Coral Castle

Driving down US1 with your family in the 1940s, you spot an interesting sight just outside Homestead, Florida – some sort of structure built entirely out of Florida’s coral slate.  Is it a Florida Stonehenge, a fortress, a home?  You pull off the road and park.  Following the meandering path to the “gate,” you see a sign reading, “Donations Here.” Reaching the gate, another sign says, “Ring Bell.”  Following instructions, you are soon greeted by a five foot tall, one hundred pound man in his 60s.  The man introduces himself as “Ed” and leads you on a tour of his creation – welcome to Ed Leedskalnin and his Rock Gate Park.

Born in Latvia in 1887, Ed Leehskalnin took up residence near Florida City around 1920.  Ed, a trained stone mason, began experimenting with carving the Florida coral around his property.  He built “furniture,” including a rocking chair, and various sculptures.  Ed’s work attracted the curious and he regaled them with stories his work memorialized his “Sweet Sixteen,” the love of his life who jilted him the night before their wedding.

Around 1936, Ed bought ten acres near Homestead, Florida and started the process of relocating his sculptures.  Stories differ as to what prompted the move.  According to the “official” story in the Coral Castle (the present owner’s name for Ed’s creation) brochure, work started on a housing development near Ed’s property in Florida City.  Seeking privacy, he moved to the area near Homestead.  However, Orval Irwin, one of Ed’s friends, claims in his book Mr. Can’t Is Dead! The Story of the Coral Castle that Ed wanted people to see his work, but found his property in Florida City too isolated, so he found property closer to civilization.  Since the Coral Castle sits right next to US1, the main thoroughfare from Miami to Key West during Ed’s day, Mr. Irwin’s story seems more accurate.

Ed continued work on the Coral Castle until 1940.  Using only simple methods such as levers and block and tackle, working alone, Ed built everything at the Coral Castle.  Ed was a gifted stone mason with the ability to seemingly pinpoint the center of gravity and balance in the large stones he worked.  Ed reportedly possessed only a fourth grade formal education, however apparently his grandfather in Latvia educated Ed at home.  In addition, it’s clear from some of Ed’s books on display at the Coral Castle, he read extensively and taught himself subjects such as astronomy and electricity.

In December 1951, Ed left a note on the gate reading, “Going to the Hospital.”  He boarded a bus to the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and died there three days later on December 7, 1951.

Following Ed’s death, the Coral Castle changed hands at least twice and remains under private ownership.  The grounds are neat and well maintained, with friendly, informative, and helpful guides.  My only criticism is of the “official” story.

It seems, like with many similar attractions throughout the world, the present owners decided to “liven-up” the story of the Coral Castle in order to make it more “interesting” or “mysterious.”  They claim no one knows how Ed completed his work, yet his tools are on display.  He used age-old, simple methods, working slowly, deliberately, and carefully.  I don’t mean to take away from Ed’s work, which is very impressive for one man, however it’s not an unknown mystery.

The “official” story claims no one ever saw Ed work or witnessed his move from Florida City to Homestead.  Yet, photos on display show Ed’s block and tackle system rigged up.  Other period photos show Ed at work.  In Mr. Irwin’s book, he describes Ed’s move (Irwin even helped Ed move his tools).  In reality, Ed made a deal with a local farmer for use of the farmer’s flatbed trailer and Ed took nearly a year to move everything from Florida City to Homestead.  Irwin’s book even includes a copy of a period newspaper article regarding the move.  As too no one seeing Ed work, Mr. Irwin offers a simple explanation: Ed was highly safety-conscious and didn’t want anyone near who might be injured or killed as he moved the heavy stones.

Finally, we have the story of Ed’s “Sweet Sixteen,” the girl who left him the night before his wedding.  Mr. Irwin claims Ed talked about a lost love while he was in Florida City, but Irwin was never convinced the woman actually existed, instead believing it was just a interesting back-story Ed devised for his work.  However, after Ed moved to Homestead, Irwin claims he stopped using the story all together, at one point even telling Irwin he left that story at Florida City.  Ed himself in his pamphlet “Sweet Sixteen,” states his Sweet Sixteen isn’t a particular person, but instead his ideal love.

Overall, the Coral Castle is a very interesting site.  Instead of a tribute to lost love, I believe the Coral Castle is a tribute to man’s ingenuity and the possibilities if one only sets his mind to accomplishing his goal.

