Day 212: July 31, 2010

Meet Me in St. Louis

Day 2: Joliet, IL to Cuba, MO.  Today was a very full day!  There will be all sorts of details and photos on the trip blog soon - the Internet speed at our current hotel may delay that a day or two, however.

This was my first trip to St. Louis.  (From here on out, every place we go will be a first for me, I think.)  We arrived a bit later than we intended, and after fighting Cardinals fans for parking, walking uphill for about 10 blocks, and waiting in line for a little while, the ranger came out to tell us all the tickets to ride to the top of the arch were sold out for the day.  So we settled for pictures from the outside.

It was very sunny (about 90F and very humid, too) and the sun was starting to set.  This shot looked a lot better in black and white - it was inspired by The Weekend in Black and White - go check them out!

Day 211: July 30, 2010

The Bean

Today we drove to Chicago to start our Route 66 Trip properly. For more details and pics of the trip as it progresses, please see my other blog: HERE.  While I fully intend to update this blog daily, the Route 66 blog may get delayed depending on time available to edit pictures.

This of course is the famous "Bean" sculpture in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.  It's proper name is Cloud Gate, but it looks like a giant bean.  It reflects everyone and everything around it.  It was a gray, hazy day in Chicago, but the rain held off long enough to get some shots.

Day 210: July 29, 2010

Under Construction

Sorry for the change in url.  I decided to make a bit better use of my domain name and add another blog to it.  That site (http://toledonative.com) will most likely undergo a few more changes along the way - I'm not overly happy with some of the constraints of blogger.  In the mean time, please redirect your bookmarks to this address, or just go to the old one and click on the link for this blog.

This shot was taken a few days ago near my house.  I did not see the Woody (from Toy Story) doll hanging from a makeshift noose until I made the picture big! Can you find it?

Tomorrow morning begins VACATION! Driving Route 66 and flying home from LA (OK, Burbank) on August 10.  Hence the second blog.  I want to blog the trip in more detail than one photo a day allows.  But never fear, I will continue to choose one picture from each day to post here.

Day 209: July 28, 2010

One Thousand Days of Detours

So the Ohio Department of Transportation is undertaking a major project to widen I-475 from roughly my neighborhood to the I-75 split.  Along the way they are eliminating one exit, completely re-doing another so it empties directly into Toledo Hospital, and closing overpasses and exits during construction. 

It is a THREE YEAR project. 

While most exits will only be closed for part of the time, the one on Monroe street apparently is out for the duration.  I'm used to seeing signs like this that say construction will last for 90 days, or 180 days, but 1,000 days really floored me.

This would be bad enough, but all summer long, not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR major roads surrounding my house (OK one is 5 miles away but on my route to work) have been under construction with periodic lane closures and detours.  It's been nearly impossible to get out of my neighborhood without encountering orange barrels.

All of this construction is needed, it's just incredibly inconvenient to have such a convergence of it in my end of town and for such duration.

I have no idea what the graffiti means nor do I know why ODOT uses stick on letters (or are they hand-drawn?) for signs that will be up for three years.  Nor do I know why they cannot manage to hang a sign that is not crooked.  Let's hope their road construction skills are slightly better.

Day 208: July 27, 2010

Titus Flavius

My daughter and I went to the Toledo Museum of Art today.  Photography is only allowed in certain areas and no flash is allowed at all. Which limited my choices of photos for today.  In the ancient art room, I found this bust of Roman Emperor Titus Flavius.  In real life, it's a yellowed marble bust.  I really wasn't happy with the photo but it was the best I had in terms of clarity due to lighting issues.  So I played with it quite a bit in PhotoShop,

Day 207: July 26, 2010

Splendor in the Grass

The inspiration credit for today's shot goes to my daughter.  She grabbed my camera and started shooting today then suddenly she was on her stomach in the grass, shooting away.  I liked where she was going with her shots, so tried it myself.  This is what happens when you don't mow your lawn and it rains a lot - the grass goes to seed! Since our yard is more weeds than actual grass, however, it really doesn't look that terrible...yet.

I couldn't resist playing with this shot in PhotoShop - the result is below.

