Now for a little nature...

We were out a couple weeks ago on my friend's boat at Canyon Lake.  It was early in the morning and we were at the back of the lake.  We were graced with a visit from a small herd of big horn sheep. One male, 4 females, and a little lamb.  The male was a little camera shy.  Quite a nice treat!

Mom had to check things out first....

Then the little lamb was cleared to check us out...

Ok...Now mom is just showing off!  Someone likes the camera!

No animals were harmed during this photography session...However the prop of the boat was not so lucky...

Trying to find my way....

I've noticed that I bounce around with my photography...I shoot about everything.  Landscape, architecture, still, and an occasional portrait.  Oddly enough...The one I do the least, intrigues and inspires me the most!

Landscape, architecture, and stills seem to be more about the technical aspect of photography.  When done right...It invokes and emotion and you connect with it.  I can look at this kind of photography all day long and appreciate it but not necessarily feel it or me overly motivated to shoot it...

I have noticed with portrait photography, the emotional connection seems to be almost instant for me.  I have been reading a lot about portrait and environmental photography and I find both very interesting. 

In my search for info, I ran across Danny Santos II and his street photography.  He has a blog called "shooting strangers in orchard road" that's dedicated to taking shots of strangers on the street and he gets some amazing shots.  He sounds like he is a ball of nerves on every shot.  That's has to be a bit of a rush.  I commend him for having the nerves.

I think I will have to work up my nerves to get to that point... I feel I have a way to go before I start doing traditional portraits. Its a just a nerves thing. 

Here is one of my recent shots.... This is Bella. To say that she likes being in front of the camera is an understatement.  She would let me take pictures all day long.  If only they were all that easy...

 

Back to the Blog....

Back at it again...  I've been super busy with work and haven't even shot lately!  After a long photography conversation with an old friend...I've been itching to get out and shoot again.  In the past couple weeks I've got out to shoot a few times and I really, really missed it.

I'm in the habit of carrying my camera to most places I go.  If its not in my hand...Its in my bag or close by.  A couple of close friends wanted to go for a walk to get some frozen yogurt...I brought my camera and caught this shot.  One of the first I've taken after my little break...

These were just some simple lights that were strung along a patio out side a restaurant.  I couldn't pass up playing with the lights and having some fun with the 50mm f/1.4!  I love this lens! I've picked up a few other goodies as well... I will post some new pics soon!

Been a busy New Year!

Its been a busy week and a half!  Work has been insane and I am starting to have withdrawals from my camera.  I have been reading photography books as well as on-line, in my spare time, which in turn makes me want to shoot more.   Hopefully this weekend I will get a few shots in!  

This is a shot is from a trip to Sedona this past fall.  My parents were in town for a few days and I caught this on walk.  I thought we could all use a little color now in the middle of winter.

Merry Christmas....

I couldn't pass up a chance to have a little fun with the ornaments. 

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas and New Year!

A New Start!

I'm back!

Well the 365 didn't work out as well as I hoped.  It started to become a chore to post everyday.  That really wasn't the issue...The real issue was that I felt like I was just posting any garbage picture that I shot that day.  So I put the blog on the shelf for a while; but not my camera!

I've been taking a ton of pictures with a focus on the technical side of photography.  Color, white balance, and exposure have been a few of my greatest struggles.  I've been working on those as well as adding strobe lighting into the mix.  My intention is to get this blog moving again.  Hopefully I can update a couple times a week with a new picture or two. 

Sometimes I am glad I drag my camera with me everywhere I go.  This was on a recent flight and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch this shot. 

5-4-10 Yogi...

Photogenic little guy!

Grand Canyon Hike to Havasu Falls...

Last week we took a 4 day hike to the Havasu falls.  Its about an 11 mile hike with over 40lbs strapped to your back.  It's a little bit of work but the sites are incredible.  Going through here will make one feel very small.  This is honestly my first trip to the Grand Canyon...And I don't think there is any other way to see it!

Havasu Slideshow

I'm trying to get back to daily blogging...I swear!  My main monitor on the PC took a crap so I'm trying to work around that...

4-11-10 Friends....

Nothing too special here... We went for a hike today and I liked this pic.  This is one of the few that I get to be in!

We are trying to get ready for our trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  I will be taking my camera! 

4/9/10 - Summer is around the corner...

It's warming up...Soon we will be sitting by the pool enjoying the heat.  Then after 2 weeks we will be ready for the cool weather again...

I'm looking forward to getting back in the pool.  It's warming up slowly.  Till tomorrow....

4-7-10 - Wild Flowers

These things are all over the place...Not quite sure what makes them so wild?  None of them tried to flash me and scream woo hoo!  Oh well...maybe these aren't so wild.

