Laura in the Bathroom

Here's my friend Laura in the bathroom at Undergrounds Coffeehaus. Here in South Florida, we have a serious lack of cool coffeehouses like they have up north. Fortunately we have Undergrounds. Have some coffee, dessert, or tater tots. Look through hundreds of used books. Check out art from local artists. Play scrabble. Hang out in the bathroom. It's all good.

You can read more about Undergrounds and get directions here.

Kitchen Bat

I was hanging out with Sedna after our photo shoot and we went to visit one of her friends. This was hanging in their kitchen. I thought it was cute.

Sedna Shoot

This is one of the images from a shoot I did with my friend Sedna. The quote is from one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe short stories, Ligeia. Sedna is another crazy poet.

Insect Macro

Tonight I saw this little guy was on the wall outside my house. He was small too- not much bigger than a house fly. Even stranger, he sat there for 15 minutes while I experimented with light sources and took dozens of pictures with my macro lens only about an inch away! I used my vintage manual focus 55MM/F2.8 Micro-Nikkor lens with an extension tube, and a flashlight for the light source. Nikon D200, ISO 400, F2.8 @ 1/15.

I have no idea what kind of insect this is. I've never seen anything like it. The lower body looks like a bee but what's up with the green metallic upper body? Any ideas?

Wet Bird Takes a Break

There was a tropical storm passing through the area and I was at a coffee shop, watching the wind and the rain. Suddenly, this bird flew in out of the rain and just sat down on the ground. It just sat there while I watched it through the window. The overhang of the building was shielding it from the weather. I expected it to walk around and maybe fly off again but it didn't move. I went outside, got down to ground level, and took this picture, using available light. I was no more than 3 feet away from him but he didn't budge. I went back inside to do some work on my laptop. Half an hour later, the skies cleared up and the bird flew away. I guess he just needed a break. Nikon D200, ISO 800, F5.6 @ 1/30.

Raw Food at David's

Most Sunday nights, I visit my friend David Haylock in Miami and work on his dozen or so web sites. David is a raw foodist and I am heading in that direction. I've learned that raw food is not just salads and it can taste better than any gourmet food you've ever had. Sometimes we go out for some raw Japanese food but tonight David prepared his own dinner and shared some of it with me. The tomato and avocado probably came from Josh's Organic Market in Hollywood, while the pate' and raw lasagna came from our friend Cynthia's restaurant, the Om Garden. I'm not sure where the guacamole came from. Either David made it or he picked up some from Glaser Farms. Every bit of it was amazing.

Grim Reaper walking home?

Twas a hot summer day in South Florida. I was on my way to Whole Foods when I spotted what must have been the Grim Reaper. It was just after 5 in the afternoon so maybe he just got off work and he was walking home? Maybe he was bored and took the day off? I really have no explanation. It was just one of those moments.

Bacon Chocolate Bar?

I'm waiting in line at Whole Foods with a basket of organic veggies when I notice a new display of chocolate bars. The one that caught my attention is the one pictured above- a BACON FLAVORED chocolate bar! I was like WTF? Am I hallucinating? Am I still at Whole Foods or have I been transported to an alternate universe? I wonder what the marketing meeting was like. Did someone stand up suddenly and say, "Hey I know! Let's combine BACON and CHOCOLATE and sell it at health food stores!" Perfect.

Here's another post I found about it. Apparently people like this stuff. Why am I not surprised?

Scaffold Rescue in Fort Lauderdale

On the way back to my office, I saw a number of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue vehicles stopped at the White Egret condominium so I decided to investigate. Something broke or malfunctioned on a scaffold and two workers were left holding on for their lives, fifteen floors up. One was still holding on to the scaffold while another was dangling in mid air, held up by his safety line. As I arrived, a Fort Lauderdale fire engine was raising its ladder to begin the rescue. Firefighters were also in the building and on the roof. See more photos on Design215.com

Jet Los Angeles Shoot

One of the images from the second day of shooting for Jet Los Angeles. Sedna did a great job as my assistant again and Courtney was our fabulous makeup artist.

Allie's Birthday Cake

I went with Sedna to her friend Allie's birthday party. Naturally I have tons of "snapshots" showing Allie and everyone having fun and being silly. However, for my Photo of the Day, it has to be the cake. =)

Happy Birthday: Allie

Argiope Spider

The Argiope Spider or "St. Andrews Cross Spider" spins conspicuous lines or spirals of silk into its web to prevent larger animals or birds from accidentally destroying it. I think its an amazing evolutionary trick. According to Wikipedia...

The average orb web is practically invisible, and it is easy to blunder into one and end up covered with a sticky web. The very easily visible pattern of banded silk made by Argiope is pure white, and some species make an "X" form, or a zigzag type of web (often with a hollow center). The spider then aligns one pair of its legs with each of the four lines in the hollow "X," making a complete "X" of white lines with a very eye-catching spider colored bright yellow on a field of black or variegated red white and yellow stripes forming its center.

I saw this spider in my mom's yard and I had to break out the macro lens. The spider didn't seem to mind me bringing my camera and lens within an inch of her body to get this shot. =)