picking.

when i left home, i took the pentax with me and decided that i was going to learn how to use it. and learn i have, and learn i shall continue to do, but i like to think i'm slowly getting the hang of it.

for your viewing enjoyment, some of my recent experiments. read on if you want to know what they are, and click them to see bigger versions (or just the complete picture).

1. big daddy: i took this on the last day of our trip in new orleans; we were wandering around the french quarter in search of some decent music; i was sick as a dog, and very pleased with the profusion of colorful neon signs advertising titty bars on bourbon st.--some of those places had some very savvy marketing people. we finally found a place with some very raucous, cheery zydeco music, complete with a frenetic man playing the washboard and practically cartwheeling about the stage. we later found out he wasn't really with the band.

2. buoys: i took this in maine, after the parade. the weather was perfect and blinding, but not too hot. i wore my sister's cowboy hat, and we ate peppermint ice cream as we wandered down the lane, towards the blacksmith and towards the yarn-spinners. as we walked back, a man at the church recommended i come back at twilight for a truly beautiful photo; 'at dusk, it glows,' he said. that night we grilled lobsters and drank local beer, sat out in the field and watched the fireflies and the fireworks, and i seriously contemplated just staying on there forever. but the mosquitos changed my mind.

3. cornerstone: also from new orleans, from the jazz museum at the old US mint. moments later i had my first taste of alligator, and that night we missed the jazz at preservation hall because we lingered too long over hot chocolate and beignets at cafe du monde. it was the first time i'd seen the mississippi.

4. the american car: part of the fourth of july parade in round pond, maine. it was surprisingly political, and a great time. we drank awful sangria (i put in too much brandy) and enjoyed our collective freedom to make tasteless jokes and insult our political leaders mercilessly.

5. red window: i barely remember taking this picture, which means i took it the day we touched down in england, having barely slept the night of travel. so really. i was just having fun with focus and color. Posted by shivery at juillet 28, 2004 11:40 AM