Yoga Instructor. Yup I Have a Job!

Glen Ellen, California


 Last week, on a Tuesday morning before the sun had risen, I stepped in front of a room full of yoga students for the first time as a teacher. The back of the bicycle seat had been let go by my instructors, and I was on my own. It was awesome, and humbling all at the same time!

4th Street San Rafael, Shot with Canon G11

I think that being a teacher is a real calling. Most people who end up in a yoga room for the first time, and subsequently stick with the practice become amazed at the impact in short order. Some, me included, get so jazzed with the whole thing that they want to teach. When I decided to stop sailing (you can read about why I stopped sailing by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom) and go to college, my initial thought was to become a high school teacher. I love to teach, and instruct, but getting involved with the another bureaucratic organization turned me off huge. I've backed off on the high school teaching idea since. 

An Incrediable Piece of Film Making and Photography

San Rafael, California

My spring semester at Dominican University of California began about 3 weeks ago. Since, I've been buried under a deluge of reading. Just this past week I was assigned reading Plato's Symposium in one class, and then  Plato's The Trial of Socrates in another. This material simply can't be skimmed. Brutal, but fascinating! Speaking of fascinating, the below film clip is simply stunning and inspiring. Enjoy!


DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

CC

PS: I lifted this off of Chasejarvis.com who is a professional photographer, and a real guru.

San Francisco and the Golden Gate Photo ExpedItion

San Rafael, California


Yesterday was beautiful condition here in the San Francisco Bay Area to exercise my digital photography skills. Admittedly novice skills, but skills non the less. I mean how is one to become a better photographer? You gotta get out there and snap some pictures! And so I did. Here a tiny sample of pictures I took with my Canon G11, and then retouched in Aperture 3. At the bottom of the post I provide the link to the full Album of photos in my Picasa Web Album. Please let me know what you think!

Fort Cronkite Beach

 I spent about three hours hiking and driving around, snapping away as the light conditions changed. As the sun set, the fog started to appear creating some really cool conditions. What a joy. Click here to access my Picasa Web Album where you can you see all 286 photo's.

CC

Racheting Up the Creativity

Williamstown, Mass
Scheduled to head back to California in a Week


My latest creations!

Shot with the Canon G11

Bricks wondering where his ball got off to

Peace Out!

Blast From the Past

My First Sailboat. A Helms 25 on Lake Tahoe in 1997

CC

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2011

Williamstown Mass
Mission? Visiting Friends
  

Snowshoeing in Williamstown Mass 31 Dec 10.  Shot with Canon G11

 For us lucky living, a new year is upon us. I'd have to say 2010 was a pretty kick ass year. Much has changed for me over the past year. Recall a year ago today, I had just arrived in Naples, Florida after my crossing from Grenada. You can get caught up on that situation by clicking here. Life continues to evolve as it is supposed to.


New Years Day is when many folks start thumping away at this years resolutions. That is how it should be. At the beginning of the year is when major rubber is applied to life's helm, steadying up on a new direction and then minor course corrections throughout the year to keep moving forward. But sometimes a new direction takes awhile to steady up on. The point is, it's a good time to reevaluate and make a commitment.

Breck on New Years Eve 2010. Shot with my Canon G11

 Last year is when I altered my life's direction substantially. I trucked Christa to California in June, and entered Dominican University of California in August. Now, I have minor course corrections to apply as I continue to study and transition into a new occupation at some point. All is well with me, and I've no regrets with my altering of the sailing life. I love living in the San Francisco Bay area and see myself settling out west for a good long time. I can't think of another area I'd rather live other than Austin Texas. So that is the skinny from Massachusetts on the 1st day of 2011.

Blast From the Past

Me, Jill and Lynn in Honolulu 1995

The world lost Lynn to cancer in 2006. We miss her.

CC

New York City and More Digital Photo's

East Village, NYC

I'm wrapping up my short visit to NYC, and pushing on to the Berkshires of Mass tomorrow. I shot some more pictures today. Here is a small taste.

Empire State Building

Washington Square Park is just around the corner from my brothers apartment. It is ringed by New York University in the East Village, and is about as New York as it gets. I love the movie When Harry Met Sally, and below is two stills from the movie filmed in 1989, and then a picture I took this evening. Notice the Twin Trade Towers framed in the Arch from 89. 

Enjoy!

CC

Christian Allaire Is on the Road

Shelton Connecticut
At my Sisters

I rolled out of San Francisco this past Tuesday for a smooth month on the east coast. I'm be visiting family and friends during the period. I've used my sisters house for a storage facility for as long as I can remember. Living aboard a boat creates issues with space obviously. Over the years I've accumulated stuff I just don't want to part with.

As I mentioned in my December 10th post, I've always loved taking pictures. I built up quite a library of old school photo albums from days past. I'm now taking digital pictures of all my pictures and archiving them in the cloud and on Facebook, as well as on my MacBook for further back-up. It's been great fun to skulk through the past. Kind of gives you a check on how life has gone thus far.

I created the below slideshow in Apple's iPhoto 11. It really is a test run to see how it turns out. If I like it, I will make some more shows chronicling some other events in my life. How you enjoy!

Capt Chris

More on Digital Photography

San Rafael, California

 My interest in photography actually goes way back to when I was very young. My pop bought me a Vivitar 35MM camera as a wee lad.  I remember my photography class in 7th grade at General Wayne Middle School, named after "Mad Anthony Wayne" the famous Revolutionary General. We took pictures and developed them old school style with the photo paper and all the chemicals in the dark room. It was really cool. The self portrait I did still hangs in my parents house in Florida.

I am disappointed with myself that I didn't take photography in terms of my sailing voyage more seriously. I took many pictures no doubt, but I didn't upgrade my camera until half way through the trip. I just could have done a better job that's all.

Trying to navigate the college school system and figuring out which classes satisfies my degree plan is not easy by any stretch. Dominican offers so much flexibility in terms of degree composition it actually creates a risk of taking the wrong course work. Outside of the fact one class costs about $2500 bucks, it is possible to merrily be studying away, only to learn a month or two before graduation, that your short 18 credits because you took the wrong courses. Even worse, it is so confusing, that much of the faculty can't navigate the system easily, and end up providing bad advice to the student. I'm very lucky to have the Chair of the Humanities Department, Prof Stelmach as an advisor. He's been around the horn.

My whole point with this diatribe is that I learned that Introduction to Digital Photography satisfies my creative arts requirement. Jazzed. Way Jazzed. Below is the course description.

Shot with my iPhon4 @night

I've struggled a bit about what to do with this blog. I've considered shutting it down as the original intent was sailing oriented. But I've decided to just keep on rolling as I keep on rolling. It is a wonderful archive. With my digital photography class coming on next semester, all hands can expect a ton of pictures to be posted. So maybe the blog will become more like a PhotoBlog.


Rookie photographers may learn something as I learn and post stuff. Stay tuned! Below are some recent images added to my iPhoto collection.

Canon G11 in Panorama Mode. Shot December 2010

iPhone4 using Hipsmatic App

Canon G11 @ GG Bridge Overlook

iPhone4 using Hipsmatic App. That's Charlie

Circa 1999. California Highway 466 where James Dean died in 1955

November 2010

Capt Chris....ashore smooth