Pempek – Project 365: Day 193

September 1, 2010 by matt

PempekPempek is a delicacy made from fish and tapioca. I was first introduced to this delicious food while in Indonesia.  We had friends visit us from Palembang (considered to have the best pempek anywhere) and they brought with them pempek.  I couldn’t get enough of it.

The sauce that is typically associated with pempek is sweet and tangy mixture of brown sugar, garlic, vinegar and chili peppers.  The two just go together like peanut butter and jelly.

The taste of pempek can vary considerably from region to region due to differences in the flour and fish used.  Some common types of fish used are tenggiri fish (also called Spanish mackeral), gurami fish and belido fish which some consider to be the best fish for making pempek.

The most famous type of pempek is pempek kapal selam which has a chicken egg wrapped up with the pempek dough and then deep fried (see all the good foods are deep fried).

This photo was made with my Canon S90 P&S with the macro setting turned on.  I used a single bulb lamp to light the bowl and food from the left and a bounce card on the right.  No flash used at all, just continuous lighting from a single source.

Electronic Gadgets – Project 365: Days 191/192

August 31, 2010 by matt
Lenovo

Project 365: Day 191

For the past month my wife’s laptop has been running at the speed of Bill Slowsky and while it accomplished what she needed it to do it reached a point where 5-10 minutes to load Facebook was too much to bear.

After looking it over and trying things like defragmenting the hard drive, scanning for spyware and malware I came to the conclusion that the hard drive was failing.  I could have gotten a new hard drive and got it running again but the truth is the laptop was more than 5 years old and just wasn’t up to the task any longer.

So we started the great laptop hunt of 2010.  With school starting up again soon there were plenty of sales going on.  We checked out Best Buy, Staples, Office Max and Office Depot.  We finally decided on this Lenovo from Office Depot.  With a dual core processor and 4Gb of RAM there is really no comparison with the old laptop.  It’s like trading in a Yugo for a Ferrari.

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Eugene Celebration – Project 365: Day 190

August 29, 2010 by matt

Eugene Celebration 2010This weekend was the annual Eugene Celebration, a time to celebrate all that is unique and interesting about Eugene.  On Saturday there was a parade which in past years has always offered up an eye-full of unique, humorous, political and plain Eugene sights.  This year was no different.

We arrived a bit late and missed the first few entries of the parade but we caught most of it.  I’ve posted the highlights of theEugene Celebration Parade on my Flickr site.  There was Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life with some acrobatic bike riding and colorful apparel.  Then there was Sundance a local organic food store with members dressed up as carrots and other healthy vegetables.  There were music groups, marching bands and the Slug Queen who presides over the whole celebration.

The guy in todays photo told me with a serious look on his face that there were no photos allowed.  I kept shooting and captured the crowd (including myself) in his mirrored sunglasses.

There was a giant pedal powered vehicle with wheels taller than me.  The giant Twist and Shout Slug is always a treat to see.  There was Congressman Peter DeFazio pushing his standard wheel barrow picking up slime.

There was also lots of statements being made from “No more old growth logging on public forests” to ending the wars.  Peace, tolerance and respect for others were big themes.

There was Mobility International with a whole group of wheelchair bound members sporting flags from many nations of the world.  Local school played a big part in the parade perhaps nervous about the further school funding cuts being passed down to the local level.

Lots of sporting clubs as well from rowing, hockey, Emerald City Roller Girls, fencing and gymnastics.  Darth Vader and the 501st Legion Cloud City Garrison marched through with blasters and light-sabers at the ready.

Dancers, musicians, drummers, flag bearers, electric vehicles, bicycles, the list goes on and on.  Finally no parade in Eugene would be complete without the Deathmobile made famous in the movie Animal House which was filmed in Eugene.  I kept waiting for the rampage to begin as they drove slowly past.  I could almost hear John Belushi yelling “Toga! Toga! Toga!”

Check out the photos for your own glimpse of the parade festivities.  I’ll be posting more as I process them.

Window to the Soul – Project 365: Day 189

August 29, 2010 by matt

Window To the SoulThis post is a little outside the norm for this site but I figured I would post it anyway.  Feel free to ignore if it’s not for you.

The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul. Ralph Waldo Emerson

How often is it that we pass a stranger on the street and instead of looking them squarely in the eye we glance down or away? We have the opportunity to connect with another and yet we shy away, maybe fearing being too intrusive or maybe we don’t want others entering into our space.  How our eyes look at others is dependent on us.  Do our eyes see others as they really are; another human trying to get by in the world? Or do they only see things that we don’t understand and that scare us to our core?

I’ve always believed that this Country stood for equality and freedom irregardless of race, creed, color, sexual orientation or any other difference we might have.  But maybe I’ve just been fooling myself into some romantic notion that we as a nation do more than just believe it…we actually act on it.

