Or so Toby thinks as he rolls around in the hot Louisiana sun.

And to paraphrase ol’ Charlie Brown: “Stinkiness is also a warm puppy.”

Last year’s semi-successful garden attempt has turned into a mulched area with two blueberry bushes and a orange tree sapling.  Recently while weeding, I discovered a snail shell and wondered where the snail was.  I didn’t see him in there.  I wonder if he found a nicer shell for his home?

In the middle of the concrete sidewalks in downtown Baton Rouge, I found these signs.  And it made me wonder if areas do drain to a bayou, and which ones.  Either way, I found these under-the-feet signs enchanting.

Hello Downtown Baton Rouge!  Several weekends ago, I took the time to have a long photography weekend all to myself.  I spent 3 glorious Louisiana spring days driving around, snapping pictures, and generally relaxing.  Relaxation and I have a testy relationship; we don’t always get along so well.  I blame it on my Type A personality.  But sometimes, like this weekend in particular I get it just right.  For the first day of the long weekend, Cree and I visited downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana to see a few sights and play with the cameras.  I couldn’t resist following Cree up to an observation deck and taking pictures of the river, especially this bridge.  This is the Horace Wilkinson Bridge which carries I-10 from Baton Rouge across the Mississippi towards the land and life of west Louisiana.  In all honesty, I had no idea that this bridge was named the Horace Wilkinson Bridge before I started this post. (1)  I’ve only ever known it as the “new bridge.”  And considering it was built in the late 1960s, it isn’t quite so new anymore.  This bridge is known for traffic jams, traffic snarls, and general traffic nastiness at certain times of day since the on-ramps go down to one lane, which isn’t conducive to the large amounts of traffic the bridge handles. But for me, this bridge is awesomeness.  It’s how as a young child my mom brought us to Baton Rouge, a long, long way from the small town we lived in across from a bayou (yes, I’m a bayou child, but not stereotypically so).   It’s how as a young college student I started my journey each day to commute to Hammond, 1 hour one way of music blaring and looking forward to classes.   It is how as a maturing adult I get back to my home parish to visit family and friends.  It also takes a darn nice picture. 

While up on the observation deck, I snapped a picture of the Louisiana Arts & Sciences Museum (LASM) nestled right there near the river.  I took many a school trip to this place, and every time was completely freaked out by the mummy exhibit everytime. 

After geeking out up on the observation deck, we went back to terra firma to look around and find more things to photograph.  We came upon the water fountains at the Shaw Center, and I was instantly fascinated.  Photographing water is something I’m always trying to do.  However, I have a hard time with my focus and shutter speed.  It takes a careful setting of both the shutter speed and focus points to get a water shot right, or so it seems to me.

However, these photographic challenge never deters me as I try again and again to get it right.  Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes.  And one day, I’m going to get it right.  I’m getting closer I think.

When I can get my shutter speed just right, it seems to catch water in such a point that it looks like an abstract ice sculpture.  For whatever reason it fascinates me.  I should grab my camera one sunny weekend, go to the Shaw Center, and shoot pictures until I get it just right.  LOL!  I really need to pull out my book by Brian Peterson on shutter speed and read through it some more.

But we couldn’t stand near the water shooting photographs forever.  There was so much to try and see to do in the short day I’d given myself down there.  While up on the observation deck we noticed the Louisiana Old State Capitol with its unique Gothic architecture (2) and round windows.  Off we trooped across the street to get to the capitol and take a look around the museum housed there.

The place is full of interesting architure, from its decorated windows and unexpected turrets…

to its round windows on the ground floor.  I love these windows.  I don’t know why.  But if I had old Gothic weird Louisiana house, I’d love to have a window like this in it. 

Leading into the Old State Capitol are engraved tiles listing important events affecting the building.  Like any other important piece of Louisiana history, this building has a long and checkered past.

And what did I do while in the state capitol.  Did a take pictures of the amount of Louisiana political and governmental history that surrounded me?  Did I take pictures of the spiral staircase, the figures, the bits and pieces of history that make up the state in which I live.  Not at first.  At first, all I did was shoot pictures of the hardware on the doors: door knobs, striker plates, hinges. I mean really, look at it!  It’s gorgeous.  But the lighting was horrid and getting a shot that I was satisfied with was causing me difficulty.  I think Cree just looked at me and slightly shook her head wondering if I’d gone photographically mad.

