Category Archives: Bad Photography

After much practice, I finally graduated from the use of a cell-phone, but to be honest the setting on my camera is pretty much stuck on ‘Auto’.

Ship Creek Trail in Anchorage

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 16 Comments

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Sometimes I get lucky.

Sometimes I get lucky.

Ship Creek Trail near downtown Anchorage is always good for a nice walk, even in the winter. It’s at least a little odd, because there are always factories and warehouses just beyond the trees, and of course downtown is never far away, but the trees and the water work their magic quite wonderfully.

In the summer a small shack sells fishing gear near the bottom of the trail, and a good day will see plenty of people hoping to catch something, or perhaps to just pass a little time with a rod in hand. Alongside the shack, one finds an upscale restaurant on a low bridge, all of this under an overpass. The end result is an oddly rustic (almost rural) scene nestled snug into a concrete frame. The restaurant is only open for 3-months of the year

I’ve wandered down this route a time or three now and managed to get a few decent pictures. So, let’s see…

(If you click it, it will grow!)

Ship Creek in August

Ship Creek in December

Uncommonday, Road Trip!

09 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Uncommonday

≈ 11 Comments

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???????????????????????????????

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This summer, I drove all the way from Anchorage to Houston.

It took about an hour.

.

.

I missed the main residential district, but I did stop to enjoy an apple pie in a lovely restaurant by a beautiful pond. Anyway, this is my second Houston. I think I like it.

…or at least its pies and its ponds.

 

 

Finding Your Inner Southitude: The Adventures of Lobster-Boy and His Poor Companions

03 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Museums, Native American Themes, Write Drunk, Edit Stoned

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Looking up at the Institute of American Indian Arts

Looking up at the Institute of American Indian Arts

Sleep done left me now on accounta the kids. Not my kids, but they stare at me all day now and mostly frown. I do my best to inflict knowledge upon them, but my evil plans are often foiled by the mysteries of the modern world, …or at least the iphone.

It fills and protects their minds even when it stays in the room!

Some might call it a field trip; I call it a collective loss of Northitude. Alternatively, we could call it turning the heat up on the ice people. It’s also called visiting some folks I happen to think a lot of, but let us save sense and seriositude for another day.

Haven’t traveled with teens since I was one. Its an experience…

“When do we board?”

God may not exist but middle seats are pretty close to proof that the Devil is alive and busy issuing boarding passes. I think he also designs the help pages for Microsoft!

I miss the gargle-bunkies and my bloggetry has gotten sloppy. Classes need work and my ecological footprint is a big boot stomp on everything I love. For now, I am Southward, …and I have hostages!

“Hey, shouldn’t we be boarding soon?”

The rules are as follows:

1) Control of musical decisions belongs to the teenagers in the vehicle. Volume is negotiable.

2) Sarcasm is a given.

3) “Family” doesn’t mean what I think it means.

4) Failure to follow rule 1 is the first step to tears and fears, but no beers, not even one.

What the Hell? Hostages aren’t supposed to make the rules! One of the kids decides to throw me a bone and plays Madonna, (cause I’m old). This does NOT make me feel shiny and new.

Precedent argues strongly for the use of a scowl in conjunction with a stern ‘No’, all of which is best delivered in response to a perfectly reasonable question. I am apparently a bad influence, and I’m almost sorry about that.

“So what time do we board?”

Santa Fe is a wonderful place to visit. Taos Pueblo and the Institute for American Indian Arts are always beautiful places. Watching my students eat Frito pies for the very first time in the front yard of our host and guide brings the beauty up a notch for me. Knowing they aren’t used to the spice is pure joy. …Yes, I’m a bad man.

“Are we boarding soon?”

Seriously, I can’t believe I am driving by so many public murals without even getting my camera out. …I got a couple of them, though, yes, I did.

The doc says I gotta eat more bananas, and my friend owes me a beer, but never mind the beer and the friend, doc says what? She tells me all about the changes in my near future as I look down at my dinner and realize that I am presently eating about the only meal in a month that might pass muster. …except for the noodles, of course.

“Seriously, when are we gonna get on the plane?”

Project Runway aside, it’s probably best to leave the gay bar off the agenda. Angry parents sound like Jaws music. The Elvis Shrine is a big can-do, and Goose is the coolest!

