Round Robin: My Favorite Obsession

Listen, for the Round Robin Challenge: My Favorite, I really did try to come up with a different favorite subject from the one I'm going to feature here tonight. Favorite toy? Nah, already showed you. Favorite vista on Mount Lemmon? Didn't make it up there. Favorite book? Variable, and not very interesting to photograph. And so on. Nothing really did it for me, and I was running out of time.

So I'm going to show you parts of my Doctor Who collection, from my all-time favorite television show. Doctor Who. It first aired in the UK on November 23, 1963 and lasted until December 1989, was revived in 2005 and is again going strong on both sides of the Atlantic, in something like 40 countries around the world.



At first, I thought I wouldn't have anything interesting to show you. I don't really buy much by way of Doctor Who toys and collectibles. I own a few hundred books and nearly as many videos, but how photogenic is that? So I set up some of the box sets on a shelf, along with a few other things I do have. Clockwise from left, you can see  a heavily-autographed copy of The Doctor Who Encyclopedia, box sets of Series One through Five (2005-2010) on DVD or Blu-Ray, a fan novella called Paradox that I wrote in the early 1990s, the last Target novel I needed to complete my collection of novelizations circa 2000, a TARDIS bank (that's the blue thing, representing the faux "police box" the Doctor travels in), a sonic screwdriver, the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, a cartoon sketch of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), and a disappearing TARDIS mug.



Here's a better look at the sketch and the autographed book. The latter has been to two Gallifrey One conventions in Los Angeles, and has been autographed by numerous writers, actors and behind the scenes people.



The more I worked on this entry tonight, the more I remembered other things I could show you. I'll spare you the photos of the TARDIS towel, trading cards, TARDIS Time Lore fanzines and the FoDW keyring, but what about this? This original art by Ruben Calvillo is about 24" x 36", and made with either colored pencil or pastels. It cost me $100 at a local convention circa 1996.



This poster was on the back of my office door here at home for about 16 years. Until tonight. It's from a 1991-1995 Doctor Who exhibit of props and costumes (etc.) at the Museum of the Moving Image in London. The exhibit was called called "Behind the Sofa," which is where British children are said to hide when Doctor Who episodes get scary.



And finally, here's an autographed photo of the late Patrick Troughton, the second person to play the Doctor on television. Unfortunately, I never met him myself. I have met four of his successors, though.

You can find more photos here. And if you're interested in Doctor Who, you may want to follow my new Tumblr blog.

Now let's see what other Robins singled out as favorites!

Linking List
as of 12:32 PM MST Saturday

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.com

Sherrie - Posted!
Food for Thought(new blog)
http://100sweets.blogspot.com/

Chris
CJP Blog
http://theotokos.christopherjosephphotography.com/

Tina - Posted!
Leckeres für Mensch und Katze - Goodies for a pleasant life
http://leckeresfuermenschundkatze.blogspot.com/2011/09/wonderful-moments.html

Karen

EMPS: The Mermaids of Disneyland

Carly asked to see sand sculptures or mermaids, neither of which are a natural fit for life in the desert. So I went to my archives:



First off, here's Ariel, the Little Mermaid herself, photographed at Disneyland on Christmas Day 2005. There's a better than 50-50 chance that John took the photo, but I did the editing, including the framing.



More recent, but definitely my work, is this shot of the ceiling at my local Chuy's Mesquite Broiler, taken a month ago.



Finally, here's a playful composite I made from about five different photos. The scene is the submarine lagoon at Disneyland, now home to the Finding Nemo attraction. There are mermaids on the ride itself, but I got no photos of those. These are, or course, the mermaid Barbie dolls from the ceiling of Chuy's! The two subs are both from other photos taken the same day as the lagoon itself.

Incidentally, back when the original Submarine Voyage attraction first opened, there were live "mermaids" in that lagoon!

Carly also asks whether I'd rather have sand of grass between my toes. Neither would be best, but failing that I'll go for some nice, clean, dry sand. I'm allergic to grass!

Karen

EMPS: In Living Black and White

For the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot: Black and White Photography isn't exactly what I posted Friday night, but it's a similar concept! Here are some fresh shots:







And, in my best attempt at Ansel Adamsness, at least for the moment, here's a black and white treatment of a shot from a month ago:



Karen

Round Robin: Did I Cause This "Shades of Grey" Day?

It's the tail end of the Arizona monsoon, Tucson's summer rainy season. I hate to complain about too little rain when elsewhere in the country houses and bridges have washed away from too much of it; but the fact is that we didn't get much rain over our house this summer. There's been a bit of thunder and the occasional ten minute storm, but not much more than that. And now we're at the time of the year for even that to end.

Nevertheless, inspired by a cloudy sky, I set this week's Round Robin Photo Challenges topic as "Shades of Grey." Frankly, after that, including this morning, the weather around here started to clear up. Then, around 5 PM, which is usually when our storms start, if at all, I heard thunder. It was as if the sky was offering to help me with the grayish shots I needed. A little later, after it actually started raining, I got the following photos:



There's just a touch of sunset here, but mostly it was all just grey and dramatic.



