Spiff Happens: January 2022

Monday, January 31, 2022

I'm King of the World!

52Frames2022 Week 04 "Minimalist"

Okay, so it’s not as romantic as the movie “Titanic,” but hey … buzzards need love too. (Or so I hear.)

There just happens to be this awesome dead tree on our cul-de-sac. And, during the winter months, there just happens to be a LOT of buzzards in our immediate area. So, I stepped out our front door one morning and there he/she was … on the very peak of the dead tree, wings spread wide. I thought to myself, “Self, this would make a great minimalist photo. Especially if I converted it to black and white. And, I sure would love some pancakes for breakfast.” I often lose track of my thoughts. Anyway, the pancakes were delicious.

Going Up?

52Frames2022 Week 03 "Complementary Colors"

When stairs were first invented, how did people know how to use them? I wonder if there was imaging such as this to help instruct first time stair climbers? And, if only they had added drawings showing people how to go back down the stairs … that would have certainly helped with the overcrowding of the upper floors. NOTE: The original walls in this staircase were yellow. But, since I liked the blue “stair-climbing figure,” I convinced the owner of the building to repaint the walls orange so that I could complete this week’s challenge of Complementary Colors. Had I really thought about it, I would have just done it myself in Photoshop. Later, I did apologize to the owner, but she was none too happy about my idea for next week’s Extra Challenge theme of “Nude.”

Hello from ... the Twilight Zone

52Frames2022 Week 02 "Hello From ..."

You are traveling through another dimension. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination …

To tell the truth, I’m in the here and now. But, on occasion, I will mentally time travel back to my childhood where the only time I wore a mask was when I went Trick-or-Treating. That’s where I went this week after I spotted a sweet 1957 Mercury in the parking lot at Kennesaw Mountain Park. I took this photo and was shocked to see that it looked like I had used a vintage Kodak Instamatic for the snapshot. (Insert “Twilight Zone” music.)

Witness Mr. Spiff Carner, amateur photographer. A fanciful little man with a Nikon camera and a Walter Mitty imagination. An accidental siting of a classic automobile will lead him on a short trip ... through the Twilight Zone.

The World is Upside Down (and in B&W)

52Frames2022 Week 01 "Self-Portrait"

In a world that has turned upside down, there are two things you can bet on. One, I will never quit talking to almost everyone I see. (The curse of a former radio personality.) And two, my better half Janet will never be far away from me. For that, I am very blessed. For this week's photo I used Janet's magnifying makeup mirror and quickly discovered that I had more hair in my nose than on my head. After getting over that shock, I placed the mirror in front of my computer monitor with a screensaver photo of Janet and me. I kept the self portrait and mirror in color and converted the remainder of the photo into B&W. Then I ... hang on a sec. Okay, Janet just told me to take a breath and quit talking to the computer monitor. Gotta go. Thanks for listening.

Monday, January 3, 2022

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12.31.2021: 2022 ... Bring It On! Happy New Year!

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12.30.202: Foggy, misty night. So I decided to take a closer look with my flashlight.

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12.29.2021: Holiday problem #7: There is not enough room for all your relatives who come to stay with you.

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12.28.2021: Quick "Drive-by Photo Shooting" in Dallas, GA. Okay, I did stop for a few minutes. I know better than to be taking photos while I drive. If I did, I would definitely put my phone and sandwich down before trying something so dangerous.

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12.27.2021: While I walk (at a very leisurely pace) the trails at #kennesawmountainnbp, others like to jog or run. This is my impressionistic photo of a runner today who zoomed past me.

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12.26.2021: I can't believe it. The day after Christmas and this bird is already displaying a red heart for Valentine's Day.

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12.25.2021: The calm before the grandchildren storm.

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12.24.2021: I’m grateful to have the freedom to celebrate Christmas. To our Armed Forces past and present … Thank You.

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12.23.2021: The reaction you get from Austin when you mistakenly show the Christmas classic "Die Hard" instead of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

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12.22.2021: Sunny day, blue sky ... caught them both in this doe's eye.

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12.21.2021L: "You better watch out

You better not cry

You better not pout

I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town"

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12.20.2021: After the rain, streams create their own artwork.

