Vivitar Extra Wide & Slim


Vivitar Extra Wide & Slim
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
The Vivitar Extra Wide & Slim is a camera with somewhat of a cult following; I love it so far. It is a pocket 35mm flim camera with an extra wide lens which produces some nasty color contrast in the right light, and also vignettes in the corners. It cost me ten bucks on Ebay.

Arrested development


Arrested development
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
An empty field biding its time, awaiting the eventual shopping mall... Fisheye 2, AGFA 100 (expired) 35mm film.

Peace


Peace
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

Fisheye fun


Fisheye fun
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
The Fisheye 2, with a whopping 170 degree field of vision! Oh, this camera is fun...

Will you still lomo me tomorrow?

Pinholga pinhole camera, exposure time approx. 10s.

I have begun to play around with "lomography". I have long been intrigued by some of the great lomo on Flickr. I haven't worked with film in 10 years, so it's been a lot of fun the last couple of weeks.

Lomography means many things, and so in some ways it means nothing. If interested check out www.lomography.com . To me, lomography is about capturing everyday life using cameras and film and processing and shot selection etc. which provide semi-"random" results, some of which may be highly visually entertaining. I realize for lomoheads it means a lot more, and for many photographers, lomography=crappy photography. For me, it is the experimental/random side of it that is appealing.

This image was the best out of my first role with the Pinholga 35mm pinhole. It's a palo verde tree, and the sun off to the top left has bled into the image and created a fire in the tree. I exposed for about ten seconds. Obvious lessons learned after first roll (doh!): use a tripod and a shutter release cable!

Golden bokeh


Golden bokeh
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

Today's "Underappreciated Technology of the Day"

Via the invention of affordable, mass produced nails about 200 years ago, all people everywhere have been able to hang photgraphs on their walls for as long as photography has existed. Thus one could say that nails are an essential part of the photography technology system. If I were a nail enthusiast, I might even try to convince you that nails where the technological "tipping point" that made photography possible.

Scaffolding: Not just for construction workers anymore

In complex systems science, "scaffolding" are those structures necessary to move from an initial state to an emerged form. For example, when recapturing an area of land and bringing it back to its natural state (e.g. prairie), you will find that certain birds and plants have to be present during the transition time in order for the old form to re-emerge. Once the new state has emerged, the scaffolding comes down... BUT, without the scaffolding, no change would have occurred.

Another example: Mary Poppins.

The concept of scaffolding has attraction to social scientists and educators too. From: condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/~group4/

"Scaffolding instruction as a teaching strategy originates from Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and his concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). “The zone of proximal development is the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance." The scaffolding teaching strategy provides individualized support based on the learner’s ZPD. In scaffolding instruction a more knowledgeable other provides scaffolds or supports to facilitate the learner’s development. The scaffolds facilitate a student’s ability to build on prior knowledge and internalize new information. The activities provided in scaffolding instruction are just beyond the level of what the learner can do alone. The more capable other provides the scaffolds so that the learner can accomplish (with assistance) the tasks that he or she could otherwise not complete, thus helping the learner through the ZPD."

(Image of Philadelphia City Hall. August 2007)

Quidditch anyone?


Quidditch anyone?
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

32 variations on a theme


32 variations on a theme
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

I knead you


I knead you
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
Cats knead their paws to show contentment; it harkens back to when they were kittens and kneaded their mother to encourage milk flow. Whenever Rufus sees me, the claws start moving in and out of whatever they are on, and the purr motor starts a hummin'. After 40 years of playing aggressively with cats, I am all to familiar with cat claws!

Hawthorns on the Black Hill

Uploaded by spkennedy3000 on 1 Jan 08, 8.06AM PST.

Christmas 2007


Christmas 2007
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
12-25-2007
Foreground: Andy, Maeve, Jack, and Pat
Background: Larry, Evelyn, Kevin, and Mary

Christmas from the present's perspective


Merry Christmas everyone!


Merry Christmas everyone!
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

Winter sunrise in Chandler, Arizona

View east from baseball field, Desert Breeze Park, Chandler, Arizona

Actual is not normal


Actual is not normal
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
A macro of a graph in Edward Tufte's "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information", a classic on graphic design of data displays. This particular graph shows the weather of NYC over a year, and this particular data is the actual and average amount of precipitation in a month (not sure which one).

One of Tufte's principles is to maximize the information to ink ratio--only use ink to portray what the data needs. In this case, a two-category bar graph alone has rather poor information to ink ratio--all that ink to portray two numbers! However, this image is only about 1/50th or less of the total image, so its tininess makes it tolerable.

If you're looking for a last minute book gift, this is one of the most stunning coffee table books I have, AND it's got wonderful insight for anyone who works with data and visualization.

Christmas #14


Christmas #14
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
Another Christmas tree light abstract

Dickens Village #1


Dickens Village #1
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
Design by Mary Ellen Page, aka my sweetie. This is the "east end" of town, at least as laid out on our credenza. You can see Scrooge working thru the window of Scrooge & Marley. There's not a version of Christmas Carol that I don't like, but my fave is probably Michael Caine in The Muppetts Christmas Carol.

Christmas #11


Christmas #11
Originally uploaded by kevindooley
The invisible subject is a vase with pine cones and Christmas lights. The very edge of the vase is on the lower right, where ilsebatten has added a note. The lights made a wonderful shadow (the horizontal line) on the night wall. I then used a movement blur at the same angle as the line and increased contrast.

Have yourself a merry liberal Christmas


Christmas #10


Christmas #10
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

Christmas #9


Christmas #9
Originally uploaded by kevindooley

There's Flickr, and then there's Mesa #10


There's Flickr, and then there's Mesa #9


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