Hooters Greenwood

Hooters Greenwood
Originally uploaded by indykaleu
Time for a little change up from the night time and long exposure pictures? How about some pictures from Hooters? I was at the Greenwood Indiana location on December 1st for their 2012 calendar signing event. These three beautiful women are all in the autographed calendar now hanging on my wall. I made these photographs with my Canon 30d and the Vivitar DF-383 flash.

Here is a full body shot of the women...why oh why didn't I ask them to stand in front of the table?  Arrgh.  Oh well, they will be at the downtown Indy Hooters next week.  Perhaps a better picture will come out of that date. 

 

I normally don't like to be in front of the camera, but I think I made a good exception on this night. 

Via Flickr:
I was at the Greenwood Indiana Hooters on Thursday for their 2012 calendar signing event.

Indianapolis night time view

Indianapolis night time view
Originally uploaded by indykaleu
After another few hours of going through the digital pile of undeveloped RAW files on my computer, I found this wonderful picture of downtown Indianapolis from the west end of the canal.

This shot was made under the bridge next to the Indiana State Museum. I think this might be a good location to get a sunrise picture of the skyline. Of course, that means I have to get up early to make it to this spot. At least the sun rises later in the winter, so that might be a possibility for me! Haha

This area of the canal is probably my favorite area to shoot in Indianapolis and along the canal. The lights along the canal and their reflections in the water make for terrific photographs.  It's too bad the rest of the canal isn't as well lit or lacking in more eye candy.

The settings for this picture are: 10 second shutter speed, f11 and ISO 200.

Freak out!

Freak out
Originally uploaded by indykaleu
I've been going through all of my photos over the past year and processing a lot of pictures. This shot was done at the 2011 Indiana State Fair and is a photograph of one of my favorite rides to shoot.

Almost 10,000 photos since late spring of last year. I've probably only processed about a thousand. I think I may start deleting some of the obviously bad pictures. No sense in keeping junk on my computer.

This was an 11 second exposure, aperture set to f11 and the ISO was 100.

Review: World without end

So far this year I have read many books, both fiction and nonfiction.  The books range from George Washington and the American Revolution to Marine units in Vietnam.  I have enjoyed them all and will add more books to my collection before the year is over.

One of the more enjoyable books I've read this year is "World Without End" by Ken Follet, which could be considered a sequel to his earlier masterpiece "Pillars of the Earth".  The new book is set approximately 200 years in the future and is still set in the town and priory of Kingsbridge.   The story centers around the lives of four children, Merthin, Gwenda, Ralph and Caris and how one event early in their youth events profoundly shapes their lives and that of the town for many years to come.

One of the elements that I have always enjoyed when reading Ken Follet's books are the rich character developments and how well he describes the people, events and their surroundings.  Compared to other books and authors, I find it very easy to picture the people and their surroundings.  This is not something that happens with most fiction books.

In the book, the characters of Merthin and Caris are the best developed and as such, they are prominently featured throughout the book.  Initially, the character of Gwenda was interesting and I enjoyed reading the portions of the book devoted to her, but as I read deeper into the book, I had the feeling that her development was secondary and I began to lose interest in her.  The story of Ralph was well done, but his rise to the Earl of Shiring seemed a bit far fetched at first, but after thinking about the events leading up him gaining the title of Earl, it makes a lot more sense to me now.

Throughout the story, the book takes us from Kingsbridge, to the Earldom of Shiring, London and the Kings court, Florence Italy and to the opening stages of the 100 years war in France and back to Kingsbridge.  During this time we see the four children grow into successful adults and see the rise and fall of several prominent characters through accidents,  scheming plans, betrayals and ultimately, the Black Plague.

All in all, this is an excellent book and although it could be considered a sequel to 'Pillars of the Earth',  it is not necessary to read the first book.  However, I do recommend reading the earlier book as it is an excellent read and some of the people in 'Pillars' are referenced in the book.

If you have been a fan of Follet's more contemporary spy and espionage novels and are hesitant about reading a historical novel set in the early and middle parts of the 14th century, don't be alarmed.  This book delivers an excellent story and will have you turning page after page just to see what will happen next. Go and read it now!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mummies, birthdays and Burlesque!

So, after the forgettable dinner at Cadillac Ranch, the next part of my birthday gift to my girlfriend was tickets to see Here Come the Mummies at the Vogue in Broad Ripple.  I saw the band earlier this year at IMS and despite it being a cold and rainy day, they put on a fantastic show.  I knew I wanted to see them again in a better venue.

My girlfriend had never seen the mummies and was happy to see the tickets in her birthday card.  She was convinced I was taking her to a haunted house (that was all I had talked about during the weeks leading up to her birthday...complete surprise was accomplished!).

