this is the end. beautiful friend

Yes, faithful fan(s), this is the end of Exposure Factor as you know it. This website was created exactly one year ago (365 postings) as a means of sharing the fun I have behind the lens but because of my increasingly crazy work/travel schedule, it has made a daily posting become more of a chore at times. And when that happens, it's time to reconsider. So from here on out, I'll be posting on a less frequent basis - not yet sure what that will be. I'm just starting to delve into HDR (high dynamic range) photography and shot alot while I was in Copenhagen this past weekend - so stay tuned. There could be some fun results.

what do you call yourself?

Scharlooweg / Willemstad, Curaçao
A friendly ... There is no name for a person coming from Curaçao. How stupid is that? Someone from America is an American, someone from Venezuela is a Venezuelan, someone from Curaçao is, well, someone from Curaçao.

cow power

Wind Turbine Farm / Quebrada Azul ,Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country rich with renewable energy. In fact, it gets about 99% of all its electrical energy from clean sources and it’s aiming to be the first country to become carbon neutral. If you've ever stood behind a cow for any period of time you know what kind of wind power they are capable of.

roundabout

Gas Street Basin / Birmingham, England
Even the canal system in city centre Birmingham has a roundabout. I used to refer to them as "suicide circles" when I lived outside of Boston because you required a death wish to enter one - fearing for one's life. Not so here; the Brits are much more civilized about the whole roundabout process - painfully so. Go - will you!

barrelful of.. rumbullion

Needham's Point / Bridgetown, Barbados
Within the walls of an old fortress were a number of barrels - I'd like to think a one point in time they had been full of some good casked Barbadian rum.

stuck on the detail

Puente de la Mujer / Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Puente de la Mujer ("Woman's Bridge") is a footbridge in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aires that spans the Rio de la Plata. It is unique in that is an asymmetrical arrangement with a single mast. Cables suspended a portion of the bridge which rotates 90 degrees in order to allow water traffic to pass.

alien adventures

Selfridges @ the Bull Ring / Birmingham, England
Still one of the quirkiest examples of mainstream pop architecture, Selfridges gives off a particularly alien feel at night when the aluminum disks which cover the outside of the structure begin to give off a blue glow - reminding me of some far off one-eyed space aliens. It's a 2 minute walk from my flat in Brum and I never tire of shooting it - always an interesting shot.

sucka

Pollywogg Hollër / Belmont, New York
Beware of the Hollër - 'nuf said!

still life

Somewhere in the Imagination
Figured I'd shake things up a bit from the norm - fun with Photoshop.

oh, what a weekend it wasn't

Circus World Museum / Baraboo, Wisconsin
This mirrored reflection from the side of a circus train car sadly is not a reflection of my wild & crazy weekend here in Brum - I worked all day saturday - it rained all day sunday. Though I did go see Brüno. You know, Americans (or is it just southern rednecks) seem even more stupider when you are watching them in a foreign country. Zahh Brüno izzahh da nutzlich.

wheels of the [circus train] go round and round

Circus World Museum / Baraboo, Wisconsin
A trip to Baraboo, WI is not complete without a visit to Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus World Museum - which also served as the former headquarters and winter home of the Greatest Show on Earth. Step right up - spin the wheel - win the little lady a prize!

star power

Woburn Road Gardens / Ampthill, England
And one more from my stroll through the village of Ampthill last weekend. I liked the star pattern - pretty cool.

flower power

Woburn Road Garden / Ampthill, England
In continuing the floral theme I've got going here at the moment, another shot from the english gardens I came across while walking through the village of Ampthill last weekend. Purple is a powerful color in nature - even in this soft and muted shade of violet.

an english buzz

Woburn Road Garden / Ampthill, England
Last weekend while working in Bedfordshire, I took a break and had a nice walk through the quaint village of Ampthill which I am told is quintessential England. I came upon a string of thatched roof cottages - each with lovely english gardens in the front. These bees were equally enjoying the sunshine.

