wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Ideas...
Landis 2005-Sep-15 20:13:00
It has been a very busy last couple of months for
me. Sorry that I haven't been as active on this
list. I've just put to bed a very long project
and two shorter ones so now that I'm nearly out
of energy it's time to get psyched up about two
things: WWP Energy, and my wedding!
"The Geysers" is the name of the largest
geothermal power plant in the world and it's
located about an hour away from me. I had
attempted to contact their public relations
people over a month ago but I still haven't heard
back. Today I called and talk to someone at the
visitors center. We'll see how that goes. But
if it doesn't work, I'll need some ideas. Got
any you'd like to share?
Staying with the geothermal theme, there is a
tourist oriented geyser in nearby Calistoga
called "Old Faithful Geyser". All their
billboards state "photographed by National
Geographic!". Talk about tourist!
Then there's the playground across the street
from my house. Where those kids get THAT much
energy, I'll never know.
In the Bay Area there are several refineries and
ports for oil tankers. Best to either get proper
permission or stay artfully distant so as not to
cause any problems with security folks.
A freeway interchange at rush hour would be a
very telling story of how we use energy. Play a
game and count how many SUVs you can get in the
panorama - or make a composite where every
vehicle is an SUV!
Or for that matter, how about a gas station? I
know we Americans are spoiled when it comes to
gas/petrol prices compared to the rest of the
world, but it's now almost $10 USD to fill up the
puny tank on my motorcycle. Just 5 years ago it
was about $4. And it sure seems like every time
we see gas prices spike it's at the same time oil
companies are reporting record profits to their
shareholders. In fact after Hurricane Katrina
prices jumped by almost 40? here in California!
Speaking of storms, any panoramas from the Gulf
Coast would certainly fit into the theme of
Energy. A hurricane is the redistribution of
energy from the tropics to the higher latitudes
with sometimes devastating consequences.
All of these ideas sound like they'll take too
much energy? Take a self-portrait sitting on a
couch with a beer after a long days work.
Kat and I are getting married on the equinox and
then heading off for our honeymoon in New
Zealand. Luckily she likes taking panoramas
herself so I might have a couple that I can share
from our trip. But this does mean that I won't
be around after the start of shooting. Don and
Markus will be holding down the fort and
answering any questions while I'm away. Thanks
to Markus' handiwork we will all be producing yet
another excellent addition to the World Wide
Panorama. I look forward to seeing it when I get
back!
-Landis