Monday, January 30, 2006

georgia on my mind 1: stone mountain

five days ago, we drove 400 miles to Georgia.

we started out last Friday, sixty miles away from Orlando. plans were made as early as December when the idea of an interstate roadtrip was conceived. together with Sas' aunt and a male friend, we agreed on a six-hour drive to Atlanta to be complemented with a tour of the Coke Museum, Georgia Aquarium and Centennial Park located within the city limits.

a few days before, the plan was changed. instead of Atlanta, it was changed to Miami, which is obviously close (and down south). for whatever reason, we ended up sticking to the original plan, but on a different itinerary. our primay destination would be a few clicks away from downtown Atlanta, and into the heart of a Georgian tourist spot known as: Stone Mountain. (i'll post pics if i can, and if my photos aren't that much blurred).



Stone Mountain is a large slab of granite rock with an elevation of almost 2,000 feet above sea level, and serves as an intangible memorial to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. carved in the face of the mountain are three figures significant to the southern rebellion a hundred plus years ago- - -two of them were generals: Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson; and the other one was the president of the secessionist states: Jefferson Davis. the easiest access to the summit of the mountain is through a cable car (appropriately called Skylift) that would drag you up on a 45-degree vertical climb.

the view from the car:



note the building on the left (with the white pointed bell-tower) is the Confederacy Memorial Museum, one of the largest (or so they say) civil war musuem in the whole south. unfortunately, for us, it was closed during the time we went there. darn. oh, well, next time i'll try to visit gettysburg. hehe.

before we went up the apex of the mountain, we passed by the museum (however, as I'd said, it was closed) and a small bronze plaque commemorating the effort of the southern forces during the civil war. each state that seceded from the Union was given a fitting tribute through erected stone obelisks together with the corresponding state flags.



i have taken the liberty to convert the original photograph to sepia to give a more historic effect.



view of the trail towards the skylift entrance. on the left of trail (not visible in the picture, unfortunately) is a small marker dedicated to the first casualty of the engraving of the mountain, who, as the epitaph stated, was killed when a slab of granite hit the worker in the head and pushed him off the scaffolding.

near this particular trail is the entrance to the park itself, which you can see in the distance, beyond the small clump of wilderness up front. i haven't made a clear shot of that specific place (i'm still in the process of tinkering with my camera), but i can describe how it was set up. since it was weekend and the sparse population of visitors, the minute town at the foot of the mountain resembled somewhat, a ghost town. most shops and eateries were closed as well as few of the picturesque attractions within the town itself. one of the reason why we decided to head towards the direction of the skylift and up the summit.
...





next stop: the summit and the walking trail up the mountain...

latest musing of Etchie at 00:08 1 comments

Sunday, January 22, 2006

one, two...snap! darn...

shutter: 1/4 sec., aperture: f22, ISO 200, 18mm focal length


i took this snapshot as i was trying to adjust some settings on my camera and at the same time positioning myself to get a good capture. little did i know that my pointer finger was already working its way towards the shutter-release button (a harsh personification, i know) and before i knew it....snap. what came out was a burned out, under-exposed shot of our incandescent lamp amid an unequal distribution of shadow and an awkwardly-decapitated head of a fertility statue (which, initially, was my choice of subject).

with a little manipulation and tweaking of iPhoto, i managed to come up a black-and-white end-product that i think, somehow compensated for whatever quirk the photograph possessed.

latest musing of Etchie at 01:58 0 comments

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

photo trial

played around with my Nikon D50 during the weekend- - -complemented with a visit from Sas' friend- - -ended up on a day-tour of Disney World. made some shots. trial-and-error thing. i know i'll make a single good shot out of a hundred. somehow pushed me to post a few of what i think, is impeccable enough to merit a comment from Jeff. Hehe.


this was taken on a moving ferryboat en route to the Magic Kingdom. an impromptu shot, i believe. nothing spectacular aside from the lazy ripples on the water.


clearwater beach pier on windy, 57 degree F afternoon. a little bland on the colors, but somehow i produced a few clear shots. i'm getting there. hehe. practice makes perfect, i know.


the despondent wifey. hehe. missing the kids?

latest musing of Etchie at 20:15 0 comments

Monday, January 02, 2006

year in review

stolen from Dodo's blog:

1. What Did You Do In 2005 That You'd Never Done Before ?
Kinks. Manage.

2. Did You Keep Your New Years' Resolutions, And Will You Make More For Next Year?
Nope. Didn't make one, anyway. Might not. As I've written before, resolutions are cliches.

