Back in February, Sophie Laurenzi, a high school student in Memphis, TN, wrote me an email to ask whether she could recreate one of my photographs for an art project. She sent me a photo of the finished piece a few days ago; I love it!

Here’s the original photo, which I snapped while in Rangiroa, French Polynesia in 2005:

Great work, Sophie! (and, the expression is priceless)

• Shooting with Jason Bradley in Monterey http://instagr.am/p/EpHcT/ #
• Jason Bradley works the light http://instagr.am/p/EpU8t/ #
• On a photographer's schedule this morning. Yee-haw. #
• Good morning, from Santa Cruz http://instagr.am/p/EqYIr/ #
• 4 Mile Beach http://instagr.am/p/EqefE/ #
• Proteas @ UCSC Arboretum http://instagr.am/p/EqgoV/ #
• Aliens are among us @ UCSC Arboretum http://instagr.am/p/EqlZu/ #
• Alien hive @ UCSC Arboretum http://instagr.am/p/Eqr48/ #
• Eating ice cream, which will power me through the night. #
• Must.. stop.. working. Going to call it a night and get off the computer. #
• Today is a #fail day, in terms of productivity. #
• Finally switched to 2-step authentication in Google. Everyone should do it. #
• Caltrain convo: "I don't remember being in the womb, but I remember remembering being in the womb." I call bullshit. #
• @philswn Sure! Whatever works. I made a video of it about a week ago—might be interesting for inspiration? http://ow.ly/545ML #
• @philswn I used Quicktime 7 Pro to build the timelapse and After Effects' Time Warp to stretch it out. #
• Magic hour in SOMA, SF http://instagr.am/p/ExAzs/ #
• When I clicked "Like" on this video, the YouTube said, "This service is not currently available." #irony http://ow.ly/54dsX #
• The aforementioned ironic service fail. http://ow.ly/i/c7hY #
• Dinner in the Mission http://instagr.am/p/EyyOr/ #
• Buzz buzz buzz #
• I used to have an ankh necklace @ Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum http://instagr.am/p/Ez-y8/ #
• e-ink Nook review. It's great to finally see competition in dedicated e-book readers. http://ow.ly/55bR3 #
• Wow. People derive so much joy from their teams scoring. #
• Just posted a story using Blurb Mobile! http://www.blurb.com/mobile/show/013bfb570 #
• Impromptu meeting with Rich Woulfe! http://ow.ly/i/cc9k #
• Tough Saturday afternoon http://instagr.am/p/E24fy/ #
• Wall pattern @ Out the Door http://instagr.am/p/E3PQC/ #
• @clairebarry Excited to give it a try! I have some feedback—perhaps better suited to an email or web feedback form (can't DM you). #
• Wildcat Peak, Tilden Park, Berkeley http://instagr.am/p/E6VBe/ #
• Farm nightmare http://instagr.am/p/E6Vu0/ #
• OH HAI http://instagr.am/p/E6V7H/ #
• Wildcat Peak hike track http://ow.ly/55BUQ #
• Sigma SD1 priced at $9700 MSRP. Outrage ensues. http://ow.ly/55Cbv #
• Reichmann essay on Sigma's SD1 pricing http://ow.ly/55CeV #
• Discovered Mint Mojito Iced Coffee at Philz (medium sweet). YUM. #
• Why does Firefox keep nagging me to update to Firefox 5.0 Beta for "security and stability?" Beta more stable than v4 release? #
• @johnolilly Looking for the setting. Don't see it, though. I'd love FF5, but it will break some plug-ins. #
• Pam no can haz cheeseburger. #
• Japanese / Thai desserts! @ Na-Ya http://instagr.am/p/E7Jgc/ #

