Gas for Less

I’ve still got a HUGE backlog of photographs I shot during my epic Route 66 explore this past fall, many shot with my DSLR, many shot with my iPhone, and many shot with my Fuji Â X100Â (like this one here). I decided to play around with Nik’s Silver Efex Pro a bit to process this one, so here it is… Vic’s Gas for Less. It’s all that remains of this particular gas station across the street from the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield, IL. Â By the way, I’m planning, at some point, to make it easier for folks to get quick access to all my Route 66 photographs by Â clicking a Route 66Â menu button at the top of this page, so keep checking back for that little addition to the site.

The Colors of the Season

What I really miss about living in Germany during this festive season are all the ” “colors” of the Weinachten: the colors, the lights, the feeling. You just don’t see that here in the U.S., it seems. If you’ve ever been to the Christmas markets in Germany, you know what I mean. This little tree in Vienna, Virginia, which I photographed with my X100 a few days before I came back to California, brought those memories rushing back, as did post processing the shot for today’s post.

This way up…

As I was going through my extensive backlog of Route 66 digital negatives, I came across this sign I captured with my Fuji X100 at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas. While I loved the striking colors of the sign, contrasted against a brilliant blue sky, I also thought it might look pretty good in Black and White. Here is what I came up with. By the way, this place has some crazy good pies (quite famous, I should note). They’re know, affectionately, as Ugly Crust Pies. If you ever happen to be in Adrian, TRY THE PIE at the Midpoint Cafe!

This is how I roll…

A week or so ago, I sent my DSLR and several lenses in to Nikon Service Center for check-ups/maintenance. It’s been nice running around town with just my iPhone and my X100, as they’ve really has forced me to think in all new ways about my compositions/framing, especially since my primary lens of choice, for several years, has been a 14-24mm wide-angle lens mated to a full-frame DSLR. Now that I was constrained to only 35mm with the X100 (and to whatever the iPhone is), I’ve become much more deliberate about what stays in the frame and what is “excess”. I’ll start posting some of the results in the coming days. Â By the way, if you have not already figured it out, today’s photograph is one I shot and post-processed with the iPhone.

The End is just the Beginning

I have long dreamed of exploring the treasures of “the Mother Road”, Route 66. Â Well, that dream comes Â true today, as I embark on my journey along Route 66, though from the West Coast to the East, rather than vice versa. Â I made it to Santa Monica Pier, the end of the line for those traveling Route 66 from the official starting point in Chicago, taking in all the wonderfulness there, including one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. Â What a place. Â I also made some new friends, including a cool couple from St. Louis who had just completed the trip, and Dan Rice, owner and proprietor of the awesome Route 66 to California shop on Santa Monica Pier. Â Dan is a wealth of knowledge about all things Route 66, having made the journey 26 times already, and he’s just dang fun to hang out with. Â The couple I mentioned and I spent several hours just chatting with Dan about all kinds of stuff, including Route 66. Â If you are ever down on the Pier, do look him up, and tell him I sent you! Â You won’t be sorry.