Places

Sunburnt

This past weekend, Ligia and took a trip out to the countryside. Our favorite haunt is River Rd, way out in the fields hugging the Potomac hillsides. There are so many beautiful places out there, and trails galore. You can bring your bikes along, park your car, and push the pedals around all day, exploring the C&O canal trail or the country side roads.

On our way back home, I noticed this field and the reddish hue of its earth. I had to make a U-turn and photograph it. To help give you a sense of scale, that green line at the horizon is made of full-size trees.

Sunburnt

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Thoughts

Roses

The pure color of these rose petals reminds me of fresh spring rain, washing away the cold mud of winter from plants too hesitant to fully bloom. There’s the expectant hope of better, warmer days, and the creamy, bright, white background practically radiates optimism. Yes, I manipulated the colors, but that’s makes this photo more interesting to me.

Valentine for my sweetie

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Reviews

The music of Franz von Suppé

By coincidence, I heard two pieces written by Franz von Suppé within the last 24 hours, and realized he’s always been one of my favorite composers, although I never knew his name. If you’ve watched cartoons, then you’ve definitely heard his Light Cavalry Overture, and chances are you’ve also heard his Jolly Robbers Overture. They’re both popular pieces, both are fast-paced, and both will make you smile when you hear them.

Franz von Suppé had to have been an optimistic, contented man to have written such beautiful music. There was no mistake in his choice of career. After all, he turned down both law and medicine for music. His father wanted him to study law in Padua, and his mother wanted him to study medicine in Vienna. I heard this on WETA yesterday, as they introduced his Light Cavalry Overture.

If you aren’t a fan of his music already, try it out. You’ll likely become a fan. And if you’re in the area, tune in to WETA. They have some pretty cool music, and the little biographic capsules they offer about composers are pretty nice as well.

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Events

Unequivocally

This little daffodil was spreading its pure petals back in mid-March, signaling, and unequivocally so, that spring had arrived. This was one of the first days I had my Canon EOS 30D and 100mm macro lens, and that’s when I realized, also unequivocally, that I’d stepped onto new photographic terrain, and didn’t want to go back.

First blush

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Reviews

What the Duck on watermarks

Aaron Johnson, the creator of What the Duck, has apparently seen this post of mine, where I talk about image theft. He’s just sent me an email to let me know of today’s WTD, which handles the issue of watermarks and image theft in that wonderful, funny way that I’ve come to love.

Here’s the strip in question, reproduced with Aaron’s permission. Click through to view it at full size on WTD. And if you haven’t already, bookmark the site or subscribe to the RSS feed. If you like photography, then you’ll love WTD.

WTD on watermarks and copyright

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