• Panasonic Lumix GF1 Micro Four Thirds camera + lenses and accessories
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Micro Four Thirds camera with 14-45mm lens. $550
    • Comes with: camera body, Lumix 14-45mm F3.5-5.6 lens, battery, charger, ac cable, av cable, strap, lens hood, lens storage bag, body cap, lens cap, lens rear cap, hot shoe cover, manuals, CD, and original box
  • Panasonic 14mm F2.5 Micro Four Thirds lens, with lens cap, rear cap, box. $270 SOLD
  • Panasonic 20mm F1.7 Micro Four Thirds lens, with lens cap, rear cap, box. $450 SOLD
  • Panasonic DMW-LVF1 Live View Finder, with case and box. $175
  • Qty 2: Panasonic DMW-BLB13 Battery for Panasonic GF1 and other G-series cameras. $30 each
• Canon PowerShot S95 digital camera w/box, extra battery, LCD protector (installed), and 4GB Kingston SD card. Good condition (visible nicks from use, and tiny dent in corner). $350
• Qty 1: Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter (from 17-inch MacBook Pro, but compatible with all MacBooks, MacBooks Pro, and MacBooks Air that use MagSafe). $60 each
• Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter with old-style connector (from 17-inch MacBook Pro, but compatible with all MacBooks, MacBooks Pro, and MacBooks Air that use MagSafe). $50
• Motorola MD681 5.8GHz cordless speakerphone and MD61 2nd cordless handset. $80
• ProClip device holder for iPhone 4 (without case—this one). New. $20
• 2GB KIT (2 x 1GB) DDR3 SDRAM Memory Module; 1333 MHz DDR3 PC3-10600 Unbuffered ECC; Pulled from Mid-2010 Mac Pro. $30
• Nintendo DS games:
  • The Legend of Zelda, Phantom Hourglass. $20
  • Castlevania, Portrait of Ruin. $25
• Playstation 2 games:
  • Katamari Damacy. $10
• Playstation 3 games:
  • Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. $12
  • Bioshock. $10
  • Grand Theft Auto IV. $12
• DVDs:
  • Stargate Atlantis, Season 2 (5 discs). $20
• Canon 7D, non-functional body (water damage—bottom of camera only), for parts. $25

For pickup in San Francisco or Mountain View; will ship in USA (buyer pays shipping). Contact me here, if you’re interested!

• Pam made me do it. http://instagr.am/p/EUJWn/ #
• While we're waiting on a bus to the causeway, I thought I'd resurrect this photo taken during a tour of Nasa Buoy http://instagr.am/p/EUKWh/ #
• 10 minutes to launch (which was just cleared) #sts 134 http://instagr.am/p/EUgRx/ #
• Space shuttle Endeavor launch!! http://instagr.am/p/EUhy8/ #
• So many things had to come together for us to make the shuttle launch at the causeway. Thanks to everyone who made it possible! #
• STS-134, Space Shuttle Endeavor launches at 8:56am on May 16, 2011 #canon7d http://instagr.am/p/EU26C/ #
• Haven't really slept in 29 hours. So tired… #
• We had dolphins and manatees in the waterway between us and Endeavor. Has anyone gotten the jumping dolphin / space shuttle launch shot? ;) #
• EndeavoUr, I'm told. I will fix when I can. ;) #
• Download hi-res sequence of space shuttle Endeavour STS-134 launch: http://ow.ly/4WeCy #
• After almost 48 hours, I am going to sleep. Until tomorrow! #
• Worked until 1pm, and then rewarded myself… by working on a video. It never ends! :) #
• @tammyloh That happens to me every day. Sucks! #
• I dedicate this rice plate to Dan Kitchens. @ Formosa Bento House http://instagr.am/p/Ea41w/ #
• @adamnash Where were my friends and family shares?? #
• 2 out of 2 ways out of my alley are blocked by construction. #fail #
• I picked up what I thought was a piece of black rubber from the floor of our office. It was a wet half of an olive. #officecleanlinessfail #
• Some sort of crazy group bike thing going on in Mountain View. #
• Plane on the deck of the Hornet http://instagr.am/p/EgOnP/ #
• Ahhh, Florida http://instagr.am/p/EgPOW/ #
• @ManuKumar headed to Maker Faire this afternoon. Hope to see you there! #
• Wow. Impressed by the tweet volume re: Maker Faire. #makerfaire #
• Pinball machine back @ Maker Faire 2011 http://instagr.am/p/Ei5kt/ #
• Does this count as a verbal contract? http://db.tt/W6fPOAY (audio) #
• @sterlingz may be down in Monterey tomorrow evening #
• Distortion is fun! http://instagr.am/p/El5jM/ #
• @PhilSwn sure! Please put my name on the gif. :) #
• iPhone paypal app sends payments with no options. What kind of transfer did I just initiate? #fail #
• @meen have video of the aggregation? #
• Siphon pot. Purrrty… @ Blue Bottle Café http://instagr.am/p/EmFeK/ #

Here’s a video I made of STS-134 using the 50-image launch sequence shoved into Adobe After Effects. Time warp FTW! (read more »)

[Download Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-134 Launch Poster] (6940 x 5180 pixels, 2.9MB)

Endeavour’s STS-134 launch at Kennedy Space Center was my first space shuttle launch ever, and it was incredible. At T minus 2 minutes, my heart rate became elevated as adrenaline flooded my body. The bright-as-sun burn combined with the thunderous sonic boom (heard multiple times from reflections) was a visceral reminder of how incredible it is that we can shoot people up into space simply because we feel like doing so.

