use the [rain] filter

 

bug[chalk]

 

i see the light[house]

 

a [box of chalk] that never [runs] out

this weeks chalk art is brought to you by a huge new box of chalk, with several new colors, i received from my daughter for fathers day.

it's also inspired by one of my favorite movie scenes of all time, the elevator scene in "500 days of summer" where the two main characters discover their mutual love for "the smiths."

foggy, foggy [evening]

a foggy evening was a brief reminder that summer will soon be ending.

[local] tourist [again]

this summer has found my wife and i wanting to explore new places in maine.  although we've been here for two and a half years, there's still a lot of local sights we haven't taken in.  this weekend we actually took a stroll on the "cliff walk" at fort williams park.  we had visited the portland headlight before but had never viewed it from the beautiful hike along the coast.  not only did this give us a new perspective on a familiar icon, but during our hike, fog rolled in giving us a whole different scene of the lighthouse within just a few minutes.  to top off a great maine weekend, my wife bought a lobster role from the best place ever and i got some ice cream from "reds" which i now understand is a maine summer "must."

 

 

 

maine vougue

i'll be honest, sometimes maine pisses me off.  the entire state photographs well.  it's like one of those lucky people who take great photos in any situation or outfit.

keep in mind this is coming from a guy born and raised in kansas.  a beautiful state in it's own right, but a state that makes you work for a great pic of her.  kansas has the ability to take breathtaking photos, but you usually need some dramatic lighting such as one of its world famous sunsets. kansas also has to be wearing a good season, usually looking best in late summer or autumn, but also dangerously beautiful in a late spring storm attire.  kansas is minimalistic, she forces you to focus on other items such as composition, texture or contrast. in the right photographer hands, kansas can be absolutely stunning.

now take maine, strutting down the runway all confident with her rocky seaside coastline, lighthouses, endless foliage, mountain vistas, wildlife, ocean views and cobble stone streets running through quaint historic new england villages.  she looks great in all kinds of light and seasons.  maine is the type of state that can be photographed unaware by the paparazzi wearing sweatpants and bean boots, stuffing her face with a lobster roll and still look gorgeous.

what got me started on this rant was a photograph i took recently of the pemiquid point lighthouse.  i walked down the coast, pointed my camera back to the lighthouse and got a beautiful shot.  as happy as i was with the picture, i'm very aware that a drunk monkey could have captured the same thing.  maine is gorgeous, that's all there is to it.

as much as i enjoy trying to capture maine in different and unique ways, i'll admit, sometimes i miss trying to make that little sunflower leaning against the wall look beautiful.

two gorgeous states with their beauty captured in different ways.

winter [light]

wanting to capture the portland headlight during a snow storm led me to my first time photographing a subject in really nasty weather.  i was not well prepared.  lessons learned; bring warmer clothes, bring a thermos of coffee, double check and make sure your tripod is working, bring a cover for your camera, bring lens cleaner and lastly....wear shoes meant for walking on the ice.  falling and busting your knee two steps out of your car makes for an awful time.  all that being said, i was happy with the final pics.  hopefully i'll have another chance to capture this icon again this winter season.

the [cape] escape

being new to the area, there are many three hour road trips i could take and not have a clue what i would find.  last weekend my fiancee and i took one of those three hour trips to visit cape code.  we were attending a wedding of a friend but took time on either side of that event to explore the cape.  i could go on and on about how i'm still blown away with the amount of history there is here on the east coast and how looking out at the sea is still an incredible experience for me, but by now you all get it. so for this post i'll just hope the pictures speak for themselves.

side note, this was a trip were i purposely brought my dslr camera which has been absent in my life the past few years.  i absolutely love the instant social gratification the iphone gives you, but in a world filled with camera pics, the warmth and feeling of a better camera is priceless.

i'm curious if anyone else can tell the difference.

seer[sucker] for the east coast

last weekend found me vacationing on the east coast.  every picture i took reminded me of home. a field of blue sea reminded me of amber waves of grain; a silhouette of a lighthouse along the shore, a silo standing solitary against a mid western sky. tug boats and ferry's hard a work mimicked tractors and combines doing the same. seagulls were meadowlarks and wooden beach fences, limestone posts. even the seersucker jacket i wore reminded me of the pillow ticking on the back of an old quilt.