All posts by Marc Perkins

Orange County Fair 2011: A Winner is Michelle!

California, Crafts, Orange County, Photography

I’m not the only person I know who entered the fair this year: Michelle also entered. She’s not a photographer; she’s a crafter, and this year she decided to enter a project into the Recycled Products Paper Crafts division.

Now, I may be biased, but her project is just awesome. She saved up security envelopes we’d received in the mail, precisely cut out 4″ squares of paper from un-damaged portions of the envelopes, and then folded these recycled-security-envelope-origami-paper pieces into a kusudama, or ball origami.

A still life detailing how Michelle
A still life detailing how Michelle's recycled security envelope kusudama (ball origami) was made. In this picture the project itself is only half finished, with two additional flowers (each consisting of five individual squares of cut out security envelope) next to it. One flower is facing away from the camera, so you can see the USPS bar code from the front of the envelope its segments were cut from. Different sizes of individual squares of paper are shown below the project.

Each individual flower consists of five segments that each started as a 4″ square of paper cut out of the same pattern security envelope. These five segments were folded individually, and then glued together into a flower. The entire project is made from 12 of these flowers glued together, and then hung from leftover embroidery floss from an old cross-stitch project. This picture shows how it’s displayed at the fair:

Michelle won first place at the 2011 OC Fair for a kusudama (ball origami) project that made from recycled security envelopes. This is the way her project was displayed. Each individual unit of each flower was folded from a 4"x4" square of paper cut out from a security envelope we
Michelle's recycled security envelope kusudama (ball origami) displayed at the 2011 Orange County Fair.

Unlike with my photography entry, Michelle hadn’t received any e-mails inviting her to an award ceremony before my visit to the fair on Wednesday. So, it was with much excitement that I searched out her project in the craft exhibits, and saw this:

Michelle won first place at the 2011 OC Fair for a kusudama (ball origami) project that she made from recycled security envelopes. This is the display label for her project. (Marc C. Perkins)
Michelle won first place at the 2011 OC Fair for a kusudama (ball origami) project that she made from recycled security envelopes!

Congratulations, Michelle!

I, of course, took a ton of pictures. During this process a few groups of people stopped by to look at the project. All of them looked at it initially, thought the overall pattern was pretty, and started talking to each other about it (while I grinned happily inside). Then they started looking closer, read the description, realized it was made from security envelopes, and started to inquire about how Michelle must have done it. It was at that point that I had great pleasure to introduce myself and explain how it was made. It was a great afternoon, and a pleasure to meet so many friendly folks who think Michelle is as awesome as I do.

More pictures

To see more pictures from the fair, head to my Orange County Fair 2011 gallery.

Getting There

Orange County Fair: The Orange County Fair runs from July 15 to August 14 at the county fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA; they conveniently have a directions page here. Since I can just park on OCC’s campus and walk to the fair, I don’t know what the parking situation is like, sorry.

Orange County Fair 2011: A Winner is Me!

California, Photography, ,

I entered a few pictures into the 2011 Orange County Fair’s juried photography competition, and was ecstatic when I heard that two pictures I’d taken of a flowering octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana) had made it through the screening.

Greg, of Alpenglow Images, had alerted me to the presence of the agave on OCC’s campus, and the first picture came from a series I took with him back in March just after sunrise on a rainy morning (my Agave and Aloe Inflorescences gallery). At the time, the agave’s inflorescence was still growing, and the flowers were only buds protected by long spines:

Closeup of flower buds on the Agave vilmoriniana inflorescence. (Marc Perkins)
The Future. Closeup of flower buds on the Agave vilmoriniana inflorescence.

The second picture was taken about a month later (my Flowering Agave gallery), when the inflorescence was fully in bloom:

A flowering Agave on Orange Coast College's campus strives for the attention of pollinators (and photographers). I love the contrast of the yellow flowers on the blue sky. Agave vilmoriniana, octopus agave. (Marc C. Perkins)
A flowering Agave on Orange Coast College's campus strives for the attention of pollinators (and photographers).

I printed the pictures up, delivered them on the appropriate day, and heard nothing. My primary goal for this endeavor had been to just get my pictures through the pre-screening, which I’d heard wasn’t easy1, so my only remaining goal was just to see them hanging on the wall.

I’d been planning to head to the fair Wednesday (for their free admission with donation), but then just before I headed out the door I opened up my e-mail to find an invitation to the OC Fair awards ceremony! It was thus with much excitement and anticipation that I arrived at the photography exhibit, and navigated my way through the many beautiful images2 to the amateur plant category:

Pictures in the amateur color prints of plants cateogry at the 2011 Orange County Fair. There were tons of gorgeous entries. My prize winning picture is in the upper right corner. (Marc C. Perkins)
Approximately a quarter of the pictures in the amateur color prints of plants category at the 2011 Orange County Fair. There were many gorgeous entries.

