Annette

If you are of an age (like me) where the Mickey Mouse Club was an integral part of your early life, Annette Funicello is a name that needs no introduction.

She burst on the American scene at the tender age of twelve, quickly gaining popularity as America's favorite Mouseketeer.  She went on to star in a number of Disney films, had a successful singing career and went on to star in a number of popular beach films.

All of us who love Disney have always held her dear to our hearts, and when she divulged in 1992 that she was suffering from multiple sclerosis, it was a blow to everyone.

With her announcement, the Walt Disney Company resolved to do something special for her.  The decision was made to craft a walking cane to help her get around.  My talented friend Kevin Kidney (a huge Annette fan) was tapped to create the piece.

The cane included numerous tiny reminders of her career embedded into the cane itself (Mouseketeer ears, ballet slippers, etc).  When the presentation was made, Kevin got to meet her and this picture was taken (this was October 21, 1992).

I thought this was so cool, I asked Kevin for a copy of his photo and he kindly obliged.  Today I found it in among my many treasures, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Kevin has gone on to become a star in his own right, creating (along with his partner Jody Daily) some of the most wonderful Disney collectables imaginable.  If you'd like to see some of their work, click here.

I keep thinking I've found all my treasures, but every day something wonderful like this pops up.

Just a Few Shots

We're still making progress, slow but steady.

Today I firmed up plans to take the next load to Los Angeles, then we went to a couple of medical appointments.

Ever on the lookout 

for something to photograph, 

I took a couple of shots at the Medical Center.  

I'm still experimenting with light.

Backlighting can be pretty interesting.

And when there's a flower,

I feel the need to take a picture.

More work in the house tomorrow,

Will we ever get back on the road?

Ray Bradbury, One Picture and the Golden Gate Bridge

Ray Bradbury, the very name conjures up memories from my youth.

It was Bradbury that first introduced me to the concept of Science Fiction.  I must have been 10 or 11 years old.  It was Fahrenheit 451 that first caught my young attention (I was an avid reader even at that age).  The idea of a political state that would try to control ideas fascinated me.  From there on, I read all the Bradbury I could get my hands on.  The memories are with me still, to say he influenced my thinking is an understatement.

So imagine how excited I was to find a huge DVD set called the Ray Bradbury Theater at my local library.  Produced in Canada, it ran from 1985 to 1992.  I had never heard of it, but what a treasure it is.

if you've read much Bradbury, you know what you're in for, and that in itself is a treat.  But what got me was the production values of this series. Fine actors including Peter O'Toole, Richard Benjamin, Eugene Levy, William Shatner, Elliott Gould, Shelley Duvall, Donald Pleasance, Patrick Macnee, Harold Gould, Drew Barrymore and a list that could go on for much longer.

But what really struck me was the time they took to tell their stories.  In many of the episodes fully half of the time is taken to set up the story.  You get a feeling for the characters, the mood is set and with this, your involvement is complete. 

Of course some are better than others, but this was such a treat I just had to write about it.  If you're a Sci Fi fan, loved the old Twilight Zone or just enjoy good old fashioned storytelling, I can recommend this series. 

And the picture I mentioned in the blog title?

I continue to play with my iPhone.  I recently downloaded a small ebook dealing with photography on the iPhone.  I try to forgo flash in all of my photography and never use it with the iphone as the light is so harsh and bright.  But the idea of using the flash/light of Terrys phone for some indirect lighting had never occurred to me, so that tip alone made the book worth the price (only $4.00).  It got me to thinking and I decided to try a bit of still life and see what I could come up with.

Now, this isn't great photography, 

but something about this photo 

really speaks to me.

It may be all the items in the picture.  The bobblehead pencil has been mine since I was a kid.  It sits in an old 1960s lipstick holder which I just adore (does anyone remember these?).  The little girl in the picture is my Mother and the photo is in a very old Native American frame I picked up years ago.  These things sit on my nightstand so I see them almost every day, but they're all dear to me.

Then there's the light.  Photography is all about light, but I'm just beginning to play with the concept of selective light.  It's a whole new concept for me, exciting stuff.   And then there's the Bokeh.  I've written about Bokeh numerous times, but I've yet to master the technique and I continue to be intrigued,

So with all that said, I decided to include it here in the blog, don't ask me why.

And finally, I want to tell you about an outstanding ebook I found today. 

As you are probably aware, yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.  The California Historical Society has released an outstanding ebook titled "A Wild Flight of the Imagination: the Story of the Golden Gate Bridge", and boy howdy, is it a wonder.  The best part of the whole deal?  It's free! 

You can read more about it here or go to iTunes and do a search for GG Bridge. 

And that's it for tonight.

Communication is a Fragile Thing

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I've been playing a game called Draw Something on my iPad.

