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• 07:25 24hrs of fun. 1st platoon made 11 runs yesterday. How many can we make today?
• 12:14 Why doesn't Pandora support the HTC Tytn II? WTF? Get with the program Music genome project.
• 12:47 Way to go Pandora! I haven't heard Van Halen's Diver Down album in a long time. Little Guitars. The good days with DLR (he's an EMT in NYC)
• 13:12 Pandora! more classic VH and now Black Sabbath FTW!
• 13:23 Working on database queries. Sounds like fun yes? SQL is not my native language.
• 14:35 I am superman, and I can do anything. I am superman and I know whats happening.
• 21:34 Why the Monkey? 031/365 Emergency Plow tinyurl.com/dn483h
• 22:05 Why the Monkey? Icepocalypse 2009 tinyurl.com/ako3bw
• 22:11 Listening to Amused to Death again. Great album. Need more Roger Waters on my phone.

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• 08:30 Home after a long day at the firehouse. Extremely tired. I get 48 hours to rest then back to work.
• 10:05 Play doggie daycare for sister-in-laws 2 dogs. Trying to integrate my two dogs with hers. Fun, fun.
• 10:10 We have reached an accord. My very dominant German Shepherd/Greyhound is taking well to this. Must keep her under constant surveillance
• 11:16 Should I venture out and seek photo ops? Or just stay in?
• 11:59 I wish Quicken online would fix their problem so I can balance my checking account :(
• 12:29 Found a flaw in Ray's Monkey House web site. Where are they located? Serious problem needs resolving.
• 14:04 La Grange is working a house fire now. They just requested North Oldham Fire department for an engine.
• 14:41 Ok, I am getting out of the house. I need to be outside with my camera.
• 18:42 Hoooray! Blagoneovich!
• 22:04 Photo of the Day, and other adventures joelneild.com/blog/?p=200
• 22:44 Listening to Roger Waters Amused to Death
• 06:35 Been awake since 4am. Going to need a mid-morning nap.

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• 05:04 Heading off to work. Trees limbs down everywhere, 3/4 in of ice coates the outdoors.
• 12:10 I have encountered many dumb people trying to drive today. When the firetruck is on the road, get the hell out of my way!
• 13:07 So far 1 working fire, numerous lines down, cleared two roads from fallen trees, fire alarms galore. I'm tired. 20 hours left in my shift.
• 18:06 We have no internet at the firehouse. This is extremely boring.
• 19:32 Why of all days did I have to drive the apparatus today? Wasn't supposed to be my day, but I was ordered to drive.
• 19:34 Ever try driving a 50K lb vehicle code 3 on icy roads? Just don't do it, trained proffessionals only. Still waiting for them to arrive :)

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• 11:50 I wanted snow, but we got sleet and freezing rain. BOOOO!
• 13:29 Not feeling well. I think I might be getting sick. Damn. Still have to work tomorrow
• 14:11 Playing with Microsft Voice Command. Impressed how well it works. Why have I not been using this?
• 14:39 Hmm...Copilot is acting up. Locking up when I want to enter address.
• 14:44 Going to re-install Copilot on to my Tytn II
• 15:00 Ok, if Copliot does not uninstall this time I might have to hard reset. That would suck
• 19:59 Photo of the day, Ice of course. Not very exciting or original. joelneild.com/blog/?p=196
• 21:52 Watched a large limb fall down 3 houses away. Hope power holds through the night!

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• 10:30 Pronounce 'OFTEN' With the T or without?
• 10:31 Here is a Lousiville Specific , "ACROSS" some people around here like to add a "T" to the end of that word
• 10:33 While I am on this rant, WTF is up with IDEA? Can we all agree that IDEA and IDEAL are two DIFFERENT words?
• 10:40 ROLF I am watching the LouTelevision channel on youtube. When will Louisville help me? tinyurl.com/bvdkev
• 10:46 Hey Louisville, you have the best parks I've seen in the states I've lived. Great parks system here!
• 10:48 One complaint, stop tearing down historic places and putting shopping malls with a little sign that says "Something important was here.....
• 10:48 ....but we knocked it down and put a sign up so you'd know about it"
• 10:52 See? this is why I need a paramedic job, so I can stop cluttering your twitter feeds with nonsense.
• 11:16 What is Windows 7 anyway? Another Windows ME?
• 11:30 Downloading songsmith. Why not. Everyone says I sing too much anyway
• 11:37 HA! Louisville says they are ready for the snow! Ready like they were back in 1994?
• 11:47 I really might need to get groceries. How embarassing
• 11:50 Looks like Belski says we are getting snow tonight, but possibly Ice tomorrow. That is better than ice first
• 12:15 Left my kettlebell out in the car. Now it's too cold to workout with, it needs to warm up.
• 12:25 Time to fly virtually. \
• 15:11 Picked up a pair of hiking boots. My old ones are 5 years old. Despirately needed new ones.

