Archerr

I found a little piece of software that will turn your digital photos into polaroid type pictures. The program manipulates the photos to look like they came out of a polaroid camera. Pretty cool. Here's one of the boyfriend and I from a recent wine event.

Here's the winery the boyfriend and I went to yesterday and had lunch. I just felt like posting a random picture.

The boyfriend and I got back from our vacation to California late last night. We went to California to visit the Napa Valley and taste wine. We went to 19 different wineries and tasted and bought lots of wine. While in California we did other things as well. We went to see Old Faithful and The Petrified Forest. On our last day in California we went to San Francisco. We road the street cars up and down Market St. We went to Fisherman's Wharf and then to the Castro to hang with our peeps. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Famous palm trees from the west coast.

The mountains in wine country.

A huge sunflower we saw.

The vines go right up to the mountains.

Old oak tree.

Grapes!

The boyfriend at the Petrified Forest (somehow the Tungsten filter was on the camera).

Old Faithful (Tungsten filter again, argh!).

The boyfriend at the Golden Gate Bridge (damn that Tungsten).

Market St. near our hotel (Tungsten one more time).

Seagull in flight.

The sea lions at Peir 39.

A seagull thinking about Alcatraz.

The famous Castro theater.

Saw this sticker at the street car stop. Loved it.

Inside a street car.

The boyfriend in bed on our last morning.

The view from our hotel room.

While visiting the Stratford Hall on Wednesday, I took a lot of photos. Here's a still life I thought was pretty cool looking.

This evening I was on the balcony during a rain storm and then the sun came out. A beautiful double rainbow formed in the sky. I ran and got my camera and here's what I saw.

This week the boyfriend and I went to Charlottesville for a small family reunion. While there we walked around the city and spent time near UVA and the historic district. Here are just two of the hundreds of photos I took over the weekend. I thought they were pretty cool shots and wanted to post them. Click on the pictures to see them larger. The small size doesn't do them justice.

"Used Restaurant Table"


"Notices"

I know I said I was going to post something this weekend but I just got too lazy. I had a few things to write about but I just didn't take the time to do it. The boyfriend and I had a wonderful dinner with some listeners of the podcast. I could write about that but I talked about it on the podcast I just posted. Instead of doing that I decided to post this picture. It's of an apple blossom. Last weekend the boyfriend and I went to one of our favorite wineries and they have an apple tree there. The blossoms were beautiful so I just had to take a few pictures of them. Here's the best one. I think Spring has definitely started. Although today it was a bit chilly and there was a misty rain. The temperatures have stayed high enough at night to declare that Spring has started.

I saw this on Digg. Loved it. Don't these people use Photoshop? Look at the face and then at the red circle.

I've been on Spring break this whole week. I've been busy doing other things. It's amazing how many things you can get done when you aren't working. Of course I have several other things I need to do but this is only the middle of the week. I should be able to have time to get those things done.

The boyfriend's Spring break isn't until next week or we'd be spending lots of time together. Tomorrow he leaves for New Orleans for his Spring break. I'll miss him and our snuggles but he needs a break. It's time for him to see his family.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend.

The boyfriend and I went to Richmond Va this weekend to visit our friends, John and Megan. They are part of a family winery in Midlothian Va. Megan is an artist and recently encouraged me to create some artwork to display and sell in their tasting room. I took her up on the offer and chose 14 photographs I thought were nice and framed them. So we took them down there this weekend to set up the art show in the tasting room. On Saturday we spent a good chunk of the day with Megan arranging and hanging the photos. The boyfriend was such a big help when it came time to give each photo a title. The name of the art show is "Shapes Through The Lens" and will run through July 13th. Hopefully I'll sell some of my photographs at their tasting room. Here's a look at some of the photos in the tasting room. Thank you Megan and John!


We then tasted some of their wines and then enjoyed some of their limited edition Cabernet Franc on the porch. We relaxed and talked and enjoyed the wine. It was a relaxing afternoon.


I took about 200 photographs in about 24 hours. Spring has come to Richmond and all the flowers were blooming. I took several photos of flowers around the winery. I took photos of lots of other things too. We stayed at John and Megan's Saturday night and then returned home today. John and Megan are great hosts and we really enjoyed spending some time with them. They live in a wooded area and while we were having breakfast a family of deer walked acrossed their property right outside their window. They said the deer come by all the time. Of course I didn't have my camera handy so I didn't get any shots of the deer. But it was cool sitting there watching them so closely right outside the window. What a great weekend!

