Friday, March 2, 2012

Maybe I'll Keep It

Last night my family and I took a walk at Hahamongna as dusk began to infiltrate the park. I decided not to bring a camera but of course I didn't leave my phone behind and Hello, my name is Petrea and I am a photography addict.

I'll soon be trading in my primeval iPhone for a new model. But I kind of like these photos of the women runners from (I assume) Occidental College, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in the background.

As thy sky darkened, the poor old phone camera kept its (digital) shutter open longer. That made the runners more blurry and JPL more glowy.

20 comments:

Speedway said...

I like the photos, Petrea. Ilike the blurry runners because it imparts a sense of their movement towards you and is not static. I like the glowy JPL.

My little camera is too slow for movement or low light, but I don't like the way the flash changes the feeling of what I saw in the first place. So maybe we both need one of those little twisty tripod thingys? Runners would still be blurry, JPL glowy, but everything else sharper?

Kalei's Best Friend said...

The blurriness gives it a dream-like quality also adds to their anonymity.

Mister Earl said...

Your previous photo of Occidental men running there was a classic!

Trish said...

Love both shots---suggests that the runners are zipping by to get home before supper?

I'll have to join the photography anon group with you. I thankfully married someone who understands that my making photos is a passion, not just a cute hobby, after we stopped at the bazillionth place to take yet another shot of X, that I have thousands of shots of already, but not THIS one, and that it is ok. ;-)

Bellis said...

You're too honest. You could have said you spent ages working on this effect, and we'd have believed you.

Petrea Burchard said...

Yeah, I'd like to get a tripod, Speedway. There's a kind that folds up in your pocket, I think that's what you're referring to. In this case I'm not sure it would have helped, but it would make a lot of difference with my other camera.

Kalei, I hope they didn't mind my photographing them but I don't think they did.

Thank you, Earl. I thought of that photo last night. It's still my favorite shot I've ever taken.
http://bit.ly/xU2DXA

Trish, John is as bad as I am. We were all over Hahamongna last night with our phones.

Thank you, Bellis, but I know I'd be found out. And I couldn't live with myself.

Anonymous said...

The blurryness makes them look super fast!

irinapictures said...

I like the way how little camera decides the focus priorities of the place.
Hi friend. I am here from time to time, but not on daily basis. So please forgive me when I sound (not sound, actually) rude to your kindest comments.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

@Petrea: oh, I didn't mean anything negative about my comment on 'anonymity'..I think the effect was rather cool. :-)

Shell Sherree said...

Heh, excellent. You've reminded me of The Bionic Woman TV show. Oh, the things I could do if I could run that fast.

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

Hello! The lights in the buildings are good!

Petrea Burchard said...

Llandudno, they are certainly faster than I am!

Irina, your visit is always a pleasure.

Thanks, Kalei, that's how I took it.

I remember that show, Shell. I always thought it would be cool to be bionic.

Hi Amin. The buildings are very pretty out there, nestled against the mountains. They twinkle at night.

Trish said...

I had a flash this afternoon of this shot and linked back to my hiking trips of the Gabrielino Trail as a teen. We'd start at Chantry and work our way thru the week towards JPL. The last hour or so was almost a sprint down the hill to JPL to get to our waiting families, get the heavy packs off our backs and into a shower, sleep in a warm soft bed and eat something that was not previously freeze-dried for supper.

We probably looked a lot like your runners, well, except with 50lb packs on our backs and a LOT more dirt involved!

Margaret said...

I agree with everyone else. I think the bluriness is a nice effect. Hope you like your new phone.

Ms M said...

I like both photos, too -- the sense of movement with the runners, and the magical glowing effect of the JPL.

Petrea Burchard said...

God, Trish, that sounds like fun.

Margaret, if and when I get around to buying it. I meant to do it today and got busy with other stuff.

"Magical" is a good word, Ms. M. It's so pretty out there at dusk.

LGreenWriter said...

These are some seriously cool pix, love the way the runners seem to be moving even though the rest is still...it's amazing the results one can get with an Iphone (or BlackBerry.)

Petrea Burchard said...

That does it, LGreen, I'm keeping it.

Latino Heritage said...

Cool pix. Lights at JPL look like Christmas tree lights that have escaped from a tree and landed on the buildings.

Trish said...

ok, Petrea, fun...well. Perhaps *now* with cell phones and lighter packs and ultra-weight technology, maybe.

One year, we had snow we were dealing with, another, blazing heat. Once, someone found a huge, thick rope---firepole thickness, dragged it along the trail "for fun" for a while. Until someone tripped on it and went over the side of the trail, pack and all. Were it not for the rope for her to hold onto, we would have had SAR out to pick up her body. Several of us had to drop our packs, anchor the rope and pull her back up over the lip of the trail. Oh yeah, exciting!

But yeah, it was a good experience. Haven't been backpacking in eons though.