Sounds Like This Marriage Was Destined To Be

Ms Xue sits in front of a large sculpture in Qingdao, China
in the year 2000. The man in the background
met Ms. Xue in their hometown of Chengdue,
China 11 years later and got married. Then he
found the photo taken over a decade before they
actually met. Destiny?

In Chengdue, China,  Mr. Ye and a Ms. Xue met and fall in love back in 2011. Then they got married and are so far living happily ever after. Very nice.

Recently, according to Petapixel, Mr. Ye was going through soe of Ms. Xue's old family photos, and came across an old photo of his future wife visting the city of Qingdao eleven years before the couple met.

However, Mr. Ye noticed something interesting in the background of the photo. Namely, himself.

"When I saw the photo, I was taken by surprise and I got goosebumps all over my body....that was my pose for taking photos."

In the photo, Mr. Ye came across, Ms. Xue is sitting on a small stool, dressed in white, with an immense red sculpture behind her. On the right hand edge of the frame, you see Mr Ye striking a sort of "Vogue" pose for a camera person that's outside the field of vision.

Mr. Ye explained that he almost always struck that distinctive pose when somebody was photographing him, so as soon as he saw the image, he knew he was looking at himself.

The odds that the two would be in the same photo are slim. The two are from Chengdu, with a population of about 14 million. Qingdao, where the two independently visited on the same day 11 years before their marriage, has about 9 million people. Chengdu and Qingdao are about 1,100 miles from each other.

Not surprisingly, the photo has gone viral in China, with many people there and everywhere else using the photo as evidence the pair was destined for each other, though neither of them spoke to each other during that visit 11 years before the couple actually met.

Worst Photo Portrait Photoshopping EVER Goes Viral

Photoshopping can be tough.

It can be especially tough if you're dealing with the harsh light of bright sunlight, and shadows if you're photographing in glorious sunny summer weather.

The Zaring family found that out first hand.

They hired a photographer to take family pictures on a bright, sunny day. It took forever to get the photos back, and when they did, Pam Dave Zaring burst out laughing.

You can see why in the photos in this post.     Click on the photos to make them bigger and easier to see.

The Zarings said their photographer, Lesa Hall, said the shadows were pretty extreme on that bright day the photos were taken, and that her professor never really taught her how to retouch photos. 

The worst part about this is the Zarings say the photographer won't return the $250 they paid her. Still, the Zarings say they hold no ill will against the photographer. My guess it was worth the laughs, and worth the traffic it got on social media.

The photographer might have started a trend, though. PetaPixel now has a tutorial on how to photoshop your portraits in the style that Hall seems to have perfected.

2017 Wildlife Comedy Awards Delight As Always

"Laughing Dormouse" by Andrea Zampatti. Looks like
this little guy is having a GREAT time. 

I've highlighted the annual Wildlife Comedy Awards in the past, but I cannot resist focusing on them again, because they are such a delightful distraction from the ills of the world.

The awards go to nature photographers who find usually inadvertent, but hilarious moments amont wild animals.

This year's winners don't disappoint. Go to this link to see this year's winners, and the winners from past years.  It's SO worth the browse.

Meanwhile, see, below, a couple more of this year's wildlife triumphs. Click on the images to make them bigger and easier to see.

"Monkey Escape" by Katy Laveck-Foster. A very fun
outing on a motorbike, it looks like. 

"Mudskippers Got Talent" by Daniel Trim. Not sure if these
frogs are in a televised talent competition or they just heard
something Donald Trump said. 

"WTF" by George Cathcart. These California seals look like
they've been watching too much Fox News

Sad, Brief Visits To Fukushima Earthquake Nuclear Disaster Haunts

Five years ago, that epic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster struck Japan.

Fukushima, the town where the nuclear plants basically imploded and leaked like crazy, was abandoned, perhaps never to be resettled. Or if it is, not for awhile.

People who lived there sometimes return for brief visits, but they have to try to move on with their lives the best they can.

Photojournalists Guillaume Bression and Carlos Ayesta have been periodically going to the Fukushima disaster zone to document the deteriorating, abandoned ruins.

In their latest release of photos, called "Retrace Our Steps," people who had fled returned to once familiar surroundings and posed as if they were doing what they would normally do before the disaster hit.

The photographers asked their subjects to act as normally as possible, and at least pretend to do what they would do if things were normal.

The photos in this post are examples of Ayesta and Bression's work. Click this link for more. 

