The Philip James Photography Blog

Hanging in there...

2010-03-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Life can really suck and be better again I’m hoping…

Wow, well for the past few months I’ve been dealing with just a major amount of stuff concerning my brain illness and brain cancer glioblastoma, trying to getting better and well, all that craps.

Found that by 3 day hospital thing about in 6 month before, where they couldn’t find anything, was able to fine what the deal was in January by being in the hospital again of being glioblastoma finding the wanted to operate ASAP for the big crap causing me brain parts having to be removed. Great!

So after my surgery, I’m doing the 6 weeks of radiation and 6 weeks of pulls which my freaking insurance cover and would have cost me of $70 thousand I didn’t have and a very generate friend starting paying for but I was able to get in Social Security and California medical in 2 weeks of applying which is obviously amazing but concerning my crap they were, oh no problem, we are going to approve your application immediately…because it obvious that I could only live about a year or slightly more anyway. Great!Doctor I saw up in Irvine said she works with just my types and took me to explore what new things might be working for the best new things. My other doctors here also have been great and amazing as well for me. That is awesome.

So I can’t really work but still will continue taking pictures and make the best out of my life for the moment and hopefully will be for long future. Of course…THAT’S THE GREAT PART!

So this is could be a story for all the crap…However I’m still alive and making it the best parts for me… That’s the great part for me and can’t really bitch about it when I consider doing OK…considering!

:-)

501's on Vacation

2009-04-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well...the Red Inn on the west side of town offers the perfect respite to the "hustle" of the Commercial Street shops and crowds. Located closer to the beach and a little out of the way the Inn is a high end, "treat yourself" stay. Dinner there is generally first rate and we make reservations for at least one night's eats. Views are second-to-none in town as the rooms and dinner are at the water's edge.

Even your favorite pair of Levi's find themselves taking a little time off here...

A Little Diversion

2008-12-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

From a recent trip to South Africa...

On the wide open plains of the Kruger National Park, South Africa, we happened upon this large, lone bull. He seemed to be going somewhere, as he detoured around us slightly, wary of our clicking and whispering. When the brief encounter was over, we both went on our way, perhaps, I’d like to think, better for the meeting…

This photograph has been accepted into the juried exhibition at the San Diego Art Institute.

The Dory

2008-09-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

You'll see a lot of boats in Provincetown. Perhaps the one I love most is this little dory. She's been around for a while and over the years I captured her in quite a few settings. Of all the captures of her I like this one best. I think it highlights her sheer simplicity and proudness.

She is a classic.

2008-08-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Vicarious Vacation

"Yet far from being out of the way, Provincetown is directly in the way of the navigator, and he is lucky who does not run afoul of it in the dark. It is situated on one of the highways of commerce and men from all parts of the globe touch there in the course of a year." - Henry David Thoreau

From PTOWN 2008

We hopped on the Fast Ferry in Boston for the 1 1/2 hour ride to the very tip of Cape Cod. Provincetown was our destination. The little village that is part tourist mecca, part artist community, and part small town fishing village. This is where the pilgrims really landed.

We arrived at the wharf and were greeted by our driver, Peter, that took us for the short ride to our charming Bed and Breakfast, Admirals Landing which he owns with his partner Chuck. After settling into our really cute room a little, we walked down to pickup our bicycles. Bikes are big in ptown for those staying there for a few days or a week as everything is just few minutes ride from anywhere else and you don't have to deal with parking or avoiding the many tourists on foot while driving.

Our yearly trek there has come to be about just experiencing the ambience of the place. There are many galleries full of new and wonderful art. The restaurants like the Lobster Pot and the Red Inn are world class eateries. There are long stretches of peaceful, protected beaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore . Biking trails wind through the forest and sand dunes providing a wealth of options for those wanting to get out and "do something" or just relaxing by the water or visiting the attractions in town. One of the best ways to experience Provincetown is just to be at the beach and hit your stack of summer reading.

In the twenty plus years I have been visiting ptown it hasn't changed much. That’s a good thing. You won't find a McDonalds or a Starbucks but, you will find the famous Spriritus Pizza (home of the best white pizza on earth) or the aforementioned Lobster Pot, home to world's best fried clams and baked stuffed lobster(go ahead and order the 2 pound size!). YUM! If you get up early enough and amble down to the wharf you’ll see the fishermen readying their boats to head out in the fog to get the day’s catch. Later that night you can catch a drag show at one of the cabarets or just stroll down Commercial Street with the crowd perusing the many shops.

