Earl's Big Adventure

A while back I had the very special privilege to be part of the design & layout of "Earl's Big Adventure in Costa Rica." It is a children's book written by a good friend of mine, Hanna Haidar with amazing illustrations by Kimberly Newton.

Here's an except from the website:

"John the surfer has a big surprise for his special friend Earl the monkey: his first big adventure! Tag along as the two head off on a surf trip to Costa Rica making friends and learning about a new culture along the way. As Earl learns that trying new things is fun, the people he meets learn just how special this little monkey is! Your child will love exploring a new culture in this richly illustrated story from Cape Cod author Hanna Haidar and artist Kimberly Newton"

It was a pleasure to be a part of the process of bringing words to print. It took about 2 months of work with Hanna to layout the illustrations and text in order to send the final manuscript to an offshore printer in India.

From what I've been able to gather through hints, Hanna is working on a second installation to the series which is expected in December of '08. While Hanna's been tight lipped about where John & Earl are heading next, I'm willing to bet that there will be good surf!

You can get your own copy of the book at the website: Earl's Big Adventure.com

Daily Photos.

A former co-worker of mine from my days at the Enterprise Newspapers, Don Parkinson, has started a daily photos website. I believe he's a month into the project and you can check them out here at www.capephotos.net

It's inspiring, and while I don't think I'm that ambitious to post everyday, here's my photo(s) of the day:

Will Wesson down near the Burlington waterfront.

World Naked Bike Ride, Burlington VT

Warning: When you scroll down, you will see people, some old and portly, naked.

That said, Today was the "World Naked Bike Ride," or for those of you who favor acronyms, the "WNBR." Yes, 50 plus riders of varying shapes and sizes (haha) decided to bare all in protest of the Global Car Culture and Oil Dependency in Burlington, beginning on Rose Street in the Old North End. It's an event that has participants in over 20 countries, 70 cities world wide. That's a whole lot of naked people. But of all the protests for different causes today, be it the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or just general "World Peace," this one certainly has been one of my favorites to see (I use that in a general sense) as all the participants seemed to be having a great time and I didn't see one person, a cyclist or onlooker, without a smile on their face. A naked body with a message painted on it saying "Less Gas, More Ass" definitely makes a statement, or at least an image that you won't soon forget.

I can happily say that I can add "nudes" to my list of photo subjects and this cause was a great way to start. For more information on the World Naked Bike Ride or how to start your own chapter, check out their website here.

Here are a few photos*:
*If you were a participant in this event and have found that you would not like to be featured in one of these photos, please don't hesitate and email me at dan@kapitolphotography.com and I will be more than happy to remove the photo immediately.

Welcome Back.

The past two weeks have been busy for me with travel and a number of different projects. I found myself on Nantucket over the Memorial Day weekend for a chance to catch up with some friends. It happened to be the Figawi Race weekend as well. Wikipedia describes it perfectly as the Spring Break of the "Well-Heeled 30 Somethings." It was a sight to see. It was the first time that I've traveled to Nantucket. It will certainly not be the last, although perhaps I'll pick a less "crowded" weekend. I had one chance to getaway for a few minutes alone with my camera and headed down to Surfside Beach shortly before sunset to make the panoramic above.

Last weekend, I was in New Jersey for a close friend's* High School Graduation. While I wasn't able to attend the ceremony because of a shortage of tickets,, I did head into NYC to the Museum of Natural History with extended family. Here's a couple photos:

*Congrats Joe!