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• 14:21 Yawn! Slow day. Wish I didn't have a head ache (wish we could sleep during the day also)
• 16:12 Holy cow. I have 20 new followers today. Greetings & salutations!
• 16:55 Wonder how much snow we'll get tomorrow? I like snow.
• 20:42 Finished 30 min kettlebell workout. Now I'm awake! what next?
• 22:38 Photo of the day, posted. Featuring me. joelneild.com/blog/?p=190
• 10:30 Pronounce 'OFTEN' With the T or without?
• 10:31 Here is a Lousiville Specific , "ACROSS" some people around here like to add a "T" to the end of that word
• 10:33 While I am on this rant, WTF is up with IDEA? Can we all agree that IDEA and IDEAL are two DIFFERENT words?
• 10:40 ROLF I am watching the LouTelevision channel on youtube. When will Louisville help me? tinyurl.com/bvdkev
• 10:46 Hey Louisville, you have the best parks I've seen in the states I've lived. Great parks system here!
• 10:48 One complaint, stop tearing down historic places and putting shopping malls with a little sign that says "Something important was here.....
• 10:48 ....but we knocked it down and put a sign up so you'd know about it"
• 10:52 See? this is why I need a paramedic job, so I can stop cluttering your twitter feeds with nonsense.

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Greetings and salutations. I have decided to switch the hosting of my blog to wordpress. The new blog is bare and I am still learning how to format the CSS (style sheets) to create a more interesting blog. You can see the future posts over at joelneild.com/blog. Thanks and have a great day!

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• 23:47 Ok, I am now rolling out the preview of my new blog. Go to joelneild.com/blog and have a look see (or not)
• 07:47 Running errands before I work at the OC later today.
• 10:28 Applied to R/M for medic job. We shall see.
• 12:15 Officially working in OC. Waiting for the meyham to begin.
• 13:59 Called YEMS and left message for Med 3. Giving them a fair chance to hire me.
• 15:00 MVA rollover, everyone was ok & signed a refusal. The magic of seat belts and airbags. I don't understand why some refuse to use them.
• 16:37 Photo of the day is posted joelneild.com/blog (sorry Seth maybe next time)

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• 23:51 CATs win again! Still think Porter should have been benched. Take the shot or get off the court.
• 07:05 Enthralled to be at firehouse for 24 hours. Can I get a do over too?
• 08:20 My friend is piloting a plane from KSDF to Boston MA, then flying a citation to Chicago. I am jealous. He sucks.
• 10:17 No word from YEMS, going to rural metro tomorow
• 11:34 Training today on CPR recert, HIPPA and spinal cord injuries.
• 11:36 Leaving training now going to the gym. I know, you just can't handle the excitement. Please try to contain yourself.
• 12:20 I need new sneakers. These are giving me blisters on the heel (worn padding out of heel). So much for working out.
• 12:46 The crew tried to leave me at the gym. What are they trying to say? Maybe I should find a new job.
• 18:13 Dinner done, Engine is washed; Sgt is at a class, so I am officer of the Engine until 10pm. Be afraid (no really, it's scarry)
• 18:14 Need a photo for the day. Hmmm....
• 20:06 I never knew there was such co-operation between Louisville Blogggers
• 20:27 Going to try to install Wordpress on Godaddy hosting web site. 3rd try. Getting frustrated. So much for easy.
• 21:00 Transferring from blogger to wordpress. Crossing fingers
• 23:26 Looking for a CSS that I like to apply to my blog

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The big switch

Greetings and salutations. I have decided to switch the hosting of my blog to wordpress. The new blog is bare and I am still learning how to format the CSS (style sheets) to create a more interesting blog. You can see the future posts over at joelneild.com/blog. Thanks and have a great day!

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• 18:30 Ate at Clifton's Pizza, now going to Match Games at Actors Theatre. Wife and I both miss working in theater.
• 22:35 For christ sake Billy G take Porter out of the game. Won't shoot 3s and can't hold onto the ball!

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021/365 Louisville Bank

021/365 Louisville Bank, originally uploaded by Falls City Photography.

New for the next week, I am going to take all my photos with my AT&T tilt camera phone.

This is at Actors Theatre, the old Louisville Bank.

020/365 Toys

020/365 Toys, originally uploaded by Falls City Photography.

There is nothing that says every single photo I take for project 365 should be high art. Today is one of those days. One of the only vices I have is virtual flying, and I fed that vice today (with the assistance of holiday monies). I purchased a Saitek X52 Flight System. And it provided hours of fun (that's why this blog post is so late. Photo actually taken at 04:16pm 20 January 2009 for you sticklers for the rules).

