Some photos while I gather my thoughts

After 8 years of summers at school, I'm trying to motivate myself to get the camera equipment out again. It's been on and off since I started school, and now that many evenings are free, I really have only my own sloth to blame. These are all scans of either transparencies or negatives that I have taken over the past 5 to 10 years. These were all taken with either my Nikon 6006 or N70. I still cannot afford a digital camera, so I'll be on the film medium for the time being.

I'm feeling a little word-constipated, so I picked some pictures off my computer and posted them for you.

This is at Arches National Park in Utah. I was there in 1998 with my trademark over-polarized sky. There are some better than this, but I shot 58 rolls of print film in two weeks and never had them scanned. This is part of the only roll of transparency film I shot. I was afraid I'd screw up the photos, and figured it may be a once in a lifetime trip, so I shot all print film, which is more forgiving of mistakes. I still bracketed, which left me with virtual duplicates of hundreds of shots.

Nearby Deptford, NJ is the home of hot air ballooning. It says so on the water tower. Someone flew a hot air balloon from Philly to Deptford when Washington was president, and every year there is a festival at the County College. They let me go inside one as it was being inflated.

You didn't think I'd post up photos without including one of the cat, did you?

Longwood Gardens in nearby Kennett Square, PA. They were having a chrysanthemum festival, so I suppose these are chrysanthemums.

This is also a chrysanthemum. I don't know the type. I just thought it looked cool. A macro lens and a monopod. They wouldn't let me in with my tripod. Bastards.

This is at the 12th Street Amusement area in Ocean City, NJ. If you get the chance, you can actually ride these things. I just take pictures. That's the moon in the upper right corner.

This is the same ride in a different spin. A 30 second exposure, stopped way down. The funny thing about doing these long exposures is the way people will stop as they walk near the tripod. They don't know what's going on, and they're afraid they will ruin the picture, but they wouldn't show up on the photo even if they walked in front. Otherwise, it's interesting to see that people are also capable of standing completely still for 30 seconds without even trying.

Occasionally, we get one of those winter drizzle-rain storms before the air freezes. The branches get the water-ice glaze and it is quite a show. This is a peach tree in back of the office where I work.

My favorite city in the world. I'm lucky because it's right across the river from where I live. This is from the fabled South Street Bridge. It's about 5 years old, and the skyline has changed at least twice since then. They are re-building the bridge, so I need to go back soon. As it was, the thing shook pretty violently when cars went over, so this long-exposure was tough to get. That's the Schuylkill River and the Expressway on the left.

A snowstorm froze-up a big tree down the road from my house. I shot B&W film thinking I could get an old-style look, but I suck at monochrome, and this is the best I could do. The sound you hear is Ansel Adams rolling over in his grave.

This is a roller coaster in Wildwood, NJ on Fujichrome. A filter gives it a blue cast.

Another cool ride in Wildwood, although I wouldn't know how cool it is, since I don't go anywhere near the things. I just like to look at them.

This is the top of the same ride. Once it gets to the top, it spins around and comes back down in a spiral. There are people inside, probably screaming. You wouldn't catch me on this if you gave me money. It makes a nice photo, though.