Here's a random photo from January 30, 2005. I think global warming has taken over since this photo. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 65 degrees and 71 on Tuesday. Where's winter?

I just got off the phone with Homer and he pointed out that I had not yet posted a photo of my tree this year. He demanded that I take a picture right now and post it on the blog. Also, he asked what my favorite ornament was. I told him it was the one my boyfriend gave me last Friday night when we put up my tree. SO...below are two photos. One is of my favorite ornament on the tree and the tree itself. Now I expect to see Homer's favorite ornament posted on his blog.

The boyfriend and I went to Charlottesville to visit my father and some area wineries. All along the drive we saw lots of fall colors but they looked muted, or dry. You can really see the drought all across the state. We did see a few very brightly colored trees though. But overall, it's just not the same this year. Here's a picture of one beautifully colored tree that was in my father's back yard. I took the picture in the early morning so you can still see the dew on the leaves. I think it's beautiful.

I saw the most beautiful harvest moon last night. This picture isn't mine but it demonstrates what a harvest moon is. It shows the orange glow the moon takes on this time of the year. I'm sure there is a reason why but I don't know what it is. All I know is I love the look of the moon this time of the year. The moon will be full next week. It's only about 3/4 full now. I'm sure it will be spectacular next week. I wonder if it will have the orange glow.

Here's a picture from the photo shoot I had this morning with one of my favorite models. He needed some new photos taken so of course I volunteered to have him get naked for me. This photo is just a tease. Someday I'll update my photo libraries with some of the pics.

The floor installation was finished last evening. I've spent more than 24 hours vacuuming up all the dust. Man, they created a lot of dust. I had to change the AC filter. It was clogged with dust. I got almost all the furniture put back on my own and my wonderful boyfriend came over to help me with the heavy pieces and then we had lunch. So the house is back to normal for a few weeks. Once the boyfriend leaves for his vacation, I'll be painting the living room, dining room, and hallway. Here's what the living room looks like now with the new floors and the new carpet.

I talked about this on my podcast last week. But I have two students in my class who are the best of friends. I talked about how they hold hands and hang on each other all the time and how innocent their affection is at this age.

Today we went on a field trip and the whole time we were walking around these two were holding hands. I thought it was just adorable. They have no idea how this will change as they get older. And this has nothing to do with being gay at all. These are just two really good friends who show their affection by holding hands and hanging on each other. I know by next year they won't be able to do this and not have other kids say things to them. No one says anything to them now. It's very innocent and wonderful. I wish we could keep this innocence on into adulthood.

I've edited the picture to protect their identities of course. I just wanted to show how they hold hands.

The boyfriend and I went to a winery this weekend that is up in the blue ridge mountains of Virginia. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful day and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a memory of the view. I see why they call them the blue ridge mountains. Click on the picture to see a larger view.

I was on the balcony when the moon was rising and thought it looked amazing. The natural gradation of colors in the sky looked beautiful. I know the picture doesn't quite capture the beauty but I had to record the moment as best I could. I think it looks lovely.

While the boyfriend was out playing tennis, I decided to get a shot of the fall view I have from my balcony. I'm not sure what the conditions have to be to produce such nice fall colors but this year the colors seem to be just beautiful. Here's the view I have from my balcony. I think I have a great view to watch the fall colors. I love fall!

I've been promising for a while now that I'd update my photo libraries. So I finally took the time today to work on adding photos of some of the models I've worked with lately. Click on the photography link on the right side or click on one of the pictures below to go right to the gallery. All comments on my photography are greatly apprecaited.

My artist friend Bob and I had a photo shoot today and worked with the two models below. They were both very good models and took direction well. I know I've been saying for awhile that I'll be working on the photo galleries and I promise I'll be adding to them soon.

For those of you who got here from Best Gay Blogs, here is what you're looking for. While I'm listed under the "Adult Sites" on Best Gay Blogs, this isn't necessarily an adult site. I do post lots of my photos of naked men but this is a personal blog and I mostly post things going on in my life with my boyfriend. However, if you are looking for the naked men, feel free to click on the links in the sidebar to find them. A big thank you to Homer for submitting my site to Best Gay Blogs. Thanks Homer! Enjoy just one of many photos I've taken.