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• 06:57 Back in the saddle again. Firehouse shift, snow & cold. Could be a busy 24 hours.
• 08:44 Wonder if i should look for full time medic position? Can paramedic pay as much as fire?
• 09:57 Fire dept. is more worried about meaningless accredidation and less about actually helping the public.
• 10:44 Drove back from Statrion 2, now at station 3 (station 1 is under construction). Yawn. Wish we made more runs, I'm bored with bureaucracy.
• 10:45 Apperently a car went throught the cable barrier on I-71 @ 7mm. I didn't think they could do that.
• 11:06 Contemplating my posible futures. So many roads to take.
• 12:13 According to people on my Department I am looking for a new full time Paramedic job. Wish I knew that!
• 15:49 Listening to music. Trying to improve my mood.
• 17:23 Update to the photo a day project. Today's entry tinyurl.com/a5p466
• 20:40 Some how I became confused. Now I am all better.
• 20:44 Umm...ok I don't get plurking, I must be old. Oh well. Purple cows don't fly by night without safety goggles
• 20:47 Listening to Dvorak Symphony No.9 1st movement. AND YOU WILL LIKE IT...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
• 21:06 I would not do well in a cubicle based job. I might have to gnaw my leg off to escape the inside.
• 22:32 Sleep? We shall see.

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019/365 First Snow

You would think that with the first measurable snow of the season, that I would have posted a photo of snow. Despite the high of twenty seven degrees here, much of the snow covering roads, objects and other points of interest has melted. I did find a nice little evergreen like shrubbery (hey I am not a landscape expert, I have no idea what type of shrub this is)that had a bunch of ice coating the branches. I have included below a few more photos and three from the graveyard behind the fire station.





I really liked this ice formation, very round and smooth.

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• 06:57 Been awake since 5 am. Went to sleep at 2am. Sometimes I don't like me so much.
• 14:40 GO CATS! Never did like Georgia, we kicked them good!
• 21:19 Project 365 rolls on, and Lousiville Mayor JA is to blame for today's image tinyurl.com/8mbp24

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018/365 Imminent Domain

Thanks to our 'Mayor for life' Jerry Abramson, an entire neighborhood now sits empty. The houses were declared imminent domain for Airport Expansion. Many families were forced out and a small few remain. The land now sits vacant mostly with signs that say "Keep out, Property of Louisville Airport Authority"

The project started in the early 1990's, and the land is still vacant.

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• 13:14 I am trying to navigate godaddy.com with not much success. Trying to make my own wordpress blog site.
• 19:14 It's that time again. Photo of the day, Project 365 rolls onward tinyurl.com/a6ah7m

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017/365 Contact Tower

Click for larger image

All aircraft approaching to land and ready to take off are told to 'Contact Tower on 124.200' when ready. I am an aviation enthusiast and I have been trying to find the right conditions and location to take an image of the tower at Louisville International Airport (KSDF) also know as Standiford Field. Both images are HDR, and the sun could not have cooperated more. Enjoy!

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• 09:54 Cool. Google has the Life magazine photo archive digitized.
• 09:57 The Life digital photo Archive images.google.com/hosted/life
• 12:41 Lunch. Now what? we are confined to quarters due to cold weather. Cabin feaver might just set in soon.
• 19:36 Why isn't our server on generator power? Who plans that poorly? Wait, I know who...(no it's not me)
• 20:49 Crap, it's 8:40pm and I still need a photo of the day! Grrrr.... We've made 8 runs so far today. 10 hours to go.
• 22:01 Returning from run #8 for the day. All fire alarms so far.
• 22:27 What's that you say? Yes I did get my photo in on time. Project 365 tinyurl.com/898ylp

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016/365 Discharge

Click photo to see larger version

The hours are drawing near and I had yet to capture my image for the day. We have had an extraordinary day at the firehouse today. I would not say busy, but we have not had this many runs in quite some time (8 so far). I really don't believe that we will sleep through the night.

Thankfully I have my trusty Sigma 105mm macro lens and many subjects around the station. With 2 hours and 38 minutes left I submit #16 of project 365.

