EngelFish.Net

We’re in the city for the weekend, and on day two we’ve spent the morning having Starbucks with Hot & Crusty bagels, and doing home repairs around the apartment for Mr. Potter.  New light bulbs, un-squeeked hinges, and new door knobs and clothing hooks are the order of the day.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the rest of today, but I think some wandering, shooting, and shopping might be included.  A trip to Bryant Park to see the skating and photo exhibit are also possibilities.  There’s also lots of coffee shops and Central Park to try.  Choices, choices, choices.  I have not been shooting much, just a few shots of Mr. P and the city in general as we walk around.  We’ll see what I can find this afternoon.
IMAGE:  This is another image from the light tests while we set up for Halloween.  It’s turning out to be quite a favorite over on Flickr.

I did not realize that it has been almost three weeks since my last post.  I have been super busy both professionally and personally, which makes for bad blogging habits.  I promise, scout’s honor, to try to be more regular.   There are lots of things going on for us right now. 

Today is Halloween, and I have a project in mind for tonight.  We have emptied our dining room, which overlooks the front street, and converted it into a mini portrait studio.  When our trick-or-treaters come by for their candy tonight, we are going to ask them to pose for a picture.  I’m going to collect emails, and then post them to my website for the parents.  Once the whole thing is done, I am considering making a neighborhood book with all the kids featured in it.  We’ll see how it goes tonight.

I’m leaving on Friday for a trip to NYC for the weekend.  It is time for the marathon, and I’m going up with David & Kim to support David’s attempt at a sub-6 hour marathon.  He thinks he can run as slowly as I do, but he’ll soon see that it it tougher than you think.  When someone using a walker passes you, you have to really stick to your guns to maintain pace.

IMAGE:  After getting everything setup, we had a bit of fun while I tweaked and adjusted the lighting.

The trip to the west coast went well.  That being said, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go out and rent a 26 foot truck for a 3,200 mile trip.  Taryn and I both agreed that it was gruelling, and that we’d love to do it again in a motor home.  Sleep and time are valueable, and we passed by many things we’d have like to seen while racing to meet the delivery deadline.  We pulled out of Raleigh around 2:30 pm (EDT) on Saturday, June 30th, and arrived at around 2:00 am (PDT) on Wednesday July 4th.  That clocks us in at just over 3.5 days (86.5 hours to be exact).  The only significant delays were a couple of hours spent at a truck stop while I worked on some office work, and a half day spent visiting with Wayne Casey in North Dakota.  Not a bad time for a cross country trip. 

It was great to visit with my sister and her kids.  It’s amazing how much they’ve grown up since the last time we saw them.  It was also my first chance to meet Lilyth, my niece Cristina’s daughter.  She is a super sweet child, and an expert at wheedling candy from her grand-uncle.   I’m hoping we get to take many trips out there to visit with all of them.

IMAGE: There is a herd of Elk that live in the woods around my sister’s home.  They’re radio-chipped so that alarms go off when they’re close to the highway.  Because of the alarms, we knew they were in the area, so we piled into their family van and went in search of the herd.  We found them wandering in a nearby neighborhood that’s under construction.  I climbed out and crept up toward them, taking cover behind a pile of sheetrock that I also used to stabilize my camera.  After few minutes of giving me the evil eye, this guy decided I was not safe and started moving toward me.  I decided that I didn’t need anymore pictures, and walked back to the van… checking over my shoulder periodically to make sure he wasn’t following me.

Along with Lance Armstrong, David successfully ran this year’s marathon! Follow the link to see all 140 pictures from our four day trip to the big city to cheer David on!  (Here is just a few select images posted to my Flickr stream)