They (whoever “they” are) say that luck favors the bold. Or is it the prepared?  Regardless, luck favors someone who is bold, or prepared, not just lucky.  I disagree.  On one of my first trips to NYC I was standing on the escalator in Macy’s and looked down to see that the escalator steps were made (are made) of wood!  I’ve been yelled at enough times to know that you don’t take photos inside commercial stores without permission.  Of course knowing that, I was just sneaky.  I pulled out my very inexpensive pocket digital camera and quickly snapped two shots.  Well, I thought I had taken two photos anyway, turns out I only took one that was a photo, the other was a blur of blurriness.

This was the 2nd photo, and I really think that not having a fancy camera helps this shot out.  I was able to take it without being seen, and because I just trusted it, I got the shot.  Had I been using a more complicated camera, I’m sure I would’ve missed the photo.

Now, when it comes to luck, this shot was lucky for two reasons.  The first, above, is that I didn’t have the camera I probably would have normally chosen to use.  The second is that the first photo I took was on a different escalator than the second… and the lady with the high heel boots stepped onto the escalator in front of me before I got onto the 2nd escalator.  To me, without her boots in the photo, this picture isn’t much.  You might argue that with her boots in the picture, this picture isn’t much, and that’s fair too.  Yet, I like this photo.. and no matter how you look at it, I think it’s better with the boots than without.

I worked with Erin on his senior portrait, and I dare say we are both happy with how the photo turned out.  Working in the snow, while we had basically the whole mountain to ourselves, was a great change and allowed us to take some unique photos.

One of the fun things about living in Spokane, WA for a couple years was the way seasons can be “extended” simply by driving a few minutes.  Take for example the photo of Erin above.  When I left downtown Spokane on the day this photo was taken, I was wearing jeans, and a polo shirt.  I then met Erin, who was wearing shorts, a tee-shirt, and flip-flops.  45 minutes later, as we parked by the Mt. Spokane ski lodge, I was looking at a ski slope with several feet of snow still remaining while snowmobiles made the background music of the shoot.  Temperatures at the top were about 10-15 degrees cooler than downtown.  Even stranger was the winter of 2009 when temps downtown were in the mid-20s, yet the mountains saw an inversion of temperatures and people were leaving the cold city to go to the “beach” on the mountains. Literally, people escaped the cold of downtown Spokane by going to the mountains, and in many cases spent warm afternoons on the ski lodge decks.

I don’t get much of a chance to practice my architectural photograph skills, largely because I have almost none and just enjoy shooting pretty buildings.  From time to time, however, I take a little time to get a nice shot, and work on it in Lightroom even though it will probably never be published or show up anywhere other than here.

Like most regions of the US, the Pacific Northwest has its own architectural style, and the McCarthey Athletic Center, home of the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball programs, is no different.  The large windows, sloping roof line, and natural looking landscaping help to make the building look right at home in Spokane, WA.

The photo above was taken on a beautiful spring morning as I was wandering around taking photos of other campus buildings.  This is my favorite shot from that morning, and one of a very few architectural photos I’ve been pleased with.

The New York City sunglasses vendors generally don’t like for you to take photos of their goods, for some reason.  Being the kind of guy who doesn’t like to be told “no” or “stop” or “give me your film you filthy, non-reading…” you get the idea, I take the photos anyway but try to be discreet.  This was taken with one of my favorite cameras (I have a lot of favorite cameras) my yellow Holga.  As you can see, I was moving quite briskly when I snapped this photo.  At first I didn’t like it, and almost didn’t bother working on it.  Then it sorta started talking to me.  I like how you can only make out the sunglasses in the top half of the photo, and also how bright and overexposed it is, given that sunglasses are supposed to darken things.

Whatever my reasons, I like the photo!

This photo is from a wedding in North Carolina that really was fun to shoot. Josh (left) and Monica (not pictured) were fun from the start, and helped me out quite a bit by running interference not only with their parents, but also the wedding coordinators at the church who were… uhm… very serious about their job.

Josh, Carrie, Kristen, and Adam are four college friends who’ve termed themselves “The Fab Four,” perhaps to Monica’s dismay.  As I shoot group photos, I start with the largest group and slowly work my way down to just the bride & groom.  This photo was one of the last group photos I shot, and the group was getting a little restless.  Monica, on the other hand, was not just restless but quite ready to move out and get to the reception.  She was patient with us while we got the four of them on the canon, and even humored us later by posing behind the canon pretending to shoot Josh.  Only Monica knows if she was pretending, or fantasizing.

The photo above is an homage to Moose Peterson (http://twitter.com/moosepeterson @moosepeterson http://www.moosepeterson.com/) who will very often post photos of his “office” on Twitter with the sole purpose of making all of his followers electric green with envy.  That’s at least the only explanation I can come up with for why he does that to us.

As I was sitting in my office at home this afternoon, I thought back to what someone told me a few weeks ago, “Mike… your office has a beautiful view, a large window, and it’s 20 feet to your fridge… you’re quite lucky.”  My quick reply was a quote from an old photographer friend of mine – Robert Willett – that I hope I always keep in mind, no matter how “tough” this gets: “Yuup…  sure beats having a real job.”

I have to apologize for posting two nautical themed photos back-to-back.  I’ve been under the weather the last two days, and I’m back now to devoting some time to the blog.

With that out of the way, this is a photo from the lovely little town of Mystic, CT at a place called Abbot’s Lobsters in the Rough.  There is a display of old buoys and other paraphernalia behind the building.  While I was there I took some photos of the buoys and a lobster trap as well as other things.  The buoys were lit by only one street light high above and that gave them a very different look, and it translated quite well into this photo.  This image is one of my favorite recent photos, and I hope you enjoy it as well!

If you believe, which I do, that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then this chain and this piece of rope are well beyond their days of offering strength.

This photo was taken several months ago while walking around the shipyard in Milford, CT.  The photo has an HDR look to it, but isn’t really HDR, it’s just had some adjustments made that give it more punch.

I found this when I checked my email this morning and had to share.

An amateur photographer was invited to dinner with friends and took along a few pictures to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented “These are very good! You must have a nice camera.”

He didn’t make any comment at the moment, but as he was leaving to go home he said “That was a really delicious meal! You must have some very nice pots.”

New York City – just say the name and anyone who is alive in the modern world will understand you.  The name transcends language barriers.  It’s a city known for iconic landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and the list goes on and on.  But between these landmarks are other places and things just as synonymous with The City as the other: vendor carts.  There are times it seems you can’t walk a block without smelling hotdogs, roasted nuts, pretzels, coffee, etc.  These street-level landmarks are every bit as much a part of The City as the buildings are.

This photo was shot on a cold, blustery, December day.  We were walking across the street and the colors and lights of this hot dog cart popped out from the rest of the gray, bleak, overcast day.  When I looked at the image on screen, it didn’t capture the look that I saw when I took the photo.  What popped out at me then was the people – people I hadn’t noticed before.  The lady speaking with the vendors; the young man eying the cart; the lady crossing the street chewing on her recently purchased food; the others blissfully unaware of the cart.  I could probably edit this photo and get back to the look I saw that day, but I rather like the subdued look of the cart – it allows me to see the other thing that makes The City unique: the people.