alien beauty

Paget Road / Madison, Wisconsin
Spent a long and relaxing 4th of July weekend in Madison - much of which took place within the beautiful outdoor patio space of our friends' backyard. I'm not sure what these interesting flowers are - but I had a fun time photographing them.

which way to the beach

Sandland / Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
This is where I should be. Basking in the sun, lounging about making sandcastles.
Sandland in PEI was worth the visit (hope they bring it back this year). It was an outdoor sculpture museum - seasonal of course. It wasn't a big place, but they did have some impressive pieces as well as a little sandpit for the kiddies. It'd be a shame if they discontinued it.

ka-boom

Barbados Hilton Hotel (Needham's Point) / Bridgetown, Barbados
Invading sailors, beware! The Barbados Hilton Hotel will take any means necessary to keep its azure oceanfront waters protected from limeys.

disconnected

Pollywogg Hollër / Belmont, New York
A weekend without internet access makes me a little bit stir crazy.

freebird

Temple Bar / Dublin, Ireland
As grey and dreary as Dublin can be at times, the colors of the Temple Bar area always serve as a "pick me up" - lots of happy drunks.

reopened for business

Washington Square Park / New York, New York
The first phase of the Washington Square Park reconstruction, which began December 10, 2007, was reopened last month. Phase two will include substantial landscaping and some regrading to improve sight lines across the space. About the only object that is not being touched by the reconstruction is the marble arch, modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, constructed in 1892.

chinese lanterns

Canal Street [堅尼街] / New York, New York
Unlike most other urban Chinatowns, Manhattan's Chinatown is both a residential area as well as commercial area. Most population estimates are in the range of 90,000 to 100,000 residents making it the second most populous Chinatown after San Francisco. Canal Street, west of Broadway (especially on the North side), is filled with Chinese street vendors notoriously known for selling imitation perfumes, watches, and hand-bags, which are largely purchased by tourists.

pick a peck of peppers

Wilhelmina Bridge / Willemstad, Curaçao
These Venezuelan growers load their boats full of produce very early every morning and travel the forty some miles from the Venezuela coast to Willemstad to sell their fruits and vegetables at the open air markets.

tiny people

Tobago Cays / Southern Grenadines
Big boat - tiny people. Embiggen (click to enlarge) to find the lil' ones.

red bicycle

Ulica Kanonicza / Krakow, Poland
One of Krakow's most picturesque streets, Ulica Kanonicza, up until the 14th century was lined with mansions of noblemen. Then the palatial residences of Krakow's canons and prelates moved in with a number of buildings still belonging to the Church. From 1951 to 1963, Father Karol Wojtyla (Pope Paul II) dwelled at 19-21 Kanonicza.

scrummin' - on a sunday afternoon

Wards Island / New York, New York
What better way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon than scrumming with a pack of your best mates. Me, I'd rather be on the sidelines watching.

park with a view

Letenske Sady / Prague, Czech Republic
Just underneath Prague Castle, there is a sloping hill that goes from one park-like garden to another. The biggest of these gardens is Letenske Sady. This is a view from the park looking out over Old Town Prague and the River Vltava. Under the Communists, the park was used mainly for May Day parades, and once housed the largest statue of Stalin in the world before it was blown up in 1962.

water nymph at rest

Margit-szigete / Budapest, Hungary
Otherwise known as Margaret Island, this park land area is a 225 acre, 1.4 miles long island in the middle of the Danube, conveniently located between Buda and Pest. The Japanese Gardens are particularly striking - and tranquil.

reflections of progress

Livery Street / Birmingham, England
Reflections of something old, something new, and something yet to come. Not sure what the "something yet to come" is but the cranes were busy at work. Perhaps when I am back in Brum next week it will be identifiable.

passionately purple too

La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica
Another - to go with the other.

