Sunday Drive

In case you thought the Gondola was an impractical tourist contrivance, observe these two gentlemen out for a peaceful Sunday paddle. 

See? They're good for navigating the open water of the lagoon, not just bouncing tourists around a narrow canal. I wonder if they're on a grocery run, getting exercise, or if they are just taking a picnic to escape their claustrophobic city.

Past the marshes, you can see a few of the buildings typical of Venice. I wonder if all of the lagoon looked like these low, muddy marshes before the venetians began to build their elaborate cities. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for the first settelers to keep warm and dry?

Floating Dream

When you think of Boston, you probably don't think too hard about what lives under her bridges. The history, the buildings, and the harbor easily pop in your head. But do you wonder what lives in the shadows with the spiders, tarry pilings, and fishing line tangles? I didn't. Yet I made one of my best Boston photos under a bridge. Even better, it was less than a five minute stroll from my hotel.

Discovering this colorful little rowboat marina made me quite happy. Were it not for the modern bridge design, you might not know what century it is under here. Discovering these beautiful wooden boats really made my day.

I made this photo by gorilla-podding my SLR to a railing and making a nice long exposure to dreamify the water and the boats. Finally, I gave it a single-exposure HDR treatment, applied some glow effects, softened the underside of the bridge, dodged and burned, added a film look, and applied a vignette.

What do you think? Do you want to take one of these boats for a tour of Boston as much as I do?

The Lovely Details of New Orleans

Every city has a little something that sets it apart from other cities. One city might sidewalks everywhere and funny-looking traffic lights. Another city might have buildings with lots of brick and wood accents. New Orleans has a lot of little somethings that make it different.

I love these tiles which mark the street names on the sidewalks of New Orleans. The idea comes from another era; these days, at best, a city might paint the name on the sidewalk, or impress it in the wet concrete.

Tiles? What if they crack, or get stolen? Practicality and fear often wins over charming and beautiful. New Orleans isn't afraid of a little impracticality for the sake of loveliness.

I also relish the design that went into the tiles. Look at that wonderful yellow outline. Look at how the width of the space and the 'I' are smaller so that the word lays out as if it were in a magazine. Lovely.

I wonder how many people have treaded over these markers without appreciating their beauty and uniqueness. You can read a bit about the tiles from the current manufacturer.

My New Camera

Since mid December, I've added a new camera to my aresenal. You can read my review and impressions of the Sony NEX-6 on Engineering Adventure. The above photo, and my photos from Journey to the Beast's Castle were taken using it. Let me know what you think!

Conference Schedule

Great American Beer Festival (GABF)

Denver, CO, September 14 - 19

An entire conference hall full of beer. Tons of presentations on every aspect of beer from aging beer, to cooking with beer, to marketing beer. Beer lunches, beer brunches, beer punches. A good time for beer nerds.

The Beer Blogger Conference

Boulder, CO, November 5 - 7 (actual days in Boulder TBD)

A conference about beer blogging, if you can believe it. These three days with the beer elite should be incredible!