Mark E. Johnson [ • ] Photojournalist

• Love typos: On Friday afternoon, Montoya turned a record 33.431 mph lap on the flat, one-mile track at Loudon, N.H. I might bike it faster. #
• http://twitpic.com/ikhql – There are days I am happy, and there are days the news worries me deeply: #
• I'm reading about the 12+ inches of rain that have fallen over the last 24 hours and thinking … that could have been a lot of snow … #
• Hmmm … is that smoke coming out of my computer? Lesson: iMacs don't make great video machines. Or I need to stop multitasking … #
• I should stop screaming, "MAP?!? MAP?!?" in my head as I read ajc.com flood stories, right? I should start doing it out loud, right? #
• There's irony in a Republican governor who prayed for rain now asking for federal aid for flooding, right? #
• Hey, they made a map! Excellent! – Going home? Use our map of flood-related road closures http://bit.ly/JkxkV (via @ajc) (Thanks @bfarrar) #
• Apparently, Hertz's new business plan involves making you wait so long you're desperate to upgrade to a limo. With driver. #
• @rachelwaits If you're happy with the images, then it's worth the effort. in reply to rachelwaits #

So last year our governor, faced with a crippling drought, got down on his knees at a public prayer service – on the steps of the capital – and prayed for rain. This week, he called up Washington and begged for federal assistance … for flooding.

No kidding, it’s been wet down here. Not so bad in Athens, though there are mushrooms everywhere you look, but we did get wet, too. Imagine this for six days straight and you’ll understand …

Canon G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 200, 1/50, f/4.5

You may have read that football fans kind of trashed the University of Georgia campus a week and a half ago. It’s a seasonal right of passage of some sort – trash everything. Apparently someone didn’t get in on the action and decided to catch up …

Canon G10, 18 mm, ISO 200, 1/50, f/4.0

But by afternoon, it had mostly been cleaned up …

• I kind of want one of these: http://notepod.net/ (as seen on Khoi Vinh's subtraction.com) #
• Cleared 2,300 email messages out of the work account this morning and 3,500 out of my home accounts tonight. Mail.app feels way faster now. #
• PHOTOGRAPHY AS PUBLIC DIPLOMACY at USC Annenberg http://bit.ly/4FZtoV (via @HondoMesa) #
• I love these things – famous photos, in Legos: http://www.mikestimpson.com/gallery/107329 (Thanks to David Noah, via Facebook) #
• A good morning so far: Got a great note from CNN about one of my students who did a job shadow there. She really impressed them. Nice job. #
• Wrestling with Gmail spam. And losing. Badly. Glad my main email account (hosted by fusix.com) is protected better than this. Ugh … #
• Students: you may have heard audiences read at a 6th grade level. You should not make them feel smarter by writing at a 4th grade level. #
• Get your coffee, popcorn and notebooks ready: 90 minutes until the NPPA Virtual Video Workshop starts. http://tinyurl.com/nyv8k8 #
• RT @Ihnatko: How Amazon Sold Me An Album Today: "Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs Of Warren Zevon" on sale for $1.99 – http://bit.ly/vILwX #

Somewhere, there’s a welder with a sense of humor … spotted on the side of a utility box on campus.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Tamron 28-75 mm F/2.8, ISO 200, 1/320, f/3.2

More from the Friday walks to school … we pass this ancient fence that I’m pretty sure is held together with layers of lead paint …

Canon G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 200, 1/125, f/4.5

Canon G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 400, 1/80, f/4.5

We were headed out to dinner and I paused in the garage, lifted a camera to my eye and started to frame up a shot. The wife called out from behind, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

A bit startled, I turned and said there was some nice light falling on Buster … she rolled her eyes and sighed. Small boy then says, “Women, they just don’t understand our love of cars, do they?”

I might keep him.

Canon G10, 30.5 mm, ISO 200, 1/320, f/4.5

I have alternated between loving and not understanding “street photography.” I love the spontaneity of it, especially when done extremely well. But a lot of what I’ve looked at over the years just bores me to tears.

So, once in a while, I just give it a try … and fail miserably.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 35 mm f/1.4 L USM, ISO 200, 1/125, f/5.6

I have no idea what this photo is about. It says nothing, aside from I may have been tripping over a manhole cover or something … tilted horizon? Focus at infinity? No edge control? What the heck?

One day a week I walk the small boy to school. It’s only a short distance and the Mrs. does it the other four days of the week. Friday is my one morning where I don’t have a class or meeting, so off we go.

We joke that he has a “something shiny” problem – when dispatched to do something around the house, he’ll often forget what it is he’s supposed to be doing and do whatever strikes him as interesting. (Usually reading while perched precariously on the edge of something.)

He gave me a hard time this past week as I stopped to shoot some quick photos. I probably deserved it, but he was still on time for school.

Canon G10, 18 mm, ISO 200, 1/25, f/4.0

Honestly, I have no idea who this is … but the patterns of the posters worked for me. For a moment, at least … maybe a little too much curvature …

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 35 mm f/1.4 L USM, ISO 100, 1/1600, f/1.4