A quick look near my image resulted in pure happiness:

A picture of me with my winning entry at the 2011 Orange County Fair. The first place blue ribbon is so pretty! My photograph was in the amateur color print of plants category. Many thanks to Nafis, who kindly took this picture of me. (Marc C. Perkins)
Me with my winning entry at the 2011 Orange County Fair. The first place blue ribbon is so pretty! Many thanks to Nafis, who kindly took this picture of me.

I won first place in the amateur plants color category!

It was a great start to the day, which I topped off with a deep fried Snickers, the absolute best way to eat a Snickers ever.

Many thanks to the judges!

Next up: Michelle entered a project into the recycled materials division, and I had an excuse (of the blue ribbon kind!) to take lots of pictures of that as well.

1 And what I heard was accurate: of the 3,774 entries into the amateur photography division this year, only 774 were accepted (a 20.5% acceptance rate).

2 The overall quality of the images this year was amazingly high; I found many of the “amateur” prints to be equal to or better than many pro images I’ve seen. There were hundreds of images on display, and the vast majority of them were absolutely excellent. If you’re looking for a fun way to see a wide diversity of great photography, I highly recommend heading to the OC Fair this year.

More pictures

To see more pictures from the two shoots, head to my Agave and Aloe Inflorescences gallery and my Flowering Agave gallery.

Getting There

Orange County Fair: The Orange County Fair runs from July 15 to August 14 at the county fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA; they conveniently have a directions page here. Since I can just park on OCC’s campus and walk to the fair, I don’t know what the parking situation is like, sorry.

Dragonscale chain mail bracelet finished!

Crafts, Photography, , ,

A friend of ours recently started making chain mail. He’s weaving a shirt out of aluminum rings in a European 6 in 1 pattern. It’s gorgeous stuff:

Looking straight down the sheet of chain mail is just enthralling. I love the lines! This is a European 6-in-1 pattern. (Marc C. Perkins)
Looking straight down a sheet of European 6 in 1 chain mail.

After talking with him, we realized that making maille is not nearly as difficult as it seems like it should be. Pre-cut rings are available online, and the only equipment required is two pairs of pliers. Here’s our friend’s workspace:

Continue reading Dragonscale chain mail bracelet finished! →

Photographing animals at the Newport Beach Animal Shelter

Orange County, Pets, Photography, , , , ,

I’ve started volunteering with the Newport Beach Police Department’s Animal Control Unit to take pictures of their dogs and cats so they can add pictures to their Petfinder website. Last week was my first session with them, and I had a great time photographing about 20 animals in one afternoon.

First up were the dogs. Many of them were super-exited to be let out for a photography session, and thus just a smidgen hyper.  But this white husky was downright calm:

A white female siberian husky (Marc C. Perkins)
A white female siberian husky shakes the hand of an Orange County Humane Society worker.

And lots of the dogs had perfect “adopt me” expressions

A male brown bicolor terrier / American Pit Bull. N053 (Marc C. Perkins)
A male brown bicolor American pit bull terrier.
Beauty, a black female terrier / pit bull. (Marc C. Perkins)
Beauty, a black female pit bull terrier.

There was also a regal chihuahua, and a Pug who was just adorable:

Continue reading Photographing animals at the Newport Beach Animal Shelter →

Sunset at Newport Back Bay

Beach, Bicycling, California, Orange County, Photography, ,

Newport Back Bay is a relatively unknown1 jewel of coastal Orange County. At only a few miles long and half a mile wide at most, this estuary is relatively small. It’s also packed in between Newport Beach mansions houses, some of which overlook the wetlands from bluffs that line it. However, there is no major development inside the majority of the back bay, which is home to plants, birds, kayakers, and lots of other wildlife.


Looking towards the eastern bluffs from a roadside stop on Back Bay Drive in Newport Back Bay.

 

I’ve loved going to Newport Back Bay for years. It’s a great place to bike or jog, as there’s a paved trail looping around it2, and it’s a good place to go for bird watching (though I think Bolsa Chica is generally preferred by bird photographers).  What’s neat about this area is that one moment you’re driving through fully developed Newport Beach and Irvine (Fashion Island Shopping Center and UC Irvine are only minutes away), and then the next you’re walking, biking, or driving along a one-lane road that meanders along the side of a beautiful coastal wetlands.

