giant ocean.







The red poppies that were so prolific in the War Memorial reminded me of the war memorial in Stanley. The wall of poppies is beautiful at first glance, but then you take a look at the seemingly endless roster of names of those who sacrificed their lives for their country. It's a somber moment.















From the War Memorial I headed towards Mt. Ainslie. I saw that it was another "mountain" with a peak, and I figured the peak would afford me a nice view of the city. The journey to the peak was well worth it. For $0 AUD (as opposed to $7.50 AUD at the tower) I found grand sweeping panoramic views of the city. Well worth the trek up the hill... err I mean mountain. Alas, my iPhone couldn't do the view justice, but I will share this one photo. Look closely and you'll see the War Memorial, then Lake Burley Griffin, the National Library, and the Parliament House. If you're paying really close attention, you just noticed (as I just did) that I was wrong earlier when I said that the lake lay between the National Library and the Parliament House. Whoops, I stand corrected.

But that blunder aside, take a look at the photo and once again you can see the city's designer's vision coming to fruition. They clearly had a vision that would connect together the different landmarks in the city.


On the drive up to the peak, I saw a sign that we don't see often (make that ever) back home. I'm always amused to see the kangaroo crossing signs when I'm in Australia. This one, like so many others before, got my hopes up. Please let me see some kangaroos, please let me see some kangaroos, please let me see some kangaroos...

I was disappointed on the drive up to and down from the peak that I saw zero kangaroos. Bummer.








From the peak, I headed eastward once again, this time towards the airport. I intended to drive wide arcing loop on Majura Road, onto Federal Highway, and back onto Northbourne Avenue to return to my hotel. But on the way, what did I see? Off to the side of the highway I saw more kangaroos than I've ever seen in one location. I don't think I've ever seen that many even in a zoo. And here they were just hanging out in the wild in a great big field. In full blown tourist mode, I did a U-turn, returned to the kangaroo spot, pulled off to the side of the road, got out, and headed towards the roos. The barbed wire fence provided a healthy reminder to keep my distance, but I took the opportunity to enjoy the show. The mostly just stood around, but occasionally they would hop around and do kangaroo things like that. They managed, however, to avoid hopping when ever I was videoing them. Sneaky hoppers those roos.


I'm sure that the drivers flying past thought - correctly - that here was one of those silly tourists. But I thought to myself, they might be just as touristy if they were in my neck of the woods and saw a banana slug. I suspect they would have about as much trouble videoing banana slugs jumping around as I had in my attempts to video the roos.

When I returned to the hotel, I dropped off the car and walked to dinner. On the way, I stumbled upon the ActewAGL building. Walking past it was impossible to fail to notice the art installation on the ground floor.
So that's my quick recap of what I saw in Canberra. You can see more photos in this youtube video and in my picasa album if you'd like.

One last thing about Canberra. I love all the roundabouts. Why oh why are there so few roundabouts in the US? They seem to be catching on in small pockets of the US (and they've existed on the east coast), but they are still so darn rare in the US. Such a shame.

But what's even more shameful is the sorry excuse for roundabouts in Santa Cruz. Someone in Santa Cruz decide that roundabouts were a great big speed bump intended to slow down drivers. That's not what a roundabout should be.


Speaking of roundabouts... I recently wrote of my plans to visit the Magic Roundabout in Swindon. I didn't go there on my recent trip to the UK, but I did something even better. Instead of going to the five-ring Magic Roundabout, I went to the six - yes you heard right - ring roundabout at Hemel Hampstead. :-)

Two more days here in Canberra, then I head to Sydney.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Mechanical issues


Mechanical issues with flight UA 863.

Don't know if you'll be able to see this in the video, but that's jet fuel leaking out of our plane bound for Sydney. How very reassuring.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Back to Oz

It's been a busy week. Make that a busy month! England, Scotland, Philly, Palo Alto, and last night I found out I'm going to Canberra. Seems like I was just in Australia. Oh wait, I was.

So here I am sitting in the Red Carpet club (or whatever United wants to call it now that the merger has commenced) at SFO. That's UA 863, my flight to Sydney, there in the photo. That's it, the 747.

Still waiting to hear from United whether I'm getting upgraded. If not, it's going to be a long night. Cross your fingers!

