Monday, November 28, 2011

Chicago Tardis 2011 - Doctor Who Convention

This years convention was a bit strange because actors canceled and others came in to replace.  In all, I enjoyed another good year.

Originally the character River Song played by actress Alex Kingston was to attend.  For those who do not know her work, she was very popular in the TV series ER, as Dr. Elizabeth Corday.  She was sexy then, and sexy now.  Alex had to cancel the convention because she was given a role in the TV series Upstairs Downstairs, episode 2.1 staring in 2012.  Though a disappointment for me, I also have to be joyful in that she has another important work in her life, beyond ER and Doctor Who, that should carry her for some time.  From sitting with the actors, talking to them, shaking hands, you begin to understand their world.  Acting is one thing, and being able to sustain a recurring role or find other roles to act seems to be the challenge.  So kudos to Alex.  Perhaps we can meet some other time.

Alex was then replace by the 5th Doctor, Peter Davison (I believe he was a replacement and not originally billed to show - I do not remember now).  Then the character Tegan played by Janet Fielding and Nyssa played by Sarah Sutton were to show.  However, Sarah could not make it at the last minute because of some urgent family matters.  Later that weekend the character Adric, played by Matthew Waterhouse was booked to take Sarah's place.

I am not going to go through the list of actors and writers who attended.  There are many who return each year and whom we always enjoy.  Some of the new actors this year included Beth Chalmers (photo below) who was very charming and engaging, Andrew Hayden Smith, and Mark Sheppard.  Beth is in the Big Finish audios of Doctor Who that my son collects.  Mark Sheppard, played Canton Everett Delaware III in a couple episodes of Doctor Who, and has been in dozens of other TV series such as Supernatural, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, and my son's and my favorite, Burn Notice.

Beth Chalmers signing a photo for us.

Andrew Haden Smith speaking in the Grand Ballroom.

Mark Sheppard with Wes and Nick.

Sunday brunch with the actors has become a favorite for us.  We are able to choose which actor to sit with because of the member level we are at, and enjoy their company while we eat and talk about all sorts of things.  This year Nick and I chose brunch with Peter Davison.  This is probably the 1st year we have gone for "the big one", top dog, main character.  We did so because first, we never had brunch with Peter Davison, and second, because he has a roll in "Law and Order - UK" which Nick and his mom enjoy watching.

Photo after Brunch with Peter Davison

As usual, Nick and I spent money in the dealers room buying all things that were Doctor Who.  You cannot help but spend money at these types of events.  We obtained a lot of autographs from the actors, photographs with the actors, attended their discussion panels, and of course attended the annual masquerade show.

Pre-Event Gathering with Supporting Members

Discussion Panel with the "Chicks Dig Time Lords"

Peter Davison's Discussion Panel

Does this really need a caption?

Intro - Peter Davison
End of Opening Ceremonies

Matthew, Janet, and Peter's Panel

Photo with Ben, Beth, Jason, and Nick of Big Finish

Big Finish Discussion Panel

Fan in Costume - New Series Character

Masquerade Night

Masquerade Night

Masquerade Night

This convention is for the family to enjoy Doctor Who, dress up as you favorite character, to have an escape from the day-to-day.  There may be times when the actors or audience forgets that this is a "family event", but it is all in good taste.  Everyone has fun, especially the kids.

If you are interested in attending, the Chicago TARDIS convention is held every Thanksgiving weekend near Chicago.  For additional information you can go to their website at:  www.chicagotardis.com

Hope to see you there in 2012!


Click on this line for my copyright.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Carlson Oxbow Nature Park - Hammond IN

I often drove by it and wondered what was back there. Going down the frontage road of 177th you are consumed getting from Kennedy to Cline, because this is typically why you use this road. As you drive down 177th you here 80/94 above you, you see a small industrial park, and a bunch of trees. However, you never take notice of much else.



The Kennedy side of this nature park was updated 2011 with some new pavement and what looks to be future off roads.  After the construction was completed it seemed more inviting to travel down 177th just for fun, rather than just a means to cross from Kennedy to Cline.  So I did just that.  I tried to figure out how to get back in there.  I knew something was back there because I had heard people talk about it.  Could I drive through, or did I have to find a hiking path?  Eventually I parked in a lot off 177th, near a path entrance.  I took my camera with and walked in.

Very surprisingly there was a very nice board walk zigzagging over the wetland.  Very well constructed, and wide.  The local growth framed the board walk as you walked through, sometimes giving you a peak into the wetland.

The trip seemed long going in, probably because I was shooting photos.  The trip back was very quick.  This is not a path to get a lot of exercise on.  Here is another map showing the paths and estimated distance.


Click on the photo to enlarge. (Same with the other photos.)



Once you get through the board walk onto land again, the area opens up and becomes more scenic.

The red barrier in the background separates 80/94 from the park.

There are several things I enjoy about this nature park.  First is that even though it is in a residential and commercial area, it is still secluded between 80/94, Kennedy, Cline, and the Little Calumet River.  When I was there I saw very few people using the park.  There is also a makeshift bike path that follows the Little Calumet River between Kennedy and Cline.  Off the bike path into Little Calumet River is a short dock to walk out on.  If they were to pave the bike path I would definitely consider biking up there instead of driving.






When I was there I ran into a crew from Hammond who were keeping up the nature park.  I talked to them for a while and found out this is mostly volunteer work.  As they keep improving the paths, planting more plants, and adding some structures, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep it all maintained.  From what I saw, they are doing a very good job.

This nature park is a very good start for NW Indiana.  I had commented to the people maintaining the park that it is beginning to remind me of the Morton Arboretum in Lisle-IL, but different and to a much smaller scale.  The hope of the park is for people to volunteer, helping out with the maintenance and development.  In return they are willing to put up a sign with your name or club, in the section you are wanting to help maintain throughout the year.  I believe they said one of the Boy Scout troops in the area are doing this.

If you get a chance please check this nature park out.  It is small and interesting enough to keep you engaged for a couple hours.  There are places to sit and relax, and you can sit on the edge and look over the Little Calumet River with peace and tranquility.  If you feel like volunteering some time and energy, go on a Saturday morning and look for the people working the grounds.  They are friendly, willing to answer questions, and would really appreciate the help.  If that is not your cup of tea for a Saturday morning, go anyway and enjoy.

For more information you can go to this website:  http://www.hammondindiana.com/carlson-oxbow.htm

Later I hope to have a map plotted of the trail to help you get around.



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You can see a categorized thumbnail of all Towle Theater related blogs by going to StreetPhoto.Me.

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The "219 Music" and "219 Artare owned trademarks of Wes Bushby.

Monday, November 1, 2010

My Short Fame

I think I just proved they will let anyone who pays into these contests. The following two photos were entered into National Geographic photo contest.  The first one was selected and published on their website. (National Geographic has taken down the site.)

Between Hebron and Kouts on Rt. 8, September 17, 2010

W 1800 S in La Crosse, September 17, 2010

I am a amateur photographer. I began shooting film around 1968 as a child using my parents Kodak 127 camera, and a Pentax. I wish I new enough back then to keep the negatives. I took a lot of photos of experimental aircraft at the EAA convention. I bought my own 35mm SLR in 1971, which was a Sears / Ricoh TLS. I loved that fully manual camera with the built in TTL meter.

The one thing I do not do today with my digital photographs is to alter them in programs like Photoshop. To me the digital age allows you to get away with shooting anything, and correcting it later. The above photos were not altered. This is how they turned out, shooting against the sun, using the camera settings to get me there. If you have been around developing, you will understand the aches and pains at times of enlarging, dodging, filtering. You really need to understand the makeup of photography to get what you want. Film gets you there. Digital does not necessarily do that.

Currently I own a Mamiya 645S, Cannon EOS 650, and my first ever camera bought with my own money, the Sears / Ricoh TLS. The digital camera I use is a Cannon EOS Rebel XS. The photos above were taken with the XS.

Through a divorce we gave up another Mamiya 645S (brand new), an Omega 45D, a Nikon F2 that was bought in trade for a worn out Cannon AE1. We also gave up my families old bellows 120 camera. The photographer in the family was the wife. Unfortunately as things turned out, she is no longer doing her photography and I have been just plugging along.

As I find new things around NW Indiana, and revisit the old, I will be shooting with the XS for ease of uploading to this blog. I sort of feel I am getting lazy, not using my film cameras. But the point in life is to have fun, and right now the XS is fun.

Update: Today I do use Lightroom, and when needed Photoshop. I have upped my game in camera gear in order to handle low light situations, shooting at the highest ISO I can at times. My son now has the XS camera. I loved that little think because it was light weight. Sometimes I wished I still had it readily available.

This blog post was written before I chose to take the deep dive into digital photograph, which was December 27th, 2011, at Paul Henry's Art Gallery in Hammond, Indiana.



You can see a categorized thumbnail of all my blogs by going to StreetPhoto.ME.

At the bottom of this blog post are five buttons to click on: E-mail this, Blog this, Share to Twitter, Share to Facebook, and Share to Pinterest. Please take advantage of them and share this blog post with your friends.

The "219 Music" and "219 Artare owned trademarks of Wes Bushby.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Loyal Plastic Robots




Bob Sherman, Lead Vocal, Guitar, Bass Guitar
Pete Calacci, Lead Guitar, Vocal
Chris Wander, Keyboards, Vocal 
Ed Fell, Drummer, Vocal
Danny Mac, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Vocal






You can check out their past performances that I photographed at StreetPhoto.ME. Near the end of the page is a strip of thumbnails for those events.



Video Clips

Here are a few short vids of The Robots performance.  Additional vids can be found on in the blogs above.































Friday, October 29, 2010

Bushby Family . . .

I am going to dedicate this blog entry to my relatives.  I don't get to see them much.  Facebook has kept us in touch, and I get to see some of the cool stuff they do.  Here are some photos from cousin's daughter Emily Bushby. One cool girl. The cookies she made for EAA 2023!!!




Photo of Emily and my dad taken at the seaplane base, circa 2014.



This photo Emily took of herself. Seems like a long time ago, circa 2013.




My cousins David and Harvey, taken by me about 1968 I think, at EAA convention when it was in Rockford, IL.



Next photo is from my cousin Gwen, taken 3/2012 . . .


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You can see a categorized thumbnail of all my blogs by going to StreetPhoto.ME.

At the bottom of this blog post are five buttons to click on: E-mail this, Blog this, Share to Twitter, Share to Facebook, and Share to Pinterest. Please take advantage of them and share this blog post with your friends.

The "219 Music" and "219 Artare owned trademarks of Wes Bushby.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Copyright

As stated at copyright.gov, "Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture." Images and photos are additional items of intellectual property. You do not have any legal right to use other's intellectual property.

So, to help better explain my copyright intent:

My blog entries and their content are not public domain, and are under the copyright of Wes Bushby, Wes Bushby Photography, Wesley Bushby, Wesley Bushby Media, Wesley R. Bushby or other aliases that may be found in blogs or any other source. This also extends to any creative work I may put up or may be found on Facebook or Instagram, videos on YouTube, news publications whether in print or electronic, in advertisement, (just to name a few) or any other type media where information is exchanged.

All of the above (and any other source not listed) are protected by copyright law, all rights reserved and some rights granted to others as outlined in the numbered paragraphs below.

To put it simply, anywhere my creative work can be found under any alias is copyright protected. So, get permission to use. If approved, you will be granted a license, limited use, or other use.

To avoid a lot of requests that I will generally give favor to, I will grant limited use of a photograph(s) and its content in my blog of my creativity under the following numbered requirements. This does not include granting use of any creative work in my blog that is not my own. When the numbered requirements below do not apply to my blog, it will be noted early in the blog. Editing of my creative work is not allowed, which includes cropping or removing my watermark or digital signature, without first obtaining my permission. Note that the use of the word "blog" extends to all media where my work may be found.

1. If you are an individual or part of a group mentioned in writing in my blog, or have a photograph of you in my blog, AND you intend to use it for home use only, then there is nothing else you have to do. Feel free to copy, download, or print. NOTE: Home use means it will be for personal use only, and not for distribution, advertisement, or any other venture where the original creator of the work would normally expect credit and compensation; Home use means for your first hand personal and noncommercial use only.

2. If you are an individual or part of a group mentioned in writing in my blog, or have a photograph of you in my blog, AND you intend to only post a copy on your personal website such as Facebook, Instagram, Myspace, or put on a website or other social media, you may do so as long as adjacent credit of my original work is given back to Wes Bushby, and whenever possible a hyper-link back to WesBushby.com. NOTE: This is not for other distribution, advertisement, or any other venture where the original creator of the work would normally expect credit and compensation; This is for personal and noncommercial use only; Re-printing other than first hand personal use is not allowed.

3. If you are a Society or Organization (organizations using *.org) mentioned in a writing in my blog, or have a photograph of you in my blog, you may copy, download, use on a Society or Organizational website only if you provide adjacent credit back to Wes Bushby, AND a hyper-link back to WesBushby.com. NOTE: This is not for other distribution, advertisement, or any other venture where the original creator of the work would normally expect credit and compensation; This is for Society and Organization non-profit web page use only; Re-printing is not authorized unless otherwise approved.

4. If you or your work are shown in my blog and you are in the Arts, whether it be a band or individual musician, a theater group presentation or improv, an artist, even another photographer (just to name a few), you have permission to share the blog(s) or any part of its content, including photographs. This includes my Roller Derby blogs. I ask that you provide adjacent credit to Wes Bushby, and wherever feasible give a hyperlink back to the blog which it came from, or to StreetPhoto.ME. Those in the arts and Roller Derby are given permission to crop out the watermark or digital signature in the photograph and to crop the size to fit your needs.

5. This copyright page has also been protected by law. Many people go as far as to state their copyright verbiage has a copyright. I do not care when it comes to this page. Why reinvent the wheel when in the end we are saying and wanting the same thing. Feel free to copy this page, these statements, and change to your name. Do realize I am not a lawyer. I am only presenting what the law already protects, and I am giving limited licensing to certain individuals, groups, and organization that I will support, in order to save time for all involved asking for permission.

If you do not fit into any of the above numbered requirements, please make a request for permission. The granted permission may or may not include additional requirements. Please make contact through WesBushby[at]gmail.com.

Copyright protection of original work is a law. Please respect and give common courtesy to the original creators of work. It is better to be friends than enemies, because it will cost you time and money for not first obtaining permission. I am sure if you follow the guidelines of copyright law, you will find most, if not all, creators of original work will be willing to extend permission with few, if any, limitations. Do, however, be prepared for potential licensing and original creator compensation from me or any other original creator of work in response to a request. And, get your checkbook ready if you have not asked and have not obtained permission!

If in doubt, ask, because that part is always free. Enjoy the blogs!

Last note, check back periodically for my latest copyright. Last updated 3/29/2024.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Hot Air Balloons



More hot air balloons, the lighter than air aircraft that everyone enjoys! Another late blog, photographed in 2010, and put up today September 27th, 2016. This was a trip to Detroit to see one of my customers who was having a problem. On the way there, somewhere around Kalamazoo (might have even been Kalamazoo) I saw some these balloons north of I-94. I was not sure what they were doing, but wanted to investigate. Glad I did. They were doing some king of run, and one leg had them steer to a target to drop their flag on. It was cool to see them dodge each other, get position over one another, drop, swing their flag with a weight on the end, and let it fly to the target. After, they had to do a full burn to get out of there because other balloons were right behind them, let alone trees if front. This first photo was the drive to Detroit, near Cline Avenue. I took that photo to start my journey, and boy did it end up a fun one.

Enjoy!













I was zigzagging all through town trying to find where these puffs of art were diving at. I finally got through the maze of streets.
















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You can see a categorized thumbnail of all my blogs by going to StreetPhoto.ME.