Darth Vader in red

storm trooper

Tusken raider

Trade Federation battle droid

medical droid

I remember going to the first Star Wars movie with my brother in 1977. The movie theater isn’t there any more but the memories are. Since then, I’ve seen all of the Star Wars movies and been to three exhibitions. The most recent exhibition is the  current Star Wars exhibition at the Tech Museum in San Jose, CA, that is currently in progress. It is a good exhibition but I have to admit I was disappointed that none of Padme Amidala’s costumes from Episode 1 were on display.

Here are my favorite photos that I took at the exhibition. I’m still not sure if I like Darth Vader in red…

This has been a favorite photo of mine for a long time so I thought I’d share it. I love the concentration in his face and the tension in the muscles.

It’s April again so it’s time for my submission to the Nikon Small World contest. This year I’m submitting a photo of a stentor. This is a classic pose captured in early micrograph drawings with the spiral mouth surrounded by cilia (looks like fur) and a long row of bead-shaped nuclei. This stentor is naturally a blue green color. I don’t actually expect to have my photo selected as a winner or honorable mention because I prefer to take micrographs of objects and with a microscope that beginning microscopy students would use. Modern microscopes and techniques produce much sharper and more detailed images than my microscope can produce. You can see past winner galleries here. The photos are amazing.

Went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors yesterday at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. I was again reminded that much of what we consider modern art and technology is not new. Both the art and technology are impressive even by today’s standards.

Last time I went to a special exhibit at the Asian Art Museum, photography was not allowed. There was a new policy this time, photography was allowed but no flash photography. Nearly every person in the exhibit was shooting away with a camera phone. I think people taking photos with camera phones just became impossible for the museum to prevent. I didn’t see a single point and shoot or DSLR camera. I even opted to leave my DSLR home as I knew tripods would not be allowed and without one, I can get better low light photos with my iPhone.  The Asian Art Museum special exhibits are typically in a pitch black room with only spot lighting on the exhibits.

I was fortunate enough to have one of my images in the top 50 at the California Photo Festival 2012. I’ve had a image in the top 50 two years in a row now. This is a photo of a mountain lion (aka cougar, puma) taken at Zoo To You in Paso Robles.