Entertainment, Local

Southern Fried Gaming Expo 2022

We went to Southern Fried Gaming expo again after missing it for two years due to the pandemic. It’s a really great convention that showcases an amazing variety of tech and games spanning generations and decades. I usually snag a couple of board games while I’m here as well as enjoy all the old machines we never get to interact with. Booth after booth of game designers, relic resellers, and game-adjacent art are hours of browsing joy.

Check out all the SFGE Goodness
Photography, Travel

Fireworks on the Fourth

I spent the Fourth of July in Washington DC. I was able to attend an event at work that allowed me a really nice view of the whole show!

I love a good fireworks show. I have a sort of fireworks bucket list and I can check this guy off! Wanna know what my fireworks checklist looks like?

  1. New Years Eve in Dubai
  2. Fireworks in Honolulu, HI over the Sea
  3. New York’s NYE
  4. Washington DC 4th of July Fireworks
  5. New Years Eve in Sydney Australia over the Opera House
  6. L’International des Feux Loto-Québec
  7. Cannes Firework Festival
  8. Lunar New Year Fireworks Display in Hong Kong 

I hope I get to update this blog every time I check one off – and that I get to check them all off this lifetime!

Photography

New Camera

I really should update this site a little more! But today’s news is very good – I finally made the move to mirrorless. I picked up a Canon R5 this week and the differences between it and my other camera ( the 5D Mk IV ) were apparent right away. I needed to know the improvements weren’t just marginal but would change the success rate of my shots – so after loads of reading, pixel-peeping sample photos, looking at months of results from real world wedding photographers and landscape/macro photogs, I made the plunge!

I walked around my house to just test its capabilities. I’ll show you some photos and outline my favorite things from this first day of use.

One of the challenges I faced with the 5DIV was the screen on the back didn’t articulate. This meant I had to either guess how the photo would come out on low to the ground subjects – something I honestly got decent at with years of experience – but would need to take many photos to achieve a perfect frame or reliable subject focus. Those days are gone!!! With the new articulating screen, I can finally, easily, take great low height photos. I practiced on my King Quail.

See more new photos!
Photography

Tech Campus

Jeremy and I have taken to walking Tech campus now and then. For a while there we never really went back but lately the distance between our graduation date and today has mellowed my feelings into just nostalgia. The weather was kind and gave us a 70 degree day on Sunday. We traversed campus on all the new footpaths and desire paths 15 years have materialized and I took a few photos. I noticed that I took most photos in portrait orientation – a funny side effect of consuming most of my content on a vertical screen.

Walk tech campus with me
Photography, Travel

Boston Harbor

I wanted to post a lot more photos from Boston but I really didn’t take that many. I was busy having fun with Jeremy, my brother, and our friend Zac. I always start a trip with grand ideas of what kinds of photography I’m going to do but then when I go with other people I wind up enjoying myself and forget to capture all that imagery I dreamed about. I still loved these shots from Boston Harbor the day we decided to stop in.

See the sights at the harbor
Photography, Writings

See Ya Summer

It’s hard to say goodbye. The end of summer always leaves me feeling tension – a strange discomfort I feel as I notice the increasingly dim evenings. The brisk air and clear skies that feel great now but also signal the impending bite of winter. The body of my youth loved summer – its best seasonal friend. The heat provided an energy to me and the long days enveloped my mood and outlook with optimism. Things change as we age – everyone knows this – but feeling that change internally is a different experience than knowledge of it can provide. The metaphor, for me, is best encompassed by the sunset – a fiery one. Nobody can fully experience a sunset through words and information. You have to experience it through sight, temperature, wind, intensity – and it’s exactly the same feeling I get about summer coming to a close.

A few scenes from on the water this summer as I said goodbye to an excellent day.

And the quietest moment at the end.

Good night, Summer 2021.

Travel

Lovers Key

One of southwest Florida’s little secrets is Lovers Key. Situated inside of Lovers Key State Park, it is not crowded, has pretty easy access from the State Park itself. It’s $8 to drive into the State park – which is probably one of the crowd deterrents considering the other beaches are “free”. The parking at those other beaches is like $20 for a couple hours though so take my advice and check out Lovers Key!

Apart from the sunsets, the beach is a haven for quite a lot of wildlife. We saw crabs, birds, and endless amounts of sand dollars.

Loved our time there! South West Florida – you never cease to bring me the joy I need in my day.