Day 206: July 25, 2010

Power Lines

As often happens, this is not the shot I set out to take today.  I stopped at a construction site that has a major road near my home shut down for a couple of weeks.  I've passed it every day for a week and said to myself that I need to stop and photograph the two meter diameter concrete pipe sections and giant machines.  Today, I did, as it is Sunday and there were no workers around.  Then on the way back to my car, I looked up at the clouds and saw this confluence of wires crisscrossing the sky. I didn't notice the birds til I got home and looked at the shot on my computer.  For some reason, the lines look wavy when the photo is small - click to make it bigger to see how they really look!

Day 205: July 24, 2010

Dragonfly

While at a family reunion today, I staked out the hummingbird feeder waiting for the hummingbird to come back while I actually had my camera out....he was sneaky and refused to cooperate.  However, this pretty dragonfly landed on the feeder and was very cooperative during his photo shoot!  It was pretty windy, as you can tell by how much his right side wings are bending.  He looks kind of like a dog with goggles to me.  And yes, this is seriously cropped - had only the kit lens again - and no tripod - I have GOT to start traveling with all my gear!

Day 204: July 23, 2010

Cake!

Today was the last day of my summer classes for this year! YAY! We survived! To celebrate, one of my classmates, Elizabeth, made us this gorgeous cake! It was almost too pretty to eat...but we managed.  Yes, she used chocolate fondant and malted milk balls! It was a stunning cake!  Thanks, Elizabeth!

Day 203: July 22, 2010

You're Not Mr. McGregor, Are You?

This little guy reminded me of Peter Rabbit, checking out Mr. McGregor's garden.  The statue is called "The Gardner" and is in a smallish landscaped plot in front of University Hall at UT.  I started shooting the sculpture then noticed this little guy sniffing around.  He was too cute to pass up!

Day 202: July 21, 2010

Circular Reflections

Today, one of my classmates, who teaches at Toledo Technology Academy, brought in his Stirling Engine to show us. It gathers and concentrates the sun's rays and the little doohickey in the center of the dish is the heat collector.  It uses the heat from the sun to run a motor on the back of the dish. It's only about two feet across and is mounted on what looks like a camera tripod.  Despite being just a small-scale model, it was pretty cool! I loved the reflections of the surrounding buildings in the dish.  I did crop out my classmates surrounding the dish to reduce distractions.

Day 201: July 20, 2010

Watering Day

Ok, so Day 201 was actually taken on Day 202.  Yesterday just got away from me.  Despite the promise of rain in the clouds, the university was watering in full-force today.  As you can see from the brown patches, it's been a bit dry around here! 

Day 200: July 19, 2010

Lacy Leaves in Summer

I found myself a little less than inspired on day 200.  Then I looked up.  There are a half dozen large oak trees in my yard and the branches are full of leaves.  The clouds added a bit of interest as well.  With the early evening shadows and cloudy sky, it was nearly monochrome when I started.  A little desaturation really made the patterns pop.

Day 199: July 18, 2010

Sunset on the Maumee

Had to pick up my daughter at Walbridge Park tonight at 9 pm (Zoo Teen picnic).  We had a line of storms move through the area earlier in the evening, and they left behind some gorgeous clouds for the sun to color.  Here are two of my favorites.  Saw some incredibly amazing potential shots on the drive home, but decided it was not safe to stop on an interstate.

Day 198: July 17, 2010

Sunlight and Water

This fountain is on the same part of the U of M campus as yesterday's sculpture.  I liked the way it looked in black and white better.  The sun was incredibly strong this morning - I was sweating before 9:00 am!  For more amazing black and white photos, please visit The Weekend in Black and White.

Day 197: July 16, 2010

Big Red

First off, this is a bit of a cheat.  I didn't take it on Friday.  I took it on Saturday morning.  Friday I went directly from class up to Clarkston, MI to see Sting and the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform at an outdoor theater (DTE, formerly Pine Knob).  It was an AMAZING show, but they didn't allow cameras!

This is on the North Campus of the University of Michigan.  It really was that red, and the sky really was that blue!

Day 196: July 15, 2010

Tall Tree, Tiny Courtyard

There are two tiny courtyards in University Hall - completely surrounded by the building on four sides, each has a single bench, a single small picnic table, one garbage can, and one GIANT tree.  Fairly certain they are cedar trees.  They are toweringly tall and their branches spread out evenly, approaching the walls on all sides.  I've found it's a fairly quiet place to read or study before class or at lunch - quite a few people do walk through them on the way to somewhere or another, but I've never encountered anyone else sitting in them.

