some things turn out to be easier said then done...

oh man... oh man...
annoying this is annoying totally
F-ING annoying
for those that don't know
sometimes BLOGGER will remove the returns and clump my punctuationless rants into one large mass
this can happen when I
add images
this can happen when I save and return to edit
so... when adding images I do a quick
SELECT ALL and then COPY
so my words are on the CLIPBOARD and I can paste them back the way I want them
but this does me no good when I do the save to return another day
that is why there are times when a rant is one garbled mess
usually I choose not to publish the garbled mess
usually I choose not to clean
up the garbled mess

I will try to do a quick clean up of this mess
if for no other reason that I want to post this set of images

I hate the use of cliche's even if they fit so well
this is one of those
times where it seems to fit a cliche is a sentence that is an idea that works like a word
this is a time when the idea is most easily described in a cliche

so... since the shoe fits... I am using a cliche

some things are easier said then done

this is one of those times so...
so I thought I would go through my old photos and build up a little photo book
took a look at BLURB Dot Com

http://www.blurb.com/
then decided I would do it
first thing I had to do is accept that a few of my old hard drives are dead
dead with the images on them

what images are lost?

all sorts of images
a few years of images
images of bikes... images of my kids
hopefully I was saving some stuff on my home mac as well as on my kick around pc laptop
there are multiple external hard drives lots of hard drives with lots of photos
lots of photos

lots of bad photos and hopefully a few good ones

so far I have not really found any magical images
trying to find the really good ones
starting to throw out some really bad ones

but only the really really bad ones

there needs to be more quality control
quality control at all levels
it is important that I start taking less photos

take good photos and less bad photos
then delete more photos
post fewer photos

only post better photos

the captured moment of nothing is not entertaining me as much as it once was
need to try to be more selective
selective in the photos I take
more selective in the photos I
save
GB after GB of CRAP!
that will take a more conscious effort to compose better shots


recently I have been shooting more with the Rebel SLR
this camera lends itself to a different photo experience the Canon G10

the G10 is usually slung around the neck as I moved
always ready to snap
photos while I roll with the bike between my legs and the saddle underneath my seat
quick transition when I stop on the roadside
the Rebel SLR travels in a backpack in its camera bag
it would be too much to let
dangle around my neck
it would be too much of a risk to ride with this quality camera bouncing around like that

so... so I shoot differently and I shoot different things
the larger camera evokes a different response from the passing cyclist
I am less invisible
not that I was ever stealth before but the larger camera draws greater attention
an approaching cyclist may see this camera sooner which alters some of the candid potential of the process
that is all fine

that is just the way that it is

I was not looking for this old CD when I stumbled across this collection of old GWADZILLA images
it in fact I was looking for a DVD for my older son when I found these old GWADZILLA Images

each set tells a story a story of a different time a different camera and a different intention and a different effort on the computer in Photoshop
it is interesting...
lots of photos with bikes I can not remember the last time I took a bicycle without a person

the photo process has been a progression
the photo process is always a progression
the process changes
the whole experience changes

what are my current intentions with the camera?
what am I trying to capture?

US CAPITOL

some memories from these photographs...
the first shot is of the US Capitol Building
my previous job at CBS News had its interesting moments
as "the computer guy" I had to work on not just our machines in the Washington Bureau
but also all of our remote sites

which means I was in the White House, The Pentagon, SCOTUS, District Court, Department of Justice, and The US Capitol Building (just to name a few...)
I loved getting out of the office
almost always with the camera around my neck
unless in the Pentagon... no photos in the pentagon


KERRY EDWARDS
political stickers... political times
funny... things are so quickly forgotten
for 8 years I was passed fast and close by SUVs with W Stickers
now I am being passed fast and close by Subarus and Priuses with Obama stickers

SUSPICIOUS EQUIPMENT
I look at every bike
I look at every cyclist

so often it looks like a person has no business being on a certain bike
an expensive bike that is ill fitting

an expensive bike in need of minor repair
this bike has a wheel that outweighs the value of he rest of the machine

DERWIN
a few years ago a DC Courier passed away

his death was not bicycle related
but his life was bicycle related

this man and his bike was on everyone's radar
you could not help but notice the man in full camo no matter the weather
you could not help but notice the man on the bike coated in masking tape

SPOKE CARDS
each SPOKE CARD tells a story
stories I do not know
stories that could most certainly fill an evening of beers

the SPOKE CARDS carry these stories and maintain the memories
much like these photographs

TAR

you may want to do a RIGHT CLICK and then select OPEN IN ANOTHER WINDOW
you do not want to miss when Tar passes on the bike

the kid has skills... mad skills

LON IN DUPONT
Lon at Dupont at lunch
the photo process is an interactive process
the camera gives me an excuse to approach a stranger
the camera has given me the chance to make strangers friends
I always look forward to my short exchanges with Lon

TWO SETS OF IMAGES OF BIKES WITH NO PEOPLE

the bike with no rider interests me less than it once did
in the beginning I was more shy about photographing strangers
now I am more at home with it
I feel my effort is worthy of the occasional grunt or growl

LEVEL COMPONENTS
outside of 12 New Hampshire capturing a shot of a messenger who is plotting his escape
escape to another part of the country to live a different life
I wonder what happened to him


ROD AND HIS RIDE
copy...

I would add words to my images
that is Rod and that is Rod's ride
Rod was from the old school
mixing and matching messengering with making music

LOLA DOING BACKWARDS CIRCLES IN DUPONT
Lola in between runs
the messenger population is forever shrinking
the female presence is slight
the percentage may be the same
as there are fewer messengers
there are fewer female messengers

CHITO not liking his photo being taken
Chito accepting that I want to document his presence

lastly... Jesse and Chris