Carl says that I never post pictures of the boyfriend smiling so I searched the photo archives and found these two photos of him smiling. So you see he does smile. I had a hard time finding these so I'll have to work on taking more photos of him smiling.

When I was looking through the photos I had taken from the weekend I saw this one and thought it really shows how beautiful my boyfriend's eyes are. Besides the fact that he's gorgeous, he does have nice eyes. I'm sure you'll agree.

On Saturday I had a photo shoot with two beautiful men. Not only are these guys gorgeous but they are also a couple. They are so cute together and pose together so well. Hopefully I'll get to adding them to my gallery this summer. Enjoy the photos.

I know I haven't updated my photo galleries in a long time and I'm planning to do so in the summer. As most of you know, I turn many of my photos into artwork to sell on eBay. Today my artist friend, Bob came over and we had a photo shoot with a model we've worked with before. We think we got some great shots. I think I'll be able to create so beautiful pieces of art. Here are just a couple of the photos. Check out our eBay auctions.

Here is the view from Barboursville Vineyards in Charlottesville, Virginia. The boyfriend and I went there this weekend to visit a few wineries. Barboursville is one of our favorites and the view is spectacular.

I had a photo shoot today with my artist friend, Bob. This model was very nice and provided us with some great photos for our artwork. Click on the link in the sidebar to see what artwork is up for auction on eBay.

I met the boyfriend one year ago today. It's been a wonderful year and I'm sure there will be many more to come.

I had a photo shoot this weekend with my artist friend Bob. We had a great time during our shoot and got some great photos. Be sure to check out Bob’s artwork and his work on eBay.

I had a photo shoot on Sunday so I decided to bring back my male photo library. I added a few new photos so feel free to check out the male photo library.

I had a photo shoot yesterday with my artist friend Bob. Bob has been creating some beautiful work lately. Check out his web site to see his work and check out his work on eBay. We had 2 models scheduled but we only worked with one. The other one had something come up at the last minute. I haven't had a photo shoot since April. I thought I might have forgotten how to take photos! But it all came back to me as soon as the model took off his clothes. I've posted two of the photos below. I won't be creating a library of the photos because I haven't figured out how the new Justice Department regulations (2257) apply to me specifically. I have heard from a few people that the new regs apply to sexual acts and more to secondary providers and their record keeping so it probably doesn't apply to me. However, better safe then sorry. So you'll have to enjoy these two photos and think about what other body parts I was able to capture.



Also, I recorded a podcast while my friend Bob was here. Head over to ArcherRadio and check out the show.

It’s raining today. I’d rather be having a picnic on a sunny day at a beautiful winery with the boyfriend while enjoying a nice glass of wine. I’m off to his house this weekend so no update until Sunday or Monday.

Here is a funny photo I took of myself last weekend at W.'s house. That's where I'll be tonight. I might try to post an entry tomorrow. It all depends on the time. If you can't wait, download the latest podcast (link below this post) and listen to it again. Sorry the audio clip is too loud (thanks for the info, Peter!). I'll work on watching the audio levels in the future. Have a great weekend!

Awhile ago I spent some time with my artist friend, Bob and he taught me how to create art. He also taught me how to create some great effects using Photoshop Elements. I learned how to use the clone tool. It's pretty wild how it works and what you're able to do with it. I took one of the photos I shot this weekend at W.'s and created this photo.



"Be Different"

What title would you give this photo?

This was posted on Craig'slist last night. He wrote about having some sheets set up for a gloryhole. How disgusting is this? I mean, I'm sure there are some who might find this attractive but come on. This is just gross.

In going through all the photos I have in iPhoto I found this old photo of my mother. She's known for cutting off people's heads in photos and never knowing how to load the film into the camera. Years ago I scanned hundreds of family photos and now have them in iPhoto. I found this one and thought it was really funny. I think the caption should say, "Is this thing on?" What do you think the caption should say?

