Toys for Tots.

Along with the inevitable self-indulgence that comes with the automotive enthusiast lifestyle, there are opportunities to turn that energy elsewhere in a positive manner. A lot of you are probably familiar with Toys for Tots (T4T), the U.S. Marine Corps run toy collection campaign with offices and local supporting organizations in all 50 states. This past Saturday I attended a T4T gathering at FDR Park in Philadelphia (PA), organized by DCI VW, a worldwide-known/active VW Enthusiast club also known as Dubsquad. The goal of this event was getting auto enthusiasts to not only get together in late November, but also contribute gifts (or money for gifts) for the many underprivileged children in the U.S. who don't have a real Christmas ahead of them.

While there are cars and the typical action you'd get from a larger Automotive gathering, the biggest difference is that it's no longer show season. Also, there's a skate park under the overpass where this event takes place, so along with auto enthusiasts you also get local skaters and bmxer's all sharing a square acre or two worth of space for an afternoon. It was initially a sunny day, but turned to overcast as time went along. That and the fact we were under a bridge, hampering ambient light, encouraged me to go B&W for most of this set.

 

It's was a surprisingly good time, mainly because friends from all over the east coast drove down (and up) to hang out all day. My buddy Dan panini'd up some tasty grilled cheeses we all bs'd for a couple hours before heading out for the day. 

For more information on how to donate locally to Toys for Tots, please visit the USMC Toys for Tots site here. Have a great Thanksgiving week everyone.

Pic of the day - Friday

It's been a great few days. Along with following our smartphone GPS navigation to the wrong places, we got to meet up with some old friends down here which really tied the week together. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Northern Virginia traffic on I-95.

Pic of the day - Thursday

I didn't go as crazy shooting in Myrtle Beach as I did in California, because I actually wanted to do nothing. It was awesome ha. However, it's hard for me to pass on photo opportunities when I see them so I tried some new techniques on for size. I'd take one general shot over and over again, different times of the day over the course of the week, in the same places, to push my skills a bit further. Taming daylight outside of golden hour isn't for everyone, but I enjoy challenges and am admittedly hard headed on process. If I want to accomplish something that's outside of Photography 101, because I like what my eyes see, then I'll work at it until I can pull off what most don't attempt. Great thing is it's only digital, developing shots takes minutes and any success is well worth the effort. Then it's rinse and repeat until the desired effect is achieved and reproducible.

Pic of the night - Wednesday

The only bad thing about the weather being so nice last week was the fact that daylight savings time (and the time of year) robbed me of a couple hours of sunlight to play with compared to summer. While it felt like June out there while the sun was shining, it felt like early March after the sun dropped. We ended up finding a nice Thai food joint off Kings Highway not long after this shot and ate like...Kings. Damn hell ass Kings!

Pic of the day - Tuesday

There's nothing better than turning back the clock psychologically and wearing shorts/flip flops in the warm sun did the equivalent...it was this past June all over again. The thing that comes to mind most when I visit areas that have sweet scenery within minutes, is if the locals know how good they have it; or does their norm, great to outsiders, become boring to the regulars? I can't answer for them, but I like leaving my norm for varieties sake.

Pic of the day - Monday

I was finally able to ditch the daily grind for a few days and take a short trip down south this past week. Drove down to Myrtle Beach for a couple of days and was thankfully able to eek out one more set from a lovely locale for the year. 70 degrees and cloudless for five days straight; you couldn't have asked for better. Here's the fullsize wallpaper/pic of the day, retroactive edition.

FYI, all of my 'Pic of the day' posts going forward will have a fullsize shot (~1300x800) you can throw on your computer at work or at home; if you're late to the party, the last series was in July. If you're one of those techies with a screen bigger than 19" (higher resolution) and need a bigger shot to fit, just drop me an email using the logo at the bottom of my page or my service inquiry link above. Simply link the post in question and I'll be happy to set ya up.

Beer of the Month - October

Choosing a beer for October was a tough decision. Oktoberfest is the name of the game this time of year and I tried several Seasonal and Oktoberfest tribute brews, many of which were solid in their own right. Without further adieu, however, the beer of the month for October is...American; to be more specific, Michelob Brewing Company's Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale {5.5% abv}. Michelob, which is mainly known for their self titled Lager (as well as light & ultra variants) and a single red ribbon, also have a full line up of beer varieties including seasonal microbrews, much like Sam Adams.

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale is named as such, because it's brewed with actual pumpkins and spices typical of the Fall season; cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to name a few. The first sip is fragrant and actually drinks much like a regular Michelob; pretty smooth. While the aftertaste is pleasantly full spice and a hint of pumpkin, rest assured this is not a sweet flavored beer. I had one of these while eating Indian food recently and it was a surprisingly good pairing. This will be a good choice for the upcoming months, especially as the cold rolls in. Or if it's just cool outside and you're in my house where the heat doesn't get turned on until November (ahem). Try a six pack. 2 stars.

Falling down.

With the end of Summer on the east coast comes the beginning of Fall. It's the start of the cold and the end of painless hand washing of your car outside. The house windows stay closed and the furnace shakes off it's cobwebs for it's six month tour of duty. I've taken plenty pics of the seasons changing around Maryland over the years, mainly to showcase a car of mine for a forum post or personal stash. The biggest difference between 10+ years ago and now is that back then October was October. What I mean is September was cold and the first day of October was down right frigid. November was literally freezing overnight and the first snow fall could come well before Thanksgiving.

Before Al Gore screwed up the distinction between seasons (sarcasm), the leaves changed uniformly everywhere in Maryland. Now you have to go further and further north to get this consistency. Of course some tree varieties still respond quickly to the cooling weather and predictably morph before going bald, but if you look outside now you'll see 60% green trees, 15% half changed over trees, 15% fully orange/red trees and 10% bald trees. It makes capturing the season hard to shoot, especially when you're like me and like to get big landscape shots; accordingly I'll likely break this seasons' series into a couple parts...hopefully I can get the dream shot I want in the locations I look for it.

I wandered around my new home town to see what I could find outside before too much time passed last Friday afternoon. The trickiest thing about trying to time fall foliage is that if a tree looks 'perfect' one day, chances are it won't be the next. You have to stick and move and if you're fortunate the weather and sun light will play nice.

While I was walking around shooting I stumbled onto a really cool old building (2nd shot) that I've been driving past, on the way to I-95S, for literally two years now. I had errands to run which kept me from going more in depth; I'll get better shots of it for another post. In the meantime, I'll see what nature brings me in another week or two.