Sit and Stare

If I had taken this image, I wouldn't really be proud of it. I think the horizon needs to be a little higher in the frame, and it's incredibly noisy. But I didn't take it.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover did. See that little point of light up in the sky, a little off to the left? That is Earth, below it, very faintly, is our moon. When I see photos like this, I feel amazed. I have to sit here and stare, in wondered amazement. For thousands of years we've wondered, we've hypothesized, we've argued over, and we've pushed towards the day that we could venture out to the other planets and eventually the stars.

That day is now. That time is here. This is the future. We are living in something that will be remembered for the rest of human existence.

So don't skip over this because it is noisy and not composed very well, and stare at it.

Twists and Turns

Life is a crazy thing. It's a road, where every hill and every curve is blind. It's a road filled with hard things that you don't want to do, good times that you never want to move past, memories you will never forget, and nostalgia that comes hits you at the most unexpected times. Two years ago, I would never have guessed I would be today. You cannot come up with a perfectly set path, you cannot predict where you're going to be. So look at it the fun way - don't try to predict. Take it as it comes. Plan for the future, but go with the flow. Make your plan flexible. Because that road has turns and hills you won't see coming. You'll get where you're going, wherever that may be.

Childhood on a Disc

I'm sure there are some here that will understand this.

When I think of "Windows," "Microsoft" or "computer game," I immediately think of XP. It's interesting how large an impact something like that can make on a person. Windows XP wasn't the genesis of the Windows operating systems, but it was my operating system. It was the one I learned on, it was the one I gamed on when I was a kid, and it was the one I reluctantly gave up for a more modern system (Windows 7 Pro, seen reflecting in the background). When I am older, and I think back on my childhood, I'll have plenty of memories to relish, but one of the fondest will be of something rather utilitarian and simple. I will never forget the sound of fans spinning up, a hard drive clicking away, and the boot up sound of good old Windows XP.

The Thin Red Line

Stars

Put on some good music and imagine

Limits

Here's an interesting thought. Does technology enable us to explore the world, or hinder us from it? We have so much information at our fingertips, yet we barely go outside.

The title of this photo is "Limits" - referring to the limits technology imposes on us (the fact that the shot was taken inside) and referring to the sky you can see in the picture. Because the sky is the limit, isn't it?

The most ironic part about all this is I'm sharing it on the internet.

Blown Away

There are two reasons why I shoot in black and white a lot. The first is a technical reason; seeing the shades of grey helps me quickly control my exposure the way I want. I don't have to worry about colors distracting me, it's pure grey scale. The second reason is a little different. When I'm flipping through all the photos I've taken after I've gone out a shot a bit and I flip to a color photo, it really blows me away.

I feel like we don't appreciate color photos as much as we used to, mostly because color photos have become commonplace. I still like to be blown away by a photo from time to time, even if it's just a simple one like this.

Citroën 22cv

The 22cv was a dream too big for Citroen to handle.

Read more here:

Ran When Parked article

Shadows on the Sand

Camels in the desert, viewed at sunset from above.

1970s W123 Chassis Rally Cars

Unknown model, but it sure is moving.

A factory-built 280E Safari rally car.

Rare views

A photo of the north pole of the moon from the Soviet probe Zond 8

Home

Isn't it amazing that we live in a world where people have gone to the moon? In my mind, that doesn't seem all that significant. It happened nearly 50 years ago, and we've done so much since then. But think about it. We've sent humans to another celestial body. It's a pretty amazing thing.

And it puts our little world into perspective. What seems so big and durable is really small and fragile. Isn't this world a beautiful place? I look at the Earth in these photos and I don't try to pick out my country. I see Earth, as a whole, as my home. It is our home, floating in the blackness of space.

Fire

There's something hauntingly beautiful about this image. Not just the colors, but the knowledge of what it is. Knowing that, at the tip of that rocket, are three people getting thrown upwards and thousands of miles per hour. And not just that, but knowing that they are going somewhere that we've never been before, and knowing that they could easily not come back, but going anyway.

The Beauty All Around Us

Car Stuff

A Citroen DS estate. Definitely one of the most interesting cars I have ever seen.

The 911 over the years.

Mercedes W123 chassis sedans on the assembly line in the late 1970s.

Style and elegance.

Alfa Romeo Spider. Definitely an incredible car.

Bringing Back the Classics (Sort Of)

Blood Dragon -

Basically, it's an 80s action movie - with all the puns and bad humor - wrapped up in a game. It's a $15 DLC on Steam, and totally worth playing.

Four Planets in One Frame

Three planets in conjunction - Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter - just above the horizon.

With Earth in the foreground.

Far Away Places

Let your imagination take you where you cannot go.

Two Hobbies Combined

Combining photo history and astronomy history: the eclipse of July 28th, 1851 taken by a Deguerreotype camera (aka the first photographic process invented).

Red Sea Wreck

It sunk in 1889. Located in the Red Sea (if you couldn't tell by the title).