25. Solo Thanksgiving

112708_5605, originally uploaded by steve_kurth.

It's a happy Thanksgiving. I took it easy, starting my day with a champagne cocktail. I spent it alone and I can't say I minded that at all. I goofed around, watched the parade, and basically didn't do a damn thing. I'm grateful I have a job. Thankful Martha and Barbara called me three years ago. Who knows where I'd be if they hadn't? I shudder to think. I was broke, broken and alone. One step or two from real disaster.

Well, the company is on the brink of disaster now, The stock plummeted so low they took us off the market. Not really sure where this next will find me. I think there will be real changes in 2009. But for now I'm ok. Happy and buzzed and looking at the clouds.

24. Zeus' Revenge

111508_5512, originally uploaded by steve_kurth.

The graffiti on the block says "Zeus", but it was Poseidon's day. I had planned on shooting some trees in the fog, but when I stepped outside and heard the surf, I changed my mind and went down under the boardwalk.
The waves weren't huge, but they were very noisy. Every few minutes I really loud one would come up and I had to look down from the viewfinder to make sure I didn't get caught.
The pilling here isn't bad, but on another one the concrete was chewed up so badly by the tides it looked like a beaver had taken to it.
So, I capped off a bunch of shots and was deciding where to go next when the sky opened up. Big, sloppy silver dollar drops forced me back into the car. Zeus the sky god got his revenge on the day after all.

23. Raw Brackets

110108_5359, originally uploaded by steve_kurth.

Time: 8ish
Location: Plum Island
Mood: Neutral

I went out to Plum Island this morning with an eye towards shooting brackets I could composite together. I shot about five versions of this and tried to fit them together. It was irritating because my Wal Mart tripod isn't very steady and the shots aren't very together.

It occurred to me that instead of using different shots, I should just work from different developments of the same RAW shot.

So that's what we have here. The sky is one development, the foreground another. A mask and a few adjustments later and I called it good. I dunno how I feel about this technique exactly. Looks sorta fake, but not without its charms.