FotoMonkey – Page 2 – Fotomonkey Photography

Mar 17

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: 28mm, leica, m10, urban

A Little CoRK

This is actually part two of yesterday’s post. I decided to break it up since it’s a little different but related. So, WTH is CoRK? It’s a cool little name for the arts “district” located at the Co-rner of Rosselle and King streets. Rather than trying to explain it, I’ll just link to their site. Unfortunately, it’s not really open to get public (unless they’re doing a special event, I suppose) so you’ll just get to see the outside of the building. Still some cool art, though. It looks like there are some nice artists affiliated with the venue. I’m going to have to keep any eye out for upcoming events.

Mar 16

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: leica, m10

It’s a Mural-cal

Despite having work to do around the house today, I decided to not be a responsible adult and I took the M10 out to shoot another area of town I’ve been through hundreds of times but never really explored. When I was still working downtown, this area was the home to several lunch spots. Today I stopped driving and started walking. These photowalks are really opening my eyes to the community I’ve lived in for over 30 years. The area is known as Murray Hill. This is definitely an older part of town but it’s seeing some revitalization as evidenced in the first image. There are several modern structures in the area now but it’s still full of its “old town” charm. The streets are lined with plenty of options for craft beer, food, and more. Boutique shops provide a number of specialty services. But I was here for the murals. There are around 20 murals scattered around the area and some of the work is insanely detailed. They certainly lend a charm to the area. Even as I was walking around, there was an arts market going on next to the historic Murray Hill Theatre. If you decide to […]

Mar 13

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: leica, m10

Exploration Day

I learned about a new park today and decided to check it out after work. I have to say that I really like having daylight remaining when I log off for the day. I almost didn’t go but I’m glad I did. Not only was it good to get out, but the light was actually pretty good through the trees. It’s a small park but has a nice boardwalk through some surprising wetlands. Not what I expected to find in the middle of a metropolitan city. There is also a nice playground for the kids and a skate park as well. I decided to try a couple of black & white conversions for this trip but this last shot deserved to stay color. Even at 1600 ISO I kept the shutter speed low to get some blur. I think it worked out and it’s even a layered shot with some action in the background. Unfortunately, I left too soon. As I was driving home I realized the amazing sunset I was missing. I said the last one was my last one, but I guess I changed my mind. I wasn’t going to post this but what the heck. I can […]

Mar 10

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: leica, m10

A Little Trip to the Beach

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today, and I had an itch to scratch. And what better way to kick off the start of Daylight Savings Time than a trip to a beach you’ve driven by hundreds of times over the years (possibly even thousands) yet never stopped? Never explored. Never researched. That’s exactly what I did today. I pointed the car south, hit the interstate, and drove about an hour away to Flagler Beach. Flagler Beach is a small community near Palm Coast and Daytona Beach. It’s named for Henry Flagler who, after experiencing Florida for the first time, made it his home and invested heavily in its tourism industry and ultimately, the Florida East Coast Railway. Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel is now the site of Flagler College in St. Augustine. The beach has a nice boardwalk with both uncovered benches and covered tables. These are perfect for those not wanting to venture down from street level while still offering views of the beach and ocean. Unfortunately, the pier was damaged in 2022 by Hurricane Ian and is closed for repairs. Today also happened to coincide with the end of Bike Week so the main drag was an active […]

Mar 07

by FotoMonkey in general 0 comments tags: leica, m10

The Holy Grail

Wow. Where has the time gone? Have I really not posted in over a month? I was doing so well. And even with new gear! For shame, for shame. At the end of the month, I did something I never thought I’d do. Sure, I’d drooled over videos on YouTube. I’d read reviews. I’d searched pictures on Instagram. But I’d also discounted the idea as folly. I knew I could never pull the trigger. Until I did. Behold, my Leica M10, paired with a Voigtlander 35/1.4. I really never expected to invest this much into a single body. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that I have cameras going back to my very first. Many of them I still use actively depending on the situation. Amortized over the years, the cost diminishes. Beyond that, though, was one overarching feeling. Mental health. Mental health isn’t something I talk about much or really give much thought to in general. Lately, though, my job has been (perhaps literally) killing me. I’ve never felt the stress I feel in this job in my 30 years of post-military life. Hell, back it up. I never felt this much stress boarding foreign vessels […]

