Ice

Taken with Android.

I was at : 1-63 Kiefer Creek Rd, Ellisville, MO 63021,

Merry Christmas.

To one and all May you have a Holiday season fill with that which brings you happiness.

One of the few times a year that I do portraits is every December. Above is the chosen image for this years Christmas Card.

GAW

Canon Rebel XTi with 50mm 1.8 Mk1 lens
Alienbees B400 with 30" umbella.
1/100 @ f2.8 ISO 100

Android photo of the day.

Waiting.

Image taken with my android.

I was at : O'Fallon, MO,

Not the half submerged sand dredge.

 

After dropping off my daughter at school I headed to Sherman Beach County Park with the intentions of shooting some IR images in the early morning light of a half submerged sand dredge (map) on the southern bank of the Meramec River.  When the river is down you can walk out to the dredge without getting wet.  Today It was to long of a jump over way to deep, fast running, really cold water,  so I choose to snap the above photo instead.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/60 @ F4.0 ISO 100.

Creepy Crawlly in Rockwoods Reservation.

Not sure what it is, but it was quite colorful. Also not sure which end is the front and back. Photos taken at Rockwoods Reservation on Trail Among The Trees trail.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/25 @ F2.7 ISO 100.










Color image:
Canon G9, 1/60 @ 2.8 ISO 200

Small things

Flowers in my cousins yard.

GAW

Canon G9, 1/500 @ 4.0 ISO 80

Boys & Girls or Girls & Boys?

Surprise Lily's (Lycoris squamigera) are supposed to be sterile, you tell me. It sure looks like there are boys and girls though. Photos taken in the front yard.

Canon G9
Left: 1/125 @ F 4.0 ISO 80
Right: 1/160 @ F 4.0 ISO 80

Lily, Surprise

Lycoris squamigera, more commonly known as Surprise Lily. Photo taken in the front yard.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/80 @ F4.0 ISO 80.

Arachnid

The local arachnid strikes a pose. Ok I did have him or her in a glass.

GAW

Canon G9, 1/160 @ F4.0 ISO 80.

St. Elmo, CO

St. Elmo, CO is located 16 miles off of U.S. 285 on County Rd-295 near Buena Vista, CO. It is a ghost town that is privately owned with not many ghost. Access is limited to the street so getting an interesting shot is somewhat of a challenge, but I do like this one.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/60 @ F4.0 ISO 80. Red and Blue channels swapped.

Hays Creek Falls.

Hays Creek Falls @ Crystal River Near Placita, CO, just off CO 133. I added a 8 stop ND filter to achieve the long exposure. You thought I only shot IR...


GAW

Canon XTi 50mm 1.8 Mk1, 6.0sec @ f22.0. ISO 100.

Rio Grande beginnings.

Looking south from CO 149 near Spring Creek pass at water that will soon be flowing down the Rio Grande river.

This photo and the last couple were taken on my current road trip, feel free to check out Scoot'n Art for more details, link is on the right.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/320 @ F4.0 ISO 100. Red and Blue channels swapped.

Ironton, CO

Ironton is one of the many ghost towns in the San Juan mountains, it sits at about 10,000 feet elevation and is just a short distance off of U.S. 550 between Ouray, CO and Red Mountain Pass. Ironton originally known as Copper Glen began in 1883, and the last inhabitant died in the mid-1960's. This photo is one of the many buildings left standing. I left only foot prints and only took photographs.

This photo and the last couple were taken on my current road trip, feel free to check out Scoot'n Art for more details, link is on the right.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/60 @ F43.2 ISO 80. Red and Blue channels swapped.

Cumbres & Toltec Narrow Gauge Steam Railroad.

The train has just started it's trip up Cumbres Pass. I also shot a video that you can see on the YouTube.

This photo and the last couple were taken on my current road trip, feel free to check out Scoot'n Art for more details, link is on the right.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/320 @ F4.0 ISO 80.

Rainbow in Infrared.

Something you don't see very often, a double rainbow shot in Infrared. Photo was taken on U.S. 64 near Tierra Amarilla, NM. Sorry for the spots, it was still raining quite heavily.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/125 @ F4.0 ISO 80.

Santa Fe all the way.

Santa Fe all the way. Recycled Santa Fe box cars along U.S. 50 in central Kansas. U.S. 50 runs parallel to the former Santa Fe transcontinental railroad.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/60 @ F46.3 ISO 80. Red and Blue channel swap.

Snapper. Chelydra serpentina.

A Chelydra serpentina or the common snapping turtle has changed it's mind about crossing Highway A (between Higbee and Moberly, MO) and is heading back into the ditch.

GAW

Canon G6 converted to IR. 1/250 @ F4.0 ISO 100.

Farmers Elevator - Jonesburg, MO.