A few nights ago I went there to watch the sunset and experiment with some post-sunset techniques. The sunset was gorgeous:

Continue reading Sunset at Newport Back Bay →

Making takoyaki: a morning spent watching a Japanese chef

Food, Photography

Takoyaki are a delicious treat: they’re a ball of savory fried dough with a custardy interior filled with bits of onions, peppers, and a chunk of meaty octopus.  They’re often served covered in a slightly sweet sauce and topped with shaved bonito (dried fish).


Takoyaki on display in a box

 

I was introduced to Takoyaki by watching them being made on Dotch, a Japanese cooking show. I’ve since gotten to eat them at a couple of local Japanese restaurants (most notably Kohryu, my favorite ramen place), but had never seen them made in person.

Then, a few weeks ago, I went to a Japanese food festival at Mitsuwa Marketplace to be greeted by this happy sight just inside the entrance:

Continue reading Making takoyaki: a morning spent watching a Japanese chef →

Unimpressed cat is unimpressed

Pets, Photography

I took this picture a few days ago, and just love Lucca’s LOLcat-ish “meh” expression:


Lucca looking decidedly unimpressed.

 

This was taken late one afternoon while Lucca sat on our homemade 6′ tall cat tree. Sunlight was streaming in a window directly behind Lucca and bouncing off a wall to the left of the image, creating wonderfully soft, even lighting with a hint of backlighting.

To see more of my cat pictures, take a look at my cats gallery.

A morning on the beach: Crystal Cove State Park and Little Corona Beach

Beach, California, Orange County, Photography

When I think of beach pictures on the west coast of the United States, I think sunsets.  The glorious red sun falling beneath the ocean.  The soft light on the sky.  The ability to wake up at noon and still photograph it.

But recently I noticed that low tides were coinciding with early mornings, so I decided to head out for a morning trip to the beach on Friday.  My primary goal was to scout out locations for future sunrise and intertidal photography, so I headed to both Crystal Cove State Park’s beach and Little Corona (both beaches are in Orange County; Little Corona is in Corona Del Mar, and Crystal Cove is just north of Laguna Beach).  But I quickly got distracted from location hunting thanks to the beauty of the morning.


Morning Treasure: Sunrise at Crystal Cove

 

Both beaches have bluffs overlooking the ocean, meaning that the beach was shaded long after the sun rose in the region. This allowed for shots like the above, and also let me get pictures of a waterfall cascading down the bluffs long after sunrise:

Continue reading A morning on the beach: Crystal Cove State Park and Little Corona Beach →

OCC Graduation

OCC

I’m a full-time faculty member at Orange Coast College, and part of my duties are to attend graduation at the end of the spring semester. The first time I attended graduation as a faculty member was very odd; I had been used to being the student, the one walking across the stage and getting the diploma, but now I was one of those oddly dressed professors walking in first.

My role is to be a shiny prop who walks in and out of the arena all seriously and academically, but does nothing else other than be quiet and add a hint of retro medieval fashion to the day. It’s an easy job, and sometimes the speeches are even decent. But I’m really there for the students: they’ve worked hard to get where they are, so the least I can do is show up and add a touch of formality to their big day. And it’s always fun, as the students’ excitement is highly contagious.  This year I knew more than a dozen students walking across the stage, and I had a great time chatting with them after the event.


Bob Mendoza, Tom Garrison, and myself (right to left) at OCC’s Spring 2011 graduation; picture by Bob Mendoza.

Continue reading OCC Graduation →

Ordering from BWC Photo through Photoshelter

Products, Reviews, , , , ,

[Updated June 8, 2011; see comments at the bottom]

I recently switched my website hosting to Photoshelter, a hosting company targeted at photographers.  Photoshelter supports direct image sales on their hosted sites though a number of print vendors, and I’m now using BWC Photo Imaging to supply my prints. This means that when someone wants a print of mine (editor’s note: shouldn’t that be a very big “if”, not “when”?) they can peruse the options online, order what they want directly from my website, pay via PayPal or credit card, and have the print shipped directly to them from the printer1.

To test out the service I ordered a wide variety of prints, ranging in size from 4×6″ through 12×18″, along with a photo mug.  Ordering was easy (click “buy” on the image’s page, choose size, choose cropping, lather, rinse, repeat), though there was an unspecified problem with my order after I placed it that held it up for a few days.  I never found out what the problem was, but Photoshelter’s support looked into it quickly, and a week and a half after I placed the order it arrived on my doorstep.


Everything came in a large outer box, and while the padding in the box was reused paper envelopes, they were surdy enough to keep everything in place. The two inner boxes were shrinkwrapped together, helping hold them in place.

Continue reading Ordering from BWC Photo through Photoshelter →