…and the whole thing leads us to old Santa Ana Pueblo, fittingly, during the Feast of St. Anne. So, there we find ourselves sitting at the dining table of a wonderful host, looking over more dishes than any one of us could possibly sample. It wasn’t a week ago that I found myself eating Ugruk (seal) at Nalukataq (the Spring Whaling Festival). Now I am sitting here finishing off a bowl of red chili that proved a bit too much for one of my students, and thinking how wonderful this is. Some days (and especially feast days) it’s a good day to know indigenous people. I can only hope our little trip to the sun and the spicy food finds its way into the “worthwhile” bin amongst the learning lessons of my students. …and that there is more chili to be had.

It is a bit hot outside, and my students are holding the car keys hostage in the hopes that I will show mercy.

“There will be no more ice people if you melt us!”

I can’t help but laugh.

“Has the flight been delayed; when are we gonna board?”

I’m bringing back one demon girl, but another now knows how to feed a hundred Indians with 50 pieces of Fry-bread. Empirical proof of the former is confirmed, but we are still waiting on the latter.

“Seriously, when are we gonna board?”

…and Northitude returns with sleep soon to follow.

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The Museum of Contemporary Native American Arts

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The New Mexico Museum of Art (with a fantastic exhibition by Peter Sarkisian).

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The Pecos Historical Park

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Random Murals

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Unhumorous Point of Partial Clarification: I generally don’t show pictures of students, colleagues, etc. This is just a matter of personal respect. They have signed up for work or study with the school, not a command appearance in my personal blog. …also, I have no pictures from Santa Ana or Taos Pueblo. Those would not be appropriate for an entirely different set of reasons.

Yes, I wore sunscreen

Yes, I wore sunscreen

Hats and umbrellas are frowned upon during the Feast of St. Anne. Oddly enough 4 Alaskan Natives and a Tongan don’t burn as easily as a balding white guy who normally wears a hat.

Who’da thunk it?

Vegas Street Art 3, …but First a Couple Pigeons!

21 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Street Art

≈ 5 Comments

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Hot Birds!

Hot Birds!

Just how hot was Vegas this June? Well, just ask the pigeons.

Seriously, ask the pigeons.

My Vegas vacation this year wasn’t entirely a story of hyper-heatitation (it’s a word now, dammit!). My Vegas Vegation was also a story of big-ass moons, …which I failed to capture, of my friend’s Pathfinder campaign, and my Sister’s new truck. Before that it was a story of her grand-daughter, and of course it was also a story of street-performers and odd museums. It was definitely a story of Mongolian grills, Korean BBQ, and of the Komol Kitchen, …which makes the best Tom Yum Ghai Soup in the fricking Milky Way. It was also a few stories best left untold.

Okay, the untold stories aren’t that exciting. No slot machines were hassled and no hangovers were harmed in the preparations for this post.

But, more to the point, it was also a story of street art. Of course, I had already covered much of the street art in Vegas here and here. I did manage to find a few pieces I hadn’t covered before, including a wonderful historical piece in Henderson by an artist named Giuseppe Abriu. Some of them even appear to be new. So, without further mumbly -gumbo…

A Tale of Two Beaches

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography

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I’m busy flying about with a small cadre of students (got to catch up on some comments from earlier posts), but I thought I’d share a couple photos with a nice bit of contrast. Okay, so this many jelly-fish isn’t a common sight on our beach, but then again neither is my friend Lauri.

Laguna beach, June 2013

North Slope, July 2013

North Slope, July 2013

A Brief Lapse in Sarcasm and a Moment of Unabashed Provincialism

25 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography

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ChicagoaginI spent 3 years in Chicago. I well remember how miserable that first few months happened to be. I had plenty of cause to gripe, but truth be told that didn’t quite explain my mood. I couldn’t quite get a handle on what had me so down, but I learned a thing about the matter when I stepped off the plane in Corpus Christi, Texas, and suddenly felt better. I remember just standing there on the tarmac, trying to figure out what was different.

Then I saw it. Only it wasn’t anything specific, but I saw it just the same.

For the first time in months, I could see for miles. In Chicago my view of the skies had been blocked by sky-scrappers, and dense cloud-cover had blocked what little was left of the skies. I hadn’t seen much of the sun in close to a month, but there it was, right where I had grown accustomed to seeing it, along with all that space. And that alone seemed quite sufficient to lift a load off my back.

It was a lesson well learned, though it certainly surprised to me at the time. Place mattered to me, and open skies seemed to be a big part of what gave a place it’s worth in my estimation.