passionately purple

La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica
As anyone who has visited the tropical climates knows, the colorful floral vegetation is always an eye catcher. Living in Manhattan, even on the edge of Central Park, one doesn't see much in the way of colorful natural vegetation - other than green. Perhaps that's why all of the corner bodegas throughout the city seem to have flower stalls; allowing us to bring some natural color into our spaces.

the clan

The Leonard Farm / Canfield, Ohio
Just returned from a weekend of great fun where the Buchanan and Veach clans united for yet another raucously fun time - lots of drinking, music, celebrations, catching up with old familiar faces and meeting new younger faces for the first time. As I work on wiping away the haze and face a Monday morning: family - you gotta love it!

urban waterfalls

Brooklyn Bridge / New York, New York
Last summer, parts of New York City were bathed in giant waterfalls when the grandest public art project since Cristo's Gates in Central Park, hit the "water" (no pun intended). New York City Waterfalls, a $15 million art project paid for with private donations, ran from mid-June through mid-October. Four mechanical fountains were installed on the shores of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Governors Island standing from 90' to 120' tall. This one was running under the Brooklyn Bridge.

perfect fit

Old Town / Bucharest, Romania
While walking through Old Town Bucharest, I happen to notice the reflection of this older structure against its newer counterpart across the street. And what a perfect connection it made to the roof line of the building next door.

of things to come

George Street (Jewellery Quarter) / Birmingham, England
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre that is synonymous with the manufacture of jewelery and coins in Birmingham and has been the birthplace of many pioneering advancements in industrial technology. By the mid-1800s, the jewelery trade was considered the most lucrative in the city with jewelers being some of the best paid workers. There were more people employed in the trade than any other in Birmingham. The majority of the British Empire's finest jewelery was produced in the Quarter. The Jewellery Quarter's importance in the international jewellery industry has declined much throughout the 20th century and is now being transformed into a vibrant urban village and hub for creative businesses, eateries, and other support services. Numerous mixed-use developments are underway with most involving the refurbishment of existing manufacturing buildings no longer in use.

beached whales

La Playa / Santa Marta, Colombia
Like beached whales, these well-worn fishing boats lie in the sand on the beachfront waiting to be rescued and put back into the water. On the northern coast, Santa Marta is an important maritime center for Colombia and at one time commercial fishing was its mainstay. It is now primarily known for its beaches including Tayrona National Marine Park, an ecotourism destination.

head west, young man

Birmingham Canal Main Line / Birmingham, England
I've posted several times about the extensive canal system in Birmingham - said to have more miles of canal than Venice. Here I was standing on a footbridge at the convergence of three major canals - the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, and the Birmingham Canal Main Line. The Main Line, pictured here looking west, was constructed in the 19th century and was a major connector of commerce between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The canals now are used extensively for recreational purposes.

pump it up

Tabacón / Arenal, Costa Rica
While walking through some dense rain forest in the Hanging Bridges area of the Arenal volcano, I came across two male Anole lizards - both simultaneously inflating their dewflaps. The males pump up these these brightly colored dewflaps to attract females for mating - strutting their stuff, you might say.

my, what big ears you have

Quebrada Azul, Costa Rica
After stopping at a macadamia farm advertising fresh macadamia nuts - but then finding out they weren't harvesting until the following week - we continued on our way back to Liberia via a short cut that the macadamia owner suggested. It was all pretty rugged dirt road over a ridge top crested with fascinating wind turbines - and cows. Lots of big eared cows. They seemed much more bored with me than I was with them.

ye old contemptible

Edmunds Street / Birmingham, England
For a certain someone, today puts them one step closer to being an old contemptible - happy birthday birdshoes! And a thank you to the same for serving as guest poster for the past two weeks while I had no access to internet (initially) and then just became lazy - great job on the food porn. This is another in my occasional posting of interesting pub names in the UK and elsewhere. Based on what I was able to find out, the brave Tommies in the British Expeditionary Force proudly took on the nickname "The Old Contemptibles" with this Birmingham pub being a favorite watering hole of the veterans. Apparently, it has recently undergone a major restoration which has immediately made it attractive to the more well-heeled crowd. As one reviewer put it "Not a bad pub, though packed with suits weekday lunchtimes. Fortunately, they bugger off soon enough." Sounds to me like he's a bit of an old contemptible himself.