As I look around and see America crumble with an economic crisis that seems to have no end; as people argue about things as silly as same sex marriage and whether a Mosque should be built 2 blocks from “ground zero” I can’t help but feel that we have lost our direction.  Where is the compassion?  In the words of the Black Eyed Peas “Where is the love?”

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love… Martin Luther King Jr.

Where do we go from here?  I see a fork in the road.  We can continue to breed hatred and distrust and live in fear and anxiety of things to come.  Or we can take a different road, one that meets the forces of hate with the power of love.  Where does this road begin?  I think it begins with each one of us.  We can choose how we live our lives. We are not living a script that some mystery writer wrote for us that we must adhere to line by line. We have the power to change and make a difference; to look at people with a different set of eyes, to see people as they really are; just another human being trying to get by in this world and make a better life.  Let’s clear the filters that have been placed over our eyes over the years.  Instead next time you are walking down the street look into the eyes of those you meet and emanate true love from deep in your soul.

Toothbrush – Project 365: Day 188

August 28, 2010 by matt

ToothbrushI realized just the other day that I am now officially more than half-way done with this Project 365.  I really can’t believe that I’ve crossed the half-way point.  I mean seriously there are times when I really wanted to just quit.  Some days it was a real struggle to get the camera out and take a photo not to mention find something that was half-way interesting to shoot.  But now I’ve crossed the hump and it’s all downhill from here.  Good times!

And then it came time for another day of photos.  The clock was ticking down and I needed to shoot something before the stroke of midnight.  I looked outside but it was already dark.  I ran around the house picking up random items trying to picture in my mind how I could make them look unique and interesting.  Maybe I was just trying too hard.

Finally I decided to just get ready for bed.  It was late and I my level of frustration was reaching a rather high level.  As I got ready to brush my teeth I looked around and an image popped into my head.  I ran and grabbed my P&S Canon and snapped a few pictures.  This is what I ended up with for the day.

Kids…this is why you should always brush your teeth.  You never know when you need to use it for Project 365.

Salad and Pigs-in-a-Blanket – Project 365: Days 186/187

August 26, 2010 by matt
Mango Avocado Salad

Project 365: Day 186 - Mango Avocado Salad

It’s a foodie Thursday post.  The last few posts I’ve been doubling up the images, not because this is a new trend I am adopting but strictly because I’ve suddenly gotten really busy.  I’ve been writing some more content for the photography lessons I’ve talked about in the past and frankly it’s been a challenge.  But more on that later.  Today it’s about good food.

My wife made this salad which consisted of salad greens, sweet red pepper, fresh ripe mango and avocado.  You can never go wrong with mango and avocado so this salad was really good.  It was tossed in a light oil vinaigrette dressing.  So delicious on a hot Summer day.

Pigs in a Blanket

Project 365: Day 187 - Pigs in a Blanket

 Last night my wife cooked up these rolls that were stuffed with hot dogs, cheese and onions.  The roll was so fluffy and airy and tasted so good.  Add into that the salty fat flavor of the hot dog and cheese and the crunchy bits of onion and you have the making of a delicious meal.  Of course they are not all that healthy for you but everything in moderation I say.  Plus everyone knows that when you add vegetables to meat you block out the negative aspects of the meat.  OK, maybe that is just wishful thinking.  The truth is eating a balanced diet is probably the most important thing you can do for your health, and as we all know our health is the most important thing.

So enjoy the pigs in a blanket every once in a while but eat those salad greens more often.  Don’t short-change your health.

Two-fer Tuesday Post – Project 365: Days 184/185

August 24, 2010 by matt
Fruit Salad

Project 365: Day 184

So I’ve gotten a few days behind in my posting of Project 365 so I decided that since it’s Tuesday I would do a Two-fer Tuesday special and combine two days into one post.  It’s your lucky day!!  Two photos in one post!!

OK, you probably are not as excited as you should be so let’s jump into the details. The first photo is of a fruit salad that my wife out together.  First she carved out a watermelon rind by scooping out the watermelon in little balls.  There are actually two different kinds of watermelon, a red one and a yellow one.  The yellow is my favorite and is so ultra sweet.  She also added in green grapes and pineapple.  This was our addition to my nephew Brenten’s birthday party.  He just turned 15.  Another year and he will be driving and the sidewalks will no longer be safe.

Buried Leaves
Project 365: Day 185

Yesterday I attended my company picnic.  We all cut out of work a few hours early and took the families down to a local park where the kids got to play on the playground while the adults chatted and BBQ’d hot dogs.  Since I always have my camera with me I started taking some photos of the event.