Mar 02

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments

A Military Hero

The USS Orleck (DD-886) was laid down in 1944 and first saw combat in Korea in 1951. Named for Navy Cross recipient (posthumously), Lt. Joseph Orleck, this Gearing-class destroyer earned the nicknames “train buster of Korea” after taking out 2 military transport trains and ”Grey Ghost of the Vietnam Coast” after firing over 11 thousand rounds and was awarded an astonishing 14 battle stars throughout the Vietnam war. After serving the US faithfully for almost 40 years, she was transferred to the Turkish Navy where she served for another 18 years. Signs of her Turkish service can still be seen today. The Orleck became a museum ship in 2000. After failing to secure the USS Adams as a downtown cornerstone, the City of Jacksonville welcomed the Orleck in March 2022. She now calls Jacksonville’s North Bank home and opened her doors to the public in October 2022. The Orleck had some impressive firepower and technology for its time. It was originally outfitted with three twin 5-in guns (only 2 remain today). This no doubt helped it earn its nickname. Just imagine the engineering that went into equipment like the Mk 1 Fire Control Computer. In addition to the 5-in guns, […]

Feb 03

by FotoMonkey in events 0 comments

Double the Pleasure

I haven’t had too many opportunities to get out to any car shows lately but a couple caught my eye today. The first stop was the Crossroads Cruise. Unfortunately, since this is a monthly event, the turnout was very small. I’m pretty sure there were only a half dozen cars there. I was probably done in about 10 minutes tops. Regardless, they had some nice cars (and even a sweet BMW motorcycle). I think one of my favorites from the Cruise was the Ford Customline. The older couple who owned it really went all out. Not only did they have an old drive-in tray on the window but they were also playing music from the speaker. I could almost feel the anticipation for the movie to start. Since this show was so small, it left me in a bit of limbo. The other show was clear across town. Well, I decided to suck it up and headed over. What a great decision. The second show was much larger with closer to 100 cars. I feel for the judges. It was a mix of old and new and even included some lifted trucks. I think my favorite here was a 1928 […]

Jan 27

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: sooc, themes, xt30ii

Red

Today I headed back downtown to follow the advice of YouTube’s Tokyo Grit & Grain. In a recent video, he suggested an interesting challenge as a creative reboot. It was really rather simple, actually…shoot the color red. And so I did. As luck would have it, there was a special reading event for the kids and I just happened to head to an area near the main library. It was teeming with people and photo ops. I actually spoke to more people than I normally do which was a stretch. Dare I say I actually had a full on conversation with a woman? 🙂 She wanted to see my pictures which led to a long discussion about her own art and how she got into it as a preschool teacher. I also did a lot more asking permission today. Normally I never do. But today I felt it would help. I only got turned down once. Others were more than happy to help. All of these images are straight out of the camera. I tried to capture compelling images, and not just focus on the color alone. Hopefully I was successful. Well, the Mini isn’t very compelling, but it was […]

Jan 20

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: sooc, xt30ii

Darien, Georgia

Today it felt right to take another road trip. I’d actually planned it for last weekend but wasn’t feeling it enough. It was our coldest day of the season and in the low 40s when I got in the car, but despite the temperature I decided to make a day of it and headed to the small coastal town of Darien, GA. Darien is another town I’ve driven by countless times while traveling on I-95 but I’ve never had a need or interest in stopping. However, this changed when I made my Brunswick trip and the lady at the visitor’s center suggested it. As I pulled off of the highway and into the parking lot of the Darien visitor’s center, I picked up a map and walking tour of the area. I’m a little disappointed in the map. It really should include addresses. I tried location a couple of items based on the dot that was placed on the map and fell flat. It would be nice if you didn’t have to drive through random neighborhoods looking like a lost tourist. I used two recipes for this trip. The first is probably going to end up as one of my […]

Dec 31

by FotoMonkey in general 0 comments

123123

Today seems as though it should be special. Though, it doesn’t really “feel” special. It’s been kind of an ordinary day if I’m to be honest. But let’s set that aside for a moment. The date is 12/31/23…123123. The last time this happened was 1923. The next will be 2123. Every 100 years. So not likely something I’ll see again in my lifetime. What does it mean. Well, I have no idea other than it’s cool. I’m not a numerologist. Perhaps it’s the year that monkeys will fly out of my butt. Only time will tell. Since I didn’t really have full year’s worth of images to sort through (at least not where I was really focused on my craft), it was a bit of a struggle to identify the top 5 that spoke to me the most. I don’t necessarily know that I can quantify my choices. They are what they are. Hopefully they’ll say something to you as well. I’m not posting an any particular order. I’ll let you decide. I decided to check out the old Farmer’s Almanac to see what it had to say about this unique and rare date.