Kelly Verdeck Photography

Photo Friday: Carnival

// June 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Photos, Travel

Everything being a constant carnival, there is no carnival left.
-Victor Hugo

I get the feeling from that quotation that Mr. Hugo knew very well how easy it is to be a cynic. And if he thought that was true in the 19th century, I can only wonder what he’d think of the world today, where cynicism has become a competitive sport. I’m certainly not above it–in fact, I tend to think anyone who isn’t a cynic isn’t paying enough attention. But I also think it’s an area where a bit of self-delusion is perhaps healthy. Dwelling too much on all the reasons that exist to be cynical, you start to forget that there are still reasons to be otherwise!

Photo Friday: Sailing the Seven Seas (Lagoon)

// May 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // Photos, Theme Parks, Travel

I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
-Walt Disney

Walt was an interesting guy, from what I’ve read of him. Like everyone, he had his highs and lows, his good traits and bad, but in the end it must be admitted that he was one of the real visionaries of his time. Whole industries sprung from the man’s mind, and even other industries adopted a lot of the values and strategies he came up with. As I’ve said, I’m as fond of the Disney Company as I am of any other large multinational corporation (which is to say, not very fond at all) because I despise the pursuit of profit above all other considerations, something of which I think all large companies are guilty in various degrees. But Walt himself.. he said he didn’t build Disneyland (and, by extension, Disney World) purely for profit, and I believe him.

Wow, this entry has nothing to do with anything, does it? Ah well. I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday weekend!

A walk around the world.

// February 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // Personal, Photos, Theme Parks, Travel

I’m pretty fortunate to be a big kid at heart, and to live in Orlando. What better place for a big-kid-at-heart than Walt Disney World, right? We typically have annual passes, which is great for us and the kids. This past week we had some family visiting, and we went to EPCOT (sorry, as a long-time Disneyphile I refuse to un-capitalize the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow!) for a walk around the world. Where else can you stroll from Norway to China, cross over a footbridge to Africa and Germany, meander through Italy to the United States, then into Japan… As an aspiring world traveller, it’s always been my favorite park. We actually want to decorate our bedroom in a vintage travel sort of motif, and one element would be photos taken at EPCOT that don’t LOOK like they were taken at EPCOT. Like these, perhaps!

Glimpses of Old Florida.

// July 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Photos, Travel

Since this is ostensibly a photoblog at heart, I should post more photos so it’s clear that I’m not just a geek who likes cameras, I’m a geek who lugs his camera around with me and even uses it now and then!

Over the weekend we took a drive up to the Tangerine/Mount Dora area of Lake County in north central Florida.  These days I think Florida has a bit of a reputation as either God’s Waiting Room for retirees or a bright land of gawdy and cartoonish tourist destinations.  Both are true in measure, to be sure–but a lot of the state is still rural, and you don’t have to look too far to find glimpses of what the state was like before it became a destination for retirees and family vacations.

Faith in disrepair--Mount Dora FL

Canon 50D, Tamron SP 28-75mm f/2.8

None more green--Trimble Park, Tangerine FL

Canon 50D, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM