Nothing but the blues

Blues band playing at Brass House, Austin, Texas

Somewhere in Downtown Austin, Texas

Freddie Guitar Slim: Darn... I forgot what the next chord is.

TB (The Bassplayer):  No issues with me. I've been playing one note since we started.

Bongo Man:  Boss, you realize nobody is listening to our playing.

Oh, yea.

#nothingbuttheblues #bluesband #TexanBlues #TheBrassHouse #AustinHangOuts #AustinCityLimit #bluesguitar #onewhiskeyonebourbononebeer #CityLife #urban #urbanlife #nightlifeinaustin #xpro1 #fujifeed #nightlife #boogieonbaby #rockmebaby #blackmusicians #chicagostyleblues #ElectricBlues

Top five reasons why photographers missed the shot

Kodak 35

Top five reasons why photographers missed the shot:

1.  Forgot to bring the camera.
2.  Battery ran out.
3.  Didn't read the camera manual.
4.  Camera is still inside bag.
5.  Lens cap is still on.

The Kodak 35 is arguably the ugliest camera ever made.  I own one.  It is not only ugly physically but functionally the beast is cursed.  It ate two rolls of my 35mm films.  No it just didn't eat them.  It devoured them and spit them out or whatever were left of them like fishbones.  I never made any single decent shot out of this camera.

#vintagecamera #kodakduraflex #blackandwhite #macro #stilllife #Topfivereasonswhyphotographersmissedtheshot #film #discontinuedcameras #camerasthatdonotwork

Eating Healthy ... Not really

How to take your guilt away

Rose:  It's almost midnight.

Juzno:  I know but I can't stay away from chips.

Rose:  You're bad.

Juzno:  The label says it has less fat and less calories.

Rose:  Who are you kidding?

Juzno:  I'll cancel out my guilt the next day so I'll just eat fruits.  Well, maybe with a piece of biscuit.  But I think the coffee dilutes the carbs from the biscuit.  So no real issue there.

Rose:  And then you'll go through the cycle again.

Juzno:  It's how I maintain my feminine figure.  Can you pass the beer?

#eathealthy #food #fruits #macro #foodphotography #closeup #naturallight #diptych #gloriousfoodshots #chipsonabowl #avocado #blueberries #eathealthy_not

Salsa with two red eyes

Salsa Canon 5d mk ii Carl Zeiss 100mm Makro

Juzno:  Salsa, yea.

Rose:  Thank you, sir.

Juzno:  Why are those two red eyes looking at me?

Rose:  To make sure you don't leave without tipping.

-----------------------

Rose always experiments with food.  She got green tomatoes the other day and they were about to go bad.  So she sliced them and threw them on the Salsa.  Nice touch, I think.  The two red dots are my contribution.

#salsa #mangoes #tomatoes #food #salad #macro #stilllife #foodphotography #closeup #healthyfood

And your bird can sing (Re-post January 31, 2012)

Canon 5d Mk ii Carl Zeiss 100mm Makro

Whenever I ran out of photo idea, I start to shoot at random things.  Sometimes I'll get lucky.  But there are times when I think I'll have a brilliant idea of what to photograph.  Then I'll look back and ask myself what the heck was I thinking.  This is one of them.  This image has no significance nor philosophical underpinnings.  There is no sublime message except it's goofy.  Maybe it's to remind me that I need to replace my antediluvian cell phone.  Hope you're having a good day.  Cheers. - R

#still life #macro #closeup #nokiaringtone #smartphone #notsosmaftphone #dumbphone #nest #birdsnest #goofy

The Ghost The Youth and The Machine (Re-post from April 15, 2010)

Diana F+ self-developed

I find another sad day awaiting me as I fade into black.  I miss the days when I was younger yet I was so much older then .  Every moment was magical and filled with wild abandon – like frivolous tattoos appearing randomly in the recess of my brain, and intoxicating music permanently drilling a hole on my one ear.  That felt good even if it felt like I was not going to make it the next day.  It.. what was it?  I would soon forget it.  Has my spirit become so tired of me that it started to run away like this?  At this point, I could only find comfort that unlike many people around me I am not turning into a machine.  Was that it?  Just kidding.

#repost #Diana #toycamera #lomography #Ilovefim #mediumformat #DianaF #blackandwhite #pano #selfdeveloped  #beautifulvignette #lomography #lomo #filmnoir #analog #theruleofthirds #vintage #mystery #urban #oldschool #streetphotography #street #fineartphotography #grainy #vintage #bandw #blackandwhiteisworththefight #rockandrollsinger #monochrome

Just keep playing those mind games

EMP Architecture (Seattle)  Fujifilm Xe-1 14mm

Architecture is supposed to symbolize or say a message to the public.  Not quite sure if I can write about my opinion here.  This is a PG rated blog.  So the monographs have to adhere to the ethics established in 1563 by the Calvinistic Council of Proper Puritanical Practices.  CCPPP for short.  Actually, I just made that up.  The point I'm trying to make is it is up to the viewer to interpret this work of art.  As John Lennon once sang, "keep playing those minds together ... "


#architecture #EMP #EMPMuseum #colors #mindgames

How many guitars can one have?

Guitar Tower at EMP Museum Fujifilm X-Pro 1 35mm

Not enough!

My nails are mostly broken so I have to use guitar picks to play.  Years ago, I ditched the guitar pick as it was not working with the style I was trying to develop.  I've tried the thumb pick until I have my injury, which left me unable to pick up the guitar for years.  Bless be the Lord, now I have returned to playing guitar again. I've opted for finger style picking as it seems more natural.   But in recent months my finger picking nails could not keep up.  They just keep breaking.  I think I'll have to go back to guitar picks and figure out how to incorporate the pick with finger picking if I continue to play at this rate.