The Vogue was getting packed by the time we arrived and we were lucky enough to find places down near the stage.  While our spots at first looked great, we didn't realize that Lurch and his twin brother would soon be in the way and would make watching the warm up act very difficult.

The opening act was performed by Show-Me Burlesque and they were very good.  It was my first time watching a live burlesque act, I guess strippers at the Brass Flamingo don't really count as burlesque, do they?

Their first performer was Lola Van Ella, who performed and sang...quite the decent singing voice I must add. She was followed by Faith McQueen, who, uh, filled out her costume quite nicely.  No complaints from me at all by this point.  If only I was allowed to bring in my dSLR, the pictures I could post here.  After Faith, I believe Foxy laFeelion came on next and also put on a good routine.  She was followed by Sammich the Clown, who put on a very good Charlie Chaplin impression.  She was followed by Allura Fette (I'm not completely certain that she was the next performer, her name and picture on the website seems very familiar).  After Allura was gone, the previous performers came out (minus Sammich) and the three of them put on a balloon popping routine.  They came out one at a time, pretended to be upset with their cast mates and proceeded to pop each others balloons until little remained of their costumes. All in all, I was very happy with the show.  The only disappointing part of the show was the aforementioned Lurch and his brother.  They made it difficult to see parts of the routines, especially when the performers laid down on the stage

Despite the monoliths standing in front of us, the burlesque show was very good and I think they were the perfect act for Here Come the Mummies.  It was certainly better than having an unknown band open the show.  The performers for Show-Me Burlesque are mostly based out of the St. Louis area, however they do have a large contingent of performers from around the Midwest.  I would like to see them again in a bigger show and my only recommendation is that they could use the services of a photographer to help, um, promote their troupe.  I believe I am just the man for the job...:-) Bottom line, if you have ever wanted to see a burlesque show and they are in the area, go and see them!

On to the main act.  I won't even get into the details of the rather bland costume contest before the Mummies took stage...Ugh...

When the Mummies first take the stage, they come through the audience, playing some drums and chanting.  It is an entrance like no other that I have seen in concerts.  Let me say this, for two hours, the Mummies were on top of their game.  I have seen too many shows when the performers were either not interested in playing (and it showed) or they wore down midway through the show.  But not on this night.  I don't know if they took an energy drink or ate their Wheaties that morning, but their show was the most energetic I have ever seen a band play.

They played a lot of their familiar songs, Ra-ra-ra, Pants, booty, Attack of the Wiener Man, Freak Flag, Creepin, jailbait and so many more great songs.  I just wish I had written this blog entry sooner so I could have remembered more of their set.  I also wish I had properly used the video camera on my phone and I could have posted some videos here of their performance.

Thankfully the middle of the performance, the Lurch brothers moved and my girlfriend and I had a much better view of the stage.  Bottom line, it was an excellent concert and I can't wait to see them again!

How about a video from their appearance on Fox and Friends the Monday after their shows at the Vogue?

Here come the Mummies video

Of birthdays, small menus and bad service.

Last night was my girlfriends birthday (the fair Lady Rene) and since I had a Groupon to Cadillac Ranch, that is where we ended up going for her birthday dinner.

A few days ago, I made reservations for dinner, just in case the restaurant was busy.  After arriving at the restaurant, I had a feeling something would be wrong when the rather distracted and very unhelpful hostess couldn't find our resume, only to tell me that our reservation was for the next day.  She didn't seem all that bothered by the incorrect date and just waved her hand and told us to find a table.  Yep, that's it, not helpful at all. If customers can just walk in and get their own tables, why even have a hostess?  She couldn't even be bothered to give us menus.

We walked in to the restaurant, which is very large, open and well decorated. It was also almost empty of customers.  We were there early, so my only concern was that the service could be slow...which of course it was.  We waited several minutes for the waitress to show up at our table with menus.  Given the size of the restaurant and the money that was obviously spent on the decorations and the restaurant in general, I expected more menu offerings.  We were all rather disappointed.  Two pages of food items and not enough steak or meat items was a surprise given the "ranch" name in the title. We gave our drink orders (nothing fancy) and again waited for the drinks to show up.  Well, at least we had plenty of time to look over their small menu, gave her our orders and again waited for the food. 

After a reasonable amount of time had passed, our food arrived. This was probably the best part of the dinner.  I had ordered the pepperoni cheese flatbread pizza (I know, pizza at a steak place?..should have went with some meat), my girlfriend ordered the Cadillac burger (no tomatoes and of course it comes with tomatoes).  Her mother got a basket of fries and chicken tenders while Rene's friend bought a salad and order of fries.  Everything looked and tasted good, no complaints with the food.  The waitress also delivered an extra basket of fries by mistake, thankfully at no charge.  Oh, the appetizer...yes, I forgot that part.  We ordered an appetizer (loaded fries) and they were good. The bacon crumbles were bigger pieces and were not overly cooked. 