que sera salad

McGraw-Hill Executive Dining / New York City
If a salad has glorious hunks of slab bacon, fine slices of a hard-boiled egg, chopped ham, crumbled Roquefort cheese and it's dripping with dressing, can it still be considered a salad? According to Robert H. Cobb - when he scavenged the fridge late at night in 1937 - that is exactly what it is. The tasty creation happened to catch on with the Hollywood scene at the time, and I can see why - even if itn't all that good for you.

food for thought

McGraw-Hill Executive Dining / New York City
It's time to start making some healthier food choices. This fruit would be a good start. Click on the pic for a juicy close-up. Although the cookie platter looked very enticing. Maybe just one dessert.

coral floral

McGraw-Hill Executive Dining / New York City
It's hard to go wrong with flowers in late spring. This arrangement was particularly bright and lovely. They were for a GLBT luncheon - you can always expect a splash of color for their events. Looked like a wedding.

drake's passage to shackelton's playground

Discovery Cruises / Antarctica
Antarctica is exactly what you would expect - penguins, icebergs and old people. A wonderland to explore for the retired cruising crowd. Crystal ice water, endless days, animal poop and on-board bingo. Antarctica has it all. Pack warm. Bring boots. See it while you can.

hop in, hop out - shake it all about

Señor Frog's / Bahamas
Señor Frog's Caribbean chain bar/restaurant is the kind of place you need to visit at least once - though you may not remember the night so it's possible to end up there again by accident - as we more recently did in Aruba. It's loud and deceptively expensive. A party scene of binge drinking followed by the inebriated removal of clothing in public, typically by those who are better off keeping it on. The drinks are tall, frozen, colorful and gimmicky - and stronger than you realize. The food is so-so. Service can be pushy and spotty. This señor wants you drunk on his lily pad so he can take best advantage of you. Be warned of the sexy frog.

apocalypse now

Edmund Street / Birmingham, England
Yesterday morning I walked out of my flat in city centre Birmingham into - wtf? There was trash strewn everywhere - cars were tipped up on the sidewalks - spray paint graffiti - broken windows. My first thought was - how did I sleep through this - and what the hell happened. As I find out, I walked out of my door and on to the set of a shoot for the new yet-to-be-released BBC series "Survivor" - billed as "One virus. Millions dead. A few Survivors." For a brief moment, I did feel like a survivor.

knot so fast

Royal Clipper / Caribbean
When you take your sailing certification tests, they make you demonstrate your ability to tie a series of intricate knots. The important skills required to successfully tie those knots will immediately vaporize from your brain minutes after the exam. The rabbit comes out of the hole and which way around the tree? Which one is the tree and which one is the rabbit?
Thankfully my sailing days are behind me. I'll just stick with this little piggy one or the classic granny knot. But that's as complicated as I get.

go green

New York Botanical Garden / Bronx, New York City
With summer just around the corner, a return visit to the two Botanical Gardens in NYC is in order. The Bronx one is sprawling and traditional while the Brooklyn version is more intimate. Both are worth a visit.

jersey mall

Rutgers University / New Brunswick, New Jersey
Voorhees Mall is a grassy area (28 acres!) located on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University. Not the typical image that comes to mind when you think of a Jersey mall. Voorhees has an eclectic mix of architectural styles, offering many of the older and historic academic buildings on campus. Murray Hall looked particularly haunting that late fall day.

unchecked luggage

Carnival Cruise / Bahamas
With today's heightened security measures, you really have to be keep a close eye on your belongings at all times. This isn't exactly a business class upgrade, but it does come with a free x-ray exam.