here comes the [chalk]

this weeks chalk art inspired by the warmer temperatures we're starting to see here in maine.  also with lyrics from a beatles song.

[beach] please

on our bucket list of new places to visit this summer was ogunquit beach.  we had heard from several friends it was one of the more enjoyable beaches to visit in the area, so we were excited to check it out!  one hot july day we decided to make the trek.  even though it's not too far of a drive, the traffic on route 1 was horrendous.  sitting in traffic for over an hour had me skeptical it was worth it.  upon arrival however, we discovered a gorgeous beach, and we weren't the only ones.  it seemed everyone in maine was on this beach, but for good reason.  the water was actually fairly warm and the sand was perfect and fine.  to my delight there was also a snack bar nearby offering french fries.  a perfect snack as we ended up staying there most of the day.


yet another new maine location crossed off this summer!

[equinox] girls

for the past few years i've hyped up wichitahenge, a play off manhattanhenge.  which is the phenomenon where the setting sun perfectly aligns with the grid of manhattan, new york.  granted the streets of manhattan are skewed causing this to happen on a very specific date, so wichita's version isn't as unique, falling exactly on the equinox, but it's still really cool to see.  the last few years i've photographed this event and invited other people to do so as well. although after three years of hoping to see crowds of people downtown with cameras in hand, this year i heard regina george's voice in my head saying,

"stop trying to make "wichitahenge" happen, it's not going to happen."

although there aren't mobs of people trying to get the perfect witchtahenge shot, there are a few pics from other photographers out there.

here's one from my friend brad ruder:

another from leslley anne scotte i found online:

maybe in a few years it'll take off.  as for now, this yearly quest, is just a simple reminder, summer is over. it's time for fall.

it's a small [pool] after all

so i had some friends in town this weekend.

by a very fortunate and gracious chain of events i was able to get us invited to a pool party by a host i had recently been aquatinted with.  thankfully my friends are always up for any adventure and ironically they had packed their swimsuits.

we were social, and quickly made chit chat with wonderful, but complete strangers.  than a guest entered the party and my friend was shocked.  it was his old college roommate, who he hadn't seen in years.  as they chatted and discussed how each other had been invited, it was discovered many of these people weren't strangers at all.  we found that several of the party guests had actually been at a college party my friend had hosted a decade ago.

it really is a small world.

austin city limits [festival]

and now for some highlights from the actual festival:

- great shows on friday from first aid kit, tegan and sara, florence and the machine and the black keys
- banh mi's from the food court
- water filling stations and cooling fans
- purchasing an official acl koozie, fueling my new obsession for these objects
- being in an instagram rich environment
- chicken cones from the food court
- being well prepared for the rain on saturday
- purchasing a water proof blanket
- finding waldo
- random conversations with complete, but friendly, strangers
- jack white performing "seven nation army" on saturday night
- an amazing performance from the civil wars on sunday
- watching the avett brothers put on one of the best shows i've seen at acl
- chad smith from the red hot chili peppers playing drums for the avett brothers for a few songs
- reliving most of my childhood by rocking out to the the red hot chili peppers as they closed the festival
- hanging out with friends

 

 

[wichita]henge

new york has this phenomenon called [manhattanhenge].  it's the time of the year when the setting sun perfectly aligns with the the grids of manhattan, allowing the sunset to be seen perfectly in between the skyscrapers.  for new yorkers this happens twice a year, may 31st and july 12th and produces some very cool shots of the city.

wanting to try and capture [wichitahenge], i realized first i'd have to figure out when exactly the setting sun aligned with the direction of the our street grid. embarrassingly, it took longer than it should have to realize our grid runs perfectly east and west which means the sun should align on the equinoxes, march 21 and september 22, exactly  like it's namesake [stonehenge].  it's manhattan's slightly skewed grid system that gives them two unique dates.

i looked up the time of the sunset and searched out downtown wichita's most "canyon-like" street.  there weren't the hoards of people you'd find in manhattan, but to my surprise there were a couple other people taking pictures.  once i found my spot i waited for the shot.  i've never watched the sunset downtown but was really surprised how fast it happens.  having it framed between two buildings and a pedestrian bridge puts a new perspective on it.  dodging a few cars, i was able to get a shot looking due west at the sun set.

i don't know if [wichitahenge] will ever be as big a [manhattanhenge] but if you're curious, no need to search the internet and find when it happens, our east and west streets makes it pretty simple.