Officer John McCormick

On October 25th, my family and I attended the “10^th Annual Gothic Graveyard Walk” at Oaklawn Cemetery in downtown Tampa.  The walk benefits the Tampa Historical Society.  Maureen Patrick, director of Historic Guides (historicguides.com), leads the tour in the character of Miss Prudence Fipwhistle (b.1855, d.1899).  Miss Fipwhistle, assisted by the good Father O’Brien and the Sexton, shares storied of her friends, old, new, and dead, along with the colorful history of early Tampa.

Established in 1850 as a public burying ground for “white and slave, rich and poor,” Oaklawn Cemetery is Tampa’s oldest cemetery.  The difficulty of shipping stone markers prior to establishment of rail lines to Tampa in 1884 meant wood markers showed the site of graves.  However, the wood often rotted or caught fire.  This fact, along with the loss of the original plat map left a cemetery full of unmarked graves.

The cemetery is the final resting place of many Tampa notables, including Civil War soldiers, mayors, judges, and legislators.  V. M. Ybor, founder of the cigar industry in Tampa and name sake of Ybor City, rests here.  Dr. John P. Wall, who discovered the cause of Yellow Fever before the Reed Commission, also calls Oaklawn his final resting place.

The grave marker pictured above is that of Officer John McCormick.  Just after midnight on September 26, 1895, Officer McCormick and Officer Bishop responded to a disturbance at the Salter’s Bar.  The officers found two women, Ms Lulu Williams and Ms Ela Felter, arguing.  The officers arrested Ms. Felter, whereupon her boyfriend, Harry Singleton, fatally shot Officer McCormick with a .38 caliber pistol.  Singleton fled, but police captured him several weeks later.  Officer McCormick left behind a widow and five children.

McCormick’s is merely one of many stories behind the markers in Oaklawn Cemetery.

A few days ago, the main road through the San Gabriel Mountains, Highway 2 or Angeles Crest Highway, was reopened. It had been severely damaged in the Station Fire: signs, rails, stripings and parts of the road itself were burnt, molten or destroyed by rockfall. As a refresher (I doubt you will need one): the largest fire in modern history in Los Angeles County was dubbed the Station Fire, and lasted from late August to mid-October this year. It took two lives, destroyed several homes, along with 170,000 acres (just under 700 square km) of forest in the San Gabriel Mountains and everything in it. The Mount Wilson Observatory, where George Ellery Hale did his work that made him (and Caltech) famous, was spared with enormous effort of many of the 3500 firefighters deployed in total. Some say that cinders and roots are still smoking in various places.

So early today, we drove onto Hwy 2 to take the devastation in stock. It was desolate, impressive, unbelievable, shocking, horrible, beautiful, incredible, heartbreaking; all at the same time. We also saw some signs of hope: tiny green branches and leaves popping up here and there, trying to establish a new existence. Look for more results of the shoot at Photo Gallery > Locations > Station Fire Aftermath.

One thing we were looking for to photograph were burnt road signs. Many must have been replaced already or at least taken away, but we still found some.

“Maintenance”
San Gabriel Mountains, CA
ISO 200, 55 mm, 1/25 s at f/4.0

In the same turnout we saw a row of mail boxes, scarred, but still colorful. I was trying to capture the texture and color of the rusty look that the mail boxes had, at the same time wondering what mail had been destroyed during the fire….

“Mail Box”
San Gabriel Mountains, CA
ISO 200, 45 mm, 1/60 s at f/5.0

Next, we wanted to try and find a somewhat flat area to make compositions of the charred trees and bushes (as far as there were any left). Everywhere we looked, we saw half-burnt yuccas, transformed into shapes like pineapples, but most likely not as tasty.

“Burnt Yucca”
San Gabriel Mountains, CA
ISO 200, 55 mm, 1/60 s at f/5.6

A side effect of all vegetation being gone is the high visibility of trash. Mostly very ugly, but for some reason I have a fascination with rusty things. A discarded bucket was a great study object for abstract compositions. More of this can be found in the Photo Gallery.

“Abstract Detail I”
San Gabriel Mountains, CA
ISO 200, 163 mm, 1/100 s at f/5.6

As we were driving on Hwy 2, we  had many a great view over the expansive burn area. Destruction was total; it could have been a war zone.  Some elegance could still be found in the superposition of gulleys, yuccas and what was left of the seas of manzanitas.

