June's Topic: "Self Portrait"

The poll is being dumb today. I will try to get it posted tonight.

Laurie’s Outside

Micky's outside.

Fred's "Outside"

Let the outside in!

Through the sunroof of your 1989 Honda CRX Si, perhaps?

(Full Disclosure: A little bit of Photoshop work was needed to get the exposure just right.)

Ryan's "Outside"

Cory's Outside

In 2003, I got my first grown-up bike: a Trek mountain bike that I used mostly for getting between the UNL campus and my apartment on the south end of Lincoln.  I kept using it for commuting when I moved to Chicago after school, but its adventures also branched out to include rides on wide biking paths and single-track trails.

In 2014, while I was living in New Mexico, I figured it was time to double the number of bikes I owned by getting a dedicated commuter bike.  After that, the mountain bike was used mainly for what its name implied: riding around on mountain trails, looking for weird things out in the forest.  Meanwhile, I used the commuter bike every day during the summer to get between my house and the lab.

Today I'm living in Seattle, and the mountain bike spends most of its time in the garage while the commuter bike gets me to and from work every day, rain or shine.  I'm also making more frequent trips to other cities than I was back in 2003, so I have yet another bike use case to fill: one that I can take anywhere with me.  This spring I splurged on a Brompton, which strikes the best balance for me between all of the variables inherent to a folding bike - it rides really well, and it folds down to a size that can fit in a (large) suitcase.  My plan is to take it with me whenever I go on a week-long trip for a conference or to do work so that I can take it out and explore the city in the evenings.  Here's a nice shot of it on a terrace overlooking Lake Union when I took it outside for a spin over the weekend.

Robert's "Outside"

Most of the summers of my youth were spent poolside. Despite the sunburns and the constant smell of chlorine in my hair, they were happy times. I look forward to sharing those moments with my own children, and Audrey seems like she will too. We bought this the just the other day, and figured Memorial Day was the perfect time to try it out (with temps in the mid 90's!). 

May's Topic: "Outside"

Spring has sprung! Some of us were apparently so busy we forgot to post a photo for April...

Go outside and take a photo. Or stay inside, and take a photo of "outside". Or take a photo inside of the outside of something... or something.

Laurie’s Future

This is my 1967 Impala Super Sport that I am hoping to get into the body shop this summer.

Fred's "Future"

This may look like a model of an old car, but it actually represents the future of a massive project that you'll find out more about in the months (and years?) ahead.

Robert's "Future"

I thought a wedding was a perfect place to capture the "Future" theme, and I just happened to be at a wedding over the weekend, where I snagged this image as the dance floor thinned out. The chandelier provided just enough light on the bride and groom to pull them away from the background, though the lighting still proved challenging without a flash. The couple has been dating for over 8 years, and finally decided to tie the knot, so their future as a married couple looks bright!

Michael's Future

If I told you that this picture was taken in the future, I would admittedly be late for this submission.  I do however believe that all of my lost socks go there, leaving the other half of the pair in this dimension.  Thank you H.G. Wells.

Cory's Future

In 1962, the Seattle World's Fair happened not far from where I currently live.  Actually named the Century 21 Exposition, it was a six month showcase of the future that we now live in.  Preparations for the expo involved building several new buildings, some of which still exist, as well as a monorail and the iconic tower you see here: the Space Needle.

The Space Needle is 605 feet tall at the top of the spire, and includes a restaurant at the top that slowly rotates in a complete circle. As you can see in this photo, it doesn't look all that great right now - ever since last fall, its been under an intense renovation that will replace the entire observation deck and restaurant floors with glass.  When that's done, I suppose it will be ready for the next phase of its future.

And I can't write something about the world's fair without including a bonus photo: there's a wall in the basement of the house that we are renting that is covered in old hand-written phone numbers.  If you need to call up the World's Fair or the Space Needle Restaurant, just dial away!  But you might need some operator assistance with those numbers.

Micky's underestimate. ( It was super cold.)

Ryan's "Underestimate"

I underestimate things all the time... how difficult it is to nail focus on near macro images when you're too lazy to set up a tripod, how many rings it takes to get married....