3. Did Anyone Close To You Give Birth?
Yup! The wifey. Added a new one to the family.

4. Did Anyone Close To You Die?
Fortunately, none.

5. What Countries Did You Visit?
US of A. Currently residing. Philippines. Flew back for a short respite.

6. What Would You Like To Have In 2006 That You Lacked In 2005?
An external hard drive.

7. What Date From 2005 Will Remain Etched Upon Your Memory, And Why?
February 7 - - -Melo came out. November 3 to December 5 - - -Manila for a month.

8. What Was Your Biggest Achievement This Year?
Reemployed.

9. What Was Your Biggest Failure?
Procrastinated...again.

10. Did You Suffer Illness or Injury?
Vision got worse.

11. What Was The Best Thing You Bought?
My notebook. Can't live without one.

12. Whose Behavior Merited Celebration?
Tutay and Melo. Kids will always be kids.

13. Whose Behavior Made You Appalled And Depressed?
Them politicians.

14. Where Did Most of Your Money Go?
DVDs. CDs. Books. Pasalubong shopping. Bills.

15. What Did You Get Really, Really, Really Excited About?
The anticipation to November 3.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Them OPM-new-band-songs. Harsh revivals. Pitiful.

17. Compared To This Time Last Year, You Are:
Chubbier. Sappier.

18. What Do You Wish You'd Done More Of?
Veggies.

19. What Do You Wish You'd Done Less Of?
Procrastinate. Softdrinks. Carbs. Couch-Potatoed. Chocolates.

20. How Did You Spend Christmas?
Home with the wifey. Pizza and chicken wings. Longed for a decent noche buena. Missing the kids.

22. Did You Fall In Love In 2005?
Since 1999. A continuous process.

23. How Many One Night Stands?
Every night's a One Night Stand. :-)

24. What Was Your Favorite TV Program?
Forensic Files. Jeopardy. Twilight Zone reruns.

25. Do You Hate Anyone Now That You Didn't Hate This Time Last Year?
Nope.

26. What Was The Best Book You Read?
The Witches of Chiswick by Robert Rankin. The Devil in a White City by Erik Larson. A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka.

27. What Was Your Greatest Musical Discovery?
Magic Numbers. Stan Getz. Yoko Kanno.

28. What Did You Want And Get?
Apple Powerbook. iPod. Nikon D50. X-Files season 1.

29. What Did You Want And Not Get?
Twilight Zone boxsets. Range Rover Sport.

30. What Was Your Favourite Film This Year?
Less time to moviehouse-hop. DVDed. Still on Hitchcock fixation.

31. What Did You Do On Your Birthday? And How Old Were You?
Indulged on a seafood buffet. Called-in sick kunwari. Bata pa. Still on the calendar.

32.What One Thing Would Have Made Your Year Immeasurably Satisfying?
Finish a storyline- - -damn procrastination.

33. How Would You Describe Your Personal Fashion Concept In 2005?
The anachronisms.

34. What Kept You Sane?
Movies. Books. Sex.

35. Which Celebrity/Public Figure Did You Fancy The Most?
Monica Bellucci. Maria Sharapova. Julie Delpy.

36. What Political Issue Stirred You The Most?
Diverted from anything political.

37. Who Did You Miss?
The family in Manila.

38. Who Was The Best New Person You Met?
Same old friends. Them all best.

39. Tell Us A Valuable Life Lesson You Learned In 2005:
Trust no one.

40. Quote A Song Lyric That Sums Up The Year:
Barry McGuire: "....take a look around you, boy. It's gonna scare you, boy. And you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend. Ah, you don't believe. We're on the eve of destruction."

Happy New Year, folks!

latest musing of Etchie at 02:18 0 comments

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