A 1970's International Harvester grain truck collects bird droppings at the Farmers Elevator in Jonesburg, MO. As the small farmer has gone by the wayside so have the small elevators. Although this elevator is still in business across the street, the pictured sits dormant.

GAW

Canon S5IS converted to IR. 1/80 @ F4.0 ISO 80.

Lonely House

Lonely House on U.S. 63 at McHatton road near Sturgeon, MO.

GAW

Canon S5IS converted to IR. 1/250 @ F4.0 ISO 80. Red and Blue channels swapped.

TEREX TS14

A 1960's era Terex TS14 Scraper sit's at the north end of Wellsville, MO. I believe it has seen more work in days past.

GAW

Canon S5IS converted to IR. 1/125 @ F4.0 ISO 80

Skyward.

Occasionally you should look skyward. Taken today at Sherman Beach County Park in Wildwood, MO.

GAW

Canon G6 converted to IR. 1/500 @ F4.0 ISO 100

Mosquito.

I'm taking one for Art. Yes that is a mosquito having a early supper. Taken today at Sherman Beach County Park in Wildwood, MO.

GAW

Canon G6 converted to IR. 1/640 @ F4.0 ISO 100

Mississippi River and the Moon.

The Mississippi river wanders between Missouri and Illinois, seen from the most southern scenic overlook on Missouri highway 79, near Ashburn. Notice the first quarter moon just to the right of center.

GAW

Canon G6 converted to IR. 1/500 @ F4.0 ISO 80. Red and Blue Channels swapped with Adobe Photoshop Elements.

The Hotel Bus.

This photo was taken in June of 2001 while visiting family in Japan. The Hotel bus for the ryokan we were staying in, near Hakone. I'm not sure why but this photo has always been a favorite of mine.

Canon EOS A2, 28-105mm f3.5 - 4.5, exposure was not recorded. Fujichrome.

National Air and Space Museum, Nieuport 28C-1

In July of 2007 we (wife, daughter & mother in-law) took a trip to New York City to see several Broadway show's. Because of the cost of tickets I was asked to find some other way of spending my time, so I spent even more money on a train ticket (that's a story all to it's self, someday...) to Washington DC to take in the Air and Space Museum.

The Nieuport 28C-1 is a French built biplane that served the U.S. in WW I. The title link will take you to the National Air and Space Museum web-site page about this aircraft. To see more of my photos from this trip click HERE.

1/100 @ f4.5 ISO 1600. Canon XTi, Sigma 17-70 f2.8
July 12th, 2007.

The Bench

Near the end of a 30 mile bicycle ride on 4/16/09 I stopped at the Bench for a short break and to take some photographs of the rather fresh bouquet of flowers. Some times the challenge to get a good or interesting image is rather difficult. This time I had several to choose from, to see a couple more from this session follow the title link.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/100 @ F4.0 ISO 80. Image converted to B&W using Picasa.

Details.

Ordinary objects larger than life, details revealed, identity disguised.

If you know what the subject of this photo is leave a comment.

Canon G9, 1/20 @ F2.8.

Smoke.

The dynamic still life, an experiment with smoke and light. I would like to say that this image was skillfully captured, but it was more along the lines of a lucky catch.

Canon XTi with Tamron 90mm macro lens, single Alien Bee 400 strobe. 1/200@ F 16.0, 3/4 power strobe. Image was inverted and converted to B&W in Photoshop Elements.

Aged 37 years, 8 months, & 27 days.

Suger Creek Cemetery Moberly, MO.

Mary died on September 10th, 1870. She was the wife of William Culp and had "Aged 37 years, 8 months, & 27 days". Having passed away almost 140 years ago I wonder if Mary's family still tend to the grave or does any family still survive?

It seems that when I visit cemetery's be it to lay a loved one to rest or to walk among the departed and look for photographs the weather is rather gray and ominous. Last Sunday was no different. A cold wind was blowing, and a very dark sky was following it.

I believe that infrared photography is quite suited for the cemetery, it help set the mood. You will most likely see more IR cemetery's in the future.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/80 @ f4.0 ISO80. Custom WB.

In the Shadow.

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. In the shadow of the Gateway Arch, October 12th 2008.

Canon G5 converted to IR. 1/640 @ F4.0 custom WB.

Densha 2006.

Densha is the Japanese word for train. During a 2006 visit I took the above photo, something about the graceful curve of the track and the train just draw me in.
Caption: The Local train for Hon-Atsugi stops at Gotokuji Station. Odakyu Line. One of the last photo's I took on my trip.

Canon XTi (400D), Sigma 70-200 f2.8, 2x teleconveter, 1/400s @ f5.6

Below is a slide show of some of other Densha favorites.

Leaves and Stones.

Missouri Botanical Garden, January 5th, 2008. Leaves between stones in the Japanese garden.