The weather man is calling for a major snow storm this weekend so I went to Giant today to get a few things. When I got back there was a package for me. It was my iLife '05 that I ordered last week. I was so excited because I have the whole day off and I could spend some time playing with the new apps. I had planned a photo shoot for today but the model canceled on me so I had the day free. I loaded the software and updated all the things that needed to be updated. I then began with iPhoto. Since that was the program I was looking forward to most, I started it up and it updated my library to the current version and everything was great. Then I started playing with the features. This is such a nice upgrade to an already nice program. You can order really cool books full of photos you choose. I spent way too much time creating a book of 100 of my best male nude photos. Then I went to upload it to Apple for them to print it out for me and then I got a message saying they weren't taking orders for the new book styles until later this month. I was bummed. No problem though, I can save the book until they have the service ready.

Then I spent several hours wasting time reorganizing my almost 5000 photos. You can rename film rolls, make new film rolls, move photos around so easily. Maybe you could do that before but I just discovered it today. I now have every photo that is on my computer cataloged in iPhoto. And I have every library named with a title that tells me what photos are in the library. Then I collapsed all the libraries so it would run smoothly while scrolling through the long list of libraries. I have digital photos going back to 1997. Of course the quality of photos that old is awful. I'll keep them anyway. They look fine on screen. Now that I have an organizational structure in place, I will continue to keep all my photos organized and easy to find. I'm very pleased with myself even if it did take me all day.

While I was doing all this work with iPhoto, I had the inauguration on in the back ground. I wasn't watching it because Bushie was on, I was watching it for the historical aspect and to see if anything awful happened (not that I was hoping it would). All throughout the program they did have some cool historical facts about the presidency so that was interesting. I also liked seeing all the protesters there with their signs.

It's back to work tomorrow for one day and then off for the weekend. And if the snow comes as they are predicting, then it might be a 3 day weekend!

I had a photo shoot with my artist friend, Bob today. We worked with a model we've worked with before. I think I got some really nice shots today. I decided to add another element to some of the photos. In a few of them I placed a pear in the picture to give it some vivid color. I think it looks cool. This model is really good at taking direction and especially at just posing on his own. Several times he was just relaxing and it created the best poses. Check out the photo page to see the photos.

Bob taught me some of the details about how he creates his artwork. I learned a good portion of the process involved. I think I will be able to try my hand at creating the same type of art that he works on so often. He uses his photos to create this amazing effect. Soon you might see some artwork that I create with my photos. I'm going to play with the process next weekend. I don't have any shoots planned so I should have time to create some art. Bob offers several of his pieces for sale on eBay. His artwork is amazing. I recommend you check out his artwork on eBay.

I have no plans to watch the Super Bowl tonight. I will probably have it on in the background while I do some computer work. I may look up during the commercials to check them out. I don't think they are supposed to be as good as years past but I always get a kick out of seeing them.

My brother is coming tonight. He's here from Columbus, Ohio to take a class in the area. I love my brother and we get along pretty well. But I'm sure we'll get on each other's nerves at some point over the next 5 days. Plus, I'm a clean, neat person and he isn't. Nuff said.

I had my first photo shoot of 2005 this morning. It was cloudy and rainy but enough natural light came in my window to create some nice photos. I haven't had a shoot since mid December. It was good to get behind the camera again. I took several of my signature close ups and feel pretty good about them. The model was very nice and easy to work with. He interested in posing with others so I might have to set up a "couples" shoot sometime. I took 320 photos this morning in about an hour and a half. The last shoot I had in December I only took about 45 shots. So I had plenty to choose from this time. I've got several shoots planned over the next few weeks so I'll be busy with my photography for awhile.

Oh, and no, I won't be giving any details about last evening. You know what happens when you talk about something too much, it ends up in the crapper so I'll keep the details to myself, thank you very much. :)

In the early 80s when I started photography, I shot completely in black and white. I had my own little temporary dark room that I'd set up in my parent's laundry room. I would develop my own film, and print my own photos. I had all the chemicals and my own enlarger. It was a pretty cool setup and I printed hundreds of prints over the years.

I've been taking a lot of photos lately. They've been completely in color. Tonight I decided to go through some of them and use the computer to convert them to black and white. I adjusted the contrast on them as well. It's amazing what you can do with a computer these days. If I had had a computer with this power then, I would have thousands of photos to show. Right now I have a big binder with all my black and white negatives. I don't use them anymore but keep them around in case I ever want to return to print film and my own processing. For now, processing my photos on the computer is much faster and I'm able to control things a lot easier. It was so easy to choose the photos I wanted, convert them to black and white, and adjust the contrast to create some dramatic effects. I only worked on a few photos but plan to do more in the future. Click on the photo to go to the black and white section of my male nudes.

