Lake Mirror Classic part 3

Last Friday was the opening night of this year's Classic. I didn’t get over there until around 7:00pm when most of my shooting light was almost gone for the day. I thought I would at least check out what cars were already on display, but I didn’t expect to capture much.

It wasn’t long until I came upon this yellow Ford GT. In between people surrounding it for photos and such, and as the light was bidding farewell, I grabbed this image. I set my camera on “shutter priority” mode and adjusted it to the lowest setting I knew that I could still handhold it on for a steady image. The built in “Vibration Reduction” of my Nikon allowed me to handhold the camera with a ¼ of a second shutter speed and still capture a relatively sharp image.

My viewing monitor flips out and pivots up or down which allows me to capture the creative angles many of you have been wondering about.

Lake Mirror Classic

This weekend was the Lake Mirror Classic here in Lakeland. Me and my friend Ebenezer attended on Saturday, to drool over all the amazing autos that would be on display in the closed off streets and around the lake.

We first met up for breakfast at Denny’s around 9:00am to seize the day with a good meal. We then ventured down town to the show of dream machines. Since a lot of streets were closed and so many people were in attendance for this, it was a challenge to find a place to park. No matter what, we knew we’d be doing a lot of walking. After driving around for a few minutes with Ebenezer following behind me, we finally found an empty parking lot a few blocks from the event.

It was now time to begin our quest to behold the beauties of transportation. Soon we we’re gazing upon a Saleen S7 and talking to a few owners of Dodge Vipers. They bragged of how the car would handle at 170. We later gawked at a yellow Ford GT racing car and admired a new Bentley Continental GT. It was very hot outside that day, so we were soon looking for some ice cold aqua! We found some and downed them in no time! Later, we looked at some Ferrari’s. Eb referred to the rear engine on one that you could view through glass as a “sleeping beast”.

By this time, the sun was directly over head. Not only did it feel like it was melting me, but even worse, it did not lend to good photographs. One of the redeeming qualities though, is that with this much sun, you can set the aperture to it’s smallest setting and obtain long depths of field (lots of things in focus). In cases like this, getting a sharp image, is not going to be one of your problems. Some of the challenges I did have though, was getting too much glare or catching people’s reflections in the paint finishes. That’s one of the reasons I like shooting “personality” shots of vehicles at shows, because of how difficult it is to get a complete view of the car without showing other people in the shot.

As we were getting ready to leave the lake area, I spotted this vintage Porsche racing car. It’s almost paint less body with the number 32 on the hood stuck out to me. For some reason, it’s one of my favorite images I captured that day. My younger cousin Bradley saw this image and said it looked like a type of shark.

The Magician

That’s what I’ve always called this shot. Ebenezer looks like a magician who’s reaching out to turn you into a rabbit. I could see the poster headline now. “Come be Dazzled and Amazed at Sites You Have Never Beheld!”

Eb has become one of my good friends over the past year and a half. He’s a fellow Bachelor, so often times we’ll grab a bite to eat together, sometimes taco bell, sometimes Pizza, sometimes who knows what else. Yes, we are definitely Bachelors as you can tell by our wonderful cuisine. We also usually take in a cool DVD. Of course this is all when he’s not spending time with his girl, Alexis.


...On a side note, check out a fun interview I did for "Luce" of the "HomeSchoolNerd" Blog.

Petrie

I took this photo of my friend Patricia about three years ago. A lot has changed for her since then. She is now a wife to my friend Jonathan and a Mom to a very cute little baby boy named Josiah.

Patricia’s nick name from college was “Petrie” (pronounced peetrie). Named after the little pterodactyl from “The Land Before Time” animated movie series. Patricia played basketball for Southeastern University and because of her petite size, she acquired the nick name.

For this photo, I was standing on a bench and had Patricia sit in the grass behind it.

Man of Mystery

From age 15 to 19, my best friend was Todd. We shared a lot of the growing pains of becoming men. We mainly shared laughter, which I often thought of as the foundation of our friendship, that and God. Me and Todd were always laughing at inside jokes or creating new ones.

I’m glad I had a friend like that to help get me through those, sometimes tough and awkward, teen years. Since then, life has taken us in different directions. I was blessed though to be the Best Man in his wedding in November of 2004. I got the call and flew up to Pennsylvania to be a part of his historical day. He now has two children, a boy and a girl.

One thing about it, Since our teens, Todd has become difficult to get in touch with. That’s why the title of this post is not only appropriate for the image, but also for him.

