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Happy Movember 2013

It’s that time of year again folks. The air’s a little crisper, the trees are full of color, and I’ve shaved my mustache in an effort to raise awareness about men’s health issues as well as raise money for the organizations that are fighting the good fight.

This year I’m flying solo as a “MoBro”. Can we lose the “bro” monicker though? Seriously, the term “bro” makes me think of beer coozies and fist bumps, and that’s just not me. Anyway, here’s the link to donate through my page: MoBro.co/joeL8X. I’m thinking of doing some fun stuff to raise money this year, so be sure to follow me here, on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

If you don’t know about Movember yet, you can read all about the organizations vision, values, and goals here.

Swingin' at the #coastalcarolinafair with @frostymac #fair #swing #ride #charleston #sc

While I’ve got your attention, the Coastal Carolina Fair is in effect again. All the rides, attractions, and deep fried things that probably shouldn’t be allowed near a deep frier are available for your enjoyment at the Ladson Fairgrounds.

More importantly, I’m proud to announce that my daughter Mackenzie has won 2nd place in this year’s photography contest for division 3 (Students)!!! She entered shots she made during last month’s World Wide Photo Walk, and her shot of a rusty old bicycle bell earned her a red ribbon.

Mackenzie Wins 2nd Place at the Coastal Carolina Fair Photography Contest

Next up in the information department is that Halloween was this week, and of course my family had to pose for pictures in our costumes:

Kegan’s buddies came over and were promptly stuck in front of my camera. Some kids are so cooperative in getting into character. These kids rule.

My Satyr costume was inspired by this new Halloween themed tattoo I got from Rob Junod over at Holy City Tattooing Collective:

I got my #Halloween #tattoo by @robjunod at #HolyCityTattooingCollective in #Charleston #SC Check out that #Satyr fiddling the night away! I admire his goatee...

In sadder news, we lost a New York legend last week. Lou Reed passed away after losing a battle with liver disease. When the kids and I carved our pumpkins, I decided to make mine a tribute to one of rock n’ roll’s most influential people. From the left to right, it’s Mackenzie’s “Hedgehog-O-Lantern”, my “Lou-O-Lantern”, and my son Kegan’s “Boo-O-Lantern”:

The sadness didn’t last long in our family though, because the day after Lou passed away, Karlina Josephine joined the world:

Welcome to the family, kiddo. Brian & Mira are going to be great parents to you, and you will have more professional photos of yourself than any other kid in your neighborhood, so just accept it and be prepared!

Coastal Carolina Fair 2011

Much like last year, the year before that, and for 50 something years before that, the Coastal Carolina Fair has come to Exchange Park in Ladson, SC. Actually, they’re celebrating the 55th year of the fair in the Charleston area this year – that’s over a half-century of fried Kool-Aid (or Oreos, Twinkies, sticks of butter). This year I went with the family, but I still managed to get a bunch of shots of the fun. I also wrote up a similar post last year, so feel free to check that out.

This photo of the taxi cab tourist in NYC won an honorable mention in the Division 1 photography contest! Just thought I’d share that with you in case you aren’t able to check out the art exhibits. If you do go there, please notice (and laugh at) my giant self-portrait that is keeping a half-bearded eye on the exhibit hall. Thanks.

We arrived just before sunset, and I have to say that I was disappointed by the sky this evening. The clouds were perfect for a spectacular southern light show, but just after I took this shot, they vanished and we got one of those shapeless sunsets. Oh well, there’s always next year 😉

I did try to compensate for the lack of definition with a graduated pink Cokin filter that I held in front of my lens. I also tried to get creative with this shot:

Something about this guy in front of the balloons caught my attention. I wonder how many times Old Man Jenkins here had his plans foiled at the old amusement park by some meddling kids before he took a road gig?

The big star of the show for me is always the big Ferris Wheel. I just love the patterns of light and the plethora of angles to capture them. This year I decided to go head on.

Kegan found out that he does not like heights on the skylift.

Here he is, holding on like a trooper:

The kids made good use of their “all you can ride” hand stamps.

I’m pretty sure I’ve taken this same shot of these same ducks every year I go to the fair. As fun as the fair is, it really is very consistent. And by consistent I mean it’s the same dang thing every dang year!