At the end of the meal, as we were leaving, the waitress came by to get the check and clear the plate and then started to tell us to give her the dishes and glasses on the table?  What?!  I've been to a lot of restaurants, even worked as a busboy in a restaurant as a teenager.  Never have I been asked by a waitress to clear the table for her. I've even handed plates and glasses to a waitress when they are very busy, or short and have given good service.

I think if the service had been good (it took a long time to get refills and she barely checked on us. throughout our dinner), being ordered to do her job might not have bothered me too much. Between the slacker hostess and the slow service, the four of us aren't sure if we would ever go back to Cadillac Ranch.  I think I might if they ever have a good coupon or deal, no more buying Groupons to their restaurant.

Some positives from the evening.  The restaurant was clean, the music wasn't too loud and the bathrooms were immaculate and very well decorated.   I just can't get over the indifferent hostess, the small menu, the slow service and being directed to clear the table.

Would I go again?  I'm not sure...Maybe if I had a really good coupon or if they had a good special.  It's really disappointing..I really wanted to like Cadillac Ranch. 

Zombies, brains and food for the poor

Well, it was zombie walk time again in Indianapolis, err, Broad Ripple on Saturday.  This was the annual Zombie Walk through Broad Ripple.  The zombies not only stroll through the streets looking for some tasty brains to eat, but they also help the local food bank, Gleaners, by donating food items.  Judging by the large number of people who turned out for this event, I think Gleaners took away a very hefty haul of food donations.

I was at this same event last year and walked away from it somewhat disappointed at the costumes, makeup and small number of participants.  I wasn't sure if I was going to photograph the event again this year due to my feelings about the zombie walk last year.  Boy, am I glad I went to the walk this year.   I met up with several other Indy area photographers, including a friend from Danville, Illinois.  I enjoyed seeing everybody this year and eating at Qdoba after the walk was finished.

This year's walk also included a zombie wedding (yes, an actual wedding), the walk itself, a zombie feast held at several restaurants along the Broad Ripple strip and the evening ended with a zombie prom at Tru nightclub. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the prom, but I did enjoy everything else that happened during the evening.

The event started out in the Kroger parking lot where people were getting makeup applied, a DJ was spinning and donations were accepted by Gleaners.  Starting around 6:30pm, the wedding took place between two people who met at last year's zombie walk.  I made a few shots at the wedding, not the best as we were crowded into a small area in the parking lot and I didn't have much room to work with due to the crowd.  After the wedding, the zombies lined up for the walk through Broad Ripple.

I moved down to the corner across from the fire station (less crowded..yay!) and while shooting the march, I talked with a few firefighters about the zombies, how tough it is to work in Broad Ripple as a firefighter..haha and anyone else that we saw walking around the area.  Needless to say, the firefighters were a hit with the female zombies and the attention was reciprocated in a few cases.  Although one poor firefighter nearly had has brains eaten by one of the female zombies later on the strip.  See below for a photograph of the unlucky guy.

So, I did end up with some good shots before, during and after the event.  Let's take a look?...

The couple that eats brains together, stays together...even after death.

She had some very good contacts.  Good makeup on both of them.

Zombie Jesus?  Wow...haha

Getting ready for the walk. The makeup artists did a tremendous job on a lot of people. 

Even Indy's finest firefighters are safe from zombies.

So that about sums up the 2011 Broad Ripple zombie walk.  I had a very good time shooting this event.

As for next year, yeah, I think I will definitely put this on the calendar for next year.  That being said, I need to get a lot better at shooting with a flash.  I had some good pictures, but too many so-so pictures where I either used too much flash and over exposed or didn't use enough flash and everyone is underexposed. 

Hey, practice makes perfect, right?

Indianapolis Bloggers

Good news! I applied and was accepted into the Indianapolis Bloggers community here on blogspot.  They have many good blogs about Indy and by Indy based bloggers. Check them out Indianapolis Bloggers

Steel wool, a water hose and the burning bush, er branch

So, in addition to having a really good lunch last week, I decided to get off my rear end and finally spin steel wool.This was something I have wanted to do for a long time after seeing pictures in the Flickr group "Light Junkies".  It's a great group to learn about burning steel wool, light orbs, spirographs etc.  Overall, it is a great place to learn about light painting techniques.  I know I have certainly enjoyed looking at all of the pictures in the group pool. 

I learned how to spin steel wool after reading a post on .photoextremist.com website.  His video and blog entry were very helpful and showed me what I would need to spin the wool.  His site also has some great ideas on other types of trick photography and some good tips on processing photos.  Take a look..

I originally planned to burn the steel wool over Labor Day weekend at Dale Hollow Lake.  However, the tropical storm that blew in from the gulf pounded us with a never ending storm and killed my plans for late night photography. Which is a shame as I was also ready to experiment with star trails. Grrr...

