# 6804-07 / travel ~ on the road again

all photos ~ (embiggenable)

PICTURE WISE, A FEW STRAGGLERS FROM THE LAST 24 hours in California.

Travel wise, today, after 36 hours of rest and recuperation at home, I am off on my 10 day golf-with-the-grandson trip. Our destination is Pinehurst, NC, approximately a 1,000 mile drive away.

Leaving this afternoon for a half-way stop over at my ex’s home for an over night break. Then on to Pittsburgh on Sunday to meet up with the kid and go to Penguins game. Monday, it’s on to NC. Next Saturday, after 5 days of golf, it’s a drive from NC to Morgantown, West Virginia, where I will stay overnight, then drop the kid off at school-University of West Virgini-on Sunday. Take a campus tour then head out to the ex’s home for another half-way over night break. Buy her breakfast on Monday morning and head home.

I will be posting entries during the trip. As promised, I will not bore you with a ton o’ golf pictures or golf stories.

# 6799-6803 / travel ~ So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen

all photos ~ (embiggenable)

OK. I GOT MY OBLIGATORY BEACH / OCEAN PHOTO. SEVERAL, actually. On a similar note, I went to a major tourist attraction - the world famous San Diego Zoo. TRAVEL TIP: visit in November - pleasant temperature and not much of a crowd.

Today is our last full day in California. Maybe my last day ever in California. Headed home tomorrow. Won’t miss a thing except our son and daughter-in-law. Although, the Korean BBQ restaurant was pretty damn good. Best kimchi this side of the Pacific.

Long travel day tomorrow. Outta bed at 7AM (10AM EST). Arrive in Vermont at 11PM EST. Jump in car for a 1.5hr drive home. Arrive home a 1-1:30 AM Friday. Ugh.

6794-98 / travel ~ this and that

CALIFORNIA, SPECIFICALLY THE BUILT UP URBAN / SUBURBAN areas that are dominated by highway systems that are alternately Indianapolis 500 speedways-with a fair number of kamikazi pilots at the wheels-and very slow moving parking lots, is not much to my liking. Some might suggest that the ocean / coast line is a saving grace but, to be honest, it don’t do much to light my fire.

So, after 4 days I have managed to not take a walk on the beach. That run is about to end this afternoon cuz I feel that I would be remiss in my duty, photography wise, if I were to come home without a beach picture. I am also proud to write that I have not made a sunset picture. Although, I do have a fair number of pictures of family members taking pictures of or staring at the sunset.

And, writing of family members taking pictures, one photo opportunity I did not explore-I actually wish I had-was making pictures of them taking zillions of pictures of each other. FYI, inevitably, all of those pictures were taken with the subject(s) just standing somewhere looking at the picture taker…

…just shoot me (pun intended)

6789-94 / travel ~ how I see it

all photos ~ (embiggenable)

IMO, THE CHALLENGE WHEN MAKING PHOTOGRAPHS WHILE TRAVELING is to make pictures that do not look like travel postcard pictures-deadpan pictures of ever so obvious tourist attractions and spots-yet, while staying true to your vision, still manage to capture an everyday-like sense of being there in the moment.

# 5832-36 / civilized ku•picture windows ~ from the inside, out

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO THERE IS ALWAYS A view of a window with a view of something. I call the pictures I make thereof, picture windows.

While my "standard" picture making M.O.-creating an interesting arrangement of visual elements across the 2D printed field of view-is always at the the fore when making such pictures, there is also a metophoric device in play as well. That is, an impression of the world outside is being made from an inside place which is akin to forming an impression, using the human visual apparatus, of the world outside of one's inside place, aka: one's inner self.

If I were so inclined (which I am most definitely not) to spew Academic Lunatic Fringe art speak folderol, I could delve down into the rabbit hole of self-psycho-analytical flapdoodle in an attempt to aggrandize / embellish my creative genius. However, I'll be content to let my pictures speak for themselves, so to speak.

# 5799 / civilized ku ~ California # 3

Pacific Ocean view ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

IT WOULD BE EASY FOR ME TO ENDLESSLY rag on California. However, to be fair, California could be a stunningly beautiful state if the too many people and the too many cars could be disappeared. But, of course, that's never gonna happen.

Maybe, one day in the future, the wife and I will return to California with the intention of driving the length of the state avoiding the cities and interstates, stopping in small towns and seeing the countryside. That written, as our California visit is coming to an end-on to Santa Fe-I am reminded of a verse from the Keb' Mo' song, City Boy:

I hear a voice, I hear the sound
The sound of my shoes, shuffling out of town
Too many people, too many cars
Take me to Memphis, Mercury, or Mars

Cause I wanna go
Where the buffalo roam
Just a city boy
Looking for a home

5797-98 / civilized ku•people•nocturnal ~ California # 2

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone

UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES I GET A GREAT DEAL OF PLEASURE FROM DRIVING. However, then there is California.

Driving in California is more akin to an ol'-timey, wild west cattle stampede. And, day or night, it never ends. If I were to live in California, I would need to have a very fast automobile and a chauffeur. Preferably a retired, championship caliber Formula One driver.

civilized ku # 5238-40 ~ less is more

table top w reflections ~ San Diego , California (embiggenable) • iPhone

moving walkway ~ O'Hare Intl. Airport Chicago, Ill. • (embiggenable) • iPhone

micro brewery car ~ San Diego , California (embiggenable) • iPhone

micro brewery ~ San Diego , California (embiggenable) • iPhone

During my West Coast trip, at various locations, color was a prime picture making instigator.

If I lived in a more colorful environment (big city?), I might be inclined to pursue a body of work based solely upon the idea of color. However, point in fact, I live in a small hamlet in a forest preserve where shades of green and brown are the predominant color palette in both the natural and man-made worlds. The only exception to which is the autumnal blaze of red/yellow/orange.

That written, it's possible, if I were to look more concertedly for isolated tableaux of intense color, I might find find some suitable referents for about color picture making. However, one thing is absolutely certain, I will not stoop to the level of using the saturation slider in picture processing to emphasize, aka; distort, color.

FYI, the pictures in this entry were processed using the saturation slider to de-saturate the out-of-the-camera colors.