I captured this image in the middle of 1998. We were at my parents house. Back then, they had not built a deck yet, it was just one big drop off the back of their house. I seen Todd sitting down there with that hat on and saw “an image”. This is one of the early glimpses of my “eye” for photography.

A photo that I took a few years later reminds me of this image. It’s one of my friend Patricia that I took during a game of chess. Because of the positioning of her head, you can not see her face. I link the two images because they are both of people who have been good friends to me in my life. The image does not completely reveal their identity, but I know who they are.

I could tell you so many stories involving Todd. I’m glad he’s been a part of my history.

Three Nails

This image was captured during a hike I took with my close friends, David and Michele, in the Ocala National Forest here in Florida. This hike was a return visit to the Florida forest for me and Dave, but a first time experience for Michele.

The first time me and David took this six hour hike was during a very humid time of year. I remember Dave telling me to bring lots of water to drink and some snacks to eat. So, I brought a few fruit bars and a couple bottles of water. When we began our adventure early in the morning, the day was fresh and exciting as we trudged through the sandy terrain. Once in a while we would come upon a Banana Spider’s web draped across the walking path. Sometimes you wouldn’t know it was there until it was right in front of you. Weirdly, that was pretty much the only wildlife we saw in this particular forest.

By late morning, we found a hilly area off the beaten path that we decided to explore. I remember waiting quietly up on a hill with David as horse back riders passed by unaware of our presence. For a moment we imagined what it must have been like to be Native Americans getting ready to ambush passing by settlers. Of course there was no “ambushing” going on this day.

On the other side of this hill was a steep drop off and then another series of hilly terrain. Me and Dave took turns sliding down and jumping across to the adjacent embankment. Even though I’d been drinking lots of water and eating a few of the fruit bars that I had brought along, I had been sweating all morning and was beginning to lack proper amounts of sugar and salt in my body. Unbeknownst to me, dehydration was coming upon me. Pretty soon I began to feel noshes. The rest of the hike became a major challenge to me. David let me have some Gatorade, which I should have brought instead of water. He also gave me an energy bar, which I should have brought instead of those fruit bars. I finally made it out of there, and the challenge only added to the adventure and memories of that day.

The next time we went, it wasn’t any where near as hot. This hike was more pleasant and Michele came along with us.

The image above is of a cross that David wears all the time. I like this image because it shows an object that normally doesn’t get to be viewed in such detail. I also like how David just happened to be wearing red that day which can represent the blood that Christ shed on the cross for you and me.

Check out David’s illustration Blog, “Cartoon Ninja”!

The Deer Hunter

During a visit with my parents in Pennsylvania during 2005, me and my step Dad whom I call Dad, went for a walk one evening. He was taking a plastic chair to place in a tree stand that he uses for deer hunting. I had taken my camera hoping to capture something cool. As we walked through the woods up on a ridge, we stumbled upon a deer skull that was a remnant from one of the deer my Dad had harvested the year before. As the sun was beginning to set, I seized the opportunity to capture this unique image.

I never really had a person to call “Dad” growing up, because of my parents marriage dissipating before I was one year old. I never lacked anything though, because my Grandparents helped my Mom raise me. I had a very good childhood as a result. My Mom finally found my Dad when I was 15 years old and they have been married for 12 years now. As I’ve aged into adulthood, I’ve seen how my Dad has taken good care of my Mom and this makes me glad. They both have been through divorce and I’m very happy they have each other.

Recently I was listening to some people complain about marriage. As I listened to these jaded individuals, I had to think of how there are plusses and minuses to everything in life. There are many things in life that are wonderful, but also have their own challenges just the same. There are challenges to being single and as I’ve observed in others lives, there are challenges to being married.

Another thought that came to my mind as I listened to these individual’s discontentment, was that no matter what circumstances we live in, we need Christ to truly bring life to it. It is through Him that anything is truly good. We could have anything in this world, but if we don’t have Christ, we won’t have true life or joy. This is why I can be happy in my singleness and it’s also why I will have an amazing marriage some day! It’s through my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Check out my Dad’s Blog, he’s the one and only "Salty".

Ms. Nash

Classic car hood ornaments intrigue me. They were such works of art that celebrated the automobile and the driving experience. While at the 2005 Lake Mirror Classic, I stumbled upon this lovely lady on the hood of a 1955 Nash. I don’t think I had ever seen a Nash before or at least one of this year. I actually didn’t even get the name of the car that day. I wanted to find out what make it was for this post, so I googled classic car hood ornaments. One of the sites that came up had one of these ladies within their front page graphics, “Bingo”.

