photowalk – 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 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, […]

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 […]

Nov 24

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: b&w, beach, pier, surfing

Surf’s Up

Black Friday. What do you do when you don’t care about binge shopping? Well, it seems that a number of people headed to the beach. It turns out that the washing machine from earlier in the week had turned into a nice, clean swell. I didn’t spend more than maybe 30 minutes out today, but it felt like a good session. Taking pictures, not surfing. 🙂 I’ve really been on the black & white bent lately. I’m shooting the same film in the Yashica 35GX as the film simulation I’m shooting in the Fujifilm…Ilford HP5 Plus 400. I can’t wait to develop the film and see how the two compare in real life. Anyway, here’re the results of the days’ shooting. I kinda dig these quick trips. Not a lot of work afterwards.

Nov 21

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: b&w, xt30ii

Ahead of the Holiday

I’m sort of off this week. I say sort of because I’ve worked so far and will be working Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday despite technically being on vacation. In an effort to keep my mind focused where it needs to be (relaxing) I headed downtown today for some street photography. My goal was framing…using the surroundings to naturally frame the subject. I’ll admit that I struggled. I took my 25/f2 and most of my shooting was across the street which was too far away. I think my success rate would’ve been higher with the zoom. Oh well, that’s why I do these exercises. This is the best shot out of the target series. We have a park downtown which I’ve visited several times for one particular shot. Unfortunately, it’s never materialized until today. I don’t know if it’s quite what I had in my head but I’m happy with how it came out. As I was walking back to my car I had one final opportunity. This woman was probably on her way back to the office after her lunch break. I tried to be inconspicuous. I don’t think it worked. 🙂

Nov 18

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: florida

Starke, Florida

Starke is yet another small town in Florida that I’ve driven through for years but never stopped. It was never a destination, just a spot along the way. It was the mid-point between two even smaller towns which once reigned supreme as Florida’s most well known speed traps, Lawtey and Waldo. I’ve made many trips down US301 to Gainesville, which is probably most peoples’ destination if they’re traveling this way. However, unless you’re planning on stopping, most driver’s likely take new wonderful new bypass and miss the town altogether. On this Saturday afternoon, I decided to drive down and see what I’ve been missing all these years. As it turns out, not much. There isn’t much to see in this town of around 5000. It does stake claim to being home to Florida’s oldest weekly newspaper, The Bradford County Telegraph, which began publication in 1879. It is also the county seat for Bradford County. Aside from that, I found one street which really held any promise. It seems like most of the activity revolves around Call Street. Now it does make sense. After all, Call Street is actually a National historic district. Although the street is relatively short, there is […]