Forward to last week.  I set up my camera on the sidewalk, set up the steel wool, lit it and started spinning. I could not be happier with my results.

Did I mention that steel wool can set dry grass or tree branches on fire?  No, I suppose I forgot that part..then and now.  After spinning the wool and feeling quite pleased with myself and setting up for the next shot, I was curious about a glowing light several feet off the ground and to my left.  Yikes, I set a branch on fire.  I grabbed a hose and put the fire out before it did any more damage.  Thankfully the burn patter was small (but oh so bright) and the tree seems to be none the worse for wear.  Just to be safe, I hosed the rest of the yard down, waited for any more sparks and then set up for this picture in the street:

A different technique and thankfully I didn't set the street on fire.  Again, I'm very happy with the results. Another safety tip, wear long sleeves, trousers, gloves and something to cover your head.  The bits of wool don't stay lit for long, but they can give a little sting when they hit bare flesh.  As far as clothes go, wear something black unless you want to stand out in the picture.  Both of these pictures were shot at f13, ISO 200 and were 30 second exposures.  I added a little warmth to the colors in PSE as I think it helps them stand out more.  After subsequent attempts, I kept the colors closer to what they actually look like.  They are below:

In both of the new shots, I was trying to spin the wool into an orb shape.  I like the two attempts, but I need to refine my spinning technique some more.  I think I might need some extra weights to keep the whisk from spinning around too much.  These two were done at f11, ISO 200 and 30 second exposures. 

Well, that's all for now.  I have been scouting locations in Indy that would look good in the background when I burn the steel wool again..and soon.  I think along the canal is a good place to start. 

Of hamburgers, bleu cheese and that wonderful smell of cooked meat

I finally had a chance to return to the Red Lion in Fountain Square. I was there with a couple of coworkers for the return of our "nutrition group discussion" meetings, that being an excuse to go out and try new (to us at least) restaurants in the downtown Indy area.  We used to go out more frequently, but increased workloads and telecommuting have hurt our gatherings.

My girlfriend introduced me to the Red Lion and I am so glad she took me to the restaurant a few months ago.  The first thing I always notice is the wonderful smell of meat being cooked over a fire as soon as I walk in the door.  This being a lunch crowd, surprisingly it wasn't too crowded, which made me happy.  I don't like having to waste my lunch hour on a long wait to get a table, do you?

Lately, I have had a craving for bleu cheese on my cheeseburger and today wasn't an exception.  I ordered their blue cheese burger and had tater tots on the side.  Yep, no fries, just tots (was in a Napoleon Dynamite mood, I suppose).  The burger was tasty and came with some very good bleu cheese.  I prefer the crumbled bleu cheese, but the Red Lion had some type of spread.  It was still good and had that nice tart bite which I really enjoy on hamburgers.  The tater tots were as good as I expected.

My coworkers ordered the grilled cheese and a chicken wrap and both of them were happy with their lunch.  They had enough food to take home. All of us were craving something sweet for dessert and we all ended up getting an elephant ear to take back to work. Yep, an elephant ear and it wasn't from a fair.  I couldn't wait to tear into my dessert and started on it after I returned to work.  Fortunately it was still warm and was very sweet and yummy.

All in all, the Red Lion is a great place to eat.  The only downside?  I didn't get any beer due to it being a work day.  When you go, try some of the different brews like Upland or Sun King, you won't be disappointed.

Next up, how about lighting steel wool and spinning it? 

Ugh...try sleeping with a headache.  It just isn't working tonight. So, since I can't sleep and the headache isn't going away anytime soon, how about a few pictures from Oranje 2011?

The Indy Oranje festival   is a one night festival/party/art and music festival on the near north side of Indianapolis.  This year was the 10th anniversary and I was fortunate to be able to photograph all of the fun.  I was also fortunate enough to work this event with my girlfriend, Rene, who was in charge of the VIP room. This was her second time working at Oranje and my first time, and I'm already looking forward to next year.  One thing is for certain, I plan on bringing much more extra cash next year and buy some of the art on sale.  So much fantastic art and so little money.  Oh well, I have a year to plot and plan.

One of the first photographs I took was of two models from a local studio called Bombshell Photography.  This picture was made outside and did I mention I was using a hotshoe flash that had only arrived the day before the event?   Talk about having a steep learning curve. I had used a hotshoe flash with my SLR, however it died a few years ago and I spent Friday night chasing the cats around the house trying to get used to the flash and hopefully to avoid bad photos at Oranje.  After burning through a battery pack (speaking of batteries, it's time to get some Sanyo Eneloops for the flash)

 These ladies were a lot of fun to shoot and thankfully they posed for several pictures.  The settings for this picture are:  f5.6, 1/50th and the ISO was 400.  I thought about setting my ISO to 100 or 200, but I wasn't sure of how the picture would turn out. It was very dark outside and like I said earlier, I was still basically experimenting with the flash settings.