“Charred Gulley”
San Gabriel Mountains, CA
ISO 200, 90 mm, 1/80 s at f/4.5

We visited Jed’s house on the Sunday morning and it was epic.  Almost exactly like the real episode!  Here is our recreation of the classic moments:

So the Alan Partridge tour weekend has been and gone.  How did it go?  Splendid and tremendous!  No but seriously, it was textbook.

We got some great video (over an hours worth of raw footage) but I am own the process of editing it down and cutting some of the bits together.  I will post them up as I do.

First Official Sex And City 2 Image

Sarah Jessica Parker regrets being part of ‘SATC’ sequel

‘Entourage’ movie a possibility

Help bring Kathy Griffin to NYC – GET D-LISTED PRESS RELEASE

more info:
http://www.onlocationvacations.com/2009/12/03/help-bring-kathy-griffin-to-nyc/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195456973394&ref=mf

Neal B in NYC and On Location Tours are on a mission to get Kathy Griffin back on the D-List. As Kathy creeps closer to the A-List, Neal B and OLT are inviting her aboard Sex & the City Hotspots Tour to bring her back down to her D-List roots. On Friday December 11, 2009, they will be making a video to send to Kathy’s people.Anyone who would like to show support is welcome to join them! To make it even more irresistible, a donation will be set up to help LBGTQ organization Broadway Speaks OUT. You can pledge now and your donation will only be collected when Kathy Griffin visits. You can find more information on the Kathy Griffin DlistedNYC Facebook page.

On Location Tours also has the perfect gift for the movie fan in your life! You can now purchase gift certificates for their New York TV & Movie Tour, Sex & the City Hotspots Tour, Gossip Girl Sites Tour, Sopranos Sites Tour, and Central Park Walking Tour.

For two days I went out and turned up zeros.  The mud flowing from the river was visible, clearly, from the 4th floor deck.  Darn rain.  Today I went out anyway… back to the river mouth.

It was EPIC.  The gulls and pelicanos were crashing bait and the fishing was amazing.  I must have landed 30-40 fish, mostly Jack Crevalle.  This was on my 8/9 Albright with a 7 wt. sink tip… trying to improvise.  I had my 7 wt. with a clear sink on the shore.  I had many fish on back to back casts.  It was just a crazy, crazy day of fishing.  I was out for three hours, longer than I was supposed to be fishing.  I was bringing some fish back for some of the guys working at the resort and when I had “enough” I headed back.

Went to grab that back up rod… missing… stolen, really.  Well… the fishing will remain amazing, but my estimation of the local fisherman took a bit of a nosedive.  Probably not fair, but, the wound is fresh.

About a 2 pound Jack Crevalle (aka Toro), last fish of a great day of fishing.

I guess the bright side is that I get to do some rod shopping now.  This will be my Christmas present from my wife.  I’ll probably try to fill the gap I have in my rod selection with a solid and pure 8 weight, since I have another 7, although it is a 2 piece and not a 4.

UPDATE: Went out the next day, my last fishing day of the trip.  The fishing was almost as good although the biggest fish was a bit smaller.  I have bruises on the right side of my ribcage from the fighting butt.  Those are good bruises to have.  Caught five species of fish.  I had some really good fishing down from the beach with one big fish and lots and lots of smaller fish.  I do have a strange rash now on my legs that I’m about 95% certain is from the river water, but hey… again… gotta take the bad with the good.

Fish Species caught on this trip:

• Pacific Jack Crevalle
• Gafftopsail Pompano
• Keeltail Needle Fish
• Ladyfish
• Leatherjack

Back in 1945, for Angel And The Badman, Republic built a Western town set outside Sedona, Arizona. It was used for plenty of films over the years — with lots of pictures also making good use of the area’s beautiful rock formations, such as Coffee Pot Rock (above). This rock is very visible in Johnny Guitar (1954).

The town was eventually torn down and a neighborhood went in — with the films shot there commemorated in the street names.(Coffee Pot Rock inspired java-themed streets such as Maxwell House Drive.)

During production, the casts and crews often stayed at nearby Sedona Lodge (“Arizona’s Little Hollywood”). John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Sterling Hayden, Joan Crawford, Dick Powell, the list goes on and on. A sound stage was even built next door. All this stuff if gone now — except for Coffee Pot Rock.