Day 195: July 14, 2010

Blerg.

This is a little clay alligator my daughter made over a year ago.  He sits above the fireplace in the living room.  Today I thought his expression perfectly captured the way my brain feels 4.5 weeks into a 6 week super-intense (8 hours a day) grad school program. Blerg.

Day 194: July 13, 2010

Teeny Flower

One of the only things I planted this year that the critters didn't dig up and/or eat are a few of these flowers.  I can't remember the name of them now but I planted them from seed directly into the large planter outside.  They are sooo tiny!  But very colorful!  It's rained off and on all day today so I timing was tricky for shooting.

Day 193: July 12, 2010

Sushi and Fred

Well, what else do you name feeder fish?  This is the bottom layer of my eco-column I made with my partner on Friday.  Our fish survived the weekend, so that's a plus.  It's made from empty 2L bottles - the bottom layer has fish and elodea (aquatic plant).  Above that there is another half-bottle (upside down) with soil, compost, and a geranium plant.  There is a hole in the cap of that bottle so that leachate from the soil can drip into the fish layer and give them nutrients.  Eventually, we will put a third bottle on top and then the top part upside down of that and put in ice to chill the air and cause condensation and hopefully precipitation! Bio-bottles or eco-columns are a lot of fun and can be set up in so many ways! I only wish they weren't so tricky to photograph in a windowless room with florescent lighting.

Day 192: July 11, 2010

Michigan Lily

Suddenly noticed a very tall (over 4 feet!) lily in the front garden today.  And it looked like nothing else in the yard.  Did a little sleuthing on the Internet and found out it is a Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense). Who knew?  It is a very dramatic flower that I know did not bloom either of the past two summers I have been in this house.  However, reading about it more revealed that it is rather picky about it's growing conditions and soil, with one person reporting that seeds they planted took 14 years to grow and produce a flower!  

Mine has a whole bunch of round black things on the stem that at first worried me, but that the wisdom of the gardeners on the Internet reassured me were nothing more than bulbils. These are apparently not common, but can be used to each grow a new Michigan Lily (provided conditions are right and you wait a few years).  And yes, it IS a subspecies of Tiger Lily, if you were wondering. While it does indeed grow in Michigan, it also grows in a lot of other states as well, though is endangered in New York and Threatened in Tennessee.

It began to thunder as I took this shot and I got inside just as it started to pour!  I wished I'd had more time to set up some better shots in better lighting but this tight crop (at 100% magnification) works pretty well.

Day 191: July 10, 2010

East Side Reflections

Another shot from Walbridge park today.  This morning the Maumee River was like glass - I don't think I've ever seen it quite so still.  It made for some interesting reflections. The smokestacks in the distance are on the East Side of Toledo - I am not sure what factory they are part of .  There wasn't much color to this morning's sky, so I thought I'd try this one in black and white.  I'm now wondering how sepia would look.  Inspired by The Weekend in Black and White and Weekend Reflections.

Day 190: July 9, 2010

Just Hangin' Around

Forgot to take my camera to class today -d'oh! The pictures I took with my phone really stunk so I had to go to plan B once I got home.  I got these two little guys from ThinkGeek.com a while ago.  They are about 10cm tall with magnetic feet and hands.  They are jointed and can be put in all sorts of poses.  Today I put them in a tree!  I want to play around with them some more and see how creative I can get.  They are silly and fun!  (I haven't named them yet, but am open to suggestions - put yours in the comments!)

Day 189: July 8, 2010

Rose of Sharon

There is a somewhat sickly looking Rose of Sharon bush/tree in my front yard.  As I'm only renting the house I can't really do much with it.  Most of the year it looks rather pitiful, but when it is in bloom, it's pretty!  Played a bit with an extreme crop just for something different.

Day 188: July 7, 2010

Rooftop Garden

One of the "green" efforts UT is making is this rooftop garden on top of the building next door to the building I spend my days in.  It was nice to get a bird's eye view of this end of campus, but I went up early in the morning to avoid the heat (99F heat index today)!