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• 00:04 Selected 64 out of 331 images from Highview's fire. Exporting to CD now to give to HFD & Okolona FD
• 00:40 Just let the dogs out one last time tonight. 15 degrees, wind chill = 0.
• 01:07 Images from Highview FD's Fire now posted here: tinyurl.com/7ptr79
• 01:20 You can also go here tinyurl.com/75gm9d
• 01:20 G'nigh twits. time for sleep.
• 12:11 Not looking forward to working tomorrow. although I need to go out and find a photo for 365 today
• 15:29 Pleasure Ridge Park FD fights house fire in 14 degree temps. tinyurl.com/8vmc8n
• 15:39 Here's a brief story that goes with the fire. tinyurl.com/7j6w62
• 17:15 At falls of ohio waiting for sun to set. 15 feet from water. It's freaking cold.
• 18:54 BAck from the brink of the ice age. It was 11 degrees and the wind was brisk by the river. Time to download photos and see what we have
• 20:30 Photo of the day posted. I'm still trying to thaw out. tinyurl.com/899htw

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015/365

I visited the Falls of the Ohio this evening for the photo of the day. It was really cold with a windchill of -4. Enjoy the photos. The image above is my "official" entry for the photo of the day.

PRPFD Fights Blaze in 14 degree temps.

Click the photo for more images

A house fire at 2600 Thomas Ave. off Rockford Lane, just south of Shively, may have started in the stove area according to firefighters.

The man and woman who live in the home were not there at the time of the fire; they had left to attend a funeral and returned home to find the house on fire.

No one else was in the home at the time of the fire, but the couple had two dogs, who were in kennels on the second floor, and did die from smoke inhalation.

The woman indicated to firefighters that she might have left food on the stove

Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Department were called to the fire, and the extreme cold temperatures are definitely hindering their work, One firefighter indicated to WHAS11 News that firefighters are only allowed to work on a fire in 15-min shifts because of the extreme conditions.

Text from WHAS11.com

Highview FD Battles Basment Fire

Click image to see entire gallery

(WHAS11) - It took firefighters an hour and a half to battle a large house fire Monday afternoon in the 5000 block of Briscoe Ridge Lane, which is a new subdivision off of Bates Lane in the south end.

The fire started in the basement, but the exact cause is still unknown.

No one was home when the fire broke out, but a mother and her four children lived there.

As firefighters were battling the blaze, the flames became so intense that the firefighters were ordered out of the home for safety.

The home was destroyed.

The Red Cross says they will be assisting the family.

Story from WHAS11.com

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• 16:07 Bowling with the wife. We both stink.
• 22:19 Posting photos from today.
• 22:51 New photo blog posted, including today's entry for Project 365 tinyurl.com/8zblwe
• 23:04 Extra photo blog posted. Where is all my snow? tinyurl.com/9rbyvp

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Cold

Temperatures are falling into the teens for the next few days. The low for Thursday night/Friday morning is supposed to be 1 degree. While the cold front passed we were treated with a few snow showers. My wife and I were driving down Newberg Rd towards her parent's house, so I could check a child car seat (yes the fire department put me through the Child Safety Seat Class; 40 hours of fun and excitement) for my nephew Sam. We noticed the snow falling around Owsley Brown Frazier Stadium at Bellermine University. I remarked how it looked 'cool' and my wife encouraged me to stop and take a photo.

This is an HDR image (a composite of three images to accurately depict the dynamic range), and the snow flakes were going to be blurry. I like snow!

014/365 Louisville Water Company Reservoir

Click image to see larger. Blogger tends to clip this format.

A brisk and cold afternoon in the Frankfort Avenue and Clifton neighborhood. Static temperature was 34 degrees and the wind chill was in the low 20's. My wife and I braved the weather and journeyed up to the water company reservoir. The Crescent Hill Reservoir was finished in 1879. The purpose of this large holding facility was to let the mud and sediment naturally settle to the bottom, making the water that came from the Ohio River a little clearer. It was common prior to the reservoir's completion to let a glass of water sit so the sand and mud could settle to the bottom of the glass before drinking. I like modern technology.

Enjoy a few more images from the LWC reservoir:





Information about the Crescent Hill Reservoir taken from Louisville Water Company

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• 08:22 Back at the firehouse for 24 hours of insanity. Cold weather is in bound.
• 13:18 Catching up on email lists. So much information, not enough time.
• 14:28 I don't think YEMS is going to hire me back as part-time paramedic. Rural Metro is next. I didn't know this would be difficult,
• 17:09 New post over at the blog (and photos too) fyrdog21.blogspot.com
• 21:28 Watching Cats play the volunteers. Go Big Blue!

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013/365 Shield

My helmet at the firehouse. Yes it is a little dirty. Entry #13 for project 365 is another tool of the firefighter.
Strobist info: 1 Vivitar 850 AF 1/2 power with Lumiquest mini softbox, placed 45 degrees up and behind the shield. Voice activated light stand enabled ;)

I was hoping to get a photo of snow but only flurries so far. Many other regions of our country are buried in snow and Kentucky has not seen one ounce of accumulation. Sure wish we would have a good snow.

