Life Sucks Sometimes

Not mine, more like the circle of life. Allow me to explain: Today in between classes, I stole away to the Whitman campus to pursue some birds that fellow birder and photographer Jon Lundak had been seeing for the past several days. We were never able to find the belted kingfisher, but we did run into a flock of gorgeous cedar waxwings enjoying some berries.

In one of the ponds, we found a very cute family of ducks braving the 20 degree weather. Jon commented that it was highly unusual for babies to be born this time of year, and they would be lucky to survive.

While traversing the Whtiman landscaping in pursuit of the mallard family, I stumbled on a squirrel that was still fattening up for winter.

Eventually, I had to run back to class. Later that afternoon, I came back hoping to catch the setting sun lighting up the baby chicks. I didn't see the family anywhere, but there was one lone chick paddling around chirping for momma.

I figured he must have gotten separated from the others and just couldn't make it up the concrete sides of the pond. I considered scooping him up and setting him on the shore if I could get close enough, but the little guy never came within reach. Eventually, he paddled away from me toward the other end of the small pond. As I made my way around the bushes and an icy waterfall that lined the shoreline, I lost track of him. The squirrels were out again and I snapped a few shots of them before turning back to the pond. I still couldn't locate the little chick, but as I made my way back down to the shore, as small yellow figure caught my eye. According to the timestamp on my photos, a mere 5 minutes 49 seconds had elapsed between these two photos of the lone duckling.

He had washed up on the opposite shore of the pond, apparently succumbing to the harsh conditions.

Ultimately, I'm proud of myself for not interfering with mother nature. As heart-wrenching as it is, this natural circle of life is what ultimately gives nature its raw beauty.

So, do me a favor for the holidays: Hug, call or text your loved one. Life is both precious and fragile, and should never be taken for granted.

Double Take x2

I think Eric Ashley gets credit for the idea behind this post, and he has featured my photos in the past on his blog. Here, I'm shooting the SAA Guys Football game vs. the Alumni on Tuesday, August 25th. A staff photographer (If I knew his name I'd give credit) was shooting across the field from me during this acrobatic attempt by sophomore Mark Zelletti-Laur to catch the ball. These two pair of images were captured at nearly the same instant, and even have the other photographer in them. Take a look (Note: photos are unedited straight out of the our cameras):

Mine: (shot on a Canon 40D, 100-400mm at 135mm)

SAA Photog: (shot on a Canon 50D, 70-200mm f/2.8 at 200mm)

Clearly, the SAA photographer hit here, and I missed. If I recall, I wasn't quite ready for the moment, and the center focus point that I had selected grabbed on the pants of the other photographer and not the football player, Mark.

Next,

Mine:

SAA Photog:

This time, my positioning paid off (I got a face shot), and in the 1/10th of a second or so that my camera's autofocus had in between my 6 frames-per-second shooting, it grabbed onto the player for this one shot. In my mind, it could only be better if I hadn't been panning so fast and could have captured Mark's right foot. Then again, William Fandrich (the player in the brown shirt) would likely have blocked Mark's foot anyway. Oh, and if the football was balanced right on the tip of Mark's fingers as he stretched to reach it....

Head Shaving Video

For full screen, please click the Menu button in the lower right hand corner and then the Fullscreen button (3rd from the top).

Adam Innocent RAW: Osborne Classic 2009

I've been toying with the idea of following in the steps of fellow photographers Chase Jarvis and Eric Ashley with a RAW/Uncut video entry. Actually, now that I've looked at both Chase's and Eric's site (sites?), I really owe credit to the honorable Mr. Ashley alone. His videos can be found here. So, without further adieu, here is my first shot at a RAW/Uncut video. Images were shot at 1 minute intervals from the backstop above the 2009 Osborne Classic, and are presented at a rate of 10 frames per second. A similar video chronicling all 1164 images shot soon to follow....

(please click the fullscreen button for the best viewing experience)
[video link]

3-20-09 Corvette + Skyline Blvd

Need I say more?

Okay, I will:
Immediately after landing in Sacramento, my mom picked me up and we drove to Mountain View. She plays in the annual Winterfest concert at the Mountain View SDA Church. The practice sessions were Thursday and Friday evenings, so naturally we spent our Friday in a rented 436 horsepower Corvette (this is why I came!). We drove out to Half Moon Bay, and then proceeded south on the gorgeous Skyline Blvd to Saratoga where we had a late lunch at a small Italian trattoria. Then it was out to Hwy 17 and the very bottom of Skyline for a twisting trip back North to the hotel. It's okay, I kept it out of the triple digits ;)

In the morning, we're hoping for a little Pacific Coast Highway goodness at dawn. There had better be no fog!

Strobist Info: Self Portrait, f/7.1, 1/30, ISO800, bare SB-80 on stand above camera at about 1/64th power, second SB-80 with diffuser in cup holder at about 1/8th power. Some reflections touched up near the Corvette badge. Parking garage provided by the hotel.

Here's one of mom enjoying the sunshine:

Mooning, Moonlighting, and a Moonrising (03.11.09)

Okay, I promise to think of less corny titles in the future.

Tuesday night I noticed the huge full moon, so Wednesday after the weekly photographers meeting I chose to neglect a project and take photos instead. I arrived early with Taco Bell in hand, and proceeded to freeze my hands off doing time exposures while blasting my car stereo out over Bennington Lake. I didn't realize it until I looked at them just now, but an exposure of just 30 seconds way up here in the north produces a nice little trail on the stars. I totally should've busted out the wide angle - the stars were poppin!
About the "mooning": A car pulled up and parked about halfway through my photo-taking, and then proceeded to sit there with the lights off. Apparently I wasn't paying too much attention, because they weren't making out, just out for a walk around the lake. Whew! Eric Ashley and I were not so lucky on a previous occasion where I nonchalantly parked right next to a steamy car. Sorry, no photos ;)

Planes, Weather, and a Sick Photographer (03.05.09)

Well, okay, so I didn't actually get sick, but my stomach wasn't too happy with me. A Mechanical Engineering friend of mine invited me along as he received a refresher course on WWU's Piper. (He will be flying it home to Loma Linda for spring break.) If you refer to my last post, apparently the gods hate Thursdays, because the storms were a brewin'. Needless to say, the flight was rather bumpy, and our heads became familiar with the ceiling on the way back in. Good times. I think I'll stick to driving.

Weather

Not a cloud in the sky today, after quite the roller coaster yesterday. Beginning at 2am Thursday (don't ask why I was conscious) we had (in some order of me noticing): thunder, lightning, hail, rain, sun, snow, clouds, wind, calm, freezing and ice. There's still snow on some of the shady roofs around town.

Hello weekend! Can-Am hockey game Saturday night!