Julie Andrews' New Book

I find it awkward writing about Julie Andrews because her name brings forth my youth.

Since last week her name comes up over and over again--

*I visited Grauman's Chinese Theatre last week and took the picture above.
*Last night I went to the bookstore and a zillion copies of her new memoir, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years appeared at the front of the store.
*I just realized that her role of governess in the 60s had her moving from family to family--from the Banks of Mary Poppins to the Von Traps of the Sound of Music.

Her image of wholesomeness litters my head as spoons full of sugar and hills that are alive.

The first thing I did when I saw the book in the store was turn to the picture plates (there are two plates of images in the book).

I was madly disappointed in what I saw! Very young Julie Andrews didn't look like Julie Andrews. From the freckles on her face on the front cover, to her curly hairdo in the pictures, Julie didn't live up to the looks that we know she presents today, which look strikingly like they did 40 years ago when she was in her early 20s.

I find comfort, though, that my thoughts are calmed when I think about starting things at the beginning, which is a very nice place to start. In knowing this I find a perfect cure for procrastination.

Paris Ferris Wheel

Amusement park rides such as the Ferris wheel are great subjects for long exposures, but part of an amusement park ride such as the one you see above shows construction detail.

I like taking pictures of pieces of things because it gets me thinking about how much work it takes to make things. Take the Ferris wheel, for example, like a bridge, it takes years to construct one.

Thinking about construction lets me know that life is complex as the things we make symbolize our lives.

Bowl, Obama, Bowl

Pennsylvania last week wasn't good to Obama. He scored only 37 when bowling in an effort to be just one of the guys.

He should of shot some hoops.

At any rate, this is a sign for a bowling alley in Santa Monica. Cool sign and one that I'm sure I'll sell many of.

Maybe Obama will see that I'm the photographer who sells bowling alley signs. I'd give him a deal if he'd buy it.

Depth of Field

The depth of field in photography is the part of an image that's in focus. It varies with the aperture (size of lens opening). If you have the focal length and aperture of the lens you're using and the distance to your subject as well as the size of your sensor, you can calculate an approximate depth of field.

In the picture above I can use the following values for the image above to calculate the depth of field:

camera sensor focal multiplier effect=1.6X
aperture=F5.6
focal length=77mm
focus distance to subject=15m

In the photograph above the depth of field is calculated to be nearly infinite, which, as you can see, is the case. The image appears clear through the background.

Toast

I have to say my favorite food is toast. The crispy bread with melted butter and jam on it makes it to my every meal (well, almost).

The word toast comes from the Latin word tostum, which means burn.

The toast in the picture above comes to us from a display window in Santa Monica, CA. I don't know what they are advertising here, but it sure is catchy.

Do you out there have any ideas what a wall of toast would relate to?

Opera Singer

While this image is only a snapshot, it shows a lot, therefore putting it in a class by itself. It's candid photography, which, according to me, doesn't have to be technically perfect. (Yes, I know there's a shadow under her chin.)

This image is good because you can identify what this women does by the picture. She's an opera singer. You can kind of just tell by her outfit (a shoulderless dress) and by the expression on her face (she's singing).

The amazing thing about this candid shot is that she's performing while walking around an art gallery--no music, no chorus to help here along.

She's on her own.

Zapcar

Is it a truck? A motorcycle? Does it need gas? Well the answers are no, no and no.

It's a Zapcar, the batteries provide 6.7 horsepower. The car travels 25 miles on one charge and can go up to 40 mph.

It's not the car you'd want for expressway driving, but for humming around town it looks like a gas.

This Zapcar was spotted in Santa Monica, CA.