Joplin tornado destruction

This is a photo from Joplin, Missouri, May 25, 2011. Joplin was struck by an EF-5 tornado.

Testing a new layout today -- it'll make older posts look a little stupid, but going forward, all images need to be large.

Quite the truck

Hipstamatic shot of a storm chasing truck we found at the National Storm Chasing convention in Denver, Colorado. I think this is one of Tim Samaras's vehicles.

Got a pen?

Found this awesome wall of ballpoint pens inside a trendy retro / antique store in the Old Market of Omaha. This is only about 1/5 of the wall; it went on for quite a long way.

Hipstamatic kitty

Like I said, really digging this hipstamatic app. Cats are pretty much my kryptonite -- so even if they're cliche, I usually find myself wanting to take pics of them. Found this little guy hiding today.

Digging Hipstamatic

I've been playing around with the iPhone app "Hipstamatic". For a $2 program ($7 if you purchase all the available add-ons), this is a heck of a fun way to mess around with what is essentially a cell phone camera.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz

We recently visited a friend who runs a barbershop (The Beard and Mane) in Omaha; his shop is like stepping back in time. Included with a shave and a haircut is a good old fashioned vibrating scalp massage, using a vintage scalp vibrator. Now that's service!

Interesting building near the railyard in Ravenna, NE. Shot with a 1949 Argus C3 on Kodak ProImage 100.

ISS Flyover: Day 2

Thanks to orbital mechanics, I got to have a second go at shooting the ISS on Feb 23. I gave up on the telephoto and went with the superwide.

ISS Flyover

Man, you really need a longer lens for this. Tried doing this with a Canon 70-200 @ 200 with a 1.4x teleconverter. Flew over Kearney, Nebraska on Feb 22 (Feb 23 GMT time).:

Ducts

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I ARE SULLEN GULL

I didn't know it was possible for a Seagull to look sullen, but there you go. Click to enlarge.

San Francisco Financial District

A shot of the skyline of San Francisco, California. This is looking up Market Street and was shot from Twin Peaks, which is (I think) one of the better spots to photograph the entirety of San Francisco from. Click to enlarge.

Sequoia Clovers

Today's photo is of Sequoia clovers -- I need to research these more, but apparently these are actually part of the Giant Sequoia life process. Shot these in Muir Woods in California; click to enlarge.

A couple of Sacramento HDR photos

Here's a couple of HDR shots of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California. Assembled in CS5, these photos were created with 20+ individual exposures each. Click to enlarge.

Joy!

A woman running through the waves of the Pacific for the first time. Click to enlarge.

Bay Bridge

A shot of San Francisco Bay Bridge. Years ago, I visited San Francisco on a clear, non-hazy day -- at the time, I had no idea what a rare thing that was! I wish I could go back in time and visit all these vistas on one of those crystal clear days.

Click to enlarge.

Tending the Vines

A worker in a small tractor tends the vines at the Opus One winery in Napa Valley, California. It's amazing how much effort they put into nurturing the vines to maturity -- but as it was explained to us, because Napa wine is so well known and expensive, they can afford to aim for low yield and high quality. Other parts of California (where the vast majority of California wine is grown) tend to have to take a much more industrial approach to viticulture and are expected to get much higher yields out of a similarly sized plot of land. Click to enlarge.

City on a Hill

Today's photo is shot from near Lombard street in San Francisco. This is actually a maaaaaaasive panorama, the original of which is around 15,000 by 10,000 pixels. I believe this is Nob Hill -- it looks literally like it's own city on a hill. Click to enlarge.

"Good Life" interview

I was interviewed on Nebraska's "Good Life" yesterday -- here'a link to the clip.

I'll be giving a presentation (with lots of pictures) at the Nebraska Nature and Visitor Center (right off the Alda interstate exit/interchange) on Wednesday at 7PM. Come one, come all!

Dancing through the waves

A woman plays in the foam of the Pacific near San Francisco. Click to enlarge.