There are very few museums in Louisiana where you will visit and not find something about Huey P. Long, one of Louisiana’s most famous political figures.  While I took lots of photographs while in the old capitol building (too many to show you here), this one is the one that I enjoyed the most.  I liked this exhibit.  It features a statue of Huey P. Long with a shadow that is actually a film running while one of his speeches runs on audio.  I thought having a stationary statue with a moving shadow was clever, and it caught my interest.

Next up was to take a spin at the Louisiana State Museum.  I knew that several years ago the state had revamped this building.  I had never been, so we took the opportunity to walk in.  It was WONDERFUL, and the only drawback was the fact that we ran out of time.  We weren’t able to tour all the exhibits in the building, though I was able to catch a quick shot of a full size shrimping boat housed in the building.  This has got to be hands down one of the best things to do (at least for me) in downtown Baton Rouge.  It’s two stories of Louisiana history and stories all for FREE.  I couldn’t believe that there was no admission fee and that we were allowed to bring our cameras in and take pictures.  I have plans to go back in the near future.

One of the things I would love to go back and try to get better pictures of are the Mardi Gras costume displays.  It was fantastic; however, the lighting was low, making picturing taking tough.  This pictures look alright small, but aren’t the best large size.  Increasing my ISO caused the pictures to get a bit grainy while trying to capture enough light.  Regardless if the picture is to the standards I’d prefer, look at that costume.  The plaque for  this one stated the costume was created in 1991 for the Endymion parade.  Can you imagine being the maid that had to wear that?  I wonder if she did push ups and strength training beforehand?

The head of a sea horse costume from a New Orleans krewe (the plaque wasn’t really clear on where this came from, or I accidentally photographed the wrong plaque!)

I’m definitely ready to go back to downtown Baton Rouge, back to the Louisiana State Museum and take more pictures.  It was beyond fun!  And besides, I need to take MORE PICTURES!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone, and a great weekend.

Today’s Photo Friday features a restaurant review of a eatery in Downtown Baton Rouge.  Recently, I mentioned taking a photo weekend with Cree and eating out to combat two hours of walking around the city.  On our journey around the city, we had passed this restaurant several times on 3rd street: Lucy’s.  The restaurant had a theme of water, waves, and old surfers.  The few times we’d past by the restaurant patrons were outside seemingly enjoying their food.  When we made the decision to grab a bite to eat, we decided to stop in at Lucy’s since we were nearly back to that area of downtown.

The place was comfortable with lots of light, which I quite apprecaited, and big screen tvs showing documentaries featuring old surfers and lots of water.  I’m unsure why, but the utensils were placed in a paper packet on the tables.  Interesting.

After perusing the menu, I settled on the Havana Tacos: flour tortillas with Cuban pulled pork, grilled pineapple relish & crisp red cabbage, over our signature rice and black beans.  Two things sold me on this dish: the Cuban pulled pork and the grilled pineapple relish.  I <3 grilled pineapple.  Absolutely adore the stuff, but it is something I don’t have the opportunity to enjoy often.  When I can find it, I grab the opportunity to enjoy it.

Cree opted for the turkey, bacon, brie, and apple pita pocket with sprouts and an edamame succotash type side.  She really enjoyed the sandwich, but left the edamame side dish nearly untouched.  I found that odd since I knew she liked edamame.  I asked her about it.  She replied that the edamame was a bit too hard for her, not thoroughly cooked enough.  All in all she liked the sandwich, but not the sides.

I had the opposite problem from Cree.  While I did clean my plate, I wasn’t overly impressed by the tacos.  The pineapple was good but missing that nice grilled taste that true grilled pineapple has.  The red cabbage just didn’t seem to match up with the other flavors going on in the dish, and the Cuban pulled pork was a big disappointment.  It was mush, like it had been cooked to within an inch of its life then put in a food processor for a pulse or two.  It just wasn’t what I as expecting.

However, that said, I’d give alot to know how the heck they cook their black beans.  They were delicious, with a slight kick that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Mixed with the rice, they could stand alone as a meal all on their own.  Seriously, I want to know how they make these!  Seriously!

Verdict: All in all, Lucy’s has a nice atmosphere and is a nice addition to the Downtown Baton Rouge eatery scene, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit again unless I really wanted those black beans, which is in the realm of possibility.   Not when another restaurant I dearly love, Capital City Grill, is located just a corner or two over.  Lucy’s was a nice experience that I enjoyed, but not one I’ll mostly likely repeat in the near future.