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12.19.2021: As I tell my grandchildren ... "Look both ways before crossing the street to attack your prey." 353/365

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12.18.2021: I noticed that at least one trail at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park was decorated for Christmas. Nice!

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12.17.2021: Happy 2nd Birthday to ME ... and to all my beautiful and handsome siblings! Love, Jenny.

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12.16.2021: My buddy Brad tipped me off to where I might see a few deer. (Like I have that problem.) So here are a couple shots. If you look closely at the first photo, you can see tons of those pesky gnats flying around her face. And if you look closely at the second photo you might see a reflection of me in her eye as I was pretty close. Or, it could be the reflection of a tree ... or a bush ... or an alien from a distant planet ... 350/365

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12.15.2021: Bird, bird, bird ... bird is the word.

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12.14.2021: Early morning frost on our fence. Not on our pumpkin.

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12.13.2021: Glanced in my side mirror today and noticed that somebody left around $100,000 in the parking lot.

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12.12.2021: Quick question. When did you spend your first Christmas away from home, and where were you? For me, it was 1971 in the beautiful building on the far right in this photo. No, it is not a prison. Although, there was no escaping Shemya Island. A tiny 2-mile by 4-mile rock in the Aleutian Island chain. Shemya was about 200 miles from Russia and 1500 miles from Anchorage, Alaska. If I remember correctly, I worked the overnight shift on Christmas eve. Eavesdropping on the Red Menace was a 24-7 job.

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12.11.2021: Storm front passing through our neighborhood around 1:30.

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12.10.2021: Old Marietta Cemetery. Headstone reads: "The fairest flower of the earthly sod ... has gone to beautify the house of God."

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12.09.2021: Drop the needle on a licorice pizza ... because, "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." #MariettaSqauare

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12.08.2021: Tired of vultures surrounding the moon and chasing away passenger airliners, I finally called upon the German Luftwaffe to patrol the airspace over our neighborhood.

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12.07.2021: Magically, Corgi Christmas decorations are popping up in our home. This one suddenly appeared on my framed piece of artwork used as the cover of one of the "Best of Randy & Spiff" CDs. Artwork by two time Pulitzer Prize winner (and great guy) Mike Luckovich.

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12.06.2021: "December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy."

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12.05.2021: "Look around ... Leaves are brown ... And the sky is a hazy shade of winter"

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12.04.2021: Break on through to the other side. Go Dawgs!

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12.03.2021: Guess who is 7-years-old today? Run, Forrest, run!

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12.02.2021: Last night's sunset as seen in our neighborhood.

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12.01.2021: For you do-it-yourselfers who "stuffed" yourselves on Thanksgiving, please remember the local small business owners who rely on you to help keep them afloat.

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11.30.2021: One of our favorite locally owned and operated "carry out" places ... Italy's Pizzeria in Marietta. As soon as this Covid mess settles down a bit more, I'm sure we will be dining in.

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11.29.2021: Marietta Square crossing.

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11.28.2021: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... on the Marietta Square.

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11.27.2021: On the 18th day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... 18 vultures roosting ....

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11.26.2021: A parliament of colorful owls is watching over downtown Kennesaw. KSU students created the owls in their two-dimensional design classes. Between 45 and 55 owls will spend November perched around town.

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11.25.2021: Since it was just Janet and me this year, we had to cut back on our Thanksgiving dinner. The deserts are on another table. Happy Thanksgiving! Only kidding. Eight adults, four grandchildren.

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Sunday, January 2, 2022

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11.24.2021: Janet is a real stickler when it comes to Thanksgiving traditions … like using her grandparent’s stove to prepare the mouthwatering meal … and wearing the special dress her grandma donned when family and friends arrived. Janet even believes in starting the cooking at 5 in the morning, just like back in the day. Okay, okay … this may not be completely true, but I know one thing that is true … we have many, many reasons to give thanks again this year. I hope the same is for you. Happy Thanksgiving!

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11.23.2021: I was commissioned by a friend in (insert the state you would like to make fun of) to create a piece of art for his small gallery. He wanted something that would draw a crowd, spark conversation and leave the patrons confused about exactly what the work portrayed. Hopefully, this will do the trick.

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