Canon G3 converted to IR. 1/60s @ F 4.0 AWB converted to BW with Picasa.

The Bench.

This photo was taken on the afternoon of November 27th, 2007. It is a bouquet of flowers left on a bench on the Katy Trail. The bench is dedicated to the memory of young woman. I have taken quite a few photograph's at this bench and this is one of my favorites, it is not really that great a photograph, the 3.3 mp of the G1 leave something to be desired, but I do enjoy the moment it gives me.

Canon G1 converted to IR. 1/160s @ f8.0 AWB conveted to BW using Picasa.

A new Direction.

Starting today this blog will take a somewhat new direction, more in line with it's title. Originally I started out to document the food and sights of a summer road trip, but when the trip was over I didn't want to stop completely, so that led into The Pizza Files. The Pizza Files deserved a home of their very own, so www.pizzafiles.com came to be earlier this month.

This site will become an outlet for my photography, truly postcards from the road, flower garden, park, museums... You can be the judge, "Is it Art?"

In the next few days I will post a few of my favorite photographs from the past, then I will try to update as the need arises.

GAW

Grand Opening The Pizza Files

Announcing the Grand Opening of the Pizza Files @ www.pizzafiles.com. The Pizza Files will be the home of all future pizza reviews, so check it out!

Pizza Works

Pizza Works, I have a bit of history with this pizza joint starting before I was old enough to drive. When one of my school buddy's (J.U.B.) got his license it was like getting out of prison, at least to a 15 year old living in a town of about 700-800 people with one stop sign, a gas station and a beer joint. A car load of us would go to the Pizza Works pool our money and order a pizza, typically we ate the majority of the pizza with the rest expertly applied to the wall's, table, seats, floor, and window. We were only asked to leave a few times and occasionally we were threatened by the waitress to clean up our mess or else!

I turned 16 in 1984 and became the owner of a 1973 VW Super beetle (see Pizza Files post). I soon found out that gas money didn't grow on trees, so I made the rounds to the Wal-Marts (just think how much stock I would have if I had got that job and still worked there today, I would probably still be mopping the floors, but...), IGA's, McDonald's, etc. At some point I found my self filling out a application at of all places Pizza Works. I learned quite a few lessons while working there.
1. It can be a lot of fun working in a pizza joint.
2. It can be a lot of WORK working in a pizza joint.
3. If you work at a pizza joint everybody you know wants free pizza.
4. How to mop the floor.
5. How to make a really good pizza.
6. To despise insulate teenagers that make a mess for the sake of making a mess (I think that was me).
7. To like and/or eat onions, mushrooms, olives and anchovies.
I worked at Pizza Works until Christmas Eve 1986 when I had had enough, I left the manager a note stating I wouldn't be back, EVER! Some time after that I became a customer again, a better customer this time, I didn't blow the tip money in video games and I didn't make anywhere near as big a mess.

To my knowledge Pizza Works has been around since the early 1980's with at least 5 or 6 restaurants. The first being in Mexico, MO, I don't recall the other locations out side of Moberly. They were owned by a couple of Guys named Ken and Bruce, whom I met once or twice while working there.

Pizza Works has a pizza style all their own, with their crust being what sets them apart from the rest. The crust has a uniform thickness that gives it some structure when holding it. It is cooked in a pizza pan with a small lip so that the sauce and other ingredients don't run over the edge of the crust. When done the crust is light golden brown and just a bit crispy on the bottom. The dough and pizza sauce were made fresh on site in the past and I suspect they still are. The pizza's are round but cut on the square. It must be a mental thing but I prefer their pizza square cut over pie.

At this point I would normally tell you that I ordered pepperoni, Canadian bacon, meatballs and onions, or some variation of that pie, but it's a different story at the Pizza Works. My favorite is the BJ special (named I believe after one of the owners Bruce Johnson?), it has pepperoni, sausage, onions and a dash of parmasan on top (before baking) of course there is also a thick mild red sauce and a generous helping of mozzarella cheese. One of the things that make the BJ special different is that the pepperonis and sausage are under the cheese, the other is that the sausage is used very sparingly, and for me a little sausage goes a long way. The combination works great, the sausage doesn't have a chance to overpower the other ingredeants. As stated above the crust is sturdy and can be easily handled with one hand (forks not allowed). I usually order mine to go, and this time was no exception. By the time you get home the pizza will have reached that ideal eating temperature. If I'm the only one eating I must physically restrain my self from eating the whole pizza, and you can imagine how hard that is...

My take-out expirance was excellent, and the pizza passes the "Would I pay for it?" test with a most definently Yes. Pizza Works is located at 319 N Morley St. Moberly, MO. You can reach them at (660) 263-8102.

Highly Recommended.

GAW