Sunday Still - The Open Road

Man, this was a fun challenge! Because I am just a big kid at heart with a lead foot, I associate the open road with fast cars and no speed limits!

I haven't had a ticket in years but as a teenager, I lost my motorcycle license at age 17 and had to wait a year until I could reapply.

I have owned lots of fast stuff, Kawasaki's, Yamaha's and Honda's but my favorites were my Mustangs that my Dad helped me rebuild.

I owned two different '66 mustangs and a very, very fast '68. It needed a bit of body work but the engine was a spotless 289 with all the bells and whistles...

Which brings us to my photo this week... I saw this about twice a month...lol

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well! http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

This weeks challenge was tough as we have had the hottest week on record all summer here in Ohio.

I took Andrea and Elise to the park on the off chance that we could spot some clouds and we got lucky as the wind blew some in that day. They later turned into a big rain storm, so we took shots of the pretty clouds...

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well. www.andreabakerdesigns.com

Sunday Stills Four Elements!

The challenge this week was the four elements.... Fire, Earth, Air, Water and a fifth element if you could think of one. Many suggested Love as the 5th element. The challenge was an extra challenge for me as I have been swamped with shows and teaching my Magic Camps.

Andrea had a great idea for the challenge and set up a couple of bowls with water, some rocks (earth), a candle (fire) and feathers (air). Great idea and setup. I took a few shots and then added my passion (Magic).

The dove flapped her wings and blew out the candle....so much for fire...LOL

Make sure you check out Andrea's blog as well. http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills Fences!

Been a crazy week around here! I just finished 2 weeks of Magic Summer camp and my 40th B-Day is this weekend!

The photo is from a very old cemetery in Tennessse. I love the look of the old iron fence and gate and the perspective makes it look much longer than it really was.

Enjoy!

Sunday Stills- Toys

Wow! Where to start? As a full time professional magician, I get to play with lots of toys... They say you can grow old, but you can be immature your whole life.... or my favorite, I can grow up or I can be a magician.... I have a large collection of Cups and Balls (3 cups & 3 Balls) My wife thinks I am special....lol

The Cups and Balls may be the oldest recorded magic trick and can be seen in the Hieroglyphs on the pyramids in Egypt. I have taken a shot that I like to view as a chaotic mess... I have Cups made from wood, copper, brass, plastic and aluminium. I have a couple of sets over a hundred and fifty years old. all in all, about 35 or 40 sets total ( I have a few duplicate sets).

Be sure to check out my wife's hotoblog at http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday stills - Nuts....

This weeks Sunday Stills challenge was "Nuts". This wasn't too tough to figure out for me. As a magician, I am fascinated by the old scam or con called the "3 Shell game". One of the oldest cons around, the shells are made of walnut shells and you have to guess which nut shell is hiding the little pea. I have a large collection of the different walnut shells that have been made just for the purpose of separating some fool and his money.... My favorite set are the ones pictured here. This set is made from black Walnut shells (some of the hardest shells to get perfect when making your set). Andrea bought me a set for Christmas one year that are made to look like turtle shells and are a damn good replica even though they are made from a wood resin.

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well. http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills - Texture

I love texture and when on my trip to North Carolina recently, I stopped on a dock right outside of Kitty Hawk.

As a professional Magician, I love rope and saw this bit of rope coiled on the dock and had to get a shot. The texture was perfect, old and worn like a good piece of rope should be.

I am also a big fan of reptiles (snakes, lizards and turtles). I have a healthy respect for the the poisonous snakes in our part of the world.

This rattle snake has beautiful scales and patterns and you can see the texture in and on his body.

Be sure to check out my wife's photo blog as well!

www.andreabakerdesigns.com