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• 00:21 Listening to this american life via podcast. They always interesting segments.
• 00:24 Wishing I could just go to sleep. Bah!
• 11:55 Leaving LMPD records office, going to Yellow ambulance to apply for paramedic job.
• 12:20 Leaving Yellow Ambulance. Maybe I should apply at Rural metro too?
• 14:26 Leaving Highviews fire with over 330 images. I got a little shutter happy. But I should have photo of the day
• 16:31 Still downloading all the images. My old technology is slow. Yes I still have USB 1.0 and no firewire.
• 18:00 Project 365 post of the day fyrdog21.yahoo.com

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012/365 Knockdown

012/365 Knockdown, originally uploaded by Falls City Photography.

Sgt. Scot Evans & Captain Jodi Craig from Okolona Fire Department try to knock down a fire in Highview, Kentucky. OFD was called to assist Highview FD on a fully involved basement fire. Crews made several attempts to contain the fire and fought the blaze for more than two hours. No one was home at the time.

I will post more in a little, I have a lot of photos to edit.

Thoughts from the Cat

• 18:03 dogs, dogs everywhere. I'm going upstairs to nap #

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• 17:59 Really cold photo for Project 365 today. fyrdog21.blogspot.com
• 18:00 Temp was 32 (F) with wind chill 24. It's only getting colder this week.
• 18:02 Watching steelers play chargers. I have no favorite really.

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011/365 Hydro Plant

011/365 Hydro Plant, originally uploaded by Falls City Photography.

The hydro electric plant on the Ohio River was running full steam. The river was high today. The Temp outside was 32 def F. with a wind chill of 24 deg. It was really freaking cold!

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• 08:20 Back at the firehouse. Be afraid, i am riding as officer again (and my major is driving for me)!
• 11:32 Renewing my resume, looking for a paramedic job.
• 14:57 Watched UoL win (unfortunatly); watching UK play Vandy; Finnished Kettlebell workout during 1st half.
• 15:12 Wondering what will the subject of the day be?
• 15:37 GO CATS!!!
• 16:08 Cats win 70-60! Take that vandy!
• 17:18 Watching Titans vs. Ravens. Don't care who wins. Going to MFD for chili nite.
• 21:07 Project 365 thunders onward with this post tinyurl.com/9779e2

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010/365 Ready

Entry #10 of Project 365. My gear stands at the ready. I am riding as the officer of the engine company today and my major is driving for me. It's kind of a switch around, but the major is under the weather and his voice is less then desirable for talking and giving commands so he let me ride as officer.

I am still playing with the lighting techniques from strobist.com. I set the camera to shoot the ambient light -2 ev (2 stops below what it thinks would be a correct exposure). The flash, a Vivitar 850AF set at 1/8 power @85mm was held by a voice activated lighting stand (me).

This is not perfection. I have come to realize that in this project I will have to shoot down and dirty from time to time and expect less than perfection. Achieving perfection normally prevents me from "wasting my time" by taking photos that I see as not worth the effort if I cannot get them perfectly. So I quickly set this shot up, and in less than 10 minutes I had it posted online. Maybe I can learn that perfection is not always the goal, sometimes the journey is the experience not the outcome.

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• 10:50 I just learned that the Offensive Coordinator for Florida is my High school gym teacher. He was also HS Football coach.
• 13:13 Great day to be outside. Sun is brilliant, sky is blue and the Louisville haze is all around.

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008/365 CPU Lizard

008/365 CPU Lizard, originally uploaded by Falls City Photography.

009/365 McDonald & Co Grain

I was getting tired of driving around Louisville, so I crossed the bridge and went seeking adventure in New Albany, IN. The McDonald Grain company was located off Eleventh Street near the flood wall. I do not have the history of the grain company, but one silo still stands. The image above is my "official" entry for Project 365. Below is another image that shows the surrounding.

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• 09:41 Kettlebell workout before breakfast. Now time to eat.
• 10:35 Wondering what today's subject for 365 should be. I'm thinking outside today 'cause it's finally sunny again.

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• 07:39 Awake. Let the dogs outside. It's snowing. Probably won't stick around though.
• 11:27 I have a noon meeting with a nutritionist. Surely she'll tell me that if it tastes good, it's bad for you.
• 22:46 Posted Day 7 of 365. fyrdog21.blogspot.com

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Days 6 & 7 / 365

I bet you all thought I forgot yesterday right? Well it was my birthday so I took the night off from posting to the blog, but I did take a photo and post it to flickr. Here is day 6:

Little lego guys staring at my paramedic license. That's what I got on my birthday. It was a rainy cold day so I had to make some still life.

Here is today's entry:



Buddha sits on this Himalayan calendar in our bed room. Another cold rainy/snow day so I needed an indoor shoot. I like the little Buddha, I will use him and his friends in more shoots.