This next picture is from Joy Carter's booth.  She had several very nice pieces of art hanging on her walls, but the main attraction were the two models that she body painted before and during the show.  The 'day of the dead' must have been painted during the day as she was on display from the minute the show opened   She also had a infinite amount of patience to put up with all of the requests to photograph her and to be photographed with her. My girlfriend, Rene was working as the hostess for the VIP room and I texted her to come upstairs and we both had our pictures taken with the "day of the dead" model. They make for great facebook avatars.  The little devil next to her was painted during the evening by Joy Carter.  She was also quite the center of attention during and after she was painted.  I think the two of them make a great picture.  This was made at f5.6, 1/60th and ISO 800.  I'm still not sure why I was shooting at ISO 800 in this area, plenty of light...could have been I was tired, this was done well after midnight.  Still, I like it a lot.

No article about Oranje would be complete without a picture of Tatu Billy the Witch Doctor.  He had some wonderful art in his booth and also had a fortune teller who was getting a lot of attention.  I hope she was able to give people some good news.  Yes, the snake around Billy's neck is real and was quite content to just hang out with Billy.  I love the clothes and the staff and I'm still surprised that Billy graduated several years after me from Manual H.S.  It just goes to show that you never can tell what will come out of your high school or neighborhood.  This shot was made at f9, 1/50th and ISO 400.  I'm not sure if I was experimenting with flash too much that night or what, but the camera settings were all over the place that night.  Still, they came out very well and I'm happy with the results. 

New Christy Minstrels at Spades Park

After the Innocent Boys finished playing, there was a rather long intermission as the next band, The New Christy Minstrels got ready to play. As they explained during the opening of their show, getting the sound correct for their band isn't an easy thing due to the number of people in their group.

It was a good show and I enjoyed the music, much more than I thought I would.  I recognized several songs and found myself humming along to them as I photographed the band.  I was able to get several good photographs of each member of the band and finally got some of them processed and posted online today. Here are three of them:

This is Dave Henderson, upright bass player for the group.  He also sang a song and played the keyboard while singing.  My setting for this picture were f5.6, ISO 1600 at 1/100th shutter speed.

This is Becky Jo Benson, singer and banjo player for the group.  She was a good person to shoot and I never saw her on stage without a smile.  The settings for this picture are the same as for the above picture.

This is a Greg O'Haver, guitarist for the group.  I enjoyed photographing him and especially catching his fingers on the strings.  He also had a good singing voice.  The setting for this picture are the same, except for the aperture which was set at f5.  He was more in the shadows than the other performers and need a bit more light to see him.

As with the Innocent Boys, the stage lights cast a horrible blue pall on the performers that just didn't look good.  I wanted to post the pictures as I photographed them, but that blue light just bothered me and I played with the white balance in order to get good skin tones for all of the members of both bands.   In previous pictures, I had never changed the white balance as much as I did for the members of these two bands.  My approach has always been to keep everything as close to how I saw it as possible, but not this night.  I'm happy with the white balance decisions I made for both bands.

I'm looking forward to more band/music photography; it is something I am really starting to enjoy.  

Innocent Boys at Spades Park

I was at a festival on Saturday, August 27th at Spades Park on the east side of Indianapolis.  The festival was called the Feast of Lanterns.  The festival had vendors, exhibitors, a lantern auction, community organizations along with games and a play are for the kids.  Throughout the park, were hung lanterns and festival lights. The larger lantern displays were to be lit with candles while the smaller lanterns would be lit with the festival or Christmas lights.

During the day and into the evening, several bands played on the main stage.  Most of them were so-so and I didn't feel as if I was missing much as I wandered around the park. While waiting for the lanterns to be lit, my main reason for being at the festival was to photograph the lanterns at night, I sat down to listen to a band playing on the main stage.

The band turned out to be the Innocent Boys, a local band from Indianapolis.  I really enjoyed listening to them play and realized what a great opportunity this would be to do some low light and concert photography.  So, off I went.  I primarily went for close up individual pictures of the band members.  I took a few wider angle shots of multiple band members, however I was determined to come out of the evening with some good shots of the band members.

The are around the stage was wide open, front, sides and in back of the stage.  I was shooting with a couple of other photographers and we didn't have any problems moving around the stage area to get pictures.  Of course, we respected the audience and didn't stand in their way during the show.  When I shot from the the front of the stage, i was sitting on the grass and I like that angle better than just relying on line of sight pictures which can be boring. Always change your viewpoint when photographing people, climb up on something or kneel/crouch to get a lower viewpoint.  In my opinion, changing your viewpoint makes the pictures so much better.

So, here are a few pictures of the band, starting with the Lead Singer/Guitarist and here are the settings: f5.6, ISO 1600 and 1/80th.  I know, a high ISO. Well, until I can get a good f2.8 lens, the higher ISO's will have to do for know.