The galleries there are first rate. Of course there is a wide selection of Cape Cod Art as well as remarkable new work by really amazing emerging artists. Provincetown is home to PAAM, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, of which I just became a member. They have a wonderful permanent collection and an exciting new gallery space and facility.

We did have a thunder storm sweep through one night when we were there, which I just love to experience. It’s nice to be someplace where they actually have weather versus Sandy Eggo, not that I'm complaining!

We ended our trip as we started it, back on the ferry (maybe a few pounds heavier due to the lobster just dripping butter!). Perhaps that's one of the reasons Provincetown feels a "world apart" to me. Isolated by the water out in the distance and possessing all the spirit and life to make it seem it's own world.

PTown 2008 - A few “different” shots this year…lots of flowers, only one boat(thank goodness!) and a drag show I’ve wanted to see forever…”Miss Richfield 1981” (That’s her name!)

Visit Considering Provincetown here.

Launched!

2008-07-09T18:23:00.001-07:00

Considering Provincetown, my new web site has been launched!

After looking around for sites that sell or even have "quality" landscape pictures (photos) of Provincetown, well they aren't to be had. I think I've got some pretty nice and unusual stuff after visiting there for so many years.....I love the place. I'd like to show it to others and I think there is a market for it. It's a famous and well known place and for good reason....It's beautiful and "a world apart", for me at least.

So, I'm offering my prints online for sale through Imagekind, which is a Print-on-Demand service or POD. They specialize in printing and framing high end stuff and take care of order fulfillment and shipping. I've dealt with them enough that I know they can't be beat for quality in this field, so, I feel good knowing I'm partnering with them on this adventure.

The site is at about 60%. The funtionality is there but I have to get more gallery pages up and have to fine tune it some, add more content. It's fun and I'm enthusiatic about for it now. I hope you enjoy...

CONSIDERING PROVINCETOWN

HP Upline Sucks!

2008-06-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I thought, "What a deal! All you can eat...errr, upload for $4.99 a month."

So after signing up I get a notice saying that HP Upline was taken down for an unspecified length of time. Hmmm.

After a few days it was back and everything seemed to be ok. Despite frequent software troubles which included lockups, slow response on the PC while the service was running, after a restart of the program things seemed to be fine.

When suddenly, my backup disappeared and started over again at 0% backed up. I was up to about 75% (50GB) uploaded. What happened to everything that was uploaded before?!?!?

This was about 2 weeks ago. I called HP support and after creating a service ticket I was assured my backup was still there but that there was "a syncing issue".

Several emails later still no joy. Another call by me this morning resulted in them telling me they had no records of my case number and they would create a new one and somebody would be calling me "soon".

Needless to say I can really recommend this service to anyone. It just sucks!

3 WEEK UPDATE: The latest call I made to HP to get information about my case was that there was "no news" and that this was the reason no one had contacted me. I was assured they were "working on it, didn't have a resolution to the case and didn't know when there would be one."

Great! What a wonderful backup service! Furthermore, I'm wondering who is accessing my files, I mean if my service connects me to a new account willy nilly, who's to say somebody else wasn't connected to my account?

HP Upline SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS! Don't use it. IT BLOWS! Hp Upline Doesn't work, their "support" is MIA. HP Uline is CRAP!

Ok, now I feel a little better. Did I mention HP Upline is CRAP?!?!?!

Lots going on!

2008-06-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

Accepted into the Juried Regional Show at the San Diego Art Institute Provincetown Dunes - Awarded: Honorable Mention. On display from June 6th - July 6, 2008. Reception on June 13, 2008 6-8 PM18 x 24 Framed Archival Inkjet Print, $450

A NEW SOLO SHOW AT:
Cafe on Park

From May 23 - July 3, 2008
Great food, a unique atmosphere and images by Philip James Photography. Presented in this year’s show are a wide variety of images ranging from grand landscapes to macro (close-up) photography of places as diverse as London and Cape Cod to Joshua Tree’s high desert. I hope you enjoy the show this year! Located at 3831 Park Blvd. San Diego, 619-293-7275
Click here for a map

Also, six photographs have been acceptedinto the juried show:
2008 San Diego County Fair Exhibition of Photography.

This is an international exhibition of black and white and color photography. Open from June 14 to July 6, 2008 Del Mar, CA

Slide Show for ImageKind

2008-04-27T08:02:00.001-07:00

This is a test of Sprout Builder's new gadget embedded into a blog. Seems to work just fine and the publishing is really easy, as it can be done directly from the Sproutbuilder.com website.

Cool!

2008-04-07T21:20:00.000-07:00