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• 09:45 YAWN, morning twits. Whats happening? I know I'm missing the cover letter on my TPS reports.
• 09:54 Crap, I give up on trying to spell correctly today
• 10:55 Woohoo! I'm going to Frankfort, to turn in my Paramedic App. Anyone need anything while I'm out?
• 13:20 sitting in KCTCS office, Versailles KY. Waiting for KBEMS to issue medic numbers to me.
• 13:27 Are all the Mac-o-philes foaming at the mouth for the keynote speech or what? #keynote
• 13:42 Victory is mine! For those who care Ky #4023P are my numbers!! Now I can begin the job search.
• 16:35 Getting sleepy.
• 23:09 Goodnite gracie. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes. BE safe.

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• 08:02 It's too early in P365 to not have any idea what to shoot damn it. Still sleepy.
• 08:55 Little sleepy. Maybe a nap will do me good?
• 11:14 All better. Called KBEMS, left a message with contact person. Wrote email last week. really want to get my state #'s so I can start working
• 12:16 Engine 20 just sent to EMS assist. Female has been "in" the floor since last nite.
• 12:27 Have an Idea for todays photo. I'm heading out the door. Hope KBEMS calls me back. I'm tired of waiting.
• 13:44 Tired of waiting for KBEMS. This sucks. I'd mail the app. packet but I'm afraid they would lose it, they are govmnt employees after all
• 14:03 Feeling kind of BLAH today. It's my B-day tomorrow, but I just don't care.
• 14:50 Is it possible to physically blog a blah? Well I did. And you can view it here: tinyurl.com/732snh
• 14:51 Does anyone know how to change column width in Blogger? They keep cutting off my photos!
• 15:17 Sounds like Mt. Washington FD & SE Bullitt FD are going out on a working fire. 600 Deerwood Rd. 3102 On scene working fire.
• 16:48 Made Turkey Chili for dinner. I use an Alton Brown recipe then I adjust to my taste & needs
• 17:21 Watching Hancock. I like the reluctant hero.

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005/365 Kenwood Drive-in

First opened in summer of 1949 this "open Air" theater closed in 2008. According to a fan-site of the threater it is permenently closed as of January 2, 2009. The drive-in is one in a long list of closed theaters around the country. I have many happy memories from childhood through high school, of a drive-in theater in Southington, CT. I saw an image similar to this one a while ago and I have wanted to document closed drive-in theaters since that time. This is my first attempt. Technincal info:

• Yes this is an HDR image, and I like it that way. Capturing the clouds and the ground in one exposure would not have done the mood justice, and this just accuratly represents the actual look (since our eyes have a greater dynamic range than a digital sensor).
• Canon 10D ISO 100 F/11
  
• Sigma 15-30 mm set at 15mm
• Desaturated to enhance my mood today. Yup, that's just how I feel. Art is an expression so there is mine.
  

Here is a link to the Fan site for Kenwood Drive-in . You can also check out more drive-ins at drive-ins.com .

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• 07:04 Another 24 hours of firehouse fun. Be advised I'm riding as officer. No one is safe.
• 07:41 Need to think about my photo for the day. Maybe a "tools of the trade" theme?
• 08:08 Ok so who has the vx8r from Yaesu? It looks like a nice radio. is it worth the upgrade? #hamr
• 08:50 Working on Firehouse Databse Queries for Louisville Water Company. I have little training and it's getting frustrating!
• 09:03 After dusting off the gray matter (Mater?) I've solved the problem. Lots of data entry required though :(
• 10:03 1st run today, Full arrest. I think he'll make it too!
• 12:15 shooting for today's project 365.
• 12:52 Red beans & rice for lunch. Cheap and effective.
• 13:51 Stop poking me MR. Pike. Project 365 done for today. tinyurl.com/9evpr6 What to shoot for tomorrow?
• 14:36 Going out to get groceries. Have to be back in time for the big game.
• 17:57 Kentucky is losing this game. They could win, but they aren't in the game. It's theirs to lose (or win if they choose)
• 18:00 First kettlebell workout today. It wore me out. Difficult to adjust to technique, but I'll get it soon.
• 18:36 I'll be the first to call for Billy G's Firing. Get rid of the drunkard.
• 19:39 Nothing snarky to say about the game. Cards won fair, but UK lost (as expected). Billy G's time at UK is closing. One more season max.
• 20:28 Ok, so where to photograph tomorrow? Should be partly cloudy, would like to get outdoor shoots when possible.
• 21:43 Ok twits, I'm heading off to bed and hopefully some sleep. Don't be a stranger.

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004/365 Pike

I am slightly worried about my creative abilities while at work. Eventually I will run out of things to shoot in the firehouse. I really wanted to shoot a whole series of tools today but I held back so I wouldn't get stuck later. I will do a whole series over the year about the tools we use, but for now here is the pike pole.

