Fire Fox

Fire Fox by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #55

Clouds. Smoke. Fire. These are all things you can see shapes in with a little staring and some imagination. Sometimes the shape can be ananswer to an important questions you ask in your head. What does the fire say? Sometimes the shape is a fox.

Also, I figured after the last two wintry, snowy shots, we all needed something to warm us up.

(Week 8 - Photo 3)

In Too Deep

In Too Deep by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #54

You cannot have good without also having evil. It is a two sides of a the same coin situation. Han Solo and the rest of the Rebel Alliance would have no reason to be on Hoth if they weren't trying to hide from the Empire. Luckily for the latter, they had special Storm Troopers equipped with thermal underwear and cool helmets designed for just such a wintry locale. What these Snow Troopers lacked however, were snow shoes. You'd have to think with the extra weight of all that ineffective armor, they would occasionally sink into the snow.

I wonder why they didn't call them Snow Storm Troopers

(Week 8 - Photo 2)

Out There In It

Out There In It by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #53

In previous odysseys, I felt like I was overly reliant on toys as subjects. In order to lessen this reliance, I opposed a 50 photo no-toy rule on myself. Welcome to photo #53. With snow blanketing this part of the world, a nice wintry landscape shot might be expected. Nope. Instead you get Han Solo out looking for his friend Luke out on the frozen planet of my deck.

(Week 8 - Photo 1)

Frenchmen Art Market

Frenchmen Art Market by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #52

I'm not sure if Frenchmen St is technically in the French Quarter, but on Mardi Gras, it is close enough. This is yet another scene that I would not normally see on a Tuesday

(Week 7 - Photo 7)

You've Got Us Feeling Alright

You've Got Us Feeling Alright by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #51

It was Tuesday morning and we were were in a bar, drinking hurricanes and listening to this lady sing and play the piano. The place was packed. At the next table was a guy dressed as Sponge Bob. On any other Tuesday this would be an odd way to spend the morning, but this was Fat Tuesday and we were at Pat O'Brians in the heart of the French Quarter. It was nice to come in from the (relative) cold and enjoy the refreshments and restrooms. Even nicer was taking a break from regular Tuesdays.

Guess what song I was listening to when I titled this photo

(Week 7 - Photo 6)

Plush

Plush by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #50

Evolution of a Mardi Gras Parade Goer

You start out with "Throw me something, Mister!" in hopes of getting the float people to toss some beads. But beads, especially the basic ones are only the most ubiquitous of throws. Soon you upgrade your ask to "Throw be some good beads!" with hopes of getting necklaces with bigger beads, better baubles and brighter bling. The woman who's hand you see in this picture goes beyond even this, with signs requesting more specific throws. Having stood near her throughout the Krewe of Rex parade, I can tell you her signs were very effective. It opened up my eyes.

(Week 7 - Photo 5)

Jester Do It

Jester Do It by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #49

This is the first of my Mardi Gras pictures that was taken on Fat Tuesday. Perhaps it was our location, or it was because this was a morning parade, but the Krewe of Rex was much less chaotic than the other parades we'd experienced. This allowed me to go out in the street between groups and take head-on shots like this one. Of the countless floats we saw, this was probably the most Mardi-Gras-ish.

(Week 7 - Photo 4

St Joe

St Joe by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #48

This picture has nothing to do with Mardi Gras, but it does represent New Orleans accurately. In fact, the sidewalks in the Big Easy are anything but. I think they market them as a fun destination for mountain bikers. Mostly this means cracks and quick changes in elevation, caused by water and roots and such. For the sidewalk in this picture, I have no idea how this could happen. I think I now know 7 lines can all be perpendicular.

(Week 7 - Photo 3)

The Beads of the Few

The Beads of the Few by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #47
I got up early on the morning of Lundi Gras to explore the town and take pictures in the exact way that most visitors to New Orleans don't. Not far along my way I say more of the ubiquitous beads. These were not flying from a float but instead were decorating the iron fence of some random house in Mid Town. I did not stop to think if there was some deeper meaning to this - instead I just enjoyed the way the sunlight made them sparkle.

Candy From Stranger

Candy From Stranger by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #46
We celebrated Andy Kissed Shelley First Day by taking a six pack of Abita and some chairs to the neutral ground side of St Charles where not 1 but 4 different parades came by. If you picture the scene like a massive tailgate but with parades instead of a sports-ball game, you'll be close to it. The first parade was the Krewe of Okeanos which at that point was the second best parade we'd seen. As for this lady, well, any other day I probably would not take candy from her.
(Week 7 - Photo 1)