Naturey photos

A Saturday morning post is not usual for me, but what better way to procrastinate than by showing you some photos?

The other evening I walked around my place because I had seen a duck that I didn't recognize (at least by flight--it was likely a Wood Duck, though). It flew off again before I got any photos, but I took some others while wandering.


But first (yeah, I forgot until just now), I took a few photos that morning because it was soooo sunny out, and there were streams of light coming out over the lake/pond. I couldn't capture them very well, though, as the sun was burning my retinas. These will have to be good enough.






Okay now we're back to the evening. First I saw these little guys in the shallow edge of the water. I have since concluded that they must be salamander tadpoles (teenagers, apparently), but I don't think I've ever seen a salamander in real life, nor did it ever occur to me that they went through the same growth stages as a frog. Or that they even swam! I'm salamentally challenged, I guess.


I keep photographing these birds even though they're kind of boring-looking, because they're more likely to sit still, plus they have such a pretty little sound. I caught her mid-tweet. Also, this is to prove I don't always rely on the Rule of Thirds. :P (I was noticing many of my other photos look like I just walked out of photography class.) (PS That's not a bash on photography class--I should take one!)


Funnily enough, only minutes earlier I was telling someone that I don't need/want any more Mallard* photos, and of course they are the easiest to photograph. But I couldn't help it--this guy was being so cooperative and the water looked like brushed copper.


Mallards really are a decent-looking duck, but they are so common that I kind of forget to appreciate them.


Obviously she has big plans for her new home.


I haven't looked up this type of bird--the females are kind of a pain to track down sometimes. (Oh maybe it's a Red-winged Blackbird?) I have been trying to keep a semi-list of the birds I see from home, though.


One more, since I couldn't decide.


It annoys me that I took this photo--who needs more photos of these Canada Geese?! But they area so often perched in weird spots that I want to record it, I guess.

*Is "mallard" supposed to be capitalized?

Pasta with Clam Sauce

I'm not really into clams anymore (I loved fresh ones as a kid), but when they're chopped small, I really do like the flavor with pasta. Several months ago I was craving a good linguine with clam sauce and I found this super easy recipe. It was so good and exactly what I was craving.

2 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams, with juice
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 tablespoon dried basil
1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Combine clams with juice, butter or margarine, oil, minced garlic, parsley, basil, and pepper in a large saucepan. Place over medium heat until boiling. Serve warm over pasta.

Some things I've come across without trying

The other day I was playing a game (Dominoes, apparently) on Yahoo! when this ad appeared, and I did a quick screen-capture for my friend. It's an ad for their dating site, I think. This windswept hairstyle that the model is wearing makes it look sort of like someone drew a curly mustache on her. I just don't understand why Yahoo! chose this picture for their ad when there are millions of other stock photos available. Is there no better way to illustrate "carefree"?

And speaking of stock images...




At work I was perusing stock images for a project and somehow the above came up in my search (my keyword was "three," NOT "sexy"). I love the description: "vector illustration of three very attractive models posing." How do we know these models are "very attractive"? I guess attractiveness really is just reliant on a woman's apparent figure. But check out the witch finger on the girl on the right. Maybe she's doing "The Claw" to the girl in the middle, I'm not sure.



Later, I was doing a good old-fashioned Google images search for "rope," and saw this (free!) jump rope clip art. Nice attire. I guess undies with loafers is perfectly acceptable workout wear for a guy, while there is no better jumping ensemble than a swimming suit and tennies for a girl.

Blog + Avocado

It probably seems like this blog is turning into strictly a photography blog, but it's not. Not exactly. Yes, I do want to use this for sharing photos and being an ongoing portfolio of progress, but I will also continue to post some non-photography thoughts too.

Since I'm into photography, I really love following lots of photography blogs. But I wonder if people who aren't into it enjoy looking at pictures of random strangers. I hope there's at least some joy, otherwise you're probably annoyed with this blog (and probably not even reading it). Right now I know my reader(s) is(are) mostly doing it out of support for me. :) One day it would be fun to have readers that did it voluntarily, and not because I guilted them into it!

In other news, today I might've stolen part of an avocado. It's a long story, but I think I paid for a cheaper type of avocado than the one I actually took home. That's the danger of self-checkout--you don't always choose the right produce button* and might pay the wrong price. Stores have to worry about this, and they should worry a lot more than they apparently do. Hey, grocery store: ever hear of security guards? I could so easily pick up some organic produce and then pretend it is un-organic when I'm checking out. Who would know without close examination? Then I'd walk out of there like an innocent man. Thieves, like me, who have possibly stolen an estimated 25-50% of an avocado, are loose on the streets as I type. It's scary.

BUT...perhaps the portion I stole was the pit and skin, and none of the delectable fruit. It was a pretty big pit, after all. If so, I'll probably not turn myself in. Taking the inedible parts of produce from stores is the equivalent of being their garbage collector and, in that case, they owe me. I'll bill them.


*Yes, I know we can get help from the self-checkout monitor, but in this case I did not. There was only one avocado option on the menu--I took it and ran! I know, it's shameful!

Holly

A friend (and former roommate) of mine came to visit from out of state this weekend! I had a great time catching up with her and laughing a lot. Holly is a great person and friend, an encouragement, and a good sport--she was willing to let me practice my portrait photography on her despite her busy weekend.

Normally I avoid saying people's names here, but you'll see why it was necessary for the final photo. :) Yay!

I am so tempted to go through and tell you all of the problems with each of these pictures (not with Holly, but with my photography), but I'll spare you. Instead, I'll just say that standard disclaimers, related to me being amateur, apply. That's why I need practice! Also it was kind of dark out. Okay I'm done!

Oh and yes, her teeth really are that perfect.










I will mention one thing about this one (above): Holly and I were busting up about the pose (which was my idea, I must admit--it looked better in my head!) because it struck us funny for various reasons. We had a lot of captions thought up for this photo. So normally I'd not post it because maybe others would also make fun of it, but I really loved the background, so too bad. :P












This photo makes me so happy for some reason! :D