I am a lighting geek. I thought of this yesterday, sihoueting a pike pole head. This one took me about fourty five minutes to set up and try different angles. I had to make a couple of snoots for my flashes to keep the light from spilling everywhere. I had a good shot similar to this with a little light reflected on the face of the tool but as it turnes out my focus was off so I junked that image. Whats that I hear? You want technical specs? Ok you asked for it:

Canon 10D 1/250 sec F2.8
105mm Macro lens
Vivitar 430 Camera Left w/ DIY snoot
Vivitar 850 camera right 1/8 power w/ DIY snoot

Thoughts from the Cat

• 08:27 twitpic.com/z92n - See, I told you I fit in the box. Humans aren't so bright. #

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• 06:35 Awake early on a day off. I don't mind really, I like the night/early morning hours.
• 08:03 I'm thinking of shooting interior of Bowman Field's old terminal for Day #3.
• 10:21 Going to B-fast with the wife. North End Cafe here we come (Prob. really busy there today)
• 15:12 Blog this! 003/365 Bowman Field tinyurl.com/8ty523

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003/365 Bowman Field (KLOU)

Bowman Field (KLOU)

Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and one of the oldest continually operating airfields in North America. The airport has played a vital role in the growth and evolution of the country's aviation industry. It was founded by Abram H. Bowman, who was drawn to aviation by the interest generated during World War I.

Bowman found an outlet for his enthusiasm after meeting and forming a brief partnership with Louisvillian Robert H. Gast, a pilot and World War I veteran of the Royal Flying Corps. Bowman leased a parcel of land east of Louisville from the U.S. Government in 1919 to operate the airfield, which opened in 1921. Excerpt from Wikipedia.

Louisville Regional Airport Authority

I really like Bowman field, but that's just because I am an aviation nut. The terminal is a nice old place, but today it is used as leased office space. The is an expensive french restaurant called La Relais but I can't afford to eat there so I cannot provide a detailed dissertation on the quality of their food. The exterior of this building will most likely appear within my Project 365 but today I was looking for interior shots. I made it an HDR image to get the trees outside and a great tonal range. The Black and white desaturation done in Photoshop CS3 gives it an alomost timeless look. I was going to add film grain and make the image look old, but I am feeling lazy today.

Twitter Log

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• 10:02 Back from shooting Project 365. I'll have to see if I got any keepers. Might have to go back out to get one thats postable.
• 10:43 Would really love to have a compute faster then Pentium 3. Photo editing is a Pain in the A$$
• 11:18 I am so in lust.....with HDR images.
• 14:18 Back from lunch with the wife. Working on more tilt-shift mockeries, and posting to the blog.
• 14:28 New Blog post. tinyurl.com/6vnw2z
• 15:30 Went overboard with photography today. But it was really freaking fun!
• 15:43 Photos of the Louisville Arena project. tinyurl.com/92fzs8
• 20:51 Happy UK beat ECU. We're not known much for football. Now if we can only beat UoL on Sunday!

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Tilt-Shift effect #2

I was already downtown having lunch with my wife so I thought I would try to shoot specifically for post processing the tilt-shift effect. I have two choices. Both were taken from the top of the Actor's Theater parking garage. Here is photo #1:

And here is a close up version with the 2nd street bridge as a top border:

Which one do you think is better? Leave a comment below.

Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model.
Altering the focus of the photography in Photoshop (or similar program) simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered with macro lenses making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is.
In addition to focus manipulation, the tilt-shift photography effect is improved by increasing color saturation and contrast, to simulate the bright paint often found on scale models.
Most faked tilt-shift photographs are taken from a high angle to further simulate the effect of looking down on a miniature. The technique is particularly effective on buildings, cars, trains and people. Taken from Louisville Photography Collective

002/365 Memorial Auditorium

Day 2 of Project 365. I originally planned on shooting at the Little Loom House, I decided to look around the Old Louisville area for more photo opportunities. My initial intention was LFD Engine 7 house, but I wasn't feeling a good pic there today. I drove past this building with columns several times and finally decided to stop and see what I could come up with. After returning home I was downloading the images, with the full intent of going back out to shoot this afternoon, and I saw a version of this pass by. I initially worked on the Loom house image below making and HDR, and I thought that it didn't look all that bad. I went back and browsed the remainder of the images and thought, oh yeah I need to make an HDR of this. After processing the image, I knew this had to be my shot of the day.