I was surfing the web at the Canon web site looking at lenses and such. Posted on their site is a photo contest for photographers who use the Canon Digital Rebel. I use this camera. I take some decent photos. So I decided to enter the contest. The winner gets a new Canon EOS 20D digital camera. I would love that camera! Of course it's better than my current model. So anyway, here is the picture I submitted under the "people" category. I'm sure there are thousands of entries but I thought it couldn't hurt to submit this photo for the hell of it. You never know. They might like it. The winner will be announced in January. Cross your fingers for me!

I think this is one of my best photos. It's not erotic, it's not even really a nude photo. I just really like it.

Today I went to The Museum of Contemporary Art in Georgetown in DC with my photographer friend, Bob to attend a Foto Models Guild meeting. It was an interesting meeting. There was a good mix of photographers and models. We discussed portfolios and other topics related to the unprofessional and more artistic side of photography and models. I learned a few things. Then there was a time for models to pose for photographers. There was only one guy who I really wanted to photograph and was able to get a few good shots of him. But the lighting was awful! And I didn't take my tripod with me so many of my photos were slightly out of focus. No problem. I may work with him on my own and not in a group setting. I didn't really like the group setting anyway because other photographers were telling him how to pose or move an arm or whatever and I couldn't take my signature close ups. He and I exchanged cards and I told him I'd like to work with him sometime and that I'd e-mail him. And I will. You can see photos of him and the model I worked with this morning in my photos section.

While on a break from the shooting I went out into the courtyard to have a smoke. I was looking around and there was only one tree surrounded by 3 and 4 story buildings. I found it odd that this tree was by itself. Of course I had to take a photo. I call it "The Confusion Between Humans and Nature". Click on the photo to see a larger version. Hopefully you can see the contrast between the size of the tree and the size of the buildings around the tree. I felt bad for the tree. It was dwarfed by the buildings it seemed.

This evening I had a meeting with the sixth model I've worked with. Besides the fact that this guy has a wonderful body for male nude photography, he happens to be a really nice guy. He's straight but I won't hold that against him. hehehe He is young and new to modeling and wanted some photos to be able to show artists. I'm sure he'll be able to get some modeling work for artists or other photographers without a problem. He's willing to learn new poses and takes direction well. We worked together last weekend with another photographer. I took a few hundred photos of him but assured him I would not post any photos without his permission. He came over tonight to approve of the photo choices. I think he was as pleased with the photos as I was. We picked 40 really good shots and uploaded them to my web site. He was pleased with how they look. I hope you enjoy the artwork as much as he and I do. Click on the photo to see his complete album.

Back in July I submitted a photo and a short writing to a site that posts such submissions. I got an e-mail today that my submission had been selected for today's post. I didn't think I would actually ever see it on their site but there it is. If you get a minute, surf over to A Picture's Worth and check it out. It's only up today so don't miss it.

Today was a beautiful day! The weather was perfect. I think the temperature got up to 70 degrees today. It was a wonderful November day. I was able to join another photographer and have an outdoor shoot with one of the models I've worked with a few times before. You can check out the work by clicking on the picture.

I'm in a bit of a better mood today. I'm hoping that this week will be much better then last week. I did my best to avoid the Sunday talk shows that are dominated with political discussions. I clicked right by them and didn't stop to listen to what they had to say. And I am completely avoiding the Fox News Channel. I don't watch that channel anyway, but as I click through the channels I always see the crap on that channel. They are so biased it's unbelievable. Now that we are stuck for another four years, I'm sure the Fox News channel will flourish even more.

I simply could not continue writing about my election depression. My camera was sitting on my desk ready for tomorrow's shoot with a new model so I decided to play with the night feature. I went out on the balcony, set the camera up on the tripod and took a few shots. I think this one is the best. You can definitely see the two types of lighting the apartment buildings use. The incandescent lights create an orange glow while the florescent lighting casts a green glow. Interesting. I was surprised that the camera was able to focus so well with such little light. This camera always amazes me. Discovering new features took my mind off the election for awhile. Plus, I continue to read the rants on other blogs.