Day 187: July 6, 2010

Solar Array

Today our class learned all about what the University of Toledo is doing with renewable energies.  One stop was the giant solar array at the Scott Park campus.  Until a couple of weeks ago, this was the largest solar array in Ohio - I am not sure where the newer, bigger one is.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed inside the fence, so I had to shoot from the side through a chain link fence.   In this shot you can see part of four of the rows of solar panels - they seemed to go on forever!  Today was unbearably hot again - the irony is that even though there was a ton of sunlight today, the solar array did not quite make enough electricity for the Scott Park campus (although many days it does) because of the amount of air conditioning required today!

Day 186: July 5, 2010

Bird Gate

This is the entrance to the eastern end of Walbridge Park.  I didn't notice it the first few times I drove past the park, but ever since I did I wanted to come back and photograph it.  Today was hot and hazy and of course I left the tripod at home, so it's not the ideal shot. 

Day 185: July 4, 2010

Patriotic Light Painting

Package of sparklers: $2.00.  Box of matches: $0.10.  Finding something your teenager will not only do with you but thinks is cool: priceless!

I recruited my daughter to help me with my first ever attempt at light painting tonight, since we had the sparklers for the holiday.  She started out with simple geometric shapes and then started getting more complex.  We would have kept going but the battery in the camera died.

I had to read up not only on how what settings are best for light painting, but also on how to adjust them manually on my camera.  This is a good thing as I've been relying far too much on auto settings to date, other than adjusting the ISO and flash.  I still needed to do some fiddling in post-processing with the exposure and contrast settings, but overall I am calling this experiment a success all around.

Day 184: July 3, 2010

Seen Around Chelsea

Had dinner Saturday night in Chelsea, Michigan.  Chelsea is home to Jeff Daniels and his famous Purple Rose Theater (yes, he still lives there, no I didn't see him).  It is ALSO the home (and birthplace of) Jiffy Mix! I had no idea!  I can't tell you how many times those little blue and white boxes of corn muffin mix or white frosting mix saved the day - especially when times were super-tight financially.  This is part of the giant Jiffy Mix factory (and grain towers).  The basketball court in front has nothing to do with the factory, I just liked the juxtaposition.

The shot below I just found amusing.  Apparently, such signs are not uncommon in certain areas of the country, but I hadn't seen any before.  I am still snickering at the need for so many directions on how to use a cross walk properly.  I always thought the whole point of going to just pictures in the cross walk lights instead of words or words and pictures was to aid the illiterate and/or non-native English speaker.  I am not sure how this sign helps!

Chelsea has a lot more to offer - had dinner at a phenomenal restaurant called The Common Grill (named for the owner's last name, and anything BUT ordinary or common); there's a cool self-guided sculpture walk around downtown, a neat clock tower, funky little shops selling eclectic things, gorgeous flowers everywhere, and a cleanliness to rival Disneyland.   

Today's post is up a day late due to getting back home too late to post.  Holding off on the July 4th shot in hopes some fireworks/sparklers shots work tonight - cross your fingers!

Day 183: July 2, 2010

Peace Portal

Today was another beautiful, sunny day - we've really lucked out with the weather this week.  I sat on a bench at UT to review my notes and flash cards one last time before the final exam for physics this morning before class started.  I was sitting on a bench near this sculpture, titled "Peace Portal" by Shawn Morin.  The brushed metal really stood out in the early morning sun, and I thought black and white really brought out the highlights.  Sooo glad that physics is over - we're halfway through this summer's coursework - Chemistry starts on Tuesday! Thankfully we have a three day weekend to relax.  I also realized I'm halfway through this year of photo-blogging! Time flies when you're busy.

This photo is part of The Weekend in Black and White (formerly Monochrome Weekend).

Day 182: July 1, 2010

Sun and Wind

Today we went on a field trip to the Wind Farm in Bowling Green, OH.  It's one of the very few places you can go INSIDE a working wind turbine - VERY cool!  These turbines are HUGE! Ground to tip of blade, they stand 391 feet tall!  Each blade weighs 22,000 pounds! The nacelle (that box-like thing at the top that the blades are connected to) is the size of a school bus and contains the generator.  There are four of these turbines at this wind farm, which is right across the street from the Wood County Landfill.