History of Memorial Auditorium:
The creation of Louisville Memorial Auditorium was the outgrowth of two movements: one for a public auditorium, the other for a memorial to commemorate the deeds of the sons and daughters of Louisville and Jefferson County who served their country in World War I. The Louisville Memorial Commission was created by the Kentucky Legislature under Chapter 23 of the Acts of 1922 (KRS 97.630 through 97.780) for the purpose of administering the construction, maintenance, preservation and day to day operation of Louisville Memorial Auditorium. The first Louisville Memorial Commission was appointed by Louisville Mayor George Weissinger Smith. The Commission has been directing the operation of Louisville Memorial Auditorium for the benefit of Louisville Metro Government and serving the Louisville community faithfully and continuously since 1922.
Taken from their web site


Little Loom House. The original target for the day, but even after processing the images I wasn't excited about the results. Interesting piece of history here though.

In 1893 the Hill sisters had written a book called, “Song Stories for the Kindergarten”, which was published by Clayton F. Summy Co. of Chicago. The first song in the book was entitled “Good Morning to All”. During a birthday celebration in Etta’s summer cabin, for her sister Lysette, Patty Hill suggested the words to this song be changed to “Happy Birthday to You”. Although the original song had been copyrighted the new lyrics were not until 1935. Under federal law at the time, the copyright would not expire until 75 years later- the year 2010.

Excerpt taken from their web site.

Twitter Log

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• 05:30 Happy New Year. Thanks to the neighborhood for squeezing off a few rounds with your fire arms. Nothing like gun fire to wake me at Midnight.
• 08:35 Greetings & Salutations. My first photo of Project 365 is posted fyrdog21.blogger.com
• 08:40 I guess I'm the only Twit awake at this advanced hour.
• 09:04 Doh! I always do that. My Blog web is fyrdog21.blogspot.com
• 12:31 Listening to Dvorak Symphony #9. Just brilliant piece of music. All of life should have this many layers, and be this rich.
• 13:50 New Blog Music & Photography tinyurl.com/9bormj
• 14:02 Darn. I don't have my CD of New World Symphony with me. Oh well, thankfully youtube has many versions!
• 14:08 Ok, I asked all photogs. permission to use images on my blog. It's the only right thing to do.
• 14:08 Can't believe I didn't think to do that earlier. Shame on me.
• 14:18 Jotting down Ideas (locations) for Project 365 shoots. So many places just around louisville I want to shoot. Only 364 days left!
• 16:09 Drove crew to grocery store to obtain dinner supplies. I'm waiting with the engine while they shop.
• 18:47 One run down how many more? Any Medic ever hear of someone pouring vodka down their NG tube? Around 350mL?
• 21:14 Had to hard reset my Tilt. It was acting funny and dropping signals. Fresh start for the phone ;)

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Music & Photography

While listening to Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 I realized a serious self deprecating behaviour. I want my photos to have the multi-layered feel like a good classical piece of music. New World Symphony has a few major parts (movements), it would be impossible to replicate all movements in one photograph.

In theater we would light the stage and 'players' based on the mood of the text or music. Stage lighting is mostly used to enhance (used in symphony with audio, set, props, script, costumes) the other elements of the performance. In photography all of the elements must be controled by the photographer on a two dimensional medium (at least on stage we had depth if we wanted to use it). In a symphony they have numerous instruments to add depth. In photography we have the illusion of depth (depth of field and High Dynamic Range Images are two of the best ways).

Listen to this performance of New World Symphony 4th movement by Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra (it's only 10 minutes, and you can really feel the layers of music).

Ok, I will assume you have listened to at least the first minute. Fairly powerful piece of music and uplifting, and FULL of sounds, harmonics and other noises that make audiophiles drool (if you got past two minutes you really heard the good stuff). How does one capture this in a photograph? Sure if I were into videography, I might have a chance with moving pictures but capturing this in ONE image? Not impossible. Take this photo by Trey Ratcliff:

Click for larger image

Copyright Trey Ratcliff (Stuck in Customs)

See, now I told you it wasn't impossible. Mr. Ratcliff is quite handy with the High Dynamic Range imaging. I think he wrote the book (or at least the online instructions that MANY people use to emulate images like this one).

The image below belongs to a Lousiville photographer Daniel Light (who is also a musician by trade). Another example of where I want my photography to be at the end of the Project 365.

Click photo to see larger image

Copyright Daniel Light

Now listen to the music and look at these photos. They almost fit together.

Project 365 (The beginning) 001/365

Click the photo for a larger image

01 January 2009. I have started the Project 365. My original idea for a photo like this was from on top of the 100 foot ladder truck, but since it is a brisk seventeen degrees (F) outside I decided against climbing the ladder.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year celebration. My day today will be spent driving this engine. My neighbors (in the 4 block radius) decided it would be fun to pop off a few rounds of their semi-automatic guns around midnight (11:54 is when it began). That was a pleasent way to be woken up from a peaceful sleep. Gun control begins with the morons who own them. Thats why it never works!