I thought it was cool how this young maiden of chrome is posed in a very relaxed way as though lounging in a pool or just effortlessly gliding through the air. I also like how her pony tail is blowing in the wind. I’m sure she could tell a lot of stories... that is if chrome hood ornaments could talk!

I know I’ve been posting a lot of car photography lately, but that’s where my inspiration seems to be right now. I have to go with where my inspiration is.

Corvette Cockpit

At Old Town’s Saturday Night Cruise, you can look, but you can’t touch the beautiful automobiles that are on display there. I remember leaning over the side of a late 50’s model corvette, trying to capture the very cool gauge panel of this racing machine. As I was contorting, as to not “touch” the car, I felt the door to the convertible begin to open below me. I immediately thought that the owner wanted into his prize possession, and said to him, “Oh, I’m sorry”. He replied to me, “Why don’t you just get in, you look like your going to break your back trying to get that shot!”

So, feeling very privileged, I gladly stepped into the cockpit of this vintage racing machine and captured the image you see above.

The Chieftain

The hood ornament of a 1953 Pontiac Chieftain gleams as the rays from a Saturday afternoon sun shines through it. I had arrived at Old Town a little earlier than normal that Saturday and was able to utilize the bright sun on this classic automobile.

Snake in My Apartment

About two years ago I was sitting in the apartment of my friends, Jonathan and Patricia. As I sat there on the floor just chilling, Jonathan brought out one of his pets and placed it on the floor between us. It was his young Ball Python named Kaa. I had never handled a snake before, but that night I would. Jonathan assured me that he was friendly, and Patricia suggested that I put it on my shoulders. So, I said ok. I remember it feeling almost like a massage as the snake moved just behind my neck. For the next hour as we all watched TV, I held Kaa as he moved through my hands. I couldn’t believe I was actually handling a snake and that this one was actually friendly!

A year later as Jonathan was preparing to go to Afghanistan, they wanted to know if I would keep Kaa for the 18 months that Jonathan would be gone. Patricia already had a dog, two cats, a gerbil and fish to take care of. One less animal would be fine with her, plus she’s not wild about having to feed Kaa mice every so often.

So, for over a year, I’ve had a room mate, a three foot long Ball Python. Because snakes metabolisms are very slow, he doesn’t need to eat that often. Two mice every two weeks or more seemed to be just right for him. As you can imagine, the people at the pet store got to know me a little. I always tried not to get attached to the mice when I brought them home. I like all animals, but for Kaa to live, he needed mice.

To quote Answers.com, “Ball Pythons are commonly owned snakes due to their personalities.” Kaa has never bit me, his first reaction is to jerk away from what startles him or coil into a ball, thus the name “Ball” Python.

It’s been fun, but it’s time to give my little friend back to Jonathan this weekend. People have asked me if I would get a snake of my own. I wouldn’t mind having my own Ball Python, but the truth is, girls normally don’t like snakes and if I had to choose between a snake or a girl…sorry Kaa.

P.S. Since posting this, something happened that changed some of the facts stated in my story. Please see my second response comment posted on September 21.

A Man and His Steed

Mark is one of the friends in my “inner circle”. I have a lot of people that I know and consider friends, but I have a smaller group of friends that really know who I am. These are the people that I can share my heart with. People that encourage me and are concerned about me. People that know were I’ve come from and can see where I’m headed.

This is off on a slight tangent, but still on my inner circle. I’ve been walking through life with most of this group for almost six years, but towards the end of last year, I came to know how good of friends I have. One week I was going through something that really had me distraught. That Wednesday night we had Bible study at David and Michele’s house. They could tell I wasn’t myself as I didn‘t want anything to munch on and more so than that, I‘m sure they could see it on my face. I did have some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had that night though! I mentioned that fact and Michele said she made it from scratch. When I was getting ready to leave, Michele asked me if I was ok and if I needed to talk. At first I nonchalantly said, “oh, I don’t even know if I want to talk about it”, trying to hide how I was really feeling and the fact that I really did need to talk about it. She said, “You can, we’re family”. So, I bared my soul with my close family of friends and they gave me Godly counsel that encouraged me and lifted my spirit.

That’s what I mean in my profile when I say “I've especially realized over the last year that they really are there for me when I need it.” And there has been a few more times this year when they have been there for me again and again. God has truly blessed me to have these people to walk through life with. Everything I believe deep down, they share with me. The things I’m hoping for, they hope with me. When I celebrate, they celebrate with me.

