Occupy --The last sign in the park-- a new year dawns

Happy Holidays everyone!  A new year comes, 2012.  Some say it's the end of the world.  End or not--I will keep shooting and shooting spider macros and learning more about spiders.  2012 is no different then 2000.  And we all know how that went.  I will also post events that my lens captures but don't get me wrong because of the Occupy photos and videos--I am a freelance journalist/photographer and NOT here to write a political blog about my views.  I will post what I photograph and experience and to some degree that alone should show you what I believe.

Back to macro basics-- since I got my D7000 I have a load of new images I need to post. Until I get some stuff done first I will not be able to post as much as I want too.

"Foggy building UFO"
I shot this the night we covered Occupy Portland closing.  The parks were closed and fenced off, they seemed cold and smaller without all those people.  I will put more pics of that night up soon but suffice it to say as photos below show, little actual damage was done to the parks by protesters.  I was really amazed at how cleaned up the park was and how little impact the demonstration seemed to have.   The turf is replaced every year anyway--and it nearly did not look that bad.  I expected far more visible damage.  I encourage anyone who is interested in the Occupy situation to not just see it on the news and then judge the parks as being "trashed".   If you actually seen it for yourself you may well not agree with what some media outlets said about things.  I don't agree with all the varied and sometimes differing opinions we heard down there but I think it is an important right to protest and speak your mind to the government and the world.

 And people say I take too many pictures!  I don't know why there are 3 dishes and at least 5 security cameras on this building.  I snapped this shot while riding the Max transit line and only this side of it is visible.  One thing everyone should remember-- there is no such thing as not being photographed.  Sometimes people also get mad at me for taking a picture with them in it.  Almost always this is because they happen to be in the photo--not because I want to put them up on line or have a picture of any particular person.   In this day and age, when everyone has a cellphone with a camera and security cameras everywhere-- no matter what you are going to be photographed weather you know about it or not and weather your like it or not.  I ask when ever feasible but sometimes people over-react and asume I am photographing them.  I understand the fears people have, but please don't take it out on photographers!  I say this--if you don't want to be photographed--don't go to a public event such as Occupy Portland!  I respect the wishes of people who say they do not want to be posted or photographed and have proven it many times.  Clearly--many people do not.

"HAM RADIO OPERATOR" --this is my station--KF7DFP-- this is NOT a CB or those family radios.
I have not been talking much on Ham radio because I have been busy and I have power supply issues, but I am a licensed technician class radio operator.  These are my main radios.  A Kenwood 2M all mode TR9000 (Left) and A Radio shack TRX-10 (right).  I also often use my portable, the VX-7R, 6m, 2m, 220 and 440Mhz transceiver with very wide TX/RX.  My call-sign is KF7DFP and I usually listen on 144.2 USB 2M SSB.  And on 10M 28.388-28.4 USB.

 This is me and my new D7000.  Almost 2 years saving to get this camera. It's not only a full 14bit 16.1 MP DSLR, it's also a full functioned 1080P video camera with pro inputs and other awesome features.

 I have not seen this many birds in a while!   I shot this from the Max in Portland.

 Some Details of a spider I found.  She is also at the top of this post.   I have yet to look up this spider exactly.  She was one of two that I found in a restaurant.   They repelled down after ballooning into the wrong place.  I photographed them and then released them in a better spot.

For these shots I let her walk on my bed but in future shots I will be shooting some spiders against a new background to show just how much I trust spiders and why people should not be so afraid of them.

 This little spider was fast but my camera and I were faster and I got some cool shots of her before letting her go.  I have been taking pictures of spiders through the winter and trying to find out more about the some species that live through the winter.

 The size of this spider next do a quarter.

 Abdomen and thorax details.

 More details, I can get even closer and more detailed then this with some of the new macro setups I have been testing.

 The start to all our travels, this is the Max transit system.  Two lines run through Portland and a couple other lines run to other areas.   A bus ticket will get you a ride on both buses and this electric train.

 A Fall spider--she is building one of her last webs but may live into December if she does not get too cold. 

 Another shot of the same spider, she's a bit cold now but just a little sun and she will make repairs to her web.   Spiders are born knowing how to make perfect webs, but over time they also learn how to make better/different ones and save time in repairs.  This is the same species that shocked the scientific world when they built webs without gravity in the space shuttle. This was done after some experimentation on the part of the spiders but successful.

This was quite a find.  My wife is holding up a heart shaped peace of a water melon which incredibly naturally seemed to fall out of the melon.  I know it looks cut on purpose or with a tool, but this was a total accident.

My wife holds up the heart shaped melon.

 "The Portland Building UFO"
The night Occupy was doing a vigl for loosing the parks, there was cold fog and it made for some awesome building shots.  I don't know why this building has such huge spot lights on it-- they are not strong enough to be able to see the ground. 

 Lit by the same huge flood lights powered by portable generators, the 2 previously occupied parks are now fenced in.   I have many important pictures I will eventually post on this site of that night once I get them ready to post.  The parks were as I said, in really good shape and had I not known what had gone on there just a couple of days before-- I would never have guessed and wondered why the parks were closed down and fenced off!

 Fences completely surrounded the downtown parks when we were last down there.  There was almost no visible signs of any gathering of people.   It was almost spooky.

"The Last sign"
After photographing the parks from many angles which I will post soon on this site looking for any sign that there had been anything going on at the parks-- I finally found one sign that remains.   Somehow the Fall leaves had covered it up or something and thus it was missed by cleanup crews and those who helped cleanup the Occupied park when they left.   Giving the amount of security, fences and lights-- I think it is amazing the sign was there.   They probably spent more money on fencing off the park then they will actually need to "fix it" after all the "damage" was done.   I was told that every year the turf has to be re-done anyway due to mud build up and leaves.   I am glad that the Occupy movements are happening and people are standing up for there rights and the rights of the oppressed.  People should pay fair taxes and there are many things about our society that seriously need to change.  The people who work the hardest do NOT make the most money--and the criminal justice system is a mess--two name just two major problems I want to see changed.