Grand Canyon w/ iPhone

Yeah... more iPhone shots. I am a lazy photographer.







A girl posing for her boyfriend. Looked like a cool shot from behind, so I quickly whipped out my phone.



The day before the storm rolled through.



A colorful cloud snapped through the windshield while Mark was driving us around in Flagstaff.

iPhone Most Popular Camera Online

Surpassing even the Nikon D80, Canon EOS 40D, and Canon Rebels... See? All my iPhone camera talk wasn't so far off.

iPhone trick

I've gotten good at a bar trick that could win me lots of money. I can balance my iPhone apps on a razor's edge between two screens. Not very impressive in a still image, but it is if you see it in action - especially if you want to lose money and bet me that I can't do it...

Max in NYC

Max and I met his friend Cassie then went out for drinks and food. This is just a quick iPhone shot while in Times Square.

iPhone it in

[written a couple of weeks ago, but never actually posted]

Sorry - if I had more internet access, you wouldn’t have to put up with these. I also just realized the "traveling" tag label has surpassed the "art" label. That isn't good. I need to get focused on art when I return to the States so that ART is the focus of this blog... oops. Anyway:



A hotel in Wellington had this on the wall. You couldn’t get any power (outlets, lights, clock, nothing) unless you put your card key into this little mechanism (the same card you use to unlock your door). Odd.



Heated towel racks are common down here. I should install one in our bathroom.



I keep forgetting to point this out. Everywhere in Europe and the UK, and New Zealand, as well, the toilets have dual flushing. You use a full flush for ... well, you know ... and a half flush when a full isn’t necessary. Seems like such a better idea than those stupid low flow toilets.

Hopefully I have internet access to post travel images tomorrow...

More random iPhone photos

At one of the thermal parks, they had there own tiny version of Old Faithful that went off every morning at 10:15. However, for it to do so, some guy walked up and dumped some chunks of “soap-like substance” into it to get it going. Ugh. I need to check with my parents, but I don’t recall that is how Old Faithful worked when we visited.



This is my reaction.



This is an image of some of the thermal pools that didn’t get posted before.



Here is the Champagne Pool, again, but with the iPhone instead of the Nikon. I can’t say why. Just experimenting.



These are some fishing boats near Goat Island.



These are two iPhone pics spliced sloppily together. It is an 800 year old Kauri tree. Most were cut down years ago for lumber. This one somehow survived the early deforestation of New Zealand.



This is one of the popular rental vans in New Zealand. They were all decorated with various random graffiti-style pop art (screw copyrights, I guess). I don’t think Charles Shultz would have approved.



This is a type of salt that is common down here. Let me preface by admitting I never fully understood Morton’s “When it Rains, It Pours” campaign. I mean, if it said “When it Snows, it Pours” it would make more sense (kind of), but wouldn’t be as catchy.

“See How it Runs” is not only a lame rip off, but makes no sense at all. And, by the way, if you want people to use your food product, don’t use images of rats on it.

Or, use slugs and have Pat and Tom Phalen chase after them with buckets of salt.

iPhone day #2

Another one of these? Uh oh. Must mean no (or limited) internet access, again.



This was on the north island near NPS. Half windmill / half billboard. Reminded me of the midwest.



I don’t know if hitting a kiwi or a penguin would be worse. I’d rather not think about it.

On a side note, a few hikers and I saw some weird birds the other day less than a few feet away from us. They scurried back into the brush where we were walking. A guy near me thought they were kiwis. I was reluctant to agree, but wanted them to be. Same big feet, no apparent wings, and feathers kind of like fur seal texture. They seemed a little kiwi-ish. I wonder what else they could have been? I am pretty sure they were wekas, though. Too bad I didn't have time to take a picture.

iPhone posting day

Okay, so I admit I have been lazy about taking images with the Nikon in favor of video with the Sony HD. However, I do still snap the random iPhone pic. Since you are reading this, that means I did not have access to the internet to put up a different post [this is a scheduled post I created on Friday, New Zealand time, when I had internet access. Since it appeared here, that means I was unable to intercept it before it scheduled to automatically post itself].

With the explanation for the post out of the way, what follows are the images. Don’t ask me to over explain these.



I got a free local paper at one hotel. It was wrapped with so much cellophane that I originally gave up unwrapping it and tossed it to the floor (what a waste). I finally was curious enough about the weather to finally finish unwrapping it. After reading about Apple stock falling on the news of Steve Job’s health (get better, Steve) and Osama Bin Laden’s new tape (really?), I finally checked out the weather.



It is apparently usually rainy on the western side of the island, and this week appears it will be no exception. Dang it.



Here is the route I am traveling. Making good time in a car. I am driving about 4-6 hours a day and hiking around and taking pics about 5-7 hours a day. Seems like a good balance. Long days with only enough time left over for eat and sleep.

Mostly for Meg

It's a long story, but Meg Pennycook loves Oreos and I occasionally send Oreos via the Post to her. When I do, I sometimes include fun stuff (which she never likes as much as actually Oreos, however). I was telling her about how many various versions of Oreo treats there are in the States. Well, Meg, there seems to be another Oreo lover here at VCCA. This is just what is currently in the kitchen here.


It may not taste exactly like an Oreo, but the Pop Tarts sure look like Oreos when you bite into them.


The walnut tree is dropping walnuts at an alarming rate the past few days. You can hear them falling so frequently that you actually want to cover your head as you walk under the trees. I haven't been hit, yet.


Like every other residency I have been to, they like holding open studio nights. Here are some of the artists visiting Julia's studio.

Stereo iPhone

Since the stereo camera has film and I won't have images to show, I decided to show you the fun stereo app on my iPhone. You can take two different pictures and align them on one screen...


...save them on the next screen...


...and view them on the final screen. Of course, this only works if you know how to "look past the screen" to get the middle "third" image. Still, it is fun.

Telephone Line Spider Web

Still working on Andrew's web site, so no time for animations.


Telephone lines... spider webs... nice combination. This is common in London. I have been taking several snapshots with my iPhone. This is just one. Maybe I will post of bunch of them sometime.


Mark Roper wrote an amazing poem about a Kingfisher. It was about his mother, really. Very recently, he wrote an amazing essay about that poem and the death of this mother. I wish I could post the essay here. You should all read it. It is beautiful and moving. Anyway, now I can't think of Kingfishers without thinking of him or his poem or his essay.

I saw this food joint north of London and snapped a pic of it for him (again, with the iPhone, naturally. I have to start using my Nikon, again)