Thursday, August 19, 2010

What we do.

Car show season is the absolute best time of the year. Even though I don't go to as many shows as I used to, when I can it's always a reminder of what gets me going. Anything I have going on with my own projects gets ramped up in my mind and I get inspired to get things done for the last show or so of the year. This past weekend was one of my favorite smaller shows, VAG Fair, which takes place in York Pa. My buddy Cory Sterling puts this show on and has done a bang up job promoting it, as well as getting vendors and organizing new events to keep growing the show annually; this is the 4th year of VAG Fair.

For those unaware 'VAG' is an abbreviation for 'Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft' (later titled Volkswagen AG or VW AG), which literally equates the parent company of VW that oversees all 300 plus companies responsible for manufacturing as well as financial services. For enthusiasts, however, 'VAG' translates into Volkswagen and Audi automobiles which we all love and own. I usually try to bring out some new design variation of my 98' Golf for every season, hell every show if possible, but unfortunately wasn't able to pull it off this year as I'm knee deep in a new project. No worries though, I drove my Golf out as it sat and looked forward to checking out what the regulars and newcomers have brought to the table.

The turnout was bigger than last year, and last year was huge. The weather was dry for once in three years which was nice, but the clouds rolled in soon after mid-day. I was pretty motivated to shoot a lot this year and paid for it in editing ha. Here's a taste of the event.












While not all of you (my readers) are into cars, I'm sure you can still appreciate people who put great effort and passion into personal projects as well as put them out there for others to embrace, critique and judge. Judgement of others' asthetic decisions aside, the thing that makes events like these awesome are the local/non-local friends you get to see and speak to (offline), socialize and spend time with. Even when there isn't a show, there are still about 60 of us at any given time, spanning ~2 countries and ~15 states, that would organize a get together regardless of weather. How is that possible you say? It isn't about the events, it's about the people, associations and more importantly friendships. Six weeks until H2oi...I can't wait.

The full album is available here.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Green Thumb - Ep.3

Since the last update about four weeks have passed. The plants have grown quite well, with the coming of more frequent rain showers adding much more nutrients to the soil than what we get from the spout a la Harford County Water & Sewer. The tomatoes have shown up in bunches and we had the fortune of picking the first two larger maters' you saw in the  previous post, perfectly vine ripened and delicious (see week 8 below). Beth ended up slipping me some home grown (initially) without my knowledge, via a salad, a couple days later. If we had more potted area to do so, I would've liked to have a couple more plants to up the bounty. We're in August now and the plants have both hit their stride; there is now a tomato count of about 10 on each plant, the second much larger plant finally catching up in the production department. The basil is doing good as well, sending out bunched extended spears of new leaves, but now leaning in different sections mainly due to heavy winds and rain. We've had some pretty quick yet hard storms, but thankfully the stems of this plant are resilient and flexible, so nothing has been lost. On the occasions that I had the time to inspect the basil plant in detail, I've found that many different insects have made it home and/or a place to acquire food.


Here is the latest break down of progress:

Week 7:


Week 8:


Week 9:


In the second to last shot from week 9 you can see how much the larger of our two tomato plants has perched itself on top of our decks railing in a few places; these spots are literally load-bearing as the tomatoes beneath them have gotten heavy. Beth tied the left most branch to the railing to help support it through wind gusts. Two delicious tomatoes have been harvested at this point, about 20 are around the corner with a few more showing up every week. It's been a successful outing thus far. I wonder how the radishes are doing...

Monday, August 9, 2010

Unusual Suspects.

Sometimes when taking pictures you find yourself drawn not just to in-animate objects or human subjects, but rather wildlife from big to small. Typically the smaller the creature the safer the task and the more likely you'll be able to capture it behind the lens, so choose your battles wisely ha. These are a few shots I enjoy of a variety of odd, but smaller creatures.



Stay alert; the next interesting shot you take could be just a few feet away.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Beer of the Month - August


The beer of the month for August is Stella Artois Pilsener. SA is one of my absolute favorites; I had it for the first time in 07' and never looked back. Light yet definitive flavor, refreshing and a clean finish, brewed in Belgium, nationally imported by Anheuser-Busch. This is a beer that can be called upon in any situation, with any food, for any occasion, but purchase should be paced in the same way as mini-vacations or a nice dinner out shout be. Not because of cost, rather it's that good. If $10 six packs are a problem for you, hopefully graduation from college and a job is around your corner. Put your econo-brew down and treat yourself. Getting a pint via draft in a nice bar is even better as SA glasses are pretty sweet. 4 stars, obviously!

Capturing Life's Fabric with Technology.