You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Las Vegas’ category.
Unfortunately, I feel obliged to do a post about the responses I have received regarding the chosen photograph for the Las Vegas photo walk. While I truly expected that there would be people who were not happy with the photo I selected, no matter what photo was selected, I did not expect some of the truly ugly feedback. First and foremost, this gathering was exactly that – a social activity with photographers. To spend time with people who have something in common. The contest was secondary – as could easily be noted by the few images that were actually submitted for the contest.
But let me set the record straight for those that have commented.
- The only people I knew prior to the walk were my family, and they were not eligible to win the contest.
- Photography is subjective. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect that.
- While on the subject of respect – I did not attack you personally with the photo I chose, so I am unsure why it is warranted and ‘okay’ for you to attack me personally.
- I also did not threaten anyone, so I am unsure why it is warranted and ‘okay’ for you to threaten me.
In the end, it was a great experience and I look forward to more in the future. I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at the chosen photos from all the walks around the world and I hope you do as well. There has not been a lot uploaded to the Flickr site, I hope to see more up there soon.
The Photo Walk on Saturday went really well. It was a bit hot and humid, but nowhere near the 113 that was predicted. The breezes from the surrounding storms were nice but it gets frustrating when my hair keeps blowing into my mouth.
Thanks to all of you that participated, I had a great time meeting everyone and am excited to do it again. Next time we will probably do the strip, but I am open to ideas. I will still organize, but just let me know where you might like to go. I didn’t take many shots myself on Saturday, it was so much fun watching everyone else having fun – including my family, which I believe everyone did meet.
Here is the group shot, the atmosphere and typical of what I actually did shoot on Saturday.
Las Vegas Photo Walk Group
Temp hung around 100 most of the time
Sparkly
I have been waiting for the opportunity to use this…..think I might be using it a lot more often going forward.
One day until the next Photo Walk
Last year was the Scott Kelby’s First Annual Worldwide Photo Walk, and I was a participant. It was in August last year, and it was a total blast! I met many people and even went on another photo walk with some of them. Then life got busy, as it often does, and the group did not get back together again….which did make me a little sad.
This year, the sneak peek email for NAPP members went out a few days before the official announcement for Scott Kelby’s Second Annual World Wide Photo Walk on Scott Kelby’s blog and I eagerly anticipated signing up for the Las Vegas walk. Even better – I signed up to be the leader of the walk. I really am very excited to meet even more people this year. Unfortunately, as a leader I am not eligible to win any of the really HUGE prizes – over $11K worth now for the world wide winner. But, I actually look at this opportunity to meet some great people and have a good time. Another unfortunate circumstance – it is the middle of July in Las Vegas – today (2 days before the walk) it is going to be 110+ outside. That is one of the down sides of living in Las Vegas.
Regardless, this is going to be a ton of fun. There is a free concert on Saturday night on the 3rd Street stage on Fremont Street – Jefferson Starship. The concert starts about two hours after the photo walk ends, giving us enough time to socialize and cool down after the official walk. The photo below is from the 2008 walk.
I am going to start scheduling a photo walk about every other month. I think it is a great opportunity for people to get together, shoot some stuff and do some chimping. Even my teenagers are into it.
I truly enjoy finding the little details that make Las Vegas just that much more than the glitz and whirring noises. With a little time invested, you can begin to notice really interesting things. Not only is this town full of beautiful architecture (which I will share with you from time to time), glitzy shows and LOTS of tourists – but there are many that call this town home. Some are human, some are not.
This pair hang out in the big water feature at the Bellagio. They can usually be found along the wall on the Strip side of the water feature – too hot in the summer way out in the middle of the ‘lake’. So, yes there is more to the Bellagio water feature than the water show. Don’t get me wrong, I could spend a whole day watching the water show. Not only is it spectacular to watch, but it also causes the air temperature to drop during the show (especially nice on a summer evening when it was 105 during the day).
I am always amazed at what you can find in your own backyard..
This guy was hanging out in our backyard this morning, Praying Mantis Jr. (he may very well be fully grown, he just looks so small to us)
There are many types of this insect, I read somewhere once that the Praying Mantis is the “Ogre of the desert”. I dunno, doesn’t look much like Shrek to me…except maybe the color.
Backyard Visitor
One of the things I remember about growing up in Minnesota was the abundance of local restaurants – the ‘mom and pop’ kind. I remember my parents taking me to a small, out of the way mexican restaurant where the kitchen was not blocked off and you could hear the family ‘discussing’ the right way to do cook this or clean that. Even now, it brings a little smile to my face. We drove out of our way to go to this joint, because the food was just that good.
In 1999 I moved to Las Vegas, and the chain restaurant is king here. Now, don’t get me wrong I enjoy eating at a chain restaurant just as much as the other guy. But, I found myself really wanting the intimate feel of a ‘local’ eatery, one were the menu was all their own, one with heart and soul poured into it. This type of gem is rare on my side of Vegas. There are a few that I have found that I will travel across town – because the food is just that good. My family and I had found a place for our Italian fix, but it closed a couple of years ago and we just had not found something that was worthy enough to take its place. Until last night.
A restaurant just opened near to my house, in fact we walked there for dinner last night. And it has all of what I have been looking for. It is intimate, feels like a family kind of place, and the food was awesome! The breadsticks were to die for. We have not had such good Chicago style pizza, since being in Chicago – as evidenced in the photos.
I ate the whole thing
Maciano’s is located on Russell Rd and Grand Canyon – I highly recommend it. As it turns out, yesterday was day 1 for them. We are excited to go back and try more things, including what looks to be an absolutely awesome tiramisu (which I am highly confident will end up as a blog post here including photo).
Maciano's Double Dough and Chicago Style pizzas
I guess you could say that there are quite a few Las Vegans who enjoy riding free in the cool air. This shot was taken from Robber’s Roost in the Mt. Charleston area. It is a hike up into an area where it is believed that thieves would come to hide out…..kinda spooky.
But, the best part is actually when you turn around and are coming back down. You get little peeks at the road through the trees – and the locals who are out enjoying an afternoon drive.
A view from the side
Welcome to my blog. I always find it interesting to look at things from a different perspective. That is what this blog will be all about, looking from the other side. I live in Las Vegas, NV. This is a great place to look at things from a different side. When most people think about Las Vegas, visions of bright lights and gambling tables come to mind. But, there is so much more. Some of the most beautiful displays of mother nature live here – Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire being only two of them. I subscribe to the thought that there are three sides to Las Vegas; the tourist side, the mother nature side and the local side. Yes, people do live here. We shop at grocery stores, our kids go to school and we do other things besides hang out on the Strip. My goal with this blog is to share all of these sides and much more. I look forward to sharing my views from the other side with you.
