Wud's Blog, Photography, Poetry, & Music
Nothing but trees here folks...
Climbing trees
to see the last colors
on the edge of
the last day
Turn around
watch what was behind you
for the new colors
of the first day
History or new
perceptions or illusions
the end is always the beginning
of.
John “Wudman” Wood
4.17.2012
Collinsville, IL
Ultra Compact Sony replaced by super flexible, but larger Canon
In October of 2007 I rescued a Sony ultra-compact DSC-T30 from the pile of discontinued electronics at the Ultimate Electronics store I worked at in Fairview Heights, IL. The camera had come to my attention due to its unique lens arrangement that eliminated the typical lens extension you get on small “point and shoot” cameras. It was small enough to carry 24/7 on my belt without being obtrusive and it took pretty decent pictures. It was also only $99, a steep discount from its original $499 retail price.
I immediately went to a Warrant/Quiet Riot concert and took over 600 images. The camera’s 7 Megapixel sensor did pretty nicely using stage lighting, no flash. The trick was to hold the camera steady, something I learned to do while shooting on my high school’s rifle team. Scroll back in this blog for one of the pictures I took of Kevin Dubrow, the lead singer of Quiet Riot, at one, if not his last concerts before he passed later that month in Los Angeles, CA. From that moment on, that camera was elevated as my favorite piece of technology. Read more »
The Riverfront Times had a contest that I found out about after a night solo dancing to some local bands, but I decided to experiment and submit anyway! I think I will animate this piece at some point.
A Journal of a Train Journey From Seattle To Chicago
1/23/2012 - By John Wood
4:45PM Seattle, WA Waiting to launch…
Edited to include the first 40 or so minutes in 1:30.
Time-lapse launch of the eastbound Empire Builder. Sound is of the actual train, recorded separately.
5:30PM Edmonds, WA
Where the Washington leg of Amtrak's Empire Builder starts.
One thing I have found out is that you can’t judge a train trip by the train station. There are a few exceptions like Chicago’s Union Station, but Seattle’s King Station is a work in progress. That is one of the jumping off point if you want to experience the entire length of Amtrak’s eastbound Empire Builder. The train also starts in Portland and both trains are merged in Spokane, Washington. Some thirty odd years ago I heard about the Empire Builder, but a ride on that train had escaped me until recently. The King Street Station is being renovated, the damage done to it over the years is scheduled to be repaired, giving Seattle an appropriate jump off point for one of the countries remaining great train adventures.
I shouldn’t be on this train, but being the impulsive kind of guy I am, a flight from Sacramento to St. Louis was cancelled and re-booked to Seattle so I could ride the rails. For some odd reason, while booking the ride online, impulse struck again and I upgraded to a sleeper room called a “roomette”. That seemed like a reasonable expenditure for a train adventure of this caliber. Some might think it crazy to cancel one perfectly good, direct at 40,000, feet airline ticket for three times the expenditure on a train ride 40 hours longer! I suggest riding like “crazy”.
Geometry above a bridge that has cool geometry below.
Crossing the American River from CSUS to the other side of the American River is this cool pedestrian bride. It is called the Guy A. West Bridge and it was built to be a replica of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Scroll back a few posts to see what the underside of this bridge looks like. I can’t tell which is a more interesting.
From the kitchen in the wudz.
Hot but so tasty you can’t just eat one and when your finished, you look for other things to dip into the leftover hot wings sauce. Try anything, really, anything. This is the last wing of an impromptu batch of first day of February 2012 wings. Washed, rubbed with secret spice mix. Then rolled around in secret sauce that did include a touch of garlic, various hot sauces including Franks and Tabasco, and a top secret blend of spices. The result, heat you want to eat and it lingers nicely. Beware, let it age and it warms right up. Don’t take my picture’s word about how tasty they are. The title for these wings is now officially “Damn Good, Damn Good, Damn Good Chicken Wings” because that is exactly what he called them.