Lunch with the Birds

The other day, while walking along the beach, I came across a group of birds during lunch time.  The birds at my beach (which I think are seagulls, but all I really know is they're not penguins) don't usually like getting too close to strangers and seem mildly uncomfortable when I try to take their picture. In those two ways, they are like my wife.  But on this particular day, the birds were mostly too busy with the work of catching their lunch and gulping it down to pay too much attention to me.  So I got to play and take their pictures while they feasted and it was one of the best things I did all week.

Hunting for food

Seagulls eat Clams

Seagulls eat Muscles

Seagulls eat Starfish

I had no idea seagulls ate so many different kinds of food!  I think I also saw one eating a crab, but I didn't get a picture of that.  So apparently seagulls eat pretty much anything that moves and is smaller than they are on the beach.  (Clams and muscles technically do move right?)  I had so much fun watching the birds eat and play that I almost felt like one myself.

This Week's Bucket List Additions 3

-Become a Baron. Difficutly rating: 2 out of 10
     Specifically, I want to become a baron of Sealand, described by some as the world's smallest nation. Sealand is a fascinating story, I think.  Apparently, during World War II, England built several sea forts to defend themselves against German air raids. (Sea Forts!?  This story is already awesome!)  After the war had been won, England abandoned these forts, several of which sat in international waters outside of any nation's borders.  In 1967 Major Paddy Roy Bates began living on one of the forts, broadcasting pirate radio and declared the fort his own nation, the Principality of Sealand.  He created his own constitution, flag, anthem and even minted coins and stamps.  The English courts eventually declared they had no jurisdiction over him after the navy tried to charge him for firing warning shots at them.

Sealand Coat of Arms

     Years later, Sealand even fought a 'war'.  While Major Paddy was away on vacation, a German 'businessman' and some of his Dutch henchmen invaded Sealand and took Prince Michael hostage.  Major Paddy returned to Sealand, subdued and imprisoned the invaders, and even forced Germany to send a diplomat to negotiate for the release of the prisoners!  To this day the German businessman claims to be the rightful king of Sealand in exile.

Picture of Sealand from Wikipedia.org

     And how do I plan to become a Baron?  Because Sealand is so small, it has very few citizens or businesses to tax. (Their only real business is a high-security internet hosting company that leases space on the fort.)  Therefore Sealand sells nobility deeds online to help raise government funds.  You can become a Lord, Lady, Baron or Baroness of Sealand for only £30!  Maybe for my next birthday, I'll become a Baron!


-Sell a Photograph to Someone I Don't Know. Difficulty Rating: 5 out of 10
     I think that all of us have an artist inside.  We all try to express ourselves through song or dance or blog sometimes.  Everyone tries to share something beautiful or true that they have seen on occasion.  Certainly we all create, whether it's a story or a sweater or a picture.  And with that, we all have some need to be recognized as talented or unique or entertaining.  For some that means we want others to laugh at a joke we have crafted.  Maybe others want people to wear their sweaters or marvel at the Magic: the gathering decks they've built.  I want a stranger to see one of my pictures and find it valuable enough to buy.  I've started asking local libraries and coffee shops if I can get some of my pictures on their walls, and hopefully this will lead me to my goal.

copyright Jeff Howick 2011

-Visit Every Continent. Difficulty Rating: 8 out of 10
     I've always loved to learn, and what is travel if not learning about the world?  I want to learn about other cultures and places and I want to do it firsthand.  I want to experience the great diversity and beauty this world has to offer and share some of my culture with others around the world.  I'm sure it will take awhile to visit every continent, but this is certainly one bucket list entry where the journey is more important than the goal.  My ultimate goal is to learn about the world and share meaningful experiences with people far and near.  Visiting every continent is just a convenient and catchy way to paraphrase this goal.  Which is why I may also make an exception for visiting Antarctica.

All Four Seasons in the Garden State

Before moving to New Jersey I spent nearly a decade living in the deserts of Arizona.  I went to high school in Phoenix, college in Tucson and encountered very little seasonal diversity during those times.  Arizona is a beautiful and unique place, but all the seasons feel a lot like summer. It rarely snows there and the botany mostly consists of cacti and imported palm trees.  Before I left the desert, I had vague memories of the four seasons from a childhood spent in Oklahoma and Tennessee, but I was not prepared for the strength and vibrancy of each season.  After moving to the garden state, I was completely captivated by the beauty and spectacle of the four seasons; I had to try and capture them on film (or SD card to be more accurate).  I've posted links to most of these albums before, but now that the project is finished I felt they should all be together.  Click the links below to watch my Flickr albums for each season.