I set up my camera on the causeway and snapped a bunch of images (using a remote, so I could watch the launch using my own eyes). I had so many images of the launch that I put them all together in a poster, which is available to download in high-resolution. Enjoy!

Photos were taken with a Canon 7D, Canon 500mm f/4 L IS, Canon 1.4x teleconverter, Gitzo carbon fiber tripod, and Wimberly head. Exposure was 1/1000 sec at f/11, ISO 320. In the image sequence, the time elapsed between the first image and last is about 15 seconds.

• RT @tonywu: Announcement for trip to photograph humpback whales in Alaska and Tonga summer 2012: http://twu.tw/kscDGq #
• GoPro with Founder/Inventor Nick Woodman http://j.mp/mJOhTU (via Instapaper) #
• Morning pause, en route @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/EEDQY/ #
• Anyone out there in the Bay Area have a funny / cute cat I can take pictures of? #
• @ericyng Saw it. :) #
• I wants a Fuji X100! http://ow.ly/4QTTP #
• The process for getting Form 6166 from the IRS (cert of US tax residency) is broken. Cost is $35 + 2 month wait. #fail #
• Morning rail @ San Francisco Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/EFxPC/ #
• Winning @ Formosa Bento House http://instagr.am/p/EG5eD/ #
• Starting a brand new @crashplan backup; tech support ticket has been outstanding for over 30 days; I'm forced to start over. #
• I continue to suffer from the Fuji ScanSnap's modal dialog box that has Cancel as default. Hit space while typing! Cancel your scan! Wheee! #
• Go, Washington! "Governor Signs Washington State Shark Finning Law" http://ow.ly/4U3iT #
• Just had an enjoyable meeting with @koci. Love his work! #
• "This Mahler isn't bad." -Pam, listening to a recording of Mahler 6. #
• Boo! 2011 Apple iMacs do not support third-party hard drives (like fast SSDs): http://ow.ly/4UDUL #
• @corbosman But the (new) dark side feels so good. #
• Does anyone here in SF have a 77mm ND filter (3-stops or more) I can borrow for a few days? #
• At Davies for Mahler 6. Last concert of the season, for me. #
• Lights @ Davies Symphony Hall http://instagr.am/p/EQ6O_/ #
• Mahler 6 tonight: moments after the flutist flubbed his/her entrance, a dog (in the audience) barked. Totally bizarre. #
• @wooster Thank you for the offer! I'm told that the Vari-ND filter I was going to stack isn't good for long exposure, so i'm scrapping plan. #
• "afraid of the demons he had himself unleashed in his music" (program notes for Mahler 6) http://instagr.am/p/ERTcX/ #
• En route to space shuttle launch with #guragear Kiboko bag http://ow.ly/i/bBFX #
• SFO @ United Red Carpet Club – Domestic Terminal http://instagr.am/p/ESKWF/ #
• Layover at ORD @ Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) ? http://instagr.am/p/ES2so/ #
• 1:30am at KSC @ NASA – Kennedy Space Center http://instagr.am/p/ET7mh/ #
• Saturn 1B @ Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex http://instagr.am/p/ET8lp/ #