Sort of like Pictionary, you can either play with random people or tag people you know to play with you (as long as they've got the game on one of their devices).

It's really fascinating.

I get a word and try to draw a picture.  Then the recipient gets a list of about a dozen letters and as many blank spaces as are in the word and try to guess my word.

Here's where it gets really interesting.  I draw something that I believe is a perfectly clear indication of the word.  But sometimes people just don't get it. Or they draw me a picture and no matter how hard I try, it doesn't connect.

It's a clear indication of, no matter how hard we try, all our minds think different.  Differently?  Whatever, we often have a problem communicating.

Its a great way to remember that no matter how clear you think you're being, we all see everything in or own particular way.

And it's a good reminder for me to try to be a lot clearer when talking (or drawing) with people.

If you want to play Draw Something with me, I'm LazyDazeKate.

Disneyland Treasures

I keep finding pieces of Disneyland memorabilia that bring back so may memories . . .

For years, we were involved enough to collect some real treasures.  Some of these we've already parted with, others we're getting ready to send to new homes.

Then every once in a while, we run across a piece or two that seem so special I'm torn as to what to do.  My answer has been to take pictures as memory shots, then send those too on their way to new owners.
Today I ran across a set that is so special, I really hope the new owners appreciate them.

These are photographs, printed on heavy stock, then hand tinted and re-marked for definition.  I purchased these years ago from the family of one of the army of talented people who designed Disneyland.  The photos show the original three dimensional models that were made prior to the building of the park.  Look closely and you'll see the miniature people.

When I purchased them, I was told they had originally hung either in the Train Station or City Hall at Disneyland.

This one shows City Hall and the Fire Station.

Walt Disney kept a personal apartment 

above the Fire Station.

This one shows the Train Station.

and City Hall.

And this last one shows the Opera House 

and other buildings that line Main Street.

Memories, very potent stuff.

Treasures

Treasures come in many forms.

If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that we're (slowly) wading through fifty plus years of our lives.  So much of what we find makes us scratch our heads, but then there are those things that strike a chord so deep that the resonance is practically physical.

I thought this was gone forever.

This is the very first picture I ever took that made me think that photography could be something other than a series of snapshots.

We had spent a few days down in Pacific Grove to view the annual migration of the Monarch butterflies.  It was early morning and this beautiful little red headed girl was there with her family.  Suddenly, this butterfly landed right on her shoulder.  She suffered a moment of indecision.

Move?

Brush it off?

In the end, she just waited for a moment and it flitted away.

In those days, I was shooting film and had no idea if I'd gotten the shot or not.

When shooting film I think it's safe to say less than 2% of my shots ever came out, so I was really excited when this came back from the developers.

It's the shot I always remember.

Can you imagine how happy I was to finally see it after all these years.

I wonder what ever happened to that little red headed girl?

Re-enactors

The Civil War will be re-enacted 

right across the street from us this weekend.

Thinking to avoid the crowds, 

we went over today to take a quick look at the venue.

It's held every year at Roaring Camp

A wonderful old covered bridge marks the entrance.

I'm always fascinated that the bridge 

is held up with stacks of lumber.

A shot through the timbers.

Terry took these next three shots.

They'll be firing this all through the weekend.

A close up of the detail on the cannon.

 

Most of the re-enactors weren't set up yet,

but we did get a few shots.

The sides all have their flags.

I kind of liked this shot.

Since the event wasn't really happening yet, 

we walked back into the woods, 

and shot some of the flowers.

Spring is definitely here.

And the light under the trees makes for nice shots.

The light also shines straight through the streams.

And of course, 

I couldn't close without at least one poppy.

That's it for tonight.

This and That (again)

I really don't know what to call some of these posts.  

They don't have a topic, 

so I think I'll just use this and that.

I'm excited.  

This weekend I'll be going up to San Francisco 

to hear Brad Bird speak.  

This will be at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  

In case you don't know, 

Brad Bird is a whiz bang director 

who first came under my radar with the Iron Giant

You have seen the Iron Giant, right?  

If not, rent it, buy it, find a midnight showing, 

whatever, but see it.  

It remains one of my very favorite films.  

The ability of film makers 

to imbue inanimate objects with heart and soul 

is what first attracted me to animation.

The Iron Giant is the perfect example 

of animation in all it's glory.

After the Iron Giant, 

Mr. Bird directed the Incredibles for Pixar, 

then Ratatouille.  

He recently graduated to live action 

with the latest Mission Impossible film starring Tom Cruise.  

Quite the up and comer, it should be a great event.

Even though we're no longer involved with Disney, 

it seems to pop up in our lives all the time.  

Today, we went to our favorite restaurant, 

and this was on the wine list.

I try to keep myself aware of photo opportunities 

so when I saw this guy hanging out in a parking lot, 

I had to take a shot.

