Desert Water

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: February 8, 2010

First, I promise, I’m almost out of Las Vegas photos. I know I’ve been stringing them out, I’ll get out on the streets again soon.

As part of our evening waltz down the Strip, we spend a lot of time looking at water. In the desert. It’s such an incongruous thing – to be surrounded by arid land but find an 80 acre pool (complete with one duck) that erupts every 15 minutes.

Outside the Bellagio …

Canon PowerShot G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 200, 1/40, f/4.5

I started tight, not really knowing what to expect.

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/30, f/2.8

Went wider when the second show started. (Yes, we stuck around for two shows …)

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/13, f/2.8

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/4, f/2.8

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/4, f/2.8

Posted in Visual Explorations | 1 Comment

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-07

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: February 7, 2010
  • #SCCA National Convention ends on a positive note, which was really nice. BoD smiled at us and seemed happy with our plan for RoadRally. #
  • Overheard in class: "If I had been born a man … or a stronger woman …" #
  • Toyota should be every racer's dream car right now: they accelerate at will and there's no reason to use the brakes … cheap shot, I know. #
Posted in Short Thoughts | Leave a comment

Working Into the Light

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: February 6, 2010

A few more visuals from Vegas. (Hey, great name for a book: Visuals from Vegas. Maybe I’ll do that next year.)

Thought this would be a nice sequence to show as a way of working into a subject. It was Friday night as we were walking the Strip, all I had was my trusty Canon G10 – not exactly a low-light star, but until someone wants to buy me a Leica M9 or, maybe, an Olympus E-P2, it’s my walk about camera and I’ll just keep shooting.

First view of the fake Eiffel Tower …

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 200, 1/15, f/2.8

For the students who have found this, look at the shutter speed – well below the 1/60 I recommend you shoot at. But look at the focal length – at 6.1 mm, using the one-over-the-focal-length rule I’ve got some buffer. Not much, as there are some diminishing returns here, but braced up against a post it worked.

But it’s an, “Oh, look, cool. CLICK.” kind of frame. Needs something a little more.

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 200, 1/8, f/2.8

Okay, a little less dynamic, but it’s got some foreground stuff going on it. Need to get down a little lower to clean up some things, and there’s that red blotch to the left … hate edge noise, but what is that?

Canon PowerShot G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 200, 1/13, f/4.5

Now I may have something. No, I don’t see the whole tower – but who doesn’t know what that looks like? But I am starting to talk about the Strip, the visual chaos, the lights, the patterns …

Posted in Learning to Teach, Visual Explorations | 2 Comments

Safety, Beautifully

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: February 5, 2010

You all know I’m a car guy. I like cars, I like people who like cars, I like working on cars, and, mostly, I like driving cars. I’m not a speed freak, though I do enjoy auto racing. Mostly, though, I’m more of a brisk-but-legal driver.

But I always wear my seatbelt. Always. And I don’t let anyone ride who won’t, as well. The whole argument of, “I’m too cool to wear a seatbelt” is usually coming from people who drive aggressively and who probably crash because they either ran out of brains or ran out of control.

You can’t control your car if you’re moving around in it – seatbelts keep you in place while you’re driving and save your arse when your frontal lobe sees something shiny.

Why the PSA? Because I was pointed to this video and I think it’s just wonderful.

Posted in Motoring | 1 Comment

Walking in Vegas

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: February 5, 2010

Almost caught back up to real life, have a little time to sneak in a few glimpses of Las Vegas. All of which were shot on the one night I got out of the convention hotel.

A trio of us younguns (really, two at about 40, one at 22 and we WERE the young ones) headed down to the strip to walk around, look at lights and be thankful we weren’t gamblers.

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 250, 1/60, f/2.8

(We kept joking that there was a rally trap in this somewhere. Rally humor really isn’t very funny, but that doesn’t stop us.)

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 200, 1/5, f/2.8

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Up and Down, Not In and Out

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: January 31, 2010

Day four is dawning here in the hotel/casino/convention center. I did make it outside Friday night (photos to come), but haven’t been out in the fresh air since then. I bet Las Vegas is a really nice place … I hope to see it some time.

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 200, 1/8, f/2.8

Posted in Visual Explorations | 2 Comments

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-31

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: January 31, 2010
  • I tried, but couldn't resist … and joined the Tablet Speculators: http://visualjournalism.info/?p=1190 #
  • Watching the kid at PH run her hands through her hair then handle food, not really okay with me. Have to go with a #fail and order cancel. #
  • Jet planes need to fly faster. Five hours to Nevada is just too long. Tow, maybe three, would be okay. #
  • Oh God no … five young women in front of me en route to Vegas for a bachelorette party … and they are already drunk. Long flight ahead #
  • I want to drive around down there. http://yfrog.com/atugoj #
  • @BFarrar Does that mean they're paying photographers more? That would be nice. in reply to BFarrar #
  • Uh oh. I maybe in the wrong place. #SCCA http://yfrog.com/1evtfgj #
  • Anyone who's allowed to speak to a group of more than three people should be required to take a public speaking course. Or hand out tomatos. #
  • Okay, life is weird. In a bowling alley in a casino at an #SCCA convention debating the legality of rental cars. http://yfrog.com/1do1eqj #
  • Pretty sure I just saw a slot machine featuring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Vegas is weird. #
  • RoadRally Board Town Hall starting up. #scca #
Posted in Short Thoughts | Leave a comment

Space

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: January 30, 2010

The hotel I’m in is pretty, well, non-descript. If you don’t go outside, you could be a anywhere, to be honest. I could be in downtown Athens. No windows, no character.

Just space …

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 200, 1/10, f/2.8

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 200, 1/10, f/2.8

Canon PowerShot G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 200, 1/20, f/4.5

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Safe Landings

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: January 30, 2010

Someone was about to have a bad day …

Canon PowerShot G10, 13.8 mm, ISO 80, 1/250, f/3.5

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Winging It

By Mark E. Johnson | Published: January 29, 2010

Late last year I got one of those phone calls I probably shouldn’t have taken. Was I interested in stepping up, serving at a higher level, giving back to my community.

Of course I was … then I realized it wasn’t my local, or even regional community – the call came from the Sports Car Club of America and I was being asked to join the National RoadRally Board. (Yeah, not as altruistic as you thought, is it?)

I’ve been rallying for almost two decades now, it was time to do it. It was just a monthly phone conference, some committee work here and there. Nothing strenuous. Oh, did I mention I have to go to the SCCA National Convention?

Yeah, that slipped by me at first … so Thursday morning, I dropped a kid at school, packed up and headed west. The convention is in … Vegas.

Las Vegas.

As in, Nevada.

I’m such a Vegas kind of guy … I mean, I’m more than happy to throw my life around inside a car on a twisty road at night in the snow. But tossing my money away? Not really me …

Once I got here, though, I realized something else: I have no idea what I’m doing here. I had some short conversations yesterday where I think I offended everyone in the rally community at some level. I don’t like the way the national championship is structured. Not a big fan of the way the convention is going. Scared at the near total lack of diversity in the rooms. And everyone here is … well … older.

I suggest the hotel put away all the eggs and bacon, no one can afford a heart attack here.

Anyways, some images from the trip and space so far …

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/500, f/5.6

Canon PowerShot G10, 6.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/1600, f/4.5

Canon PowerShot G10, 8.1 mm, ISO 80, 1/1000, f/3.5

Posted in Motoring, Visual Explorations | Leave a comment