Toilet 5¢

Found this one while stumbling through this year's archives. I've taken nearly 40,000 photos this year - my biggest year to date. Granted, there was a bunch of time lapse in there, but that's still a massive number. This was taken earlier in the year with a camera I no longer possess, the Panasonic GF2 with 14mm/F2.5 pancake lens. It was a nice setup and sometimes I still miss it, but then I think about that loud shutter ;-). The camera is now in the capable hands of my good friend Chip Tilden, who is no doubt taking way more interesting photos than this.
The GF2 has been replaced primarily with the Nikon 1 V1 with the 10mm/F2.8 pancake. Same focal length (28mm EQ), similar lens speed, surprisingly similar low light performance. I preferred the UI of the GF2 actually, but the silent shutter and fast AF of the V1 is, in the words of Borat, "Vey nice."

Platinum Minds

Platinum Minds, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
These are just some of the students ("Scholars" as Platinum Minds like to call them ) that participate in the Platinum Minds program. You won't meet a more articulate, motivated, civic-minded group of young men.

Platinum Minds helps bright students from inner cities and other tough environments stay focused on education and get exposed to opportunities in the broader world. Good group, good kids, good cause.

Oh Escher Where Art Thou?

Oh Escher Where Art Thou?, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
Dresden. For many, the name of this city conjures up vivid images of the Allied bombing of this "Florence of the Elbe" and the hell-on-earth firestorms that followed. Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five gives a vivid, first-hand account of this dark point in the history of humankind. Check out the movie if you haven't. Even better, get the book - Vonnegut is a great storyteller.

Visit today and you'll see a city in transition, preserving what remains of the historic past while plastering over the more recent Dresden that sat on the other side of the Berlin Wall. It's a interesting mix of very old and brand spanking new, and if you wander off the beaten track you can wind your way up the spires of one of the tallest churches in town and take a step back in time with ever riser.

Mother and Child

Mother and Child, originally uploaded by john m flores.


Don't let all of this Internet talk of the latest and greatest cameras deter you. Use what you've got and make pictures. Dial up the ISO if you have to. Convert to BW if you must. But get the shot.

10: This plastic is so thick I need a multi-tool to cut it. 20: Wait, Ijust bought a Leatherman. 30: Go to 10.

10: This plastic is so thick I need a multi-tool to cut it. 20: Wait, I just bought a Leatherman. 30: Go to 10., originally uploaded by john m flores.

The future is hazy

The future is hazy, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
Start the New Year doing what you want to do that year. Carry it through.

Mugs

Mugs, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
With black and white I will hone my sense of shape and form and figure and ground. My Panasonic cameras will get more excercise than the Pentax K-5 simply because I can view and compose in black and white on their digital screens.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the bookshelf next to the motorcycle books

Humpty Dumpty sat on the bookshelf next to the motorcycle books, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
There is no color in winter, so instead of fighting it I will embrace it. This shall not be the winter of my discontent. This shall be the winter of black and white.