A key aspect that has fuelled the growth of India is Information Technology or rather, the brains running or utilizing the technology & today, as the entire world is looking, India stands at the threshold of becoming an Information Technology superpower. There are minor skirmishes, some trebles but the fact is gradually getting in that India is in demand with regard to its IT manpower. Technology development, harnessing or outsourcing, India has been on a steady rise. As we get more competitive, there is a greater emphasis on Quality, multiskills, communication skills, personality development & overall employability skills & this is here where there is a lot of catching up to do.

A popular survey states that “less than 25% of Indian graduates are actually employable”- merely states the obvious. Apex body, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), estimates India’s requirement of software professionals at 2.3 million by 2010, has predicted a shortage of 0.5 million skilled knowledge workers based on current supply. The constant development in technology keeps upping the gap even further.

Organizations have now started paying attention to the all important Tier-II & Tier-III cities as Metros are already on the overdrive. But, the approach they seem to have taken is of the same standards as those of Metros. So, it’s a grand time for all these places that are slowly witnessing the IT upsurge to get into the thick of action & provide quality candidates that are readily employable.

That brings us to karROX “ONE STOP IT TRAINING MALL”. A 17 year old industry veteran, karROX works extensively on its core competency; IT Training. karROX essentially is committed to provide employable candidates to the industry as well as help the candidates choose the right industry. A pack of karROX comes with Software Training, Networking Training & IT Security Training along with IBM & Oracle courses, University courses, Testing & certifications, Corporate Training with equal emphasis on soft skills, thus making it a ONE STOP IT TRAINING MALL. This ensures a wider choice for students & high profitability for Franchisees at their location.

We are keen to expand ourselves in your locations and are looking forward to discuss partnership/other possibilities and its business models with you for our business expansion globally. Please find our contact details for you to have a discussion.

1. 
2. The Sanctuary Of  Truth in Pattaya.  We recently worked there on a Russian film there called LOVE IN THE CITY 2 with Living Films.

This Saturday, a storm was moving in over Southern California from the Pacific, bringing the first snow to the local mountains. Well – a dusting; not quite the snow storm yet. A storm over the Los Angeles basin can often clear the skies and create great cloud scenes. The hope for clear skies was not exactly justified: the strong winds accompanying the storm blew dust and ash from the recent Station Fire over the whole city, causing a thick brown layer to hang over it. It truly looked like a bad smoggy day in the ’80s….. See for more photos of this shoot: Photo Gallery > Locations > Skies over LA. Before the sun was low enough to illuminate the dust layer, some clouds were still lingering and made for a nice wide-angle shot over the city.

“Clouds over LA I”
Los Angeles, CA
ISO 200, 18 mm, 1/320 s at f/18

Close to where we had set up our tripods, the grass was catching the last evening rays, just as we did. The fine structure of the plans was graciously accentuated by the glistening of the little threads surrounding the seeds (better visible in slightly larger format in the Photo Gallery).

“Catching the Evening Sun II”
Los Angeles, CA
ISO 200, 55 mm, 1/60 s at f/4.5

As time progressed, the sun sank, and started illuminating the dust layer over Los Angeles. Not a pleasant sight, but it made for some nice colors in the sky. In these shots, I was experimenting with different exposure times throughout the sunset to get different colors, and also tried to play with various styles of cropping. More results of this are in the Photo Gallery.

“Horizontal I”
Los Angeles, CA
ISO 200, 250 mm, 1/500 s at f/8.0

“Horizontal II”
Los Angeles, CA
ISO 200, 123 mm, 1/80 s at f/5.0

]]> http://seoulphotoclub.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/in-focus-portraits-2/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:57:45 +0000 Aaron http://seoulphotoclub.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/in-focus-portraits-2/

Portraits are one of the main reasons photography is so popular – and the reason families keep album after album of embarrassing photos. They are one of the hardest kinds of photography to master, but there are a few things you can do to improve your portraits.

Probably first thing you can do is to choose your locations and backgrounds more carefully.

A background that compliments or contrasts your subject or mood will work best. Be sure that it has some kind of relationship to your image so the shot holds together well. This could be color, shape, or even something the subject is touching.

Everyone shoots their friends standing in front of the palaces in Seoul, but how often do people find a quiet corner, pose against a wall and use those long sweeping rooves and lines of the palace walls to draw the attention directly to their subject?

As this is a portrait of a person, another thing to try is to isolate your subject. Find a way to make them the only focus. There are a few ways to do this. Have them wear a blue shirt in a field of orange flowers, for example, or use a large aperture to blur out the background, or simplify the background until the details of the image are held only on the subject.

