Happy Valentine's Day 2011

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm taking today's post space to remind everyone to photograph their loved ones... and be photographed with them. Don't worry about what you or they look like... just cherish the moments you have together... and photograph them.

The photo at right is my lovely wife, Misty. I captured this moment as we walked along the beach in Cherry Grove at sunset (Summer, 2009). Misty is the best person I have ever known. She is the most giving, loving and forgiving Godly woman anyone could want to meet. She was kind enough to marry me twenty years ago (this coming June)... and stay with me through all the stupid, insensitive things I've done over two decades. She still loves me and I am madly in love with her.

Although neither of us liked this shot when it was taken, I am glad I kept it. And I'm thankful today, more than most, that I have this memory... and such a wonderful woman to share my life with.

Share yours with someone... and snap the shutter to record your memories.

Flickr's EXPLORE is a Farce

I've long been a skeptic regarding Flickr's hallowed EXPLORE. Personally, I think it's a royal farce... totally randomly chosen images that many times are poorly composed, lit or otherwise photographed. Yet, so many Flickrites put value into being "Explored". Blogs rave about it. Photogs gush over "Explored" images. Yet, EXPLORE is really a total joke. Take a look at the photo above/left.

This is no reflection on Shooto, the photographer whose photo is shown. His other images are good. But, let's face it. This is a non-descript, nothing special, snapshot of a tennis shoe. It doesn't deserve to be "Explored". There is nothing special about it. The photo has 138 views, 4 comments and for some reason, 8 favorites (lemmings). But, it's not worth being "Explored". It's a snapshot... of a shoe. Shooto doesn't even title the photo anything ethereal or meaningful. It's titled "Nike Dunk Low Pro SB Supreme"... a shoe.

Shooto gets it. But someone at Flickr doesn't... and neither do the thousands of folks who think their photos are special, galactic or famous because they are "Explored".

EXPLORE is a joke Flickr is playing on its members. To be "Explored" is not to be famous or even good at photography. It's just that your number came up in some random algorithm. Wake up folks!

Twenty Things We Want to Photograph

There was an interesting question on DPS forums this morning. Basically, the original poster asked us to choose twenty things we want to photograph. The implication was that was choose twenty things we have never photographed. While I could probably come up with 1,020 specific things I want to photograph, the list was limited to twenty. In no particular order, here is my personal list...

1. Sprawling landscapes in the west (New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, etc)
2. Cityscapes at night, from the air
3. Whales off Baja & California coasts
4. Black Sand Beach on Hawai'i Island
5. Mayan Ruins
6. Old barns in decay
7. The weathered faces of elderly people (B&W)
8. Non-erotic nudes in natural light (sun light thru a window or outdoors)
9. Motocross event from the track
10. The Great Barrier Reef (underwater, of course)
11. Macros, super-macros, extreme macros
12. Portraits of interesting people from anywhere
13. Lightning in the night sky
14. A water spout
15. Dragonflies, birds, insects in flight
16. Surfers on the North Shore of Oahu (Chun's Reef or Sunset Beach) from the water
17. Dolphins/sharks in the ocean
18. War, from the front lines (journalistic style)
19. NFL game, from the sidelines
20. Greece

What would be on YOUR list?