Kellen gets inked at Bulldog Tattoo

Tonight, I took Kellen to see my friend Eric at Bulldog Tattoo. Eric worked with her beforehand to create some preliminary sketches of the "Sea Horse" she wanted. I took this photo using the available light in the shop. I use available light whenever possible. Using a flash in a situation like this usually produces ugly results.

Nikon D90 with Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Exposure: f/5.6 1/60 ISO 800.

Confused...

Okay, I'm a little confused. Does anyone else see a problem here? This mishmash of signage is on Oakland Park Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, by the Intracoastal bascule bridge.

Vacant land in Fort Lauderdale

For your viewing pleasure, I photographed this large section of vacant land on East Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, FL. There used to be a number of stores and shops on this land. There were two car dealers, a clothing store, and a couple of fast food chain restaurants. Now there is nothing. Sign of the times? Perhaps.

Awww, a Valentine's snake?

I left my house this morning... alright, so it was 2 in the afternoon... that's morning to me, ok? Anyway, there was this snake right outside my door. I bent down to take a picture. At the same time, she raised herself up to get a better look at me or something. Did she want a Valentine's Day kiss? I have no idea. I left to get some lunch. If anyone knows what kind of snake this is, please let me know.

Edgar Allan Pwned!

I visited the Apple store in the mall today and I couldn't resist leaving my mark. I keep a little USB drive on my keychain, loaded with all kinds of fun little goodies. By the way, if you haven't already been there, you should visit the world's most popular site about Edgar Allan Poe, Poestories.com. If you want to download my Edgar Allan Pwned photo for your own computer (or others') you can download it here.

Kiewit crane time lapse

I started another time lapse project today. My job was to document the disassembly of a Manitowoc 999 Crawler Crane for Kiewit Southern in Miami, Florida. The gigantic crane had to be taken apart and shipped to another Kiewit job site. This time lapse project was challenging for several reasons. First, I wanted to shoot enough frames to produce a film that played back at 24 frames per second. The original footage is 1920 x 1080 and so I ended up having to swap 8GB memory cards while the camera was running. The second thing that made this time lapse film more difficult was the shifting center of the action. I had to change the camera location several times and do a few pans and zooms while keeping the timeline visually seamless. I have to say its one of my best films to date.

Kiewit crane time lapse by Robert Giordano on Vimeo.

Publix Escalator

Here's the escalator in the Publix Super Market on S Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The actual grocery store in on the second floor so you have to take an escalator up when you enter and back down when you leave. But what about your shopping cart full of groceries? Well, they seemed to have solved that problem, although its a bit of a weird ride. By the way, look closely and you'll see a sign at the top that says, "STEP OFF QUICKLY"

VAG Plaza

I pass by this sign almost every day. It's in Pompano Beach on US1, just north of Atlantic. Its a nice sign, right? Every woman I show this to thinks its hilarious and can't even believe its real. When I show this photo to men, some get it but most scratch their heads and ask me what they're supposed to be looking at. I wonder what the people think who work at the various stores in the plaza? What about the company who made the sign? What does the property owner's mother think? What they need in this plaza is a gynecologist. Maybe several.

Birch State Park Railroad

Birch State Park is located on Fort Lauderdale Beach at the corner of A1A and Sunrise Blvd. It's an oasis of natural beauty in the midst of a sea of condominiums, bars, restaurants, and tourist attractions. When I was a kid, Birch Park had a narrow guage train that took visitors through swampy areas of the park that were difficult to get to on foot. The train crossed over a creek at one point with people paddling canoes underneath. Here's a postcard from the 1970's...

My photo at the top shows all that's left of the bridge and the railroad. The train and the canoes were taken away years ago to keep greedy developers from seizing the park and building more condos. The details of this story aren't easy to find but if you dig into the details of Hugh Taylor Birch's agreement he made when he donated the land, you'll find the answers.

The Poe Toaster

Every year on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, a mysterious figure known as The Poe Toaster, sneaks into the Westminster grave site and leaves roses and half a bottle of cognac on Poe's grave. This photo shows the last remaining Poe fans waiting outside of Poe's grave to get a glimpse of the Toaster. It was 13 degrees outside. One by one we succumbed to the cold and retreated to the warmth of our homes, hotel rooms, or vehicles. No one saw the Toaster. Happy Birthday Edgar!!

Rob and Poe

Here I am in Baltimore Maryland with my buddy Edgar Allan Poe. I was here on a road trip for Poe's 200th birthday celebration. I think it was 16 degrees outside. Now go to www.Poestories.com

Edgar Allan Poe 200th Birthday

Edgar Allan Poe fans gather in Westminster Hall for Edgar Allan Poe's 200th Birthday celebration in Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more about Poe or read some of his famous short stories, visit www.Poestories.com.

Piano and Poe

I went on a road trip to Baltimore, Maryland for Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday and I stopped to visit my friend Kellen. Among other things, she is quite an awesome pianist. She's also a Poe fan. =)

Gator Jerky

Driving back from Tampa, I pass through Yeehaw Junction. At some point in history, people thought this intersection of State Roads 60 and 441 would become a booming little town. It didn't happen. Gas stations that were on three of the four corners have all been torn down. Tall weeds grow where the car wash used to be. The only things remaining are the Desert Inn and a guy selling "P-Nuts" and Gator Jerky out of his 1978 Ford pickup.

Queen of Hearts???

My wacky friend Courtney Christopherson is a makeup artist. She wanted to do a random photo shoot one night and here's the result. You can see her work at www.TheInnovativeArtist.com.

A Pair of Hideous Dwarves!

My friend Laura was reading an old comic at the coffeehouse and we were amused.