Happy New Year V

Continuing my erratic tradition of marking the new year by posting photos of strip clubs.

I'm stil disappointed that I missed last year: I had every intention, and even had a club picked out, and meant to take the photo for months. But then the time just slipped away, and January happened way before I expected it. Sometimes things are like that.

This is the Platinum Gentleman's Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's on Flamingo, but significantly off the strip; the Las Vegas Sun says it "arguably holds the titles for the tiniest and divey-est strip club in Las Vegas. The single-room club is more or less the size of a fast food drive-thru, and its faded facade, cheap banner and generally abandoned-looking appearance do bring the word 'front' to mind." But I saw it at night, and it is indeed open for business.

Coincidentally, Penny and I were staying at the Platinum Hotel, which is also a couple of blocks away from the strip on Flamingo, but absolutely nothing like this establishment. Instead it's a really nice non-gaming hotel that was originally built as apartments; the suite we had was bigger than our condo, for a third of what a small room in New York would cost. We would absolutely stay there again.

Ice Storm

Freezing rain: dangerous and damaging, but also reasonably photogenic.

I took the Ricoh GRD4 for a walk this afternoon. It's small, has good macro performance, and if I'm going to fall and land on top of a camera, it's the one I would pick. This isn't even the first time that I chose it for dangerous duty, and hopefully that's a role it will fill for years.

Sunken City updates

More from Sunken City:

The Edges of Sunken City (project): matthewpiers.com/P/Edges

Sunken City II (blog post): matthewpiers.com/B/131221

Sunken City Gallery (49 photos): matthewpiers.com/G/SunkenCity

Working on my project about Sunken City has been an interesting experience, and I'm still trying to sort out all of the other material that I gathered along the way. I have a few more sequences that I still want to put together, but much of that will need to wait until January.

Fuji in the Distillery

A little digression that I discuss in more depth: matthewpiers.com/B/131218

Pacific

Things have been quiet here recently, but I like to think that still waters run deep.

Not sure if that's true, but it's nice to think.

I've been working on photos from my most recent trip to California, which was a really special way to spend a long weekend. Rather than post them as I work through them chronologically, I've been thinking of them as projects from the very beginning, and editing them in larger batches. So soon I'll have a few blog posts to put on matthewpiers.com/B, a project entry for matthewpiers.com/P, and a lot of out-takes to put here.

Sure, Why Not.

As Garfield once said, with the noose around my neck I might as well jump off the horse. So here's the third take on this same photo.

This one went through DxO Optics, which has had two significant updates in the three weeks since I originally took this photo. The tones in this one are very different, both with more contrast and more control, and the original title of "With Grey" no longer applies. It's also worth opening this image and the last one in individual tabs and flipping back and forth quickly; the optical distortion correction is subtle but unmistakable.

And I promise that I won't post this photo any more.

With Grey #2

This photo has been put through Lightroom for its raw conversion, creating an image that I prefer over the cruder version that was done with in-camera raw development and Snapseed on my iPad.

Normally I'd move on, and maybe I still will, but today I updated DxO Optics to work with my Ricoh GR files once again.

With Grey

Call this a first draft on this photo, since I did the raw processing in-camera and the rest of it on my iPad.

Power

At Toronto City Hall for the first two of three planned meetings to remove council-granted powers from Mayor Rob Ford.

Robbie Bobbie

At city hall for the great bobblehead event. And no, I didn't get one – where would I keep it?

Rob Ford Smoked Crack

I was having lunch just a few minutes away when a reporter tweeted that police were putting barricades across the doors of Toronto's city hall.

Maybe the protest will have better turnout tomorrow.

Lateral Move

As a departure from doing long exposures on escalators, these were taken from moving walkways.

And Finally…

The last of my photos from Las Vegas – it's time to move on.

(Although I may have just one more in a couple of months.)

Amplified

As much as I like photos as printed physical objects, there's a lot to be said for backlit displays.

Carpet Cleaning

Carpet Cleaners to your door for $10.

I never overcame my amazement at just how empty Las Vegas is.

Excalibur

The Chapel at Excalibur, conveniently located between the Pizza Hut and the souvenir shop.

"Celebrate your fairy tale romance with a regal Las Vegas wedding. The Chapel at Excalibur offers you a variety of wedding packages in the grand, traditional setting you’d expect from a castle! …Wedding packages start at $199"

(I was married in a castle three years ago today.)

Twenty-Nine Dollars

It's the "And Up" that gets you.

Assorted Las Vegas

Assorted Las Vegas