Eat your veggies everyone!  The May 2010 NEB Photos Calendar features one of my favored bento side dishes: roasted brussel sprouts.

To view and print the calendar, you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.

To download and print the calendar, click here.

Brussel sprouts were a nice surprise vegetable to me.  I had never had them before I tried them roasted.  And nirvana was found, or at least a little slice of it in these wee vegetables.  They are now a favorite of mine.  Recently, I found them at a local fruit & vegetable stand for a reasonable, everyday price.  I shall go back often to get them now.

Desktop Wallpaper – Standard (1024 x 768)
Desktop Wallpaper – Widescreen (1440 x 900)
Print – 4 x 6
Print 8 x 10

I am in complete and total love with Lightroom.  When Adobe first released this product, I downloaded a trial, but did not especially care for the software.  When it comes to photo editing software it is a bit different. It works differently than any other type of software I am used to.  It was so different, I didn’t really give it a fair chance.  I didn’t even keep the full 30-day trial.

When Adobe released Lightroom 2, I decided to give them software a whirl again.  For some reason, downloading the trial the second time made all the difference.  Lightroom 2 didn’t really look all that different from the original.  I’m not sure why I fell in love with it the second time around.  I think it might be that my brain was ready to accept the software and learn how to use it.  Ever since, I’ve used this program to process the photographs for Not Exactly Bento.  I don’t do anything overly fancy with my photos.  Mainly, I take the shots I need for NEB, make a few adjustments, apply a preset (or 2 or 3), and voila, photo ready for the blog.

Lightroom and a few choice presets helped me take my photograph of Houmas from a nice picture straight out of camera (SOOC) to

a lush photograph that I’m ready to print and enjoy.  I also find Lightroom extremely helpful with  my food photography, especially overly dark pictures.

Recently, I ate at a restaurant and the lighting was poor for photography.  This was the best photograph I could get.  This image is SOOC.

But a little Lightroom magic helped me get this photo blog ready!  YAY!

I’ve wanted for some time to offer a few step-by-step picture tutorials (pictorials) for some of the photo editing and graphics work I do for Not Exactly Bento.  And NEB Photos is the perfect place to do this.  I have to write a disclaimer that I am in no way a Lightroom or Photoshop Elements expert user.  I’m still learning, and as with my food adventures on NEB, I hope that what I offer here will help the next newcomer who wonders, “Where do I go from here?”

Lightroom and Photoshop Elements tutorials will be posted each Tuesday until I run out of material.  If you’re a reader and you know a better or alternative way to do something, please feel free to post a comment so that we all can learn more!

If you’re following NEB Photos right now, you’ve probably noticed that many of the photos shown are from the Baton Rouge Farmer’s Market.  It’s not a surprising result.  I do shop there often.  Then, I come home and use many of those food items as photographic guinea pigs before storing them.  This photograph shows one of my little farmer’s market rituals.  I always have money to purchase a garlic cheese biscuit from a particular vendor.  She keeps them in a huge basket covered in a quilt to retain their heat.  Even on a cold morning, you can get a warm biscuit as you shop for your locally grown goodies.

Desktop Wallpaper – Standard (1024 x 768)
Desktop Wallpaper – Widescreen (1440 x 900)
Print – 4 x 6
Print 8 x 10

Today is a day of vacation for me.  Cree and I have planned for the last couple of weeks to take a day to go out and on a photographic adventure.  We aren’t going far…just to downtown Baton Rouge.  Considering how seldom we get to do this though, it is a treat when our schedules mesh.  I’ve eaten a good breakfast at home, am packing a granola bar, or two, for the road, and then will come home and forage for a sandwich.  Those are today’s meal plans, avoiding eating out.  I’ve been tempted twice already.  Should make for an interesting day.

How are things going for your challenge?  We’re completing our first week, and I’m pleased with my progress so far.  And the progress with each of you as you’ve shared your own journey.  I’m looking forward to a weekend free of having to go into the office.  That normally means time for me to step into my other office: the kitchen.  I’ve got plans to make a dish or two for bentos this coming week.

See you seen.  Be the bento everyone!

This is Day 9 of the 30-Day Bento Challenge.  For more information, please see the original post.  Latecomers are welcome!