Afternoon through a lens...

Tuesday, March 17th, is a special day. It's St. Patrick's day! And what did I do to celebrate?

Absolutely nothing.

But I did take my camera to work with me and seek out some photos to add to today's entry.

First, I hit the gym at the Boys & Girls' Club. It's cheap. It's through my company. And it's never crowded.



Nothing special here. I didn't want to look like a perv by taking my camera inside, so I just left it in the car...besides, I was there to workout. Not be a d-bag photog.



So, here's where I decided to be adventurous. It's almost 6:30 and the sun is still high in the sky. Plenty of time for photography - so I went to Mt. Sequoyah. The city of Fayetteville, while exciting from the ground, I must say is NOT exciting from Lover's Lane (okay, so that's probably not the real name, but it was the make-out location for couples back when I was in college).

Funny thing. Lover's Lane is right in front of a church.



and then you've got good ole Vesper Point - literally 50 yards away (or meters for the non-Americans).



It's an outdoor church. do they have services? I am dying to know. I should bucket list this question, because I have GOT to find out before I go to Brazil.



I paid a visit to the Fulbright statue. The Senator whom Fulbright scholars are named for. He's really a good guy. Heck of a poker player, tho. I refuse to sit at the same table - because he will take all of your money.

I was at the dedication ceremony for this statue several years ago. Bill Clinton was on hand - so - it was kind of big deal. Ever heard of him? Slick Willy told lots of cute anecdotes about the times that he had talked with Senator Fulbright - but can't honestly remember anything he actually said.





So, this is spring break for the University of Arkansas...and can you believe it? Students are actually ON campus. Studying. If I were on campus as a student during spring break - I'd be sleeping or eating. But I found what this girl was reading was very entertaining. You may have to click on the image to see the larger version. "Forensics for Dummies". Okay. So, here's my initial reaction. You're probably taking a Forensics course, because a) you enjoy forensic science and want to be a criminal investigator or b) you have to take it for...well, go back to A. So, you're professor assigns you a book on forensics and you don't feel like reading it - so you buy "Forensics for Dummies"? Maybe I'm wrong here - but ...that just seems redundant. Hopefully this person just really loves forensics.







Not quite sundown - but I love the hour or so before dusk. The lighting is so good for photography. Everything starts looking good at that point. Light is SO important in photography.



Not a great shot, just a macro shot of some berries of some kind on a tree near the Physics Building.



These stairs single-handedly gave me nightmares when I had 10 minutes between classes as a freshman. Stupid me for thinking I could cram them all together like in high school.



The clock on the south tower of UofA symbol Old Main was apparently a class gift from the class of 2002 or 2005. One of my graduating alumni classes. The University established this money-grubbing tradition of asking each graduating alumni class for a gift, except its not a gift. They choose some minor project and then ask you to pay for it as a newly graduated, in-debt, broke college student. This was what they decided when I was graduating one of the times I walked across the stage. I didn't pay a dime to the clock..and I'm a dime richer for it. They still got their clock.


Stupid squirrel...



Had I been a hunter, I would have pegged this squirrel with a .22 rifle

The Horse Races

5 Races at the Horse Races...

Doesn't sound like very much, but I went with my parents and they were 0 for 4 when they decided to call it quits. I was 3/4. Maybe they're sore losers?

This was something I wanted to do before I went to Brazil. Less for the gambling. I'm not much for that. I really wanted to see what kinds of pictures I could get.



This horse right here is one of the horses that won me some money. Not much, because he was one of the favored ones..with 5-2 odds. But a 4 dollar bet got me some money to cover the $2 horse I wanted to "show".

The above picture was shot with a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second. With the overcast, much faster than that was getting too dark. I thought it turned out well.


In this photo, I think it was the number 9 horse that was the one I picked. He never made it to the front of the pack. . . . Ever.



This shot was interesting. I don't know what they call these people. They're the people who guide the horse and their jockey around the track before the race. Minutes before the first race begun, a few of these guides would come out. This was an interesting opportunity.


So, my luck started off well, but when it started to sink, I had to ask for some advice.



The horse at the counter was very helpful, but since I didn't win anymore races - I think he was lying to me.

All in all, I had a good day except for the guy who randomly came up to me and basically threatened me. I suppose I looked at him wrong, but if I did...then I didn't realize it.

Anyway, until next time...