I’ve had this up on my various folios for awhile now and I’m still really pleased with it. For once, the depth of field and the lighting are spot on and your eye is drawn to the centre of the photo as it should be. Lightroom helps with the post-production but I know it’s a good photo without it.
It’s a reminder of all the things I love: comic books, my American peeps, illustration, the joy that’s in creating a piece of art and that on occasion I’ve got it in me to take a great photo.
Never read the book but it makes for a great title.
Flutter
One tweak in Lightroom and here it is. Shot out of the front of a bike shop in Clifton Hill.
A select few…
Tim and I with my It’s not a toy piece freshly inked.
Kelly and I. Kelly was one of the people I really wanted to me so this photo is special to me.
Kate and Trina.
Steve and Haley. Two of the most gorgeous people I’ve ever meet. I’m missing them both terribly.
Steve, Lisa and Rich.
And finally…
Tim Sale and Matt Wagner.
The rest of the photos can be found on Tim’s forum. I have no group shots because I was actually in them and I can’t just hand my camera over to someone because it’s not a point and shoot. Probably should’ve taken a point and shoot with me. Oh well. Other people took group shots so I’ll be collecting them at some point.
I’ve also added three new pieces to my RedBubble folio
1. Master at work
2. Work in progress
3. Lincoln
Well-known at least. By some…
Me with Dawryn Cooke
That Matt Wagner. He’s a crazy man. (Tim Sale, me and the crazy Matt Wagner)
See, Matt can be normal when he wants to be.
There will be photos at some point. I’ll probably leave it until I get home and have had some sleep. Personally, I can’t believe I’m still awake. It’s 7pm LA time and I’ve had about an hour and a half’s worth of sleep. Super-human effort from me!
I’m thinking of putting my trousers on (still wearing my jim-jams and a t-shirt) and heading downstairs to find a bottle of water and maybe some fruit. Getting a hotel room was a brilliant idea. I haven’t slept but at least I’m comfortable and I’ve had a shower. Only a few hours left in America now. I’ll be going to the airport in about two hours. Eugh. Not looking forward to the insanity that is LAX.
Then plane, loooooooooooooong flight, Melbourne and finally home.
I’ve had the red eye experience and I have to say it’s one I never intend on repeating. It was a five hour flight from Long Beach to Washington D.C. on a plane that felt incredibly small and cramped (even though it really wasn’t). I hopped on board and was totally freaked out by how the flight staff said Dulles – they made it sound like Dallas so I started to think I was on the wrong plane. I figured that they wouldn’t have let me through the door if I was and I did double check the gate before going anywhere near the boarding area.
So yes, what felt like a small plane with loads of people. It was fully booked and the chick in the seat behind me decided very early on that she was going to sleep with her head on the fold-out tray. I discovered this when I tried to recline my seat in an attempt to get more comfortable. She was not happy at all and retaliated by elbowing me in the back – repeatedly. It was a very long five hours not being able to rest or get comfortable. However, for all the whining I’m doing, I did get to see a storm at 30,000 feet which was pretty spectacular. Entire clouds lit up by lightning strikes. I think I was the only person on the plane who noticed because everyone else seemed to be asleep.
I’ve discovered that I really can’t sleep on planes. Which is a problem. I can doze but I can’t managed to shut off my brain enough to sleep. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I fly out Monday night. Hopefully I’ll be so tired I’ll just conk out and sleep anyway.
Staggering off the plane at 5.15am, I found Washington Dulles airport to be a confusing place. Baggage claim is in a totally different part of the airport and you have to get on a shuttle bus thingy to be taken there. Very weird. But I was very pleased to see Steven waiting for me. It’s been a bit of theme of this trip – I’ve put my trust in people I’ve only meet online and it’s paid off. I thought I was okay with it before actually doing it but have to admit it has been quite scary. I’ve been really lucky that everyone I’ve meet have been great.
Steven was my next host and technically, I stayed in Virginia as his apartment is in Arlington. First thing I did when I got there was get changed and stretch out on the couch. My sleeping patterns have been totally and utterly destroyed even though I thought I had adjusted pretty well to California time. This time change of only five hours has really knocked me around, evident in the fact that I’ve developed a first-rate cold. I must be the only person on the planet who travels to another country and gets sick. I tried so hard to convince myself I wasn’t sick but it didn’t work. I am sick but now I’m working on telling myself I’m getting over it and I’ll be fine when I wake up. You never know, it could work. I’ve got myself some heavy-duty nasal sprays and they seem to be working really well. I didn’t realise how hard it would be to be ill in another country. None of the drugs are familiar so it’s totally hit and miss. I guessed when I went to the chemist but I think I picked the right stuff because it’s certainly working.