Fall: Persephone departs and nature mourns

Winter: Persephone, Queen of the Underworld

Spring: Persephone returns and nature rejoices

Summer:  Persephone, Goddess of Vegetation

I hope you enjoyed the change of the seasons as much as I did.  I think I'd like to focus another series on the four seasons, this time concentrating on the less glamorous phases of each season like dead, brown leaves in fall, dirty snow in winter, sweltering heat in summer.  Because I don't just want to capture beauty with my camera, ultimately what I'm looking to capture is truth. 

This Week's Bucket List Additions 1

I'm constantly discovering new places I want to visit or thing I want to do.   I think it would be fun to keep track of new additions to my bucket list once a week here on my blog.  Maybe it will even help me have better follow through pursuing some of my goals and dreams.  So here are this week's additions:

-Fly around in a Zeppelin dressed in a suit and top hat:  Difficulty rating 6 of 10

I can't imagine why Disney World doesn't have a fleet of Zeppelins to carry people between their parks and hotels.  If you really want to focus on the journey rather than the destination, what better way to travel is there than by Airship?  Airships have the romanticism of hot air balloons, the freedom of movement of helicopters, and the luxury of cruise ships.  Unfortunately zeppelin travel is not cheap or plentiful.  But at least it is possible,   Zeppelin NT offers several flights over Europe and San Francisco.  One day I'll be soaring through the skies in style with no hurry to land.

captured from a highway in Southern California, on our way to a friend's wedding

-Visit Every Town in America: Difficulty rating 9 of 10

When I was in high school, one of my teachers told me, "a lot of people say that America is a melting-pot where other cultures come and they all blend together.  But I think it's more like a salad bowl; each piece of the salad keeps it's own flavor, but together they make something great."  I hear a lot of people talk about 'American Culture' and 'The American Dream', and usually they mean 'my culture' and 'my dreams'.  That's fine, but I think American is much less homogeneous than most people think.  I want to see all of America's diversity and hear each town's story.  America is such a huge, diverse place this goal will not be easy to accomplish.  But even if I don't finish, I think the journey will be well worth it.

captured on a trip to Scranton, setting of the American TV show 'The Office'

- Display some of my photos at a library: Difficulty rating 5 of 10
I love to take pictures, and like most people I love to share my passions with others.  I visit my local library once or twice a week and I always love seeing the new art exhibits.  We all have the ability to make the world better through something we've created whether it's art or science or a child.  One day I'll have my own exhibit in a library and share some of the beauty I've seen in this world with others.

taken on the beach in Sea Bright, NJ

Photo Album of Fall in New Jersey (and New York) 2009

Cutting Back

When I started this blog 77 days ago I made the decision to write a post every single day. I started a blog to help hold me accountable for taking pictures daily and to see if I would enjoy writing publicly. I no longer need this blog to help remind me to take pictures. I carry my camera with me everywhere and almost always find something picture worthy in my day.
I do enjoy writing this blog, but I've found with increasing frequency that there are sometimes other activities I must sacrifice or forgo in order to post an entry for a given day. So I've decided that I would be happier posting less frequently, probably once or twice a week. I hope this isn't too disappointing to my dozens of "fans", but as usual I must follow my heart. I've really enjoyed this experience/experiment but for now my heart and mind are asking me to focus on other activities like talking with my wife or writing Star Trek stories or volunteering. So if you're interested, check in next week and see if I've received my Star Trek uniform from Cheese-its yet.

2 Year Wedding Anniversary

It seems that one of my personality quirks is a deep, unexplainable love for traditions. I love watching Christmas Vacation every Christmas, eating a bowl of chili on the first snow day of the year, and watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. Today happens to be the two year anniversary of my wedding. I've officially survived two years of marriage and here in the house of Howicks we have an anniversary tradition. Each year on May 26th my wife and I take a series of photo booth pictures in front of our door. Have a look.

Nikon D90, Great Success!

I am moving up the food chain. Tonight I transformed all the money I've been saving into a Digital SLR camera. It felt magical.

Our new "piggy" bank

I've been dreaming about this day for quite some time now. When I clicked that "purchase" button, it was a moment of pure bliss. I believe you should always follow your bliss, wherever that may take you. And during the last 2 years, a growing bliss has been burning stronger and stronger with every picture I snap. Taking pictures began as a way to connect with friends and family in far away places, just a way to share a little bit of my life with others. But capturing life's moments and beauty has become an end unto itself, no longer just a means to connect with others.

Before me lies a great deal of learning and undiscovered bliss. There is so much beauty and madness out there in the world, and capturing it on film seems to fulfill something inside me. It feels good to upgrade my hardware, now begins the long, hard task of upgrading my "software".