Choice of equipment is also really important when shooting a portrait. Unless your goal is to distort facial features, be very careful with wide angle lenses (or the wide end of your point and shoot camera). These focal lengths tend to make objects that are closer to the lens appear larger than those distant, thus distorting your poor subject disproportionately, which I can assure you, most do not appreciate.

So unless distortion is your goal, longer lenses are the key here.

One of the best things you can do while taking portraits is to make sure the subject isn’t bored. Don’t spend a lot of time changing lenses, checking your settings, or looking bewildered; this is where it can go wrong. Start shooting and if things aren’t working out, don’t stop – change things as you go. Just keep the momentum going; change it up!

Shooting with the frame vertical? Change to horizontal. Subjects’ hands are on their hips? Have them hold something, place a hand on a wall, create some interaction with your scene.

Finally, and most importantly from a technical standpoint, is light. Always be on the lookout for nice light. This could be warm evening light, or a patch of shade on a bright sunny day – try to avoid direct sunlight if you can. It makes people squint and causes dark shadows. Move into the shade, or better yet, read up on strobist techniques and make the light your own.

It is always a daunting task to approach someone and take their portrait, but being forearmed with a bit of knowledge will give you a little extra confidence.

Check out how some of the best expat photographers in Korea do it at the Seoul Photo Club on Flickr.

by Dylan Goldby, SPC resident portrait specialist

Almost a year ago, I made over 500 Zune wallpapers for my Zune 120. In the collection I made, I’ve got just about everything you can think of. In it there are wallpapers that are abstract art, aircraft, animals, books, cars, cartoons, famous landmarks, flowers, futuristic stuff, locations, logos, movies, music, planets, posters, sports, TV shows, video games, weapons, etc.

More recently, after I posted them on Photobucket, someone created a website called www.zunebg.net for Zune wallpapers, and put them on there. Click here to view the ones that I have made.

Be sure to check out the awesome collections that other people have made here.

Scuba diving is a sport pursued by people living in all parts of the world due to the many joys and pleasures which it has to offer. The thrill of being in unfamiliar surroundings, gazing at the most stunning coral reefs in crystal clear waters and getting close to beautiful sea creatures, are reasons enough to convince anyone to engage in scuba diving.

While one can always do diving in any body of water that is deep enough, but still there are certain famous scuba diving locations in many parts of the world, which truly take scuba diving to the next level. Scuba divers visit such locations because they have to offer unaltered marine life, clear light blue waters and great facilities which include experienced diving instructors.

Caribbean islands are one of the most prominent dive spots in the world, with countless areas where one finds nature still preserved in its purest form. These islands not only offer great marine life, but the visibility under water ranges from twenty feet to up to one hundred and twenty feet, allowing divers to capture as many stunning scenes as they can. From Bahamas to Aruba, Caribbean islands have ideal scuba diving resorts with great facilities close by.

The islands of Hawaii are another great destination for diving enthusiasts. Scuba diving in Hawaii offers the most complex and breathtaking coral formations, while the most attractive and colorful tropical fish reside in the waters encircling the islands. From turtles to sharks, all kinds of magnificent sea creatures are lurking in the stunning waters of Hawaii, adding to the thrill factor.

Along the coast of Florida, many stunning and world renowned dive sites locations attract tourists from many countries of the world. Florida, being one of the most popular fishing resorts in the US, offers warm and clear waters for divers, while large supply of tropical fish and sensational coral formations from a close bond between you and nature. Once you are in Florida, you will find the best equipment in nearby diving stores, while expert instructors will ensure that your deep-sea adventure does not take an ugly turn.

The coasts of Belize also offer a thrilling and exciting experience to scuba divers. Divers head towards the diving locations of Belize to have a closer look at the largest coral reef system in the northern hemisphere. The stunning coral formations and the underwater volcano bring thousands of scuba divers to the shores of Belize.

Countries like Australia, Philippines, and Fiji, Malaysia also boast of great dive locations. All of these scuba diving spots are enough to draw an aqua phobic person to indulge in scuba diving.

Mary cutler has proven to be a beautiful location

Good food

Cerimony room 120 people max

Drinks provided

20 minutes from the centre of Aberdeen

No church

Sierra Locomotive No. 3 (The Movie Train) will be ready to roll in April. Follow its progress at http://ping.fm/E4fN5