Rose's birthday is coming so I have decided what her birthday gift would be.  I got her the Fender American Deluxe Strat.  Of course, she couldn't play the guitar so that leaves me to make use of it.  Chuckle.  I've also gone back to singing.  Rose tells me that I sound like Jim Croce.  I wanted to sound like Freddie Mercury - but oh well.  Maybe if I wear spandex tight enough I might be able to hit those high notes.

Mama mia, mama mia.

#guitars #guitartower #EMP #EMPMuseum #sculpture

Bonnie's Dilemma

While waiting outside the Underground Tour (Seattle) Fujifilm X-pro1 35mm

Bonnie:  He's late.

Juzno:  Who is?

Bonnie: Clyde.  He is always late.

Juzno:  I think he said he needed to get the oil changed on the getaway car.

Bonnie:  That's it.  Next time, we need to get an electric car.


#vintage #lookslikefilm #oldmovie #filmnoir #fujifilm #mannequin #monochrome #faded #classiccamera #blondie 

Iced

Fujifilm x-pro1 35mm

Sometimes we just need to step back and chill out.  Too much noise on politics.  Christians, remember to love your enemies.  There can be no neutrality.  Either hate them or love them.

#loveyourneighbor #loveyourenemies #ice #glass #blue #hollywoodlook #politics

Goodbye Jimi, Hello Brownie

Jimi Hendrix Lyrics and Eric Clapton's Brownie Fujifilm X-Pro 1 35mm

We were at the EMP Museum (Seattle) last week and I felt like a little kid inside a candy store.  It housed some of the guitars and belongings of famous guitarists.  I could stay there the entire day and would still discover new things.

Hendrix's materials and Clapton's Strat, which he named Brownie, were some of the highlights for me.  The two guitarists changed the way people approach their guitars.  Sadly, one left us.  Fortunately, the other is still with us.  I shot these images for posterity - not thinking what to do with them later - just  to remind me where I was at that time.  In retrospect, by putting the images together,  I thought that the diptych represents a sampling of their personalities and the influence they had in music.


#JimiHendrix #EricClapton #Brownie #FenderStrat #EMP #Museum #Handwriting #Lyrics #relic #vintage #famous #ExperienceMusicProjectMuseum #famousguitarists

An Unusually Hot July in Seatlle

Seattle captured with Fujifilm X-Pro1 35mm

The last time I was at Seattle was around July back in 2012.  I had to wear a jacket then.  But in the last few days, it had been unusually hot.  Mid to high 90s.  The sky turned to green and the red wine became yellow.  Liberals and progressives are telling me that it's a valid proof that global warming is real.  Personally, I think that theory is bonkers.  While glaciers continue to melt in the arctic region, sea ice in the antarctic continues to form.  The same year that recorded the hottest temperature in decades also recorded the lowest temperature.  That is why some are no longer calling it Global Warming.  Instead now it's Climate Change.  Back in the 70s, liberals were worried that the earth was cooling.  It does appear that the earth has been warming ... since the ice age.  What is the big deal? We humans of all the species in this green planet have always adapted.  I should shut up and keep my politics to myself and stick to arts.

#seattle #building #architecture #wineglass #whitewine #chardonay #architecture #stilllife #fujifilm #retro #vintage #toycamera #lookslikefilm #holga #diana #plasticlens #lomography #urban 

Mt Rainier Glacier is Melting (and what is the big deal?)

Mt Rainier captured with Fujifilm xe-1 14mm

I don't really consider myself a landscape photographer.  The photos I capture are mostly nondescript at best.  In order to remedy this shortcoming when shooting portraits, I usually think of some witty captions for my images.  But it's often difficult to do it with landscape photos.  I've come up with some captions but I think they fall flat.  If you have any good ones please let me know about it.  Here are mine:

• Mt Rainier Glacier is melting (and what is the big deal?)
• Somebody forgot to trim the lawn and left a pile of muddy ice on top.
• Wow, that's a nice selfie background.
• Oh, no ... Mt Rainier is melting ... let us save the polar bears.
• Panoramic postcard for sale. Cheap.
• My iPhone 6s can shoot this.  What about yours?
• Yeti lives here.

#pano #panorama #stitched #MtRainier #Mountrainier #WashingtonState #nature #Landscape #LandscapePhotography #mountain #icecappedmountain #blackandwhite #BnW #blackandwhitenature #blackandwhitelandscape #fujifilm #xe_1 #wideangle #outdoor #greatoutdoor

So who do you think you are?

Fuji X100

Old Mather:  I see that you're back on the sauce again.

Juzno:  I just had a few drinks, that's all.

Old Mather:  Okay, tell me how many fingers do you see here?

Juzno:  One.

Old Mather:  Try again.

Juzno:  Okay I missed the thumb.  Two.

Old Mather:  Wrong.  They're two and half.

Juzno:  I think I'm going to bed.

#blackandwhite #portrait #oldperson #street #x100 #wrinkles #bnw_life #bnw_zone #bnw_society #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhiteisworththefight #bnw_madrid #bnw_awards  #bnw_europe #unopix_bnw #bnw_photografe #bnw_globe #bnw_top #bnw_europe #BW #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #bnw #monochrome #fineartphotography #Fujifilm #fujifeed #rangefinder #IAmGenerationImage #FineArt #FleetingMoment #CityLife  #urban #urbanism #mystery #fingerpointing