Scenes from Seaside.

I'm succumbing to the siren call of photography once again. There's this deep urge to post a few more photos. So I'm giving in.

We recently went to Seaside on business. "We" is Katie and I. She wanted to go. I wanted her to go. So it happened. Hey, when you're on the road it's less complicated to bring a date than to find a date, if you know what I mean. I did make Katie ride pillion, though. Or maybe she made me ride so she could get out on the bike. Whatever the case, we lucked out weatherwise. It was fairly warm and calm. Here are some photos from the day and a half we were there.

If a guy is going to take his best girl to the ocean he should take her for a walk on the beach. Even if that's not really his thing. A successful marriage is a lot like a series of Chinese dinners. Each day is a different meal. The meal isn't over until both of you get your cookies. Katie loves walking on the beach. I love Katie. So we went walking.

There's a roundabout at the end of Broadway St. From there people can take the short stairs down to the sandy beach. Our hotel was only a few blocks away from the ocean. Access was quite convenient by means of our feet. I know, what a novel idea. Walking somewhere. Most people seem to have this idea that any sort of a walk will kill them off or something.

We hadn't been walking long when we spied this pipe sticking up out of the sand. How strange to see it out in the middle of nowhere, so to speak. Here's a closer look. Actually, this is only one of about 50 pictures of the pipe. The photography experts preach taking shots from every conceivable angle. I'm down with that. And up with that. And sideways with that. And....well, you get the drift.

As you can see, it has a sort of metal screen over the end. It would also appear that the pipe spends some time under water. Using my fantastic built in GPS array, I finally came to a theory as to why the pipe was there. Lining the pipe up with the corresponding beachside building, I cleverly deduced that the pipe was a part of the water exchange system for the Seaside Aquarium. This place isn't as large or sophisticated as the Newport Aquarium farther south but it still needs some sort of saltwater exchange system. That's my theory, anyway.

For some reason Katie got this urge to show me how fleeting life can be if I had actually brought her to the ocean and neglected to walk on the beach with her. Love's a great motivator, but so is avoiding physical pain. Here she is using a poor crab and her motorcycle boots to provide a visual aid.

Yeah, yeah, I got it. I also got the credit card and the motorcycle keys, girl. The demonstration ended before the crab shell actually got crushed. However, to make sure she took full advantage of the situation, she made me walk farther. Much farther. Not that I minded the walk, and I actually like holding her hand, but every step to the north took me that much farther away from a cold beer that was to the south. Oh well. Life ain't all bad. I got another decent photo of the pipe on the way back. The beach photos were taken with the G11.

I got some of my own back a bit later. I convinced the kind folks at Dooger's Seafood Grill to part with a cold pint. They have some sort of arrangement with the hotel we were staying at. Works well, as the two buildings are right next to each other. It was still a bit early for supper. That's the way to plan it. You don't want to rush the beer. If you play it right, there might even be enough time for two beers. Of course, no riding is allowed. So, here we were, in the room, trying to think of a way to pass time until supper. Hmmm, what is there for a man and a woman alone in a hotel room to do?

Katie sat on the bed. She slipped off her light jacket, then her shoes. Giving me a becoming look, Katie told me she had this great idea. We could do something that we'd both find pleasurable. Then she pulled out her small plastic bag and started working on her crochet project. Katie's working on a pair of tiny crocheted cowboy boots for Ryan. She said she'd work on the booties while I could go out and have fun taking pictures. Whew, that was close. I thought for a bit that I would have to let my beer get warm!

Instead, I took the Nikon, the Gorilla Pod, and a zoom lense out on the deck. Since we were there for only one night, I could bring more camera stuff. I mean how much room does a pair of clean socks and underwear take up? Soon I was happily playing voyeur. Three young girls were standing by the side of the street bridge. I find it quite interesting to see how candid the shots are when the subjects don't know they are being photographed. The redhead, in particular, had a particularly expressive face.

I always enjoyed watching my daughter and her teenage friends. Young girls can be so image conscious one minute and silly as heck the next. These girls were enjoying the late afternoon and being silly together. Throwing their legs over the bridge railing seemed to play a big part in the interchange between them.

For the most part, photographs of people seem to be the best when the photographer is more up close and personal with the subjects. At least in my opinion. Even in my limited experience, I'm finding that I can get a subject laughing, thinking, or showing some other emotion. Once they sort of forget about the camera and concentrate more on interacting with me, I can get closeup expressive shots of their face. Although, I have to say you can't beat the carefree foolishness the girl on the left is showing!

There were many other things to photograph. I tried to get some photos of a diving duck in the river below me, but the zoom lense I had with me just wouldn't pull it in close enough to make good photos. Some other things came out pretty well, though. Pretty soon both the beer and the light were gone. Next stop in the adventure was supper. We had alternate transportation worked out.

Stay tuned. Irondad eats a Bigfoot Burger. Interstingly, Bigfoot tastes a lot like ground beef.

Miles and smiles,

Dan