Going from day to day over the last, I’ve always felt that Las Vegas has lacked something, some indefinable feeling that something is just wrong about the city. It took me until last night, when we were driving past a food stand on our way to the hospital (more below) to precisely pin down what it was: The city is too planned, and this fact takes away the feeling of belonging that comes with many other places I’ve been, both big and small. The city is a straight grid dropped down over the desert; north to south and east to west. There’s a retail park here, a housing development there, public amenities over here and here. I’m not going to admit to a belief in feng shui, but I will admit that Las Vegas feels a little like Minas Morgul at times, that it’s a place which really shouldn’t be.

Back to the hospital: Mariah has had a bad ear infection for the last four days, but took until last night before she would finally go to the hospital and get it looked at. Their resident ear and throat specialist referred to it as ”all funky” and sent her home with a prescription for ear and pain medication at a cost (so far) of almost two hundred dollars. What’s wrong with America that they can’t have universal health care like oh, everywhere else? It was sickening that the first and last things we were asked were, “Have you insurance?” “How would you like to pay?” Why wasn’t it, “Where does it hurt?” It pissed me off no end that this country can be so backward at times because I come from a country where the most pressing medical question isn’t how the patient will pay!

She’s home on the couch, sick, now.

I took a few photos of Caira yesterday, to prove that can still do it. I’m not going to say what I think of where my photographic skills stand, but I will say that I find that I’m still in love with the fifty. I have this horribly afflicted love for bokeh and the lens is still perfect, if cheap, for it.

Last, but not least, I’m an uncle, as of Thursday night Friday morning. Ella Mary Grealish was born at 0200 on May 16 2008, underweight but otherwise healthy. Nice one Jen.

Mariah helped out with the water hose and positioning - putting a mist behind the leaf scattered the light in a really lovely manner.

Leaves falling…what does it symbolize beyond something falling? To me, not much. Symbolism and hidden messages I will certainly try for in my landscape and infrared work, but detail work like this I attempt for the sheer joy of shooting it.

In Ireland, it’s April, and with it comes showers, flowers, leaves, bright sunshine, serene foggy mornings and the promise of summer just ahead. Morning walks out to Salthill and up as far as Dangan with my camera in hand and snapping away greedily. Happy days.

Come April in Las Vegas and I find that I’ve barely shot anything in three or four months, beyond a few Clanton gatherings. Even at those I’ve anaemic at best. Ten photos here, fifteen there. Nothing inspiring.

Why?

Boredom, lack of interest, lack of time and the feeling that it’s become a chore. Family events are for me the worst, no offence to you or yours, Mariah. I’m expected to get an excellently lit photo in bad lighting and great poses out of people who barely listen to me at the best of time. I don’t even have a flashgun, because I managed to break it and leave it sitting in limbo at Sigma.

I don’t have the opportunity to go out and go walkabout around my neighbourhood with my camera, no matter that there’s no end of beautifully decaying old buildings in the area.

Snapping Caira and the pets is only enjoyable to a point, and so here I am.

Bitch, whine, etcetera.

I know I need to pick up my interest again, so I’ve decided to take part in Solo Photo Book Month. I have the writing ability, I have the typesetting skills to put it into a book and I have the photographic know-how.

Beginning with tomorrow, I will try and get one post-worthy photo during a weekday and two on weekend days.

I’m constantly tinkering with my website and adding new functions, or removing unused functions, as needed. My newest addition is Shadowbox, which is replacing Lightbox.

A shocking change, I know.

The upswing of the change is that Shadowbox scales the image to fit the browser windows, which gives me the ability to Display Images as God Intended, which is a feature that Lightbox lacked. Behold:

/glee