• America is bleeding competitiveness | VentureBeat http://j.mp/kw3Pwc (via Instapaper) #
• RT @dane: No caps at Sonic.net! RT @DSLReports: AT&T Caps Have Arrived – 150-250 Monthly Caps, $10 Per GB Overages http://dlvr.it/QN6dS #
• @alexkingorg I vote for a real-world test. #
• Almost every day, I see horns on Caltrain. I vote: best horns on the train! @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/DzanH/ #
• Danger @ San Francisco Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/DzofJ/ #
• Pam, sorta http://instagr.am/p/Dzo43/ #
• @viennateng in NY Times Crossword on April 9! (missed it—very cool) http://ow.ly/4LMRv #
• Another perfect day @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/D06Y6/ #
• Cracked sunspots on concrete @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/D06e5/ #
• @sterlingz more ways to abuse fake tilt-shift. ;) (radial blur in new @instagram) #
• Celebrating! @ Coi http://instagr.am/p/D1qwp/ #
• 5 hr dinner at Coi — incredible food and company! Bonus: we were invited into the kitchen before we left. #
• @gilesshaxted There is a form to do this, which leads to a black hole. #
• @gilesshaxted I've been trying to do this with Wetpixel for some time. Even with inside help on the process, I've been unable to do so. #
• @gilesshaxted I'm trying to merge a "website" and a "company" (both pages). Different than merging "place" and a "page". Both confusing. #
• @gilesshaxted No idea, but I reported @explorerpro for spam and blocked it some time ago. #
• @dog_eats_cat I almost never filter in Instagram anymore. I use a bunch of other iPhone apps! #
• @seashepherd Throwable, magnetic reconbots. You must get some of these. http://tinyurl.com/4x3at93 #
• Squid, at night (Indonesia) #uw #archive http://instagr.am/p/D4bG8/ #
• @Hootsuite hey, guys. Any plan to support Read It Later in your labs space? #
• I'm sneezing from allergies, and have a sore throat from who knows what. Argh. #
• Fab.com design website early invite URL: http://fab.com/p6qv4h #
• I'd love to have an RSS feed to fab.com's popular photo feed #fab http://ow.ly/4O9cY #
• No parking http://instagr.am/p/D593M/ #
• Cool party trick http://ow.ly/4Ontj #
• @kirasw hehehe—totally. one of the creepiest things i've seen recently. :) #
• @hootsuite_help Speaking of … When sending a Tweet to instapaper, what I really want is the link inside of it, not the tweet itself. #
• @johnolilly need link! ;) #
• I am so confused @ San Francisco Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/D7VnH/ #
• Is a detailed discussion about childbirth appropriate for loud office talk? Just wondering. #
• Aztec meets gladiator @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/D8Nyx/ #
• Waiting… @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/D8N4I/ #
• SOMA urban skyline sunset window reflection @ Whole Foods Market http://instagr.am/p/D8U0w/ #
• Mahler 9! Excited. #
• Why go to Mahler 9 if you have a cough??! #
• Updated ReadyNAS Pro to RAIDiator-x86 4.2.17. Hope it recognizes new 3TB drive. #
• Clownfish in anemone, Indonesia. #underwater #archive http://instagr.am/p/D9FJI/ #
• Bumped into Wendy Chien (both in search of macarons) @ Paulette Macarons http://instagr.am/p/D-Xs9/ #
• 3rd time's the charm. I like liquid nitrogen ice cream. @ Smitten Ice Cream http://instagr.am/p/D-fvG/ #
• Me: Why is that face moisturizer so expensive?? Pam: Because it has coffeeberry! Me: (of course…) #
• Unable to expand ReadyNAS RAID volume without deleting snapshots. Cannot delete snapshots in current firmware. Nice. #fail #
• @thondeboer In what unit is cricketChirp specified? #
• Merpati flight crashes in West Papua. I've been on these flights. Scary and tragic. http://ow.ly/4PArB #
• As far as I can tell, iOS -> AppleTV is still magic. #
• @mdgmnas Many other people have had the same problem in the ReadyNAS forums. I opened a tech support case, but it will likely take days. #
• @mdgmnas I have a ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition. #
• Pleased to see Adobe Lightroom using all of my 24 virtual CPUs (up to 1500% total) during 2 parallel exports. #
• @adamnash We were going to see Thor up here in SF, but Pam is asleep on the couch. #
• @mdgmnas Posted case information: http://ow.ly/4PBoD #
• Lots of daily deal sites out there. AppSumo: Daily Deals for Web Geeks http://ow.ly/4PNl9 #
• Andrew Armour tells me that Scar, the sperm whale in Dominica, has been seen again recently and is now blind in his right eye. #
• Mahler 2! #
• Hmm. I seem to have developed a massive headache. Not good. #
• I'm the Computer Man! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51OJr0ee6E #

Me, Michael Schroepfer, John Lilly, Adam Nash

There is a very specific group of Stanford computer science grads who aggregate at Adam / Carolyn Nash events. All of them are off doing incredible things here in The Valley—it always boggles my mind to see everyone in one place.

I’d love to post more pictures here, but it was a baby birthday party, and about 75 of my 78 picture selects have pictures of people’s kids. Look on Facebook for more party photos. ;)

I had an incredible (and unusual) experience tonight at Davies Symphony Hall, where I went to see the San Francisco Symphony play Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 (one of my favorite pieces of orchestral music). I’ve seen it performed live a few times; each time, it’s moved me to tears.

Mahler’s 9th symphony ends in adagio—in the softest of fragmented whimpers—and as the last few notes whispered into existence, I suddenly had a moment of incredible clarity. All of my senses converged into absolute sharpness; I could see, vividly, every detail of the orchestra—the position of every stand, chair, instrument, player—and hear every tiny little creak of audience members trying not to move in their seats. Every bit of my brain was oscillating in perfect harmony, and I finally truly understood the meaning of the word, clarity.

It only lasted a few seconds, but was a moment I will remember for a lifetime. Thank you, MTT and the members of the San Francisco Symphony, for the wonderful performance.

As a side note, I now wonder if some people are able to achieve this sort of clarity during their normal, day-to-day lives. I can only imagine…

• RT @ericyng: animated gif awesomeness http://www.fastcodesign.com/16…..ing-moment #
• RT @noodletron: Facebook introduces the "Send" button for private sharing: http://ow.ly/1sFRbe #
• Quartet rehearsal: I feel like I just had an injection of life! #
• So… what's up with the City of Oakland's Business Tax office? They ask for money, but are impossible to get ahold of. #
• E.piphany: blast from the past! @ Mountain View Caltrain Station http://instagr.am/p/DloV2/ #
• Pam @ Chavo's http://instagr.am/p/DlvRp/ #
• Oh, no! Water! #america http://instagr.am/p/DlzkH/ #
• During the Palo Alto Camera Club tomorrow, I'm going to talk about how I took my favorite images. http://ow.ly/4HKQy #
• Article on my friend, Ai-Jen Poo, in a New York Times blog. Congrats, Ai-Jen! http://ow.ly/4HMd3 #
• Haven't seen one of these in awhile @ Lucy Evans Nature Center http://instagr.am/p/Dn6Un/ #
• Thanks to everyone who came my talk at the Palo Alto Camera Club tonight! It was fun. :) #
• @macgeekpro I use Dashboard for JuneCloud Deliveries, and Pcalc. That's it! #
• Seed and pollen hell!!! #
• Apes print? @ Ape do good http://instagr.am/p/DpwEl/ #
• View, early this morning http://instagr.am/p/DqHUS/ #
• Blurb announces iPhone app for story sharing (link goes to iTunes). Congrats, Jim and team! http://ow.ly/4JMW2 #
• @randomguru the bride fell asleep? :) #
• @macaby I chuckle every time I see you write "shooting" and a politician's name in the same sentence. :) #
• @tammyloh It blew me away, too! :) #
• @macaby Well, one is legal, and the other isnt! ;) #
• Let's say, hypothetically, that one had to replace @crashplan as a backup system for Mac OS X (for 5TB of active data). What would one use? #
• @atow @henrik_pejer 1 month of support for a problem, and no solution. The problem "isn't common," I'm told. Still hoping for resolution. #
• @tammyloh the kool-aid tastes so good! :) #
• @gilesshaxted view from chair at dentist! #
• Great Postagram update: send any photo as a postcard (not just Instagram photos) http://ow.ly/4KoSI #
• New Technicolor profile for Canon HDDSLRs http://ow.ly/4KoZJ #
• Perfect day in SF @ Barneys New York http://instagr.am/p/DuDf2/ #
• Pam, in "wind" http://instagr.am/p/DuEGM/ #
• I'm more comfortable in rural Indonesia than I am in clothing stores. #
• Pam says hi @ Cable Car – Powell (Turnaround) http://instagr.am/p/DuKcK/ #
• Dutch Queen's Day @ Union Square Park http://instagr.am/p/DuM7-/ #
• SF, on a perfect day @ Union Square Park http://instagr.am/p/DuNPO/ #
• Cool Hyundai projection mapping stunt http://ow.ly/4Kv46 #
• Beethoven Emperor Concerto; Jonathan Biss w/SF Symphony @ Davies Symphony Hall http://instagr.am/p/Dus8c/ #
• Trying to make first Blurb book on Mac. Booksmart freezes on start. Guess I'll make an Apple book… #
• The streets of SF breed strange fungi @ Hotel Nikko http://instagr.am/p/DvRxa/ #
• AWESOME: Seth Meyers @ 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Donald Trump wasn't amused. http://ow.ly/4KSe2 #
• @corbosman Waiting for the live address by Obama. http://ow.ly/4KSSn #