A Trumpeter Swan Grows Up

In the summer of 2008 I photographed a cygnet (baby swan) as it was growing up. Here are some of the photographs I took.

About a week old...

About a month old...

Two-and-a-half months old...

Tegan and Sara at Twist and Shout, Denver

Tegan Quin

Sara Quin

Tegan and Sara played a very cool set at Denver's Twist and Shout record store on Sept. 13, 2010. I managed to take a few photographs while peeking through all the people, record racks, amps and microphone stands. They played later that night with Paramore at Red Rocks. Camera: Nikon D80; Lens: Nikon 85mm f1.4.

Also see: Tegan and Sara in Aspen

Lavec Plastic Camera from Time Magazine circa 1981

In the early 1980s I received a plastic 35mm camera as a promotional gift for subscribing to Time magazine. The camera was made by a company called Lavec in Taiwan. It came with a strap, lens cap and case. Unlike the Holga and Diana cameras, the Lavec doesn't seem to have much of a following. But I enjoyed playing around with it. Here are three pictures I took with the Lavec camera around the time I got it. For the Broadway photograph, I set the camera on the sidewalk and pushed the shutter.


Winter Trees, Ketring Park, Littleton, Colorado


Three Charred Guitars, Orchard Road, Littleton, Colorado


Broadway at Night, Littleton, Colorado

Swan Dance in Australia - Lumix Life

My "Swan Dance" gallery was shown in a photography gallery in Sydney, Australia as part of Panasonic's Lumix Life exhibition. Here are some screen shots from a webcam set up in the gallery, along with the original photos.







You can see more of my swan photos at: Trumpeter Swans by Joe Beine

Twins in Light: Wooden Tops

These wooden tops were made by Alan Gray, a mechanical engineer, who enjoys making toys that balance. The package they came in arrived on a sunny spring day. When I opened the box the sunlight from outside my front door and window made a nice glow on the red tissue paper and the colored top. So I took a picture.

The top maker's website is at: Wood Tops

My Photograph of Michelle Obama on the Cover of NV Magazine

In October 2008 I went to a rally on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder to hear Michelle Obama speak. Although I was buried in the crowd I was able to take some photographs of her with my Nikon D80 and a 70-300mm zoom lens. A skate girl next to me let me stand on her skateboard for a few shots. She had to steady me because skateboards aren't really designed for this sort of thing. Later, I posted a couple of the photographs online. One of these became my most viewed photograph on Flickr. At the end of 2008 the photo was used with my permission on a First Ladies fashion website called Mrs. O. And then NV Magazine asked to use it as part of their "Michelle is Me" cover story, about Michelle Obama's impact on African-American women.


The original uncropped photo has blurry backs of people's heads along the bottom and right side. But I think Mrs. Obama's smile transcends the entire scene.

Since I took this photograph she has become a gracious and beautiful first lady.

NV - New Vision in Business Magazine is sold at many Barnes & Noble stores around the U.S. Thanks to Leah Bailey at NV Magazine.