Birdzilla

Here's a picture I took in Baltimore during Christmas week '03 of a bird on a lamp.  Some people think the lamps look like buildings, rendering the bird pretty gigantic-looking.  Unintended, but amusing.

 
posted by Michael on 9/11/2004 10:56:34 PM

Sunset in Cannes

I took this picture on January 21, 2004 while I was in Cannes for a meeting.  This is the view from my hotel room's balcony.  Not too shabby.

 
posted by Michael on 3/16/2004 12:59:58 PM

Andy's disembodied head

This is a somewhat frightening picture of Andy's disembodied head.  Don't worry - he got better!

 
posted by Michael on 1/1/2004 2:37:21 PM

Shannon & Andy in Baltimore

Wow! I haven't posted in quite some time. Here's a picture of Shannon and Andy (well, the backs of their heads, anyway) on the Seaport Taxi in Baltimore during our Christmas week '03 vacation.  We had a great time!

Photo taken on December 27, 2003, with my Minolta Dimage X, 1290 x 960, fine mode, reduced to 50%.

 
posted by Michael on 1/1/2004 2:04:23 PM

Finally - launch campaign photos!

As promised some time ago, I'm finally getting around to posting a few photos from the AMC 9 launch campaign at Baikonur, Kazakhstan.  These were taken on the day the Proton launch vehicle rolled out to the pad for the first time.

We always go out very early in the morning for the rollout.  The vehicle used to come out of building 92-1, but now that we're using Breeze M, they just roll it out of the fueling shed.  This first photo appeared on the ILS website.

This next one was taken just a few moments later.  It shows the vehicle quite a bit better, but it's less "moody."

This one gives you an idea of the scale of the Proton.  It was taken as it rolled past me.

Here's the vehicle as it rolls down the tracks towards the pad, showing the engine bells.  I'm amazed they don't need to cover them up.  This picture was also on the ILS website.

Finally, here's the vehicle being erected at launch pad 39.  This was also on the ILS website.

Sadly, the rocket stayed up only a day before a defective component was discovered on the upper stage.  It could only be replaced in the processing facility, so down came the rocket.  It took two more trips to the pad before it flew.  The mission was completely successful, but it was sure harder than usual.

All pictures taken on April 25, 2003, with my Minolta Dimage X, 1290 x 960, fine mode, reduced to 30%.

 
posted by Michael on 10/8/2003 1:05:53 PM

Three camping images

I took the attached pictures during my family's camping trip in Pennsylvania this summer.

This first one is a large boulder field in Cook Forest State Park.  I believe it was formed by a glacier.  The field is in the middle of a forest and is quite large.  I think they told us it was about 20 feet deep.

We took a trail out to a waterfall.  It was beautiful and there were lots places to crawl around on the rocks and access the waterfall.  This is also in Cook Forest.

Here's our camping trailer.  Our daughter had sent us some lights for the awning, so we put them up and took a photo to send her.  We didn't think we could count as real campers until we had trailer lights like everybody else.

All images taken with my Minolta Dimage X, 1290 x 960, fine mode, reduced in size to 30%.

 
posted by Michael on 10/7/2003 10:26:00 PM

Ghost Andy

Here's a manipulated image, showing Andy as he would appear if he were a ghost standing in our foyer.  Don't ask me why.

Dual images taken with my Minolta Dimage X, 1290x960, fine mode, manipulated using the Gimp, reduced to 50%.

 
posted by Michael on 10/5/2003 11:12:39 PM

18th-century Mark

Here's a picture of 18th-century Mark.  This was taken yesterday, 27 September 2003 at Ferry Farm, George Washington's boyhood home in Stafford County, Virginia.  Mark was acting as a first-person interpretor for visitors to the farm.

Taken with my Minolta Dimage X, 1290 x 960, fine mode, reduced to 50%.

 
posted by Michael on 9/28/2003 1:27:25 PM

Yet another pink flower

I didn't get a chance to upload any of the launch campaign photos yesterday, and the family is on vacation to Hampton, Virginia today.  So, the campaign stuff will have to wait until Monday.  In the meantime, here's yet another pink flower.  This was shot during the pink flower session of 7 September 2003.

Taken with my Minolta Dimage X, 1290 x 960, fine mode, reduced to 30% using The GIMP.

 
posted by Michael on 9/12/2003 5:54:16 PM

Launch campaign photos coming

I have chosen a couple of launch campaign photos to add here.  They were taken during the AMC 9 launch campaign in the spring of this year and appeared for a while on the ILS website.  Sadly, I'm at home now and the photos have been saved to a CD-ROM, which is at work.  I'll try to get them posted tomorrow.  In the meantime, here's a very weak self-portrait.  I'm calling it "A Portrait of the Artist as a Middle-Aged Man."  You can see some nature in the window's reflection, so this counts as Nature Photography.  Or maybe not.

The picture was taken on 15 June 2003 with my Minolta Dimage X, at the usual resolution and reduced to 30% using GIMP.

 
posted by Michael on 9/10/2003 10:53:50 PM