One thing I like about this photos is that it's 100% in shades of grey, even the tree and the bit of roof. Yet it's a color photo, completely unedited except to resize and sharpen.



Just a bit of a skyscape, this one, again unedited except to resize and sharpen.



I did reduce this one to grayscale, but you're not missing much.

Now let's see what shades of gray the other Robins captured!


Linking List
as of almost 10:45 AM MST
Saturday, September 10th

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Robin R Robinson  **Welcome, new Robin!**
The Back Story - My Controlled Chaos
http://robins-chaos.blogspot.com

Rachael - Posted!
The Smile Spot :)
http://smile-spot.blogspot.com/

Kim - Posted!
My Pride and Joy
http://niecesandnephew.blogspot.com

Peg - Posted!
Who Can Discover It?
http://whocandiscoverit.blogspot.com/

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Tina - Posted!
Goodies for a Pleasant Life
http://leckeresfuermenschundkatze.blogspot.com/

Karen

Round Robin: The Great Outdoors on a Cloudy Afternoon

The Round Robin Photo Challenge this time out is "The Great Outdoors." Not having a lot of time this week to really explore the topic, I headed for my default bit of the Great Outdoors: the lower reaches of Mount Lemmon Highway in the Santa Catalina Mountains, just north of Tucson.

From Mount Lemmon Highway

As I'd hoped, there was a cyclist on the road as I started up. I almost always see one or more of them, on the way up or on the way down. Mountain biking is an extremely popular way to enjoy the Great Outdoors around here. To me, though, it seems like an awful lot of work, especially in the heat and humidity of late summer in Tucson.



For once I skipped Babad Do'Ag Vista, the site of many past photo shoots for this and other memes. Instead I made my way to Molino Basin Vista. There are a few short nature trails here, one of which led me almost to the water below.



The trail in the other direction leads me toward a lovely cleft in the mountains. Unfortunately, the weather and the time of day meant that I could not take a photo as dramatic as what my eyes saw. If the land was properly lit, then the sky was whited out...



...and setting the aperture to catch the dramatic monsoon clouds meant leaving the land in shadow.



So I created a composite from two different photos!


I always enjoy my trips up Mt. Lemmon, even the abbreviated ones that take me just five or ten miles from the base. This particular trip was marred by the echo of nearby gunfire. I'm pretty sure it was guys from a pickup truck near which I'd parked my Kia, illegally shooting into giant saguaro cacti. Not that I would dare to confront such people. Heck, they might shoot me instead!




You don't have to be on a mountain to enjoy the Great Outdoors, of course. Even the drive back was dramatic because of the clouds and the beginning of sunset.

If you are facing clouds and rain this weekend due to Hurricane Irene (or any other storm), respect the Great Outdoors - and be safe!

Linking List
as of Saturday, August 27th
at 1:22 AM MST

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Tina - Posted!
Goodies for a Pleasant Life
http://leckeresfuermenschundkatze.blogspot.com/2011/08/herziges-blau.html

Anybody else this week?
Karen

EMPS: Apple Bubbles

This week for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, Carly wants to see Apples. So naturally I went into the bedroom where our apples are kept, and photographed these:



Confused yet? How about this?



This is how Costco sells at least some of its apples: in plastic bubbles. Open the plastic and here are (what's left of) the apples:



Here's a better shot of the bubble shell packaging. If you look closely you can see the green of pears and mangoes underneath the apples:



The explanation: John has been on a juice fast, living on concoctions of juiced fruits and vegetables. He recently took a couple of weeks off of from his nothing-but-juice regimen, but when he's going all out, and I'm buying salads and veggies and such for my own diet, the fridge gets very full! That's when we put some of the hardier fruit in the bedroom, which has A/C going at least part of the time.

The bad part is that the dresser the apples are on is under the window, and also it seems excessive to run the room's air conditioner 24 hours a day for the sake of apples, pears, mangoes, Cayenne and Pepper. So I only run it most of the time.

Today after I photographed the apple bubbles, I pulled a pear from underneath and ate part of it. It was old and mushy. Guess that's what we get for not juicing it soon enough!

One last shot. I deliberately left this at the wrong rotation for artistic purposes. This way, the bubbles and apples look like strange ornaments, or maybe a bunch of grapes.



Be sure to check Ellipsis every week for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot!

Karen

EMPS: Quick! Get That Sunset Posted!

Carly is asking for my favorite photographic subject this week: sunsets, specifically summer sunsets. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been right for it this week, my computer died yesterday and the online connection on my new computer varies from almost none to none at all. So quick! Let me post this before I lose the connection again!



Both of these shots were taken in front of my house (well, more standing in the street!) on August 4th, 2011. This is not my favorite vantage for sunsets, but sometimes I get in a quick shot when I arrive home that turns out to be fairly decent.

My Gateway's hard drive decided it was on the verge of failing yesterday, so much so that I could not back up the files properly and had to pay Staples to do so today. That means I've probably lost my cheap photo editing software completely. Also, as I mentioned above, my new HP's ability to get online at all has been extremely iffy in the day that I've had it. Wish me luck, drop in a prayer or think good thoughts that I get it all resolved soon!

Karen