Reports Featureshoot.com: 

"Ayesta and Bression asked that they sit how they would have years earlier, before the catastrophe, when daily life lumbered on as usual. It was a process, says Ayesta, of 'reconstituting normal life in chaos,' a 'life that will never be the same as before.'"  

Earlier, they photographed vegetation taking over everything in the post-apocalyptic landscape.

The photographs are haunting and terribly sad. There's something about images depicting normal life interrupted, destroyed and abandoned that send shivers down my spine.

H/T to Bored Panda for this. 

Did You Know You're Supposed to Hire A "Vacation Photographer" For Your Next Trip

Me and my husband Jeff on a brief getaway in a
blueberry patch a couple years ago. The photo
was NOT taken by a professional, it was a quickie
snapshot. But it did the job just fine. 

We all do it:

When we go on vacation, we take lots and lots of photos. At least most of us do.

Practically everybody has a smart phone, and the photographic images they make are usually pretty good.

However, apparently people who are into conspicuous consumpton believe that no vacation is complete unless you hire a vacation photographer to tail you.

Yes, you can hire your own paparazzi to follow you around.

According to Conde Nast Traveler, people are asking expert photographers to set up professional shoots to make the vacationers look perfect for the inevitable Instagram and Facebook shots.

True, some resorts have long had photographers on duty to take good photos of their guests. But some vacationers want their memories better than everybody else, or at least more slickly produced, than everybody else.

Conde Nast Traveler quoted Tricia Keffer, a Florida-based photographer who said she started getting requests to photograph families taking their Florida vacations nearly 20 years ago. Now, it's a full time gig called Tricia & Co Family Vacation Photographers.

She follows vacationers around the major tourist hubs of Florida, and goes to places like Paris occasionally, reports Conde Nast Traveler.

Vacation photography packages through Keffer's firm start at $350.  That, of course, is a good price for a photographer of Keffer's caliber, but still, it adds to the cost of an already expensive vacation, doesn't it?

If you want to hire a vacation photographer, go right ahead, but for me, it's a little ostentatious. Especially since I'd rather be enjoying the sites, sounds, people and experiences of wherever I'm visiting rather than posing for glossy photos.

I'd rather just take a grainy selfie to remember the moment in Vacationland and move on. Besides, does everything have to be professionally documented? Or documented at all?

Why not just enjoy the moment you're having, and let that nice memory reside in your brain for the rest of your life rather than fuss with staging, posing, lighting and all that to be one of the Beautiful People in one of the Beautiful Destinations?

Here's A Devilish Little Leprechaun To Celebrate St. Patrick's Day With

Meet Rockwell Lawrence, aka a naughty Leprechaun, who seems to be causing quite a bit of trouble this St. Patrick's Day.

The six month old's dad, Alan, (proprietor of TheDadBlog) through the miracles of photography and photoshop shows us what the bad little Irish guy has been up to so far on St. Patrick's Day.

Don't worry, the house, and especially the dog are OK. Photoshop, as noted.

You can seen more photos of this at Bored Panda, to make your green Irish eyes laugh even more.

Beneath the series of pics in this post, (below) scroll all the way to the bottomo to be sure and watch the YouTube slide show of little Rockwell both at Christmas and at St. Patrick's Day.

Guy Turns His Wheelchair Into A Nifty Snow Plow

Tim Taylor operates his wheelchair snowplow
in snowy Pennsylvania. Add caption

I often feel bad for people with physical disabilities in the winter.

It's hard enough for them to get around any time of year, but when there's snow, it has to be especially challenging.

Tim Taylor, 30, of West Springfield, PA is making the best of it. He uses a wheelchair, and uses one as a snowplow, says the Huffington Post.

Taylor has limited use of his hands, so he can't construct things really well, but he can design and draw and do that sort of thing.

So he designed the snowplow wheelchair and had his father and brothers fabricate it under his direction.

 It's pretty cool!

"What I have right now is a prototype. It still has some issues that need to be worked out, but that's just prompting me to find a better way to design it," Taylor said, according to the Huffington Post.

There's a video of Taylor operating his snowplow at the bottom of this post.  I wonder how well he'd do in that huge blizzard bearing down on the East Coast this weekend.

He's also working on a wheelchair with a special mount that would allow him to go out on wildlife photography excursions, which is his favorite pastime. He's been paralyzed since a 2003 accident, and the wheelchair van he has is rusting out.

Taylor considered the tried and true method for these types of situations and was going to start a GoFundMe campaign for the money.

But he'd rather earn the money. So, he wants to work as a DJ and a snowplow operator with his wheelchair, which sounds like an awesome plan.