I think sometimes when I shoot photos I get lost in the bigger picture and forget the often smaller pictures that are just under foot.  In this case I spotted these leaves that were partially buried in the sand of the playground.  I thought that they really made an interesting photo as the light glowed through the leaf and cast a dark shadow on the gritty sand.
It’s so easy to lose sight on the minuscule world all around us.  Sure we all love a good landscape, the breathtaking views and the glowing sunsets but let’s not forget or lose sight of the world right around us.  A bottle cap on a deck (taken by a friend of mine), peaches on a step (another Flickr contact) or two leaves half buried in sand. The photographers eye leaves no sight unseen and no photo untaken.

Extreme Motorcycles – Project 365: Day 183

August 23, 2010 by matt

Extreme MotorcyclesI’m a few days behind in posting my daily photo for Project 365 so this one was taken a few days ago at the Lane County Fair.  I spent the day at the Fair with my family checking out all the exhibits, watching the kids enjoy the exorbitantly priced and extremely short carnival rides.  But they enjoyed it so it made going into debt worth every smile.

I think the thing they enjoyed the most was the animals.  They got to pet some sheep and goats.  There were rabbits of all sizes and colors and hair length.  There were cages of birds and a hundred different varieties of chickens.  We watched some pig races and some high flying Frisbee catching dogs.

Finally after walking around all day we sat down to enjoy some artery clogging food and were about half way through our cardiac inducing meal when we heard the motorcycles revving up.  It was time for the extreme motorcycles.

We stuffed the final bits of BBQ chicken and corn-dogs into our mouths and washed it down with a sugary soda and rushed over to the area they had set up for these high flying motorized acrobats.  There was already a crowd of people standing around so it was tough to get in close.  I also didn’t have the most appropriate lens for the event opting for my Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 over the Canon 70-200 f/4L.  This was more due to me not wanting to schlep around a heavy lens all day long.  My saving grace however was the fact that the Canon 5DII has such incredible resolution that it’s no problem to crop the image down.  I shot this one at 70mm.

These guys were amazing launching their bikes out over a motor home and landing on a ramp on the other side.  I was on the landing side so I aimed a bit above the ramp and waiting until I heard the throttle on the bike crank up and then suddenly they would be flying through the air, sometimes rotating the entire bike in a flip.  How they do this is beyond me but it sure is spectacular.  This is one of my favorite shots of the day.

You can check out the rest of the shots from our day at the Lane County Fair on my Flickr site.

Blue Ribbon Day

August 22, 2010 by matt

Blue RibbonToday is one of those days where I feel like tooting my own horn for a bit.  I got first place at the Lane County Fair for an image I took of my son “gawking” at his boot as I shot him through a shoebox, giving the impression of the view from inside the box.

It was a unique image and took first place at the Fair.  It’s pretty cool to see your work presented and to receive recognition for it.  I’m humbled and honored to have received first place as there were really some extremely good photographs from some very talented photographers in the same category.  It was also a special moment to experience with my son as you can see from this photo.  He was just as excited as I was to see himself up on the wall.

I also received an honorable mention for this shot of a summer thunderstorm I took while driving along I5 in California.  We had been heading back to Oregon and got to witness this incredible thunderstorm complete with lightening and ear numbing thunder. I pulled over at a rest area to watch the storm and noticed a corn field.  There was a tall chain link fence so I had to hold the camera over the fence to take the shot.  I think it turned out well considering that and the fact that lightening was flashing all around me.

My family and I had a really enjoyable time going through the entire photo display and checking out every single photograph.  It’s really a lot of fun to look at a shot someone else took and try to see their vision for the shot.  I like to ask a lot of questions in my head while I look at each photo.  It helps me to become a better photographer.

I love photography and love sharing it with the world.  Sure it’s nice to receive recognition but I’d be doing photography irregardless.  If you’d like to check out a few more shots from our day at the Fair you can see them here in my Flickr site.  I’ve got several more to process over the weekend so I’ll be adding more to the set.

Are You Out There? – Project 365: Day 182

August 21, 2010 by matt

Are You Out There?I took a break from shooting food and beverage items today to have some photo fun with my youngest son.  He recently passed his swimming class with flying colors so he put on his goggles and briefly posed for a few shots.

I think after the first 20 shots he was getting a bit overwhelmed with the lights flashing all the time so he put his hand up to block the glare.  Sometimes you just get lucky and hit the shutter button at the right time.

How many times have you been at the right place at the right time and were able to take advantage of an opportunity?  I still remember the Boy Scout motto from years ago.  Be Prepared.  But be prepared for what?  I say be prepared for anything and everything.

Sometimes opportunity comes knocking and we are unprepared or don’t recognize it.  Maybe we are not at a stage in our life where we can allow ourselves to recognize it or maybe we are just too caught up in the distractions of life that we just don’t see it.  Maybe we are burdened down with consumerism and debt and not able to take full advantage of an opportunity.  Are you putting yourself out there to create opportunities?

How are you positioning yourself to be able to take advantage of opportunities?

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