But anyway… Arlington and Washington D.C. I didn’t go to Arlington cemetery like I had planned to. I did however, get to see the Lincoln memorial at night which was pretty spectacular. I can definitely recommend going there at night. It’s nowhere near as crowded and it looks wonderful. It does make photography a bit difficult but I got at least two shots during our walk in the pouring rain that I was pretty happy with. The Lincoln memorial really enforced how young a country Australia really is. Lincoln’s time happened before we even existed. It also made me kinda sad because he stood for so much. He believed in human rights for all regardless of colour or creed and that as a species we can be so much more but now his beloved America is something I think he’d be ashamed of. I think he’d be horrified at the direction the country he helped found and fought for has taken. But that’s me getting political, which is boring.
I do wish I’d spent more time in Washington. I would’ve loved to have visited the various museums and art galleries. The Smithsonians! I could’ve visited them and been in heaven. Well, I know for next time.
Fountain at the World War II memorial, Washingon DC
Does this really need a title?
We drove around Orange County today looking for comic book shops. There were meant to be four within easy distance but in the end we only found three. MapQuest lead us astray.
The second one we found to was a bit creepy. It’s everything a modern comic shop shouldn’t be. It smelt bad and the people behind the counter were the scary comic book guys I tend to run away from if given a choice. We stayed in there for about five minutes before bailing and moving on.
The final one we went to was Comics Unlimited and it had the rarest of creatures – a chick working behind the counter! I finally bought something – a t-shirt with the yellow elliptical Batman logo and vol. 3 of Runaways (so much cheaper than what I’d pay at home). I’ve got my green Superman t-shirt on and she commented on it so I gave her one of my mini-moo cards. Pity I didn’t have one of my superhero cards – which reminds me I need to find them because I’m sure I put them in my suitcase somewhere.
Tonight I’m flying to Washington. I’m sure there’s a million more things I could’ve done but I’m actually glad I skipped the standard tourist things like Disneyland. The closest I got to it was a visit to downtown Disney for dinner (Cajun food – yum!) and driving past it. The standard tourist fare isn’t something that really appeals to me but I do wish I could’ve managed a visit to Venice Beach. I could’ve gone to MOCA yesterday but it was getting on in the afternoon and we got stuck in traffic as it was. I dread to think what it would’ve been like if we’d left later. Maybe next time.
Today’s photo:
Today was a more cultural day.
Jackie took me up to the Getty Centre which would have to be one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been. The contrasts are amazing. The buildings are stark white, there is creamy, yellow tinted stone all around and beautiful gardens with lush green grass. Being California, there’s plenty of blue skies as well. We had a brief wander around, checking out the art but we were more interested in being outside.
Stairwell at the Getty Centre
After this we meandered our way to the Walt Disney Music Centre. This building is truly astounding. It would have to be one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I’ve ever seen. It sweeps up into the sky, all lusterless, curved metal that can be lit different colours. Every time I looked at it, all I could say was it’s amazing, just amazing. There’s an amazing blend of glass and metal so hence this photo of the front entrance:
So, a few days into my trip and I’m still freaking out about the traffic. Part of my brain is telling me we’re on the wrong side of the road and we’re going to be crashed into. The whole left-hand turn from the centre stresses me out because I can’t help but think someone is going to smack into us. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to but I’m trying. When we’re on the freeway it’s okay because all the traffic is moving in the same direction. I’ve promised myself that I’m never ever going to drive in America. I think I’d have an accident in about two minutes flat.
But now I’m going to have a grumble because I checked my flight details today from Baltimore back to LAX only to discover it’s been moved forward by two hours. So now it’s leaving at 7.05am which means I have to be at the airport by 6am. Which means getting up obscenely early. I have no idea how far away the airport is from the hotel. What really stings is that I now have to work out what I’m going to do for 12 hours at LAX. Sigh. Thank god I checked.
Tomorrow is possibly a trip to Golden Apple comics. We were at Borders this evening and I was so tempted to buy a hardback version Runways vol 3 because it’s a good $10 cheaper here but I couldn’t bring myself to give money to a global business when I could give it to a local trader. (But how do I explain buying stuff fro Amazon?) I did buy myself a diary for 2009 because yet again, well cheaper here than at home and it’s exactly the same as the one I have for this year.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually buy something. I’ve bought hardly anything at all.
My laptop is telling me it’s 10.48 Monday morning but it’s actually around 6pm Sunday here. So I’m feeling a bit disorientated and my stomach is having a grumble.
I didn’t really sleep on the plane (dozed for about two hours) so I conked out at about 2pm and slept for four hours.
Check-in at Melbourne and customs at LAX was pretty awful. At LAX, three planes essentially arrived at the same time and it appeared that they’d seriously underestimated how many people there would be. So we queued. And queued. And queued some more. But in the queue, I had my first star sighting. Guy Pierce! Lined up with the rest of us smucks. When I finally made it through and was out on the other side, I was so, so pleased to see Jackie standing in a Tim Sale Emerald City Comic Con t-shirt. Jackie, Jake and their adorable son, Daniel are my incredibly generous hosts while I’m in Los Angeles.
Anyway, I’m here. I’ve seen the Pacific from the other side. And I got to see the dawn at 30,000 feet.
Today’s photo:
A mono-rail station at downtown Disneyland.