Fun Sculpture in Sebastopol, by artist Patrick Amiot:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5142768&l=e548ccc738&id=668098694

Taken with my Nikon D70, using a Tiffen Polarizing filter to increase color saturation.

Flip HD makes an appearance.

A new Flip camera demanded that I go out and try it... so I made a quick little video to test it and to see what issues I will face trying to work it into my regular workflow, if possible.

It's currently on my Facebook page (search Marv Parker) since Flip Share makes it easy to upload a rather large file... it's an m4v (m4p?) and I am not sure yet about how much compression takes place. Once I work out the work flow, I will post it here.
Great images, lousy sound capabilities, sacrificed for convenience I guess.

Solid Air Remains A Favorite Musical Group

Saw them again last night at French Garden Restaurant, Sebastopol, and enjoyed them as much as ever. Found out that you can audition their songs at CDBaby.com and buy their music there as well. They have been performing here in Sonoma county for several years now, typically at outdoor festivals (like the Forestville Youth Barbcue this weekend) and are always a crowd pleaser. I recommend that you catch them when they play in your area.

Sample CD:

Friday Wrap Up

New bicycles are fun to ride. Trek Navigator 3, Comfort line lives up to its claim: very comfortable to ride and gear shifts work splendidly. We rode to breakfast at the Parkside Cafe in Santa Rosa on Memorial Day, a round trip distance of about 20 miles.
Photo taken with my trusty old Coolpix 5700.





Visited Photographer buddy Kevin Berne's new studio in Oakland this week. He's gearing up for an open studio event the first two weekends in June, but took the time to give me a tour. We hope to do some lighting seminars there for wanna be video pros, or for folks who put a lot of video up on social sites and would like them to look more professional.
His site is kevinberne.com and has some great images on it. You can also get the dates for the Open Studio days.
Couple views of the studio, courtesy Kevin:

Roses Are Enjoying Spring Too!

Kay says our roses are more spectacular this year than in recent memory. Here's one sample:

Mother's Day Family Photo

Had a photo session with Ann Marie Dale, her daughter Alexandria and husband Ryan Polite in Ragle Park yesterday for a traditional Mother's Day present: a current portrait.
I think outdoor portraits are best and the most fun to shoot. And my trademark, as it were, is to use the sun as my backlight.
I used my Nikon D70s, in the raw mode, which also produces a small reference jpg which is what this photo is. Fill flash was with my trusty old Vivatar 285 into a bounce card on a Bogen light stand. Nice thing about the raw format is that in Photoshop CS3 I can totally control the color temp, in this case warming up the photo and reducing highlights as needed.

Did I Mention That Spring Is Definitely Here in Sebastopol?

Well, here's a picture to prove it. Gravensteins in the making!

Sight on Cooper Road.

We don't 'low no speedsters on our back road!!

Best Part of Thanksgiving? Leftovers!!

As I head for a turkey sated slumber this evening, I am pleased to know that today's fabulous meal with be with me for several days yet. Lots of turkey (thanks to Whole Foods and Diestel) and dressing left for lunches, snacks and late night raids on the fridge. Some pics to document to occasion:














Authentic Southern cornbread dressing, complete with toasted pecans, starts with freshly made corn bread, naturally.

This year we has a Toulouse 2004 Anderson Valley pinot noir with our dinner, and it was a fabulous wine. We bought it last year at the winery near Philo, and managed to save it for this year's dinner.

Hope you had as much fun as we did and your leftovers will remind you of a wonderful time spent with family and friends.

You know, I think I'll just go have another piece of pumpkin pie!! With some tasty Tailor Maid decaf expresso coffee.

Dogfish IPA Comes to Blue Note Stage in Sebastopol!!

And I have the picture to prove it:

Dogfish Head IPA comes to Sebastopol!!

Serious IPA lovers like Kay and me know good beer. And Dogfish Head 90 min IPA, quite possibly the country's best IPA has shown up, out of the blue, at two locations in town: The Hop Monk Tavern, the new beer garden in the old Powerhouse building; and in a restaurant not yet opened, potentially named "Petit Chou" but subject to change.

We first had the beer in Ashville, NC and then this year in GA and SC, tho mostly in bottles. I'm providing a link to their website if you want more info. We love this beer, especially when we can get it on tap.

http://www.dogfishalehouse.com