The image above is from a photo session I did with Mark and his horse Banner a few years ago. Mark was prepping Banner for some obedience training as I focused on them. I saw Mark give an interesting look over his shades at something and “click”, I had captured one of my favorite images of Mark and Banner together.

I Remember

As I readied to pour milk into a cereal bowl a week ago, something within this simple action, triggered a memory. The expiration date on the milk jug read “Sep 11”. At that moment, I thought of how that particular date is now forever a reminder of the horror that took place in our nation that day as we were attacked.

I’ll never forget how my coworkers and I sat in disbelief as we heard news of a plane that flew into a building and then a second. We later heard news of “fires at the Pentagon”, news that wasn’t completely telling of what had actually happened there. America was under attack as we sat in our then windowless office. It almost took on a “Bomb Shelter” feel as we listened to the horrors that unfolded on the radio.

After hearing of death all morning, I remember telling my friend David of how I was just happy to be alive. I remember my girlfriend at the time, calling me up at work and asking me if I was alright. We’re in Florida, but with so much tragedy happening that morning, no one knew if they were completely safe!

I remember just sitting with the TV off that night, looking at photo albums with my girlfriend, just trying to take our minds off of the tragedies that had taken place that day. I had a worship CD that I had just bought, playing as well, it was a much needed listen and mental redirection.

I remember flying commercial airlines just four days after 9/11. I was scheduled to meet my family up north for vacation. My flight had already been moved ahead one day because of a hurricane that came through that Friday. A hurricane that probably got the least amount of attention that one has had in years before or since.

I remember the flight attendees being mostly male and paying close attention to everyone that boarded that plane. I also remember laying my head back against the head rest and thanking God for protecting us as we touched down at our destination.

I, like the rest of America will always remember the day that our freedom and every good thing we stand for was attacked.

I remember.

Come Fly with Me

Here’s one of my favorite images I’ve captured at Old Town‘s Saturday Night Cruise. I like getting shots that not many people think to get as they pass by these classic cars. Many just see the car as a whole, but for me, certain design characteristics jump out. Maybe it’s a fender, a head light, a hood ornament or an emblem. I love taking these design aspects and turning them into works of art. In this particular image, I wanted to give the feeling that this airplane was going to take to the skies and fly right off the hood of this classic Ford.

The “Cruise” is the largest “weekly” car show in America with an average turn out of 325 classic automobiles per Saturday night! The parking and admission is free and the inspiration is bountiful.

Off Duty but Still Shining

I was almost home last night when something caught my eye on the side of the road. There, glowing in the darkness, was a massive pile of construction barrels with their yellow lights still shining. Barrels that once took up residence on my street as it was being widened, now huddled together in abandonment, 30 feet from the road. I took a double take as I passed by on the opposite side of the street, it was such a unique site.

As I pulled into my apartment complex just a block down from the scads of glowing barrels, I knew I had to go back there and photograph this peculiar image. So, I ran to my apartment, grabbed my camera and tripod, then headed back to the site on foot. As I drew near to the pile, I stepped off the side walk onto bare ground. I noticed as I walked that it was really more sand than anything as is most of our “dirt” down here in Florida. It brought back memories of being a kid actually, because it smelled like a sand box in this area.

It was now just me and the mound of lighted barrels, off duty from the stretch of road that had just been completed! A few dogs that lived near by through some trees sensed my presence and began to bark occasionally. Once in a while, a car would go by, they were probably wondering what in the world I was doing, or maybe just thought I was with the construction company, who knows?

Since I was using a tripod for a long exposure, I set the ISO on my camera at 50 to prevent as much “digital noise” as possible. One thing that annoys me, is digital noise, the equivalent to “film grain”. For normal shooting, I usually use an ISO of 200. I then set the camera’s shooting settings to “aperture priority”, this would give me an automatic reading of how many seconds the camera wanted for proper exposure. It said “8” seconds first with a wide aperture. So, I tried 8, but ended up shooting most of the images at 4 seconds like the one above.

I guess the construction crew wanted the batteries of the lights drained by morning? Whatever the reason, it created a photo opportunity for me!

Lake Mirror

One of the many lakes in the city I live in is Lake Mirror. It is accompanied by Hollis Garden which is home to many beautiful flowers and is a venue for many weddings. As I went down there tonight in hopes of finding some good subjects to photograph I noticed a lot of people gathering at Hollis. It wasn’t long until I saw a sign right in front of me that read “Wedding in Progress, Please be Courteous”.

