Flashback Friday #2 - Georgia Aquarium

We are back! Flashback Friday two weeks in a row! Lets keep it rolling. This week is a loaded one about the Georgia Aquarium. Earlier today I received news that the Aquarium has controversial plans to obtain more Beluga Whales for its exhibits. The full details as of right now include importing 18 Beluga Whales from Russia and spreading them over 6 different aquariums here in America. If it goes through it would be one of the largest such imports in the past 2 decades. The controversy lies with the ethical treatment of the animals and the length of the journey they must take in order to get to the United States. On the other hand, if the whales do arrive, they would lend valuable resources to both scientists and the average American population in the way of research and environmental awareness. 

I do not have a concrete opinion on the matter yet, but what I can say is that I love the Georgia Aquarium! As you can see from the pictures above it is a most inspiring place to be in. I have had the pleasure of visiting there a few times over the past few years and after each time I have left wondering when my next visit would be. One of my favorite spaces is shown in the middle photo. It is a tunnel that goes right down the middle of the largest tank in the aquarium called the Ocean Voyager. There is a moving walkway on one side to keep traffic flowing, but you can stop and stare if you like as well, which is what I like to do. Once you get across you take a journey through some exhibition spaces that tell you about the Whale Sharks (shown in the first and third photos) and how they got to the aquarium. Who do you call when you want the world's largest fish delivered on time?...well UPS of course! I'm not lying. They flew them over by UPS and the whole exhibit reads as one big advertisement for them, but if you look through that you can see some really great human ingenuity. Beyond the UPS Ad....cough cough....I mean exhibit....you will reach a giant viewing window (third photo). I mean giant too! It's more of a viewing theater than a viewing window. You could sit there for hours just staring at all the different fish and several people do just that. It is a most wonderful place and I hope you can travel there some day. If you would like to read the story about the Beluga Whales please click here - and, as always, keep it REAL!

Flashback Friday #1 - NYC

Hello readers! For a long time now I have been toying with different ideas of how to make my blog more interesting and more consistent. Several of the blogs that I follow have weekly postings which make them more relevant and current for their readers. I have tried to do this on my blog but I have been unsuccessful. If you look back through the archives you can find whole months that have only one or two posts! That is not a very consistent streak I have going. But that is all going to change. As of today I am starting a new series called 'Flashback Fridays.' Every Friday I propose to make a new post using a photo (or photos) I have pulled from my vast personal photo archive. I will be going through many genres of photos such as portraits, architecture, concerts, automotive, candid, street, travel, and much more. I hope you will join me each Friday for a new photo and story!

Today's photo and story takes place in New York. I have traveled to New York several times over the past few years and I will be heading there again later this month. While I was there in March of 2011 I ran across some Japanese locals who were tap dancing in Union Square to help raise money for Japan which was suffering in the wake of a huge earthquake and tsunami. New York is a very amazing place when at one moment you can be eating pizza in a place were everyone is talking Italian with corresponding hand gestures, and the next moment you can be in a public square watching Japanese people tap dancing. Have you ever seen a Japanese person tap dancing....? Thats right, I thought so. But they were and they were really good too. The photo in the middle was taken in Brooklyn and I liked how it paired up with the other two photos because of the shoes and it also reminded me of some photos I have seen recently of New York in the wake of hurricane Sandy. New York is one tough place and I have no doubt that they will be able to handle the clean-up. It will be interesting to see what has changed when I am there in a few weeks. Until then readers...Keep it REAL!

Letter to Peter Jackson

Today was a grand day! Started off with a 3D screening of The Amazing Spider-Man at the Trustees Theater in Savannah (first 3D movie to be shown in that theater), followed by a Q&A session with Stan 'The Man' Lee, had lunch at one of my favorite Japanese places in Savannah with some of my best friends, then watched a documentary on Stan Lee, had a meeting with my career adviser at SCAD, drove home to Jacksonville, and found this waiting for me after dinner! This is a response e-mail from WingNut Films saying they received my research paper on The Hobbit (see Concerning Hobbit Morals) and have looked it over and passed it on to Peter Jackson! I did not expect any response at all, or if I did, I was sure it was going to be one of those pre-written responses that they probably have to send out to hundreds of people per week. This is not. There are some things mentioned that are proof they read my letter (such as the part about enjoying the movie over Christmas since I will be seeing The Hobbit on Christmas Eve) and I am very excited to have received this. Just another Halloween treat to add to everything else that happened today! Thanks for reading and remember - Keep it REAL!

A Friendly Halloween Spider-Man!

Halloween is in a few days, and even though I don't dress up anymore and run around my neighborhood with a pillow-case asking complete strangers for candy, I still like to decorate. Especially when I get to carve a pumpkin! This is the first time I have been home for Halloween in the last 5 years so I wanted to at least do a little something special for the front porch. In years past I used to go all out with the fake cob-webs, multiple carved pumpkins, lights, black-lights, lanterns, spooky eyes, window hangings, and scary music. But since we live in a secluded part of our neighborhood we hardly get any kids coming to the front door with their heavy laden pillow cases. Yes, very sad, I know. Yet I did put out a few lanterns and our friendly skeleton sitting to welcome those few well dressed kids who might come knocking. And yes, I did carve a pumpkin as well. I decided to carve a Spider-Man themed one this year because on Wednesday morning (Halloween) I will be in Savannah seeing The Amazing Spider-Man at the Trustees Theater followed by a Q&A by Stan 'The Man' Lee himself (co-creator of Spider-Man)! I am very excited for that Halloween treat! Keep it REAL!

Back In Action

I was able to pick up both my camera and wide angle lens from the camera shop today. Everything is in working order and back in action. I am very excited to get out there and tear it up with my tuned-up photo equipment! New stories, new adventures, and new photos will be coming soon. Keep checking back for more content faithful readers! And, as always, - Keep it REAL!

Concerning Hobbit Morals

I have a small confession to make - I am a huge Tolkien fan! So huge in fact that in 10th grade I wrote a research paper on The Hobbit. Since the movie adaptation is coming to the big screen later this year I wanted to celebrate by resurrecting my paper and up-dating it. When I started doing this I had the idea to mail a copy to director Peter Jackson. Sure it's kind of a silly thought and probably nothing will come of it, but if something does, if I actually get a response from someone like Peter Jackson, then that will certainly be one of the coolest things to ever happen to me! So, with that in mind I prepared my paper to mail and I sent out three copies of it this week. One to Mr. Jackson himself, one to Wingnut Films (both in New Zealand), and one to Warner Brothers Studios (in California). I'm sure they get lots of fan mail so I tried my hardest to make mine as professional as possible with professional quality printing and formal cover letters for each packet so they at least should stand out from the standard mailings they get. Keep your fingers crossed for me that something cool will happen later, and if nothing happens at least I can say I was able to make my paper better and share it with all of you - so if you are in the reading mood today hop on over to issuu and give Concerning Hobbit Morals a read. And don't forget to keep it REAL!

In the Shop

So for the first time in the past 5 years I am without my trusty digital camera. I dropped it off today at my local camera repair store and should have it back in about a week or so. While in the shop (or camera garage) they will be cleaning the sensor of dust (saving me hours of photoshop work), running camera function tests, and replacing the shutter adjustment toggle switch (which is half-way broken). I'd say after 5 years of constant shooting it has held up pretty well if that is all that's wrong with it. I have also sent off my wide angle lens (see previous post) to get fixed, so in a few weeks I should have everything working again and in tip-top shape. Watch out for more great photos headed your way. In the mean time - keep it REAL!