I like how this picture turned out of the singer. The awful blue hues from the stage lights are gone and he looks much more natural.

Next, on to the very animated and great playing upright Bass player.  I'm not sure why, but he reminds me of a younger Tom Waits.

The settings for this picture are the same as for the lead singer.

Finally, on to a close up shot of the drummer:

In the left side of the picture, I cleaned up this picture a little by cloning out a light stand.  It was just too distracting.

The band had two additional members, a keyboard player and a guitarist.  I haven't quite finished with those pictures.  Maybe next week.

Next week, more from the Innocent Boys and pictures from the last band to play on Saturday, the New Christy Minstrels.  Have a good weekend!  

Long exposures in the midway

It is that time of year again in Indiana. And by that, I mean it is time for the State Fair!  I was fortunate enough to visit the fair a couple of times this year and had the opportunity to photograph some of the midway rides.  Unfortunately, more games, food stands and rides were packed into the midway area, making for a much tighter and confined space which took away a lot of the good vantage points for photographing the rides, unlike last year.  I was able to get three really good shots this year and I've posted those pictures below:

This is probably my favorite picture from the fair this year.  Not only was the swing set ride (YOYO) moving in the foreground, the ride in the background also started in motion. The colors in the game booths in the right of the picture also stand out very nicely.   I was really happy to see both rides in motion at the same time as I had waited a long time hoping to see both in action.  The rain and sparse crowds in the midway area had a lot to do with the minimal activity on the rides this night.  The black band that is present around the YoYo ride is the riders themselves in their swings.  I like the look of the rides against the blue sky just after sunset.  This settings for this shot are ISO 100,  f22 and a 6 second exposure. 

This is a closeup shot of the same Yoyo ride.  I was backed up against the bumper cars and had the lens as wide open as was possible. I was fortunate to not have people walking through the frame during this exposure and the picture turned out quite nicely as result. Sometimes the "ghost" images of people are quite useful and look good in some of the long exposure pictures I have done at the state fair, but for this one I'm glad I have a clean image. The settings for this shot are ISO 100, f22 and an 18 second exposure.

This ride is know as "Fireball" and this is so much better than the pictures I took of this same ride last year at the fair.  I was fortunate with this picture that the trucks and generators that cluttered my pictures of this ride last year from about this same view point were gone from the area this year.  I was able to get fairly close to the ride and made this wonderfully uncluttered picture of the ride.  This ride seemed to be very popular and it wasn't long before it was up and spinning and as a result, I have several good shots of this ride.  The settings for this ride were ISO 100, f22 and a 15 second exposure.

All in all, I had a good time shooting these rides at the fair.  The surroundings made for some tight angles and different compositions, but hey, I can't have it my way all the time when I am photographing, so in the end, I did the best I could and came up with some good pictures.  I had a lot of long stares and questions about what I was doing there, sitting on the ground looking up at these rides through a camera.  Most people liked what they saw when I showed them my results, while some people just shook their shoulders and moved on.  I guess they just couldn't understand the addiction of long exposure photography and moving lights!

If I can get motivated, I'll post a few more pictures from the fair this week. 

Duncan Schiedt, jazz musician photographer

Tonight at the meeting of the Indiana Photographic Society, we had the opportunity to listen to Duncan Schiedt, a noted jazz musician photographer.  Duncan has been photographing musicians for over 60 years and he has photographed some of the legends of the jazz world:  Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and many, many more great musicians. 

He told us of his first time listening to jazz music, via BBC radio while attending an English school.  After the overseas school trip ended, he returned home and was visiting a friend who showed Duncan his darkroom.  Duncan told us that after spending an hour in the darkroom, he was hooked on photography.  He then combined his two loves of jazz and photography into a lifelong passion.

His first ever picture was taken with an Argus camera and was of  Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton (he showed us this picture tonight). He only shoots using film or slides and still develops and prints his own pictures.  All of his work in the jazz field are done in B&W because as he puts it "Jazz music is black and white due to it's range of emotions, moods and the brilliance of the music."

During his presentation, he showed us over 80 slides of some of the various musicians he has photographed over the years and also told personal stories about the musicians.  Some of the stories were about the musicians he has befriended while other anecdotes were about the pictures, asking the musicians to pose in a certain way or just about the process involved in taking the pictures.

In addition to his work photographing jazz musicians, he has also worked as a fashion photographer, theater photographer, worked in the film industry on over 100 16mm films and has written several books.  His first book was a biography about the life of Fats Waller.  His work has also been used by Ken Burns in the PBS series "Jazz".  He brought several books to the meeting and I purchased a book and he was gracious enough to autograph it for me.