 I'd also suggest that he market his ideas for the wheelchair plow and the wildlife photography wheelchair. It probably wouldn't hurt if Taylor tried to sell his wildlife photography too, but I don't want to tell a guy what to do.

Seems like he can handle his own life all by himself, thank you very much.  .

Though I can't resist one more suggestion, based on this quote from Taylor: "Every day there can be a new achievement, whether you have a disability or not.....A new achievement in life helps keep you positive.

He's right, of course. But maybe he can make a lucrative living as an inspirational speaker.

Animals Are Comedic Geniuses

A finalist in the C'omedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
Image by Alison Buttigieg.

One piece of good news I learned as the year draws to a close is that somebody has come up with the annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

The winners are photographers who capture images of animals that just make us laugh.  

Apparently, there are a lot of them.  You have to scroll through the list of 2015 winners to really get a chuckle at these wonderful animals. I might be anthropomorphizing, but the animals in the photos exude such joy. 

The awards are the brainchild of Paul Joynson-Hicks, who is himself a wildlife photographer.

Says he on the wildlife comedy web site:

Finalist in the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
Image by Charlie Davidson. 

"I often enter wildlife photography competitions (NB so far with very little success!) but I love seeing the funny pictures. Strangely enough, they are harder to come by than you might think."

The Comedy Wildlife Awards are partnered with the Born Free Foundation, which works to provent animal suffering and protect animal species.
 

The photos are judged on how funny, creative, dynamic and interesting they are, and on the technical proficiency of the photographer. The funnier the captions the better.

Obviously, the 2015 competition is closed, since the winners have already been announced, but let's hope this becomes an annual tradition so we can look forward to the 2016 winners.

Finalist in the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
Image by Julie Hunt 

Downs Syndrome Kids Recreate Famous Paintings, Beautifully

Left: "Fifer" by Manet, Flavio poses for similar
photograph by Seola Zani. 

Sometimes great works of art beg to be recreated.

If only placed in the right hands.

The right hands in this case belong to Seola Zani, an Albanian photographer.

Zani had an ingenious idea: He took famous paintings, and used children with Downs Syndrome to recreate those paintings through photography.

Zani used famous paintings such as "Child With Dove" and Paulo as Harloquin, both by Picasso; "The Fifer," by Manet; "Prima Ballerina" by Degas and "Clara Serena Rubens" by Rubens

According to the Web site TheMighty, a web site with articles about successes with special needs youths, Zani specializes in family photography, and has always been drawn to classic works, so the photo project was perfect for her.

 

Left, "The Dancer" by Renoir: Right, "The Damcer"
(Ima) buy Seola Zani

Said Zani:

"The message I want to share through this project is that every human is a piece of art, so we have to learn to see them in a beautiful way....These children are beautiful, and they are able to do everything if we give them a chance."

I have to say, judging by the photos, Zani has certainly highlighted the beauty she describes.

Left, "Child With Dove" By Picasso, Right: "Child With
Dove," (Eljana) Ny Seola Zani.

Foliage And Snoliage In Vermont, 2015

Sunshine lights up trees over
a dirt road in Huntington, Vermont.  

Since everybody else is doing it, I'm going to share some photos I took in what has been a spectacular fall foliage season here in Vermont.

It got off to a late start because of a warm early autumn, but the leaves belatedly put on a show in mid -October.

Then it got cold, and it snowed. Everybody it seems got the coveted "snoliage" photos, which combine snow and brilliant leaves.

Due to scheduling, I wasn't really able to get out to the mountains to get great snoliage landscape photos, but some snow fell on my St. Albans, Vermont property and managed to get some detailed photos.

The photos I'm sharing in this post are in random order taken in western and northern Vermont.

As you scroll down, click on each photo to make them bigger and easier to see. Hope you enjoy them, and please share in the comments section or on social media any great autumn photos you took!

Mount Mansfield, seen from Underhill, Vermont.  

A bit of snow accumulates on maple leaves
in St. Albans, Vermont.

Snow dusts cardinal flowers in my St. Albans, Vermont garden.  

Pumpkins and foliage in Underhill, Vermont

A snow squall obscures foliage in
my St. Albans, Vermont yard.  

Photography: Smoky, Hazy Sunset In St. Albans, Vermont Wednesday

Smoke from wildfires in Canada sent smoke and haze into northern Vermont yesteday. Not enough to choke you off, but enough to turn what would normally have been a bright, bluesky day into something a little murky.

I went up to the hill at the back of my house in St. Albans, Vermont to document the eerie, red, almost apocalyptic sunset. This post is in chronological order of the beauty I saw. Enjoy!

