It's all about the light....

I took a nice walk along the Columbia River out towards Willow Pointe yesterday with my dog Finn and managed to capture some striking images. These are two of my favorites. Ya gotta love that magic afternoon light we get this time of year. In this first one I especially like the way the far shore is lit, while the foreground is in shadow. I'm always amazed by the ability of modern cameras to pick up so much detail in the shadows.

In this second one, I am mostly enamored with the composition, the contrast in scale with the detail of the grass in the foreground set off by the majestic sky and the sweep of the much grander shoreline in the distance.

But this is just what was running through my head. I am actually more interested in what is running through your head right now as you see these images. I believe that we all create for an audience, real or imagined, and so I would really like to know how (if) these images affect you, so please leave a comment below, and don't worry, I have thick skin. In the end, I really only have to please myself and, at least with these two images, I am pleased...

DIRECT TO YOU

Continuing to play with the images I shot in Vegas over New Years. I couldn't believe how many families were walking around, and especially the number of families with children in strollers. Vegas used to be known as Sin City, but it has really gotten kind of tame these days. More like a semi-adult Disney theme park than the Adult Entertainment Capitol of the World. The Strip no longer has that gritty edginess and I, for one, lament its passing.

However, the seaminess is always there, just beneath the surface. As you walk down the Strip, you will still be inundated by the down-and-out passing out discount cards to the strip clubs, massage parlors, escort services and other clip joints that lurk in the shadows a few blocks off the main drag. As I was having lunch at a sidewalk cafe outside the Paris, a billboard truck advertising "HOT BABES - DIRECT TO YOU" cruised by ever so slowly and stopped directly in front, blocking the view of the fountain show at the Bellagio across the street. The families walking by were embarrassed, little girls looking away and the little boys transfixed by the half naked babes, as their parents tried to quickly hustle them away. All I could think was "What the hell are these parents thinking, bringing kids to Vegas - God dammit, this is Sin City!"