Since I couldn’t explore Hollis because of the ceremony, I decided to walk around Lake Mirror to see what I would find. As I walked, nothing really seemed to present itself. I spotted a cool turtle in the water, but he was a little too far out, the lighting was a little too dim and he vanished beneath the surface before I could get any type of shot. As I headed back from whence I came, feeling a little disappointed and ready to give up for the evening, the sky began to look amazing. It was then my shot presented itself! I took advantage of the moment and began to shoot different compositions, making sure I captured this beautiful scene.

Hot Rod Dreams

Like a Pied Piper, a Hot Rod seems to lure people unto it. Isn’t it really the child inside of us that loves a cool looking ride? As I observed this young boy walking up to this beautiful machine, I wanted to capture the relationship between a cool car and a child. For it’s as a child that the love and appreciation for a great looking automobile begins. This rod seems to have it’s own unique personality as it sits there under the close observation and admiration of all who pass by it. “Come look at me” it beckons, and the boy responds.

I took this image almost two years ago during one of my Saturday night ventures into “Old Town” in Kissimmee Florida. I usually shoot a lot of up close “personality” shots of the classic cars, images that exclude the many people who view these vehicles every Saturday night. I had to capture this moment in more of an “environment” shot.

You can view more of my photos from Old Town in my June Archives under the “Auto Art” post. www.chadoneil.blogspot.com/2006/06/auto-art.html

What Will I Be Given Today?

You never know what each day holds. I read a quote recently by a famous photographer named Minor White who said “What will I be given today?” I think that’s a pretty universal statement about life. I remember stopping in a store at the Mall during one of my frequent trips to the food court for lunch. Me and my coworkers jokingly refer to it as our company’s cafeteria because it’s only two miles from our business and many of us go there a lot for lunch. Anyway, I had stopped in a store on impulse before we headed back to the office and found a cool clock that I had no idea that I would be buying that day. You can see a photo of this clock on my first post in the archives. Even though it was just a simple purchase of a small clock, I remember thinking how you never know what each day will bring.

The same can be said for photo shoots, you never know what image will come to you. Sometimes I find myself thinking “what can I photograph, I need to get a cool new image for my Blog” or whatever. I then think of how if I want to get some cool new images, I need to go on a shoot somewhere and let the images “come to me”. Another pic on my first post (check it out if you haven’t!), the one of the construction wheel, was another image that “came to me”, I wasn’t expecting to create “that image” that day, I couldn’t have predicted it. The same goes for the little guy on the flower above. I was photographing some flowers in a local public garden when this little bee happened to be on some flowers.

You never know what image your going to capture nor what each day holds for you.

“What will I be given today?”

Swamp Thing

They say that if there is a body of fresh water here in Florida, there is a good chance that it is inhabited by the giant carnivorous reptiles known as alligators. There’s a park with a lake near where I live that is home to many “water birds” and of course alligators. At this park, you commonly see Great Egrets and Blue Herons stalking the shore line ever so stealthily to catch some dinner, but you won’t always see an alligator. The gators are more active in the evening and thus the park closes at sun down.

On one particular evening, as I was walking up to a foot bridge that crosses a small inlet of water, something caught my eye. A young alligator, probably around a foot in length, was peeking through the water near the bank on the “swamp side” of the bridge. I could not resist this moment. So, I “cautiously” moved down to the bank, trying to make sure there wasn’t any “BIG” gators around and trying not to scare the little guy away. I got within about five feet of him and zoomed in as close as I could with my camera. I just had time to take two shots when “plop”, he submerged beneath the murky water and was gone!

Fill My Cup

Here’s another image I captured while visiting my parents in Pennsylvania. I was wondering around trying to create something interesting one evening and saw this water faucet in my parents garden. Since the sun was beginning to lower in the sky, I thought it would be cool to capture a silhouette of the lone object. I had to shoot from a low angle and through the fence to showcase the faucet without including any distracting elements.

When I look at this image I think of a song that I’ve been listening to recently. “Fill My Cup” by Paul Colman. Paul is an Australian who was formerly of the “Paul Colman Trio” later went “solo” and is now playing guitar for one of my favorite bands “Newsboys” who are made up of a few “Aussies” as well.

The song just talks about Christ filling our empty hearts up with His “running water” of life. Some of the lyrics go “Fill my cup to the top, with running water, call me out and show me how”. There‘s so many times I need God to do that in me, that's why I relate so much to this song.

Paul Colman originally performed this song when he was with his “trio” of musicians. Follow this link to see a cool video of him doing a solo “acoustic” version of “Fill My Cup”. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zgyky56A4c

Youtube.com is so cool by the way, if you've never explored it by searching for whatever, give it a try!