I'm flying to Canberra to help mentor a co-worker. Oh darn, fly me to Australia for work. :-)

This crazy fly-out-on-a-moment's-notice gig is coming right on the heels of a brief trip to Palo Alto to film some more online instructional videos. Thought a picture of the recording studio would be interesting to see for those who have seen the one of the final results.

Got to run now. Boardings about to begin. So it's time, once again, to wrap up all my power cords and hop on yet another plane.

Perhaps I'll dream of something handy tonight over the Pacific. I know I'm wanting one at the moment.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Experiments in Airplane Photography - Part I


Recently (Can't say when because there's no WiFi here aboard UA395) I saw an article online that offered a simple, but useful suggestion on how to improve photos taken from an airplane. I've been meaning to try it out, and today I finally got around to do so.

Shortly after takeoff from IND on UA3473, the plane banked slightly (See tip #3 in the article above) and I pounced at the opportunity.

I confess intentionally copied the composition of the example photo (hence the inclusion of the engine). The composition adds depth to the photo.

But even without the engine, the photo is much better than my usual regrettably dull airplane photos (I've kindly refrained from including one of those lackluster photos in this post).

One improvement in this photo is that the top of the photo isn't faded the way such photos usually turn out. In hindsight, I now recognize that my previous photos suffered because they inevitably grew increasingly desaturated from bottom to top. Including the horizon in the photo was essentially a sure-fire recipe for a bland photo. Taking the photo when the plane banked as the article suggested took care of that.

The banking suggestion also helped overcome another problem I've had with these photos. Ever notice that windows in commercial jets inevitably slope upwards? That tiny design decision practically forces photos to include that boring, desaturated horizon. I wonder if there's a reason for that design. I read recently online (therefore it must be true) that airplane windows are intentionally rounded. They have a nasty tendency to fail otherwise.

Full disclosure: I enhanced the photo in Photoshop (increased the saturation, adjusted the levels to darken the midtones). I've found that combo to be a tremendously effective tool for improving photos in general. In the case of this photo, that combo helped two ways. First, it lessened the lingering traces of that annoying bottom-to-top desaturation problem. Second, the combo eliminated a another recurring problem I've had with airplane photos: glare and shadows cast on the window.

I'm hesitant to include this next version of the photo, because some anti-Photoshop fanatic out there is likely to accuse me of having cheated in the photo above.

To you, whoever you are, I Photoshop to make my photos more asthetically pleasing - prettier, if you will.

More often than not, my goal in photography is artistry as opposed to accuracy. I'm not attempting to document. I'm attempting to capture the feeling of the moment as I experienced it when I took the photo. So there.

But take a moment and examine the engine again in this un-Photoshopped version of the photo. Two things are going on: There's a shadow reflected from seat 1A dividing the engine in half diagonally, and running perpendicular to the shadow there is glare streaking across the engine.

Previously I've figured out that one method to reduce shadows and glare in the airplane windows is to shove my camera lens as close to the window as possible. Another method I've figured out is to cloak myself with a piece of clothing such as a jacket. That second method kind of makes me look like one of those old-time photographers hiding underneath the black fabric on the back of an old-fashioned large format camera - except that doing it on a plane makes me look more like a dork than say Ansel Adams.

I have a theory about shoving the camera lens up to the window: Even though the optics are better and the pixel resolution is higher in my 30D, I'm more likely to get better photos with my iPhone 4S, surprisingly. I'll be taking both on our upcoming trip to the UK. I'll try there. I doubt I'll be able to do so on the outbound flight since I'm stuck in an aisle seat. I can't complain too much, though, since that seat is in business class. Oh wait, yes I can... Alicia's seat is in first class. :-)


Monday, May 21, 2012

Are You Looking For...


Our friends Bill and Betty are visiting us this weekend. The scenery where we first met set a high bar to cross, so Alicia and I needed to take them on an impressive tour of some sort otherwise we ran the risk that they would find Santa Cruz lacking.

We decided to take them out on the Chardonnay. They did not let us down. In addition to unequaled views of the coastline, we were treated to views of sea lions, pelicans, sea otters, cormorants, a whale, and the annular solar eclipse. Special thanks to the British couple who had the foresight to bring several sets of eclipse glasses.

All in all, I think we've done a good job of presenting Santa Cruz favorably. We've taken them for a walk on West Cliff, toured the UCSC campus (viewing the murals in the Merrill College moat), and strolled along Rio Del Mar and Seacliff beaches (with a brief tangent out to the end of the wharf to see the Cement Ship up close). And all of this sightseeing has been made even more spectacular with this weekend's glorious weather.