In the petting zoo, I thought I would get all artsy with this close-up of a cow’s head:

But then she did this, and I couldn’t resist:

The fair wouldn’t be the fair without some of that newfangled country music I didn’t grow up listening to. From where I stand, the new country folks basically took all of their cues from 80’s hair metal but got rid of the distortion pedals and added a fiddle. But, there was a huge crowd of people there to see Colt Ford, and I snuck up to the stage to grab a couple of shots and see what all the commotion was about. By the way, the security are always really cool at the fair if you ask to take some shots first!

Good old Colt must be a big deal around here, because even the people not watching the concert were singing along as they walked around the food court in earshot of the show. We started to head to the car when I got taken by surprise by the fireworks show. I really shouldn’t have been surprised, because they do it every night at the fair. It was a pretty good excuse to pull the camera back out.

And with that we hurried to the car so we could wait in traffic. Another successful family trip to the fair. I can’t wait until next year!

Kayla & Kegan

My kids’ grade school held their annual community fair this past weekend, and my son was very excited to get a chance to hang out with one of his favorite classmates, Kayla!

The kids slid, jumped, and climbed for hours on a beautiful spring day.

I though I’d let my son have a say in this post, so here’s my interview with Kegan about his buddy:

Joe: What do you want to tell everybody about Kayla?

Kegan: She’s very nice!

Joe: What is your favorite memory of Kayla?

Kegan: She came to my birthday party and got her picture taken while playing.

Joe: If you could tell Kayla one thing right now, what would it be?

Kegan: I’m so happy that we are friends!

I’m happy they’re friends also 😉

2010 Coastal Carolina Fair Photowalk

***Update #2 10/28/2010***
The weather looks good and the clouds right now are awesome – I’m leaving for the fair momentarily. See you there!

**Update 10/28/2010**
If the forecast is actually correct, today is going to be a messy day, but if you look at the time we’ll be photowalking, the storm should be moving out, which usually mean spectacular cloud formations for the sunset! As of now, we are still on!

*Update*
I’ve been informed by a friend that the local photography meetup group is having a photowalk on Saturday, October 30th. The details for that walk are here.

–Who: Anybody with a camera and the will to use it
–What: A Photowalk at the 2010 Coastal Carolina Fair
–When: Thursday, October 28th 2010 at 5:30PM and if there is bad weather, the rain-date will be Friday, October 29th 2010 (check this site for confirmation)
–Where: We will meet at The Photography/Fine Arts building at Exchange Park, 9850 Highway 78, Ladson SC
–Why: Because sunsets at the fair are awesome, as well as motion capture shots of the rides, the colorful backdrop of concession booths, rodeo action shots, cute animals, flowers, musicians, etc. and whoever makes my favorite photo will win a 1 year Flickr Pro Account!

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What is a photowalk you ask? A photowalk is made up of a group of people who go to a location and take photographs. It’s mostly photography enthusiasts who like to get the chance to learn from each other or just enjoy the company of other photographers. Anybody is welcome, and there is no need to worry about your skill level, what kind of camera you have, or anything like that. Nobody has to see your pictures if you don’t want to share them!

Here are the details for the contest: Photos must be submitted to the 2010 Coastal Carolina Fair Photowalk Flickr Group to be eligible for the contest. If you don’t use Flickr already, you can sign up for a free account and then just join the group to add photos to it. You can submit up to five photos. I will pick one photo from the group that I like the most (it must be taken on the the night of the photowalk, so make sure your Exif data reflects that – film users will just have to be honest) on Monday, November 1st. You can change your submissions at any time prior to the end of the contest, but when Monday rolls around, the group will be locked. The winner will get a 1 year Flickr Pro Account courtesy of JWNPhoto.com!

You can shoot in any style you like, and you can use any technique you like as well. HDR, split-tones, and creative filters are all fine by me. It doesn’t mean that it will make the best photo though, so keep that in mind! I’m looking for my favorite shot – not the most technically correct shot, so it will be quite subjective to whatever makes me think, “Wow, that’s really cool/good/cute/amazing/different!” I won’t know ’till I see it.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments.