Wasn't That the Girl's Name On Boy Meets World?

Like I said, I've been getting caught up around here from being away for a week, but the clouds were just to super duper neat-o for me to stay inside Saturday. I think what really convinced me was having lunch with Jeff. Like a sucker, he had to work, so I figured the least I could do was rub it in his face. Literally. The least I could do. To be fair, he probably deserves it for throwing cats.

Anyway, took a drive up to Topanga (see?) Canyon State Park for a hike to Parker Mesa Overlook. It was a really nice hike. Six miles round trip with a lot of up and down so I could get a nice lather worked up in and out.

The overlook is melt-your-face beautiful with a panoramic view from downtown to the bay to the hills of Malibu. Actually, the view all the way up is pretty incredible.

trail ends here

looking the other direction

I even got to see some wildlife. Three deer on the way in, and four on the way out. And a scorpion to add an element of danger (not really). The only bad part was the two young ladies that showed up at the overlook a few minutes after me gossiping about which boy is the hottest. Puh-lease. Annoying.

I also got my first chance to use my new intervalometer for this time lapse video. I think I got pretty lucky. I didn't think the clouds were moving anywhere near fast enough. This is about 900 shots at one second intervals.

Topanga Canyon Time Lapse from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

The rest of the gallery (including some pretty cool panos) is here.

Tour de Tuesday

Matt and I have been meeting up on Tuesday nights so he can avoid American Idol. Generally we just grab a bite or catch a flick or watch some Flight Of the Conchords or just hang out and generally be awesome. Never before did this involve any amount of exercise beyond opening and shutting a car door, but a couple weeks ago we went for a bike ride down to Manhattan Beach to grab dinner. Justin was supposed to come too, and we'd turn it into a photo op as well, but he bailed. Somehow we managed to get along without him.

I had been trying (unsuccessfully) to think up a rig to attach my camera to my bike. If you look at the pic below, you might see the moment of inspiration finally arrived.

Pumping air. Sadly that air was little help in stabilizing Matt's
loose rear wheel. He could use some Heavy Duty maintenance.

We got inspired by some NASCAR highlights on SportsCenter, so we figured I could just screw my camera into my dSLR GorillaPod and last the GorillaPod to the bike frame with duct tape. Genius? You decide. Here is a closer look at the handiwork.

My idea was to do some time lapse movies as I rode my bike around the strand / town. Per the yooz, the first few didn't turn out great. The bike is just too stiff and the uneveness in the road transfers right up to the camera resulting in a jittery, motion sickness inducing video. I was able to steady it a little better once we got down to the smoother Strand, but it's still a little jumpy.

Strand Bike Ride Time Lape from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

I'll have to build some sort of isolation system for it this summer. I was also thinking of getting one of those 3rd wheel trailers and securing it to that. Most importantly, I think I need to waste a lot more time tinkering around with this. We had a pretty good time, and I got a little more practice with my new fast lens. Even though it's a little washed out and a little out of focus, I liked this one of Matt.

Hi there.

It shows how great portrait shots can be with a lens like this. The shallow depth of field really emphasizes his face (not usually a good idea with Matt, I know) and blurs the background.

I'll post a couple more pictures below. Everyone enjoy the rest of the weekend. And Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. And Mom's go ahead and get your drank on for some extreme relaxation. You deserve it. Slow your roll.

I estimate that roadie was going approximately a brazillion (thanks,
Matt) timesfaster than me based on the image blur. I did the math.

I thought this one was kinda cool. You might disagree.

Saw Kate outside the new pub.