[ As a entirely skippable aside, I was amused by the picture of the Merrill moat murals in the article I linked to above. It just so happens that my mural is in the picture... Well sort of. My mural, which I painted more than twenty years ago, is to the immediate right of the "If you can walk, you can dance" mural. [As an aside to my aside, I am living proof that the whole walking=dancing theory is faulty.] "What," you wonder, "was the significance of your shadowy man casting a shadow" mural? I have no clue. My mural is countless layers under other murals on that spot. Would anyone like to fund an art restoration project? ]

But back to the eclipse.

After our entirely enjoyable cruise on the bay, we headed back home to Aptos. We needed a quick stop a store, and that's where the story begins.

As I was walking across the parking lot towards the store entrance, a couple in their teens walked toward me.

Through the glare of the sun behind them, I could see their disheveled appearance and their cardboard sign (on which was scribbled some variant of the "Will work for food" theme). I assumed that I was about to get hit up for some money.

I was wrong.

Instead, the guy asked me, "Are you looking for the eclipse?"

The scene unfolded in my mind in approximately ten different ways - each included one smart ass response or another on my part.

But they both looked so dejected. Clearly they had heard that there was an eclipse taking place, but they couldn't find it.

Out of the wealth of available where's-the-eclipse retorts, I picked the one that seemed lest obnoxious. I pointed behind them in the general direction of the sun and said - with a slight smirk on my face - it's right there.

I had composed myself sufficiently by the time I responded that I able to refrain from laughing as I said it. And I'm glad I didn't. His question was earnest, and he likely didn't need (and certainly didn't want)  some stranger making him look foolish in front of his female companion. Back when I was his age, I wouldn't have needed a stranger to make me look like a fool. I was quite self-sufficient in that regard.

They turned around and looked up at the sun.

"But," they objected, "we can't see it."

"Must... not... laugh..." I commanded myself silently.

Instead I performed my first good deed of the day. [ I suppose some might consider the kindness behind my initial response to them to be a good deed, but I don't think selecting the least obnoxious retort qualifies. ] My good deed?

"Stop looking before you burn out your eyes," I advised them.

"But how do we see it?"

That's when I did my second good deed of the day. Trying valiantly to avoid sounding condescending, I explained how to create a crude pin hole camera.

"You just poke a tiny round hole in a piece of paper, hold it up to the sunlight, and let the sun sign onto a surface," I explained.

"But we don't have a piece of paper."

Unfortunately for them, I was in that oh-great-someone-is-hitting-me-up-for-money mode, and my trajectory took me right past them as I continued on my way to the store.

As I entered the store, I looked back and saw that they had both sat down on a curb in the parking lot looking like they had nowhere to go and nothing better to do. I wondered for a moment what they had thought about our brief interaction. I hoped that I had managed not to sound too obnoxious, but I also hoped that I didn't seem too insensitive just walking away. I wondered what they were saying to each other.

My theory?

"Jerk."

I did my shopping and was leaving the store when I noticed a discarded weekly advertising supplement on the floor. I grabbed the piece of paper, turned around, and headed back towards the cashier. I borrowed a pen, poked the tiniest, roundest hole that I could, and headed out the door.

I walked up to the teens on my way back to the car and stopped to talk with them some more.

"Here you go," I said cheerfully holding up and waving the piece of paper as I approached.

"How do you use it?" he asked. I handed them the piece of paper and explained that you hold up the piece of paper, let the light shine though, and let the light shine on some sort of flat surface.

"But we don't have a surface," he replied.

"Ah, but you do," I responded. I took their "Will work for food" cardboard sign, positioned her a few feet back with the piece of paper, and had him hold the sign.

All of my restraint was rewarded as the crescent shape of the eclipse appeared on the cardboard.

"Coooooooool," he said in that teen-years rough approximation of awe.

I'm going to have to wait to proofread this post till later. Bill, Betty, Alicia, and I are headed down to Monterey where we'll be meeting Theresa, another of of shipmates on the previously mentioned trip down south, for a behind the scenes tour of Monterey Bay Aquarium. We'll follow that up with a hike at Point Lobos.

That should nicely cap Bill and Betty's trip to California.