We have seen absolutely beautiful weather in the last few days here in the DC area. The sky has been as blue as ever. And the trees are showing us their true colors. It's peak color time in our area and the trees are giving us a show. Click on the pictures above to see the view from my balcony. I could drive down Skyline Drive or drive out to Great Falls but why would I when I can see it all from my balcony. It's almost breathtaking. Fall is my favorite season. I love it!

Today I had another photo shoot. One of the photographers and one of the models from my first photo shoot came over today and we had our own photo shoot. I took about 300 photos in a few hours. I must be getting better at this because most of them came out really well. Of course I couldn't post them all. I have chosen 60 of the best ones and posted them to a web page. Click on the picture to go to the web page. I've now had 3 really good photo shoots of male nudes. I think I have taken some really great photos. I've learned so much about lighting, my camera, posing, and from today, using props. It's been such a great experience. I don't have any other photo shoots anytime soon so I can relax and enjoy the photos. I hope you enjoy them too!

Today I was able to have a solo photo shoot with one of the models from the photo shoot I did a few weeks ago. I hadn't taken any photos in my condo before so I was curious to see how the lighting would be. I've learned that the best light is natural light. I don't like the way the flash looks with skin. So anyway, the model came over and I showed him around, described the type of photos I was interested in taking and we got to work. About two hours later my hair was wet from sweating (I had the heat up so he wouldn't be cold) and I had 72 photos complete. I really took my time is setting up the shots and getting the angle right on these. Since I had to use the self timer with the existing light I had to think of my shots carefully. I learned a good amount about posing today. Although, I have to admit this model was so good. I barely had to tell him anything. He just got into poses and I went with it. After he left, I got on the computer and picked out the best ones and posted them to a new web page. Click on the picture to go to the page. I have another photo shoot tomorrow so I should have more photos to share later in the day.

I finally finished choosing and editing the male nude photos I wanted to include on a web page. You can click on the picture to go to my photography page. The photos are large files so the page takes awhile to load. I really had a hard time picking the photos I wanted to include. I took 271 photos but settled on 20 that I felt were worth posting on a page. I cropped the images according to my own personal taste. I also cleaned up my main photos page on my website. I deleted some old libraries and organized the choices better. Enjoy!

Besides working on the photos, I didn't get much else done today. I didn't finish the book I'm reading so the review will have to wait a day or two. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition starts tonight so I'll be watching that instead of reading. Desperate Housewives starts tonight as well but I probably won't watch that. For one thing it's on too late and for another, it's not my type of show. But I'm sure many will enjoy it.

This is one of the many photos I took last Sunday at the photo shoot I attended. Click on the photo to see a larger version. I haven't had any time this week to work on the photos. First of all they are huge files. I need to go through each one and resize them to fit comfortably on a web page. I also need to pick out only the ones that I feel are web page worthy. This will take some time. I will do it this weekend. I hope to have a page ready by Monday. Putting the actual page together will be easy but editing the photos is what will take some time. Again, be patient. I hope you like this one. I think it's one of the best. The contrast between the really tan, muscle guy and the lean, pale guy is quite striking. Feel free to let me know what you think.

On another note, according to Blogger.com, this is my 297th post. I'm surprised it's lasted this long. My site traffic has really declined since August. I'm not sure why but that won't stop me from posting or keeping up with the blog. I've found this to be a great outlet for my writing. It's therapy to me. And some of my posts show that. I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

I took this picture on Saturday at my mother's yard sale. The little buggers are everywhere and they are making an incredible noise. I think they will be gone in a few weeks. The sooner the better.

I was bored off my ass this afternoon. I worked hard all day doing all the things I put off yesterday. I got all my work done with plenty of time to sit around and do nothing again today. I had to plug my cell phone in to charge and thought I'd play with it. I started taking pictures with it and e-mailing them to myself. It's pretty cool but nothing new. Here's a picture of me. Not that great but not that bad either. Here are 5 other pictures taken with the camera phone. You can tell what some of them are but others you may have to think. Can you guess what they all are? Bet you can't guess them all! Come on, try guessing.


Of course this is me.

Guess what these are:

1. 2.
3. 4.
5.