***

I had recently forgotten how much I miss the Southwestern skies. The clouds always seem so much further up in the sky than they do in Alaska. Now that I am down here again, I remember just how beautiful the sunsets can be in these parts. Whether the day went well or worse, they can certainly put a warm finish on it.

(Simon says “Click to embiggen!”)

 

Of course now that I am down here I also miss the arctic skies. The clouds always seem so near the ground, it feels like you could just reach out and touch them. Time and again, I have taken pictures of something else, only to find the Alaskan sky has stolen the show. I will see these skies again soon.

I can’t wait.

 

The Village of Wainwright, Alaska

26 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 41 Comments

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Wainwright Street

Wainwright Street

As I’m away from the North Slope at the moment, I find myself looking at photos and such. This afternoon, I am looking at pictures of pictures of the village of Wainwright. I have been there a couple times, in the late summers of 2011 and 2012.

Wainwright is located on the coast (of course). It has a population of a little over 500, but the first time I visited the place I could have sworn it was a ghost town. I literally couldn’t see anyone on the streets. I learned later that folks were probably out hunting, and in any event people began to show up on the streets that afternoon.

I always think it’s fun to just zoom out from these little maps one click at a time. If it doesn’t show, then hit refresh.

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You may of course click on a pic to embiggen it.

…and of course the flight out (not the best video, but it’s kinda neat to see the tundra from above).

A Couple More Murals and a Squirrel from Denver, no the one is not a Self Portrait

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 13 Comments

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I call them Love and Peace

I call them Love and Peace

As it happens Denver becomes Vegas and my mind is still on a few things. One of them was an angry squirrel (evidently I was supposed to donate peanuts or something). I really miss the mild temperatures, because Vegas has grown more cruel since I moved to Alaska. Denver was perfect; Vegas is sweltering. Seriously, could someone please turn down the sun?

In any event, I am not well away from the Rocky Mountains and looking over my cache of photos. I thought I’d post a few fun ones, mostly street art. The parks and the mountains were gorgeous. It’s also funny how fascinating trees become when you don’t see them for half the year, but I’ll spare the bulk of these photos. Mostly, you get the art.

Never did get a chance to order from Sexy Pizza.

…dammit!

Here we go… (Click to embiggen!)

Spring in Barrow and the Sudden Onset of Southitation!

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 31 Comments

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Sun Dogs 2

Sun Dogs 2

The last couple weeks have been a bit of a blur, what with the end of the semester, several work-related projects, and plenty of random events.

The ocean has been unusually interesting this Spring. By ‘unusually interesting’ I mean ‘rather disturbing’. As mentioned in a previous post, the ice pack had shorn off rather early this year and very close to the shore. That isn’t entirely unheard of, but it is very unusual. It’s particularly problematic for the whaling crews as they hunt from the ice in the Spring. It didn’t take too long for the ice to flow back in and begin bonding with the shore-fast. It even piled up a bit at the meeting point, but the overall effect was a little thin. And by ‘thin’ I mean ‘dangerous’. I understand the ice was still fairly solid out North toward the point, but all-in-all folks seemed a little hesitant this year. As I left Barrow, the whaling crews had begun the hunt, and people were out on the ice.I can only hope they stay safe.

…and bring home the muktuk.

One day, I saw the most amazing ice-bow. It lasted only a minute or so, and I didn’t have my camera or my phone, …cause I suck. But I took my camera the next day when a sun halo came out, complete with a pair of perfect sun dogs. I caught those pics from the school van.

So, here I sit on the 14th floor of an apartment complex in Denver. I’ve finally slept off the jet lag, and I’m starting to think about stuff to do for the day. My head is still in Barrow, not the least of reasons being that I brought unfinished work with me. I miss my cats, but I’m waiting for someone wonderful.

Civilization is beginning to seep into my thick skull, and I’m taking in the new setting. I’ve seen more people in the last day than I have all winter. Plus a fly! I saw a fly. It flew right past me, as if to say; “yes Dan, we still exist.” I don’t miss bugs, really I don’t.

On the other, hand last night’s chicken satay was amazing.

Arctic Graffiti!

22 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 30 Comments

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Beware to look at the snow; the snow looks back at you!

Beware to look at the snow; the snow looks back at you!

The other day I opened an email from a friend in the lower 48. It said; “-28, wow!” I had no idea what he was trying to tell me. Turns out, he had looked up the current temperature in Barrow.

Hey, look graffiti!

…sort of.

(Click to embiggen!)