Harbor Steps in Seattle

A bit of color on a drab Seattle day.... this is a test post from my flickr account.

Harbor Steps in Seattle, originally uploaded by Will Austin.

Turbans

I just came across this shot in my files and it jumped out at me. We were headed to a wedding in Delhi and the men were getting their traditional turbans wrapped. The men sat on a chair as the "turban wrapper" (sorry, don't remember what they are really called) made them one at a time. I didn't get one because I was concerned that it would give me a headache. Probably a good idea in case I ever want to run for political office in the US ;-)

Click on this to see the beautiful film grain in the large version.


Here is one in color, the light was hazy and soft with the fog just lifting- a photographer's dream.

Time Lapse

I had to get some camera equipment up on eBay in a hurry and I made a short time lapse video of my photo set-up. This was taken with the fantastic Canon sd-1100- my #1 recommendation for an affordable pocket-sized digital camera. The music is by an early 1960's garage rock band from Seattle called The Artesians!


Speedy eBay Photo Session from Stardust Cowboy on Vimeo.

New photo archive!

The agency where I had my stock photos (Digital Railroad) went under so I decided to give PhotoShelter a try. So far I really like it and it gives me the additional ability to sell prints. I can also "embed" images from the archive in blogs so I am trying it here for the first time. The watermark is a bit heavy but that is part of the game I'm afraid. Clicking this photo will take you to the page for this photo in my new gallery/archive. The direct link to the homepage- http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/willaustin

Veterans Day

Image of the headstone of Lewis Albanese from the Evergreen-Washelli cemetery, Veterans Day, 2008.





Info on Lewis Albanese from Wiki-

Albanese was born in Venice, Italy, enlisted in Seattle, Washington and was sent to Vietnam as part of the 7th Cavalry or the 1st Cavalry Division. While on patrol in the Republic of Vietnam with Company B of the 5th Battalion,[1] his unit received heavy fire from concealed enemy positions. During an attempted encirclement of the platoon by the Vietnamese forces, Albanese fixed a bayonet to his weapon and charged the enemy positions. Upon arriving and momentarily silencing the enemy fire, Albanese discovered that the ditch he had charged was a well entrenched position. He continued 100 metres[2] through the position, killing at least eight enemy snipers despite running out of ammunition and being forced to fight hand to hand, and being mortally wounded.

His actions enabled his unit to advance further, and he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, which was presented to his family at the Pentagon by Secretary of the Army Stanley Rogers Resor on February 16, 1968.[3] He is buried in Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park and Funeral in Seattle Washington and his name is found on Panel 12E, Row 131 of the Vietnam War Memorial.

Vote!

Just a friendly reminder to my fellow Americans... today isn't just about the candidates and the issues, it is about exercising a right that has been granted to us through the blood, sweat and tears of millions who have gone before us. Cheers to their sacrifice and service, cheers to the victors and cheers to the USA!

Bonus: wonderful artwork of the front runners-




Both of these are free downloads on flickr!