All in all, it was definitely one of our best meetings and I was thrilled to see his work.  I didn't know many of the musicians in the pictures (I'm learning who they are now by reading his book), but I know great photos when I see them, and his are definitely wonderful.  This book is something I will definitely treasure and will use it as inspiration for when I am out with the camera. 

The Black Widow

The Black Widow
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

Ahh, the start of fair season here in Indianapolis. This is a shot of the Black Widow ride and was taken at the Marion County State Fair. I always loved this ride as kid and now I have a picture of it...haha

When Rene and I arrived at the fair it was raining, which was frustrating for me but it was also good as Indy has not had any decent rain in a long time. After walking around the fair for about 20 minutes and getting our caricatures drawn (fantastic work by the way), the rain stopped and we headed out once again to see the rides.

Rene pointed out that people were in line for this ride and we headed over for some pictures. I took a few pictures with another ride in the background, but when I went to process them this weekend, I thought the background ride was very distracting.

I'm glad I was able to get this shot from a different direction. This was an 11 second exposure, set at f22 and ISO 100. I do have another picture with a shorter exposure time that shows off the ride in more detail.

I'm just so happy that Rene didn't mind me wandering around to photograph the rides and put up with change of directions and standing around for several seconds. Sweetie, it's just too bad we weren't hungry. I can still smell the corn dogs. Oh well, we still have the state fair coming up this weekend.

How to Take Photos in Low Light – PictureCorrect

How to Take Photos in Low Light – PictureCorrect

This well help me a lot at night.

If You Think You’re Having a Bad Day - By Jonah Goldberg - The Corner - National Review Online

If You Think You’re Having a Bad Day - By Jonah Goldberg - The Corner - National Review Online


OUCH!

2011 Indianapolis July 4th fireworks

2011 Indianapolis July 4th fireworks
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

Hey, it's red, white, blue and green fireworks. This was shot near the end of the show. I have so many good shots from last night. I will be printing a lot of these fireworks pictures. I think some of these might end up on the walls at an upcoming exhibit.

2011 Indianapolis July 4th fireworks

2011 Indianapolis July 4th fireworks
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

Another opening salvo from last night's fireworks display.

2011 Indianapolis July 4th fireworks

2011 Indianapolis July 4th fireworks
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

One of the opening fireworks salvos from the fireworks display last night in Indianapolis. It was a near perfect night. It wasn't too hot or humid and we had a slight breeze...just enough to keep us cool.

My wonderful girlfriend Rene, brought along a small cooler and got me hooked on a new drink, punch flavored water. I have never been a big fan of flavored water drinks as they never really tasted good. However, the punch flavored water she gave me is really good. It may not replace Coke for me, but it is definitely a tasty substitute.

A new toy from Yelp

Recent reviews by Erik F.

What's this?

Green with cold

Green with cold
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

Another cold woman coming out of the water...I wonder if she will do the plunge next year?

Two thumbs up

Two thumbs up
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

I was at the Special Olympics of Indiana Polar Bear Plunge event at Eagle Creek on February 26th and photographed many of the participants. This picture is of Rachel, a dj from Radiow Now (100.9) in Indianapolis. Needless to say, she was a favorite of mine and of my friends. More to come later.

Erik the Red

Erik the Red
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

A blast from the past and part of a big project to get my dad's slides, film and my film negatives all scanned onto dvd's. After that is done...the prints...ugh.

Islam and the State of the Union - Andrew C. McCarthy - National Review Online

Islam and the State of the Union - Andrew C. McCarthy - National Review Online

A very good article about Islam and the blinkers so many people have on when it comes to Islam.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/What+Mcdonald+chicken+nuggets+really+contain/4112721/story.html

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/What+Mcdonald+chicken+nuggets+really+contain/4112721/story.html

Mmmmm...nuggets. If I wasn't eating Taco Bell, I would go and get some nuggets. Or maybe their chicken strips. Both go well with spicy mustard or ranch sauce.

Icicles

One of the fun things for me about winter are the icicles.  I enjoy photographing icicles where I find them.  This is usually around the house, but I was able to find some interesting icicles on the canal in Indianapolis.  I also found a few good ones just outside of my front porch last week.  A few are growing at the back of my house and I am hoping they last long enough for me to get some good pictures.

This icicle is near my front porch.  The shrub is something I should have trimmed back last year, but kept putting it off.  I'm glad I didn't or else this picture would not have been possible.  I cloned out a few weeds to the left of the branch.  They just cluttered the picture and took focus away from this icicle.  

  

Another icicle hanging from the roof.

This icicle was found at the south of the canal where it empties into White River.  The ice is in the foreground and the water is flowing behind the ice.  I wish I had taken my tripod; After seeing this ice formation, I wanted to do some slow shutter speeds and blur the water.  I think I will go back next weekend and visit this area again, with a tripod!

This was also on the canal and was taken near the NCAA museum on the south end of the canal.  I'm happy with the contrast and colors in this picture. 