Man In Famous Dog/Lake Photo Gets Another Dog; Everyone Is Happy

The now-famous photo of John Unger and
Schoep, taken in 2012.  

I don't normally obsessively follow the activities of random guys in Wisconsin but I'm making an exception in regards to a guy named John Unger.  

Dog lovers like me get obsessive. So sue me.

The story, of course, involves a dog.

Back in 2012, a photograph of Unger and his dog named Schoep went totally viral. Everybody loved the photo, for good reason.

It showed the ponytailed Unger in water up to his chest in Lake Superior, holding his beloved dog named Schoep.

Unger said Schoep got him through a really bad time in his life, so Unger figured he owed the dog something. Schoep developed arthritis, and the cold waters of Lake Superior seemed to help, so Unger took Shoep into the water every day.

The result was that viral photo, of Unger looking peaceful and Schoep looking so happy to be in the arms of his companion.

Shoep died a year after the photo was taken at the age of 20, and Unger was devastated.  But by then, he'd gotten quite a following on Facebook, and the support helped him through.

Schoep died in 2013, and now, Bear, picture
here, has become John Unger's canine
companion. Looks like Bear's in for
a good life.  

Finally, recently, Unger felt ready to get another dog, and announced it on Facebook with a photo of his new companion:

"I am whole again. 
Ladies and Gentlemen - This is BEAR! 
The journey continues with the addition of Bear into my home, heart, soul and OUR lives!
Please give him a Big Hello!
Bear is a 1-year-ld, 70 lb. Akita/Shep/Lab mix. I am a very happy man, and proud to introduce him to you. Please join us as Bear and I learn, grow and help in the days, months and years to come!
Great Days Ahead To All
John." 

As of Thursday morning, Unger's Facebook post had gotten more than 83,000 likes and more than 20,000 comments. Lots of dog lovers out there, huh?

The best comment on Unger's Facebook page might have been this succinct but very likely true observation: "Schoep is smiling."

Yep, and so are the rest of us. Congratulations on your new friend, Bear! Same goes to you, John Unger.

Some Incredible Photo Manipulation: Artist Shows How It's Done

Very often I hate photoshopped images.

A really cool photo manipulation by Erick Johansson.  

It seems like when people excessively use photoshop, they're hiding reality, without doing anything creative visually.

It's as if they're saying,  "Let's make the world prettier, or at least my version of prettier, than it really is.

The exception, of course, is when artists are not trying to create reality. They're creating fantasy based on reality. When they do it well, the results are awesome.

Maybe the best examples I've seen is from photographer Erik Johansson, who was recently featured in a Mashable article. 

Says Mashable:

Can high tension electrical wires be musical?
In photographer Eric Johansson's world, maybe.  

"After sketching out and planning an idea, Johansson collects his material, without the use of stock photography. (he wants to feel as if he's creating everything himself). Then he puts all of the photos together, a process that can range in time required from a few days to several weeks. 

'This part is like a puzzle,' Johansson writes on his website. 'I have all the pieces. I just need to put them together.'"

On his web site, Johansson said he is self-taught in both photography and retouch. He said since he acquired his first digital camtera in 2000, he has enjoyed manipulating photos.

As you can see in the photos on this pag and on Johansson's web site, he takes ordinary situations and makes them extraordinary.

A consrructton site version of tic tac toe?
Too bad this is one of Eric Johanssons photo
 manipulations, and not the real thing. 

A guy on a road who is creating the road as he walks, a musical take on high tension electrical wires, a playful take on tic tac toe at a construction site.

Johansson desribes his works as "surreal ideas realized in a realistic way with a touch of humor maybe."      

It's totally worth going to Johansson's web site and looking through many more examples of his work.

You can buy prints from his web site, too.  If I had the space in the house to buy some of his work, I would. Johansson is totally worth checking out.

Awesome Northern Lights Seen From Trans-Atlantic Flight

The Northern Lights have been seen flickering around much of the Northern Hemisphere this week.

Screen shot from Paul Williams' video of Northern Lights
as seen from a recent trans-Atlantic flight.  

(Right, Vermont sky photographer Brian Drourr?)

Photographer Paul Wiliams was aboard a trans-Atlantic Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Newark, New Jersey when he spotted the Northern Lights.

The amazing video you see below is a 1,800 picture time lapse, with each photo a two to three second exposure at F1.4 ISO 2000-4000, Williams said.

This isn't the first time Williams has caught Northern Lights from a plane. He got quite a bit of well-earned publicity for doing the same in 2013.