Again, poppies.

And that's it for today.

This and That

Regular readers know that we love our Lazy Daze motor home. Being a somewhat small company, you don't see all that many out there.  Usually, when you see any artwork involving RVs, it's rarely a Lazy Daze. That said, a friend of ours was vacationing up in Seattle and saw a weekly paper with this on the cover.

 

Wow, Lazy Daze in artwork, what a find.

Intrigued, I looked it up and found it was painted 

by an artist named Casey Weldon.

Hoping there was some kind of back story, 

I emailed him and he replied

"My grandparents owned one when I was a kid 

and they often took my brother, cousin and I out camping. 

The painting is a sort of reminiscence of two sisters 

I have a vague recollection of meeting 

at one of the camp sites. 

I was in love with them, 

as much as any boy could be in love for a week, I guess. 

They were older, 

and I don't if it was general disinterest in us, 

the campsite, 

or another issue, 

but something about them seemed sad. "

Is that a cool story or what?

And speaking of Lazy Daze artwork,

back when we first got the rig, 

we camped for a while with Lazy Daze friends 

John and Ilene Van Gossen.

Ilene Is a talented artist 

and gifted us these small paintings, 

just perfect for the kitchen in the rig.

I look at them every day 

and they continue to inspire me, 

I wish I could paint like this!

Feeling somewhat inspired, 

I worked on a couple of shots 

I've taken of small pewter statues 

that we will be selling.

I couldn't figure out 

where the striped light came from, 

but I liked the effect, 

so I just went with it.

And once again, 

that's it for today.

the Godfather

When was the last time you watched the Godfather?  Not on television with commercial interruptions, but sat down, dimmed the lights and watched it start to finish?

My god, this film is just as amazing today as it was the day it was made.

And Brando, where did this performance come from?  Now I'm a huge Brando fan in almost all his roles, he's a wonderful actor.  But this performance?  It just takes everything up to a whole other level.  The look, the voice, the body language.  And when you take into account that no one but Coppola wanted to work with him at this point, it's a marvel, it truly is.

Then there's Pacino, Duvall, James Caan (never as good as he was here), and the superb supporting cast.

This film never hits a wrong note, start to finish.

While I'm still amazed and bedazzled, I think I'll watch the Godfather II and be astounded all over again.

And here's a "painting",

of my baby hummer, 

just for fun

Memory Shots

Another set of memory shots. 

In case you're new to the blog, 

memory shots are those that, while not great shots, 

are special to me in some way.

Today I went with friends out to West Cliff.

Everyone swore there were  whales.  

We did see a few spouts, 

but I certainly wasn't fast enough to get off a shot, 

so if there were whales, 

you can't prove it by me.  

Do you think someone 

is out there in a submersible, 

spouting water every once in a while 

to fake us all out?

That thought occurred to me

There did seem to be an inordinate number of cormorants.  

There must have been at least a dozen gulps of cormorants.

Did you know that's what you call a gathering of cormorants?

While not a great shot, 

it's a reminder to me of the look of dozens of birds,

sweeping and swooping close to the waves.

I though they were quite beautiful

If you can't see them 

(they are very small in this shot), 

then click to enlarge.

This shot is my new friend, 

the baby hummingbird.

We have six feeders on the rig, 

but this little guy only comes to my window feeder.

He's quite small, and will sit for minutes at a time.

Not a great shot 

(remember I'm shooting 

through the heavily tinted windows of the Lazy Daze),

Still I wanted to capture a picture of him 

before he grows up.

And that's it for today.

Light

I spend a good amount of time 

in the back of the rig.

It's technically the bedroom, 

but to me, it's my den.

Depending on where we're parked, 

the view changes by the minute.  

Today, I looked up 

and saw this beautiful pattern.  

I tried to play with the settings 

to get a better shot, 

but in just a few minutes, 

it was gone.

Just a couple of memory shots.

We were so happy to see that the local farmers Market has returned.  They set up just a few blocks from the rig and the array of produce is mouth watering.

This year we have a couple of new additions.

There's the solar powered knife sharpening guy.

Then there's the new mobile eatery.

The menu looked pretty good.

We didn't try it today.

but we might one of these days.

One of the things I like about the local market 

is the array of flowers.

Not to mention all the beautiful organic veggies.

Ooh, look, yellow and purple,

one of my favorite floral combos.

Garlic Snapes,

I'll have to try these one of these days.

More flowers.

Isn't this produce just gorgeous?

MORE Flowers

 

And look at these onions.

Sorry, I just love the flowers.

If I ever get a booth at the Farmers Market,

it's going to be the snow cone concession

(or Hawaiian Ice as it's known these days).

The line never gets any shorter.

And one final shot of a beautiful mixed bouquet.

If I had room in the rig, I would have bought these.

And that's it for today.