Good times for lunch and dessert!

Today was a good day for lunch and dessert.  A coworker and I find two very good places to eat lunch and dessert on Massachusetts avenue in Indianapolis.  For lunch we went to Mesh on Mass for lunch.  They have different menus for brunch, lunch and dinner.  They are in the same location as the former Scholars Inn restaurant, which sadly closed last year.  The layout is very similar to Scholars Inn, but it looks like new paint and some other changes were made.  The changes don't affect the dining experiences, it is just nice to see modern and upscale decor in Indianapolis.  It's definitely a welcome change from the exposed brick wall and goofy memorabilia that some restaurants seem to over embrace. Now, on to the best part, the food.  I had the gorg-bacon burger (minus the tomato and onion relish) and it was excellent!  I don't know if it is Angus meat, but it was the best burger I've had in a long time.  The burger came with black pepper mayo (yum!) and Gorgonzola cheese.  I also had the fries, which are fresh cut on site.  They had some type of finely grated cheese (Parmesan?) sprinkled over them and the restaurant gives a sweet tasting ketchup, which tasted fresh and maybe made on site?  Everything was fantastic!   I simply can't wait to go again soon. 

My coworker had the tuna melt sandwich and the bowl of fruit pieces as the side.  She said everything tasted fresh and wonderful and believes the guacamole was made fresh.  She had nothing but good things to say about her sandwich and is also planning a return visit as well.  This may be a new favorite place for us to eat. Their menu is certainly mouth watering and the next time I may have to order the hot hoagie sandwich.  We didn't get dessert, even though it certainly looked good on the menu.  We saved dessert for out next place:  The Flying Cupcake!

Just a few doors down from Mesh is the The Flying Cupcake.  This location is a small satellite store for their main bakery at 56th and Illinois streets on the north side of Indianapolis.  We stepped in to the small and wonderfully smelling store and  instantly started to drool over the selection of brownies in the front case.  They had so many, it was tough to make a choice.  I ended up getting the Chocolate Ganache (Yum!), the Twilight (Yum!) and the Pucker Up (also very Yum!).  Their menu changes from day to day and can change hourly, so they recommended calling or going to the Facebook page to see what cupcakes are available.  I never thought I would pay $3 for a cupcake, but I did and I so happy.  I can't wait to go back for more.

Heroic and brave

Major Dick Winters, RIP

Heroism, hero and brave are often overused and misapplied in our country.  In this case, they truly applied to this man.  It's unfortunate that we don't have enough men like him. God bless and rest in peace.

I was at a rally yesterday for the Indianapolis Colts. Their game is today against the Jets. They had a number of cheerleaders and two Colts players (Melvin Bullitt and Jamie Silva) to show up at the rally. A large number of fun showed up decked out in fun and outrageous costumes. I had hoped to get there in time to get autographed pictures of the cheerleaders and players, but I was too late. The line didn't seem to be too long, but they weren't adding any new people. This was around 11:45; the rally started at 11:30. Oh well, if the Colts win tonight, they will have more rallies this week and hopefully I can get in line early enough for some autographed swag...haha

Here are some pictures:

Melvin Bullitt and Jamie Silva

Colts cheerleaders:

And a fan...check out the costume!

A nation choking on endless laws - NYPOST.com

A nation choking on endless laws - NYPOST.com

When I read articles such as this one or similar articles about government beaurocrats, I always think of the movie "Brazil". I like what the author says about "in the future, everyone will be a criminal for 15 minutes". With 31,000 new state or federal laws added to the books, I suppose that we all break some law,new or old, every day of the week. I just hope that Robert Deniro or somebody like him will be around in the future to fix my air conditioning.

George W. Obama: Gates orders 1400, and as many as 3000, more combat troops to Afghanistan.

George W. Obama: Gates orders 1400, and as many as 3000, more combat troops to Afghanistan.

So, is Afghanistan still the good fight? If not, where is all the whining and complaing by the Left over the fighting in Afghanistan? Oh wait, that only happened when GWB was in office.

Critical Condition - National Review Online

Critical Condition - National Review Online

Some things to think about...

Eagle Creek sunrise

Eagle Creek sunrise
Originally uploaded by indykaleu

My first attempt at a shooting a sunrise on Eagle Creek reservoir. Well, it's actually my second attempt. The first time was back in November 2010 and the area was too foggy to get anything good. This is a little better. I'll probably stay away until I know the morning will be clear. Still looking for good locations in Indianapolis to shoot sunrises and sunsets.

'Radical State': The Death of Europe - HUMAN EVENTS

'Radical State': The Death of Europe - HUMAN EVENTS

This article points some uncomfortable things going in Europe that we all need to seriously think about...

master of puppets - metallica

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Damn, this song just rules! Get off your butts and get back out on the road!