No matter how he did it, this is just AWESOME:

Dust Bunnies Are Beautiful! Really!

One of photographer Klaus Pichler's close up
photos of a dust bunny.  

There's a bunch of dust bunnies rolling around under the furniture all over my house and I really don't feel like cleaning them up at the moment.  

They'll only reappear anyway.

Too bad you can't find beauty in those dust bunnies

Oh, but you can!

According to Slate, photographer Klaus Pichler was moving out of an apartment into another.

As he was clearing out the old apartment, he noticed the dust bunnies in the living room were red, while the ones in the bedroom were light blue.

He decided to have a closer look at the dust bunnies, and the result was his really cool, very close range photographs of the bits of dust and debris around the house.  And in lots of other places.

Another Klaus Pichler dust bunny photo.  

I love Pichler's explanation of his methodology:

"I went to all the places without appointment and confused the owners with one simple question: 'Would you allow me to collect some dust here?' If they were too puzzled to refuse me, I went on all fours and took what the corners, nooks and crannies provided: dust bunnies," Pitchler said.  

'It was great fun watching peoples' reactions to my strange questions, and it was enlightening finding out the bandwidth of possible emotions, from fun to confusion, embarrassment to paranoia.

Turns out, you can tell a lot about a place from its dust bunnies. The dust at sports stadiums reflects the colors of the respective teams playing there. Dust bunnies at movie theaters contain bits of popcorn, at pet shops they're full of tiny feathers, and at tailer shops they're strewn with cotton. 'I suspected a finding like that when I started the project, but I did not suspect that the shape and appearance of dust would be that diverse,' he said."

The result is Pichler's new photo book called Dust. Check it out. It's cool. 

Maybe I'll keep postponing the house cleaning. My excuse? I don't want to ruin the delicate art work under the couch, chairs, bed, etc.

Oblivious Texting Guy Misses One Whale Of A Cool Moment

Photographer Eric Smith took this photo
in Redondo Beach, CA of an oblivious guy texting on his phone
while an incredible moment in nature
played out right in front of him.  

If there was ever an illustration of how sometimes, smart phones, social media, texting and all that jazz can make you miss out on more exciting stuff, this is it.

CBS News says photographer Eric Smith took a pic of a guy on a boat in Redondo, Beach, Florida intently texting somebody on his phone while a whale surfaced right next to the vessel.

Actually the whale and her calf were "flapping, breaching, jumping, mouths eating fish," right there, Smith said, and the guy never noticed.

"The guy never looked up from his phone during the entire breach," Smith said.

Too busy on the phone.

I hope whatever was going on in the text was more interesting, but I doubt it. I haven't experienced it yet, but people have told me there is practically nothing more awesome than watching whales nearby.

Smith said he admits he can get too wrapped up with a phone. "We're all guilty being buried in our phones, even me," he said.

The photo of the oblivous guy on the boat with the whale is probably one of the best illustrations of the Way We Are these days.

Though this might be his best photo, Smith is an experienced photographer with a lot of great work. Check out his Instagram page.

Guy Tattoos His Kids Doodles On His Arm; Much Cooler Than You'd Expect

Kids' artwork, and Keith Anderson's arm.

Looking for ideas for a tattoo?

If you've got a kid who likes to draw, maybe look to the tike as inspiration.

That's what Keith Anderson of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada did, says Buzzfeed. 

His son draws a picture, and then dad goes and has the exact image of the kid's artwork done on his right arm.

Photographer Chance Faulkner stumbled upon this guy and took some photos. Pretty sweet!

"I have had three different artists tattoo these drawings over the years....Recently my son was there with me and he did some of the tattooing himself. He loves it," said Anderson.

Anderson said he'll keep getting tattoos based on his son's artwork until the kid doesn't want to do it anymore.  

Another example of the kids drawing, and Anderson's arm. 

If he runs out of room on one arm, he'll either ask the kid to start drawing smaller or go on to the other arm. Or something.

Anderson said nobody had heard of using a child's doodles for tattoos, so he decided to go for it.

Personally, I like the bond this must help create between father and son. Way to go Keith Anderson!

Champlain Valley Sunsets Are Awesome This Time Of Year

This time of year, sunsets in Vermont's Champlain Valley can be awesome.

In the late fall and early winter, the sky is often cloudy, but a sliver of clear skies forms over the lake, or near the western horizon close to the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

The result is that the setting sun will blast the clouds with a last shot of intense light before disappearing.

And you get what you see in these photos that I took Wednesday evening in St. Albans, Vermont.

(Scroll down to see them all)