I'm trying to get back on the ball and post daily...I'm trying!  Till tomorrow...

4-4-10 Hiking...

Went hiking today with a few good friends.  We went to Lost Dutchman Park at the base of the Superstition mountain.  It was surprisingly busy for being Easter.

The wild flowers are blooming away.  $500 fine for picking them!

Here is a shot from just below the peak.  It's amazing what you can see from up there!

I've found that photography and hiking are pretty compatible hobbies!  I now just need to get some wide 2.8 glass!  Till tomorrow...

4-1-10 Tree Abstract

Ahhh....The days are getting longer.  I can actually get home before the sun sets.  Once I got home...I dropped my stuff, grabbed the camera, and went for a walk around the neighborhood.

It was nice to get out and go for a walk with the camera again. Hopefully I'll have a chance to do that more often as the days get longer and unfortunately...hotter!  Till tomorrow... 

3/28/10 Road Trip...

Went on a spontaneous road trip today with some friends.  We ended up in Sedona and Jerome. We walked around for a bit and checked things out.  This is one of my favorite shots of the day... This sign is on the side of a cliff and there isn't much to trespass on...Maybe the little lizard can't read!

Since I've been slacking on the posting...I will add a few extras today!

This one was one of my favorites too!  I liked the doors and the lens flare just happened. I kind of liked it! 

Sedona landscape....

I honestly don't know what kind of tree this is.  We also have white ones around.  This is the first that I've seen the red/pink ones.

This one is just random...If you know why I took this...Then you know me pretty well...I bet only a few are going to know what it is right away. 

My all time favorite band is TOOL and the lead singer, Maynard James Keenan  has a vineyard and makes wine.  He has a shop in Jerome that sells only his wine. I had to stop in and check it out.  I also had to buy a little trinket to say I was there...

3/25/10 - Inked Out....

Everybody has the day this happens.  You need to print and the ink has run dry.  Never fails!

Sorry this isn't a little more interesting.  I'm super tired and it's been a rough day.  I'm headed for bed!  Till tomorrow....

3/24/10 Caught off guard...

This is Maggie.  She is my friend's dog.  I've been trying to shoot different things and expand a bit...This isn't exactly what I had in mind but Its going to work. 

 I've been having issue with my PC and my internet over the past couple of days and it seems like everything needed to be done in the past 3 days.  Oh well... We are back on track!  Till tomorrow...

3/23/10 The Roll...

I am trying to catch a story with this one.   I'm not quite getting what I want.  I'm going to keep the story to my self until I feel that I can capture it the way I want. 

I've tried a few different things here...I still don't have what I'm looking for...Stay tuned.

3/22/10 Dash

This was an accident.  For some reason I thought it was interesting...at least the most interesting for the day...That will give you an idea of what the rest of the pictures looked like.

I was just moving the cam and shot the dash.  Oh well.

3/21/10 - Fueling Up!

Once again...I ran short on time and was desperate for a photo.  I was getting ready to feed my face with a delicious vanilla cream protein shake and stopped to grab the camera.  This didn't quite turn out the way I wanted.

Tried to get the powder in focus and blur everything else.  I think I went too far with the aperture and ran out of patients.  I was hungry!  Till tomorrow...

Sorry...My internet was down last night, so this is a little late...

3/20/10 - Make sparks fly....

The other day while in Lowe's...I remembered that I needed new flints for my striker.  After I put one in and struck a few sparks...I got an idea!

This shot was one of the first ones I shot.  As the flint wore in, the sparks went kind of flat.  This one was one of the most interesting.  Till tomorrow...

3/19/10 - Tumble dry if needed....

So this is one of the ideas that I had during my break.  I got home from work early and figured I would try it out.  The hardest part was figuring out how to rig it up.  This was inspired by the refrigerator picture. 

There was a little difficulty with getting enough light inside the dryer.  I tried the flash but I lost the motion of the towels.  The lights in my laundry room are florescent an the combo made lighting difficult.  I think I'm going to have to come back to this one with more light inside and the same light outside.  The picture is noisy due to the high ISO I had to use to get a decent exposure. Looks like I need a faster lens!  I liked the concept.  Till tomorrow....

3/18/10 - Hungry?

So...I'm back!!!  I took a little break to get things in order around here.  I wanted to get this going again.  I've got a lot of questions regarding the blog and was pleasantly surprised by everyone's interest.  Thank you!

This isn't my best stuff, but it is my new roommate and he looks hungry.  I set up this tank for our old Beta fish.  Unfortunately after about 4 days in his new place...He threw in the towel.  R.I.P. Mater. 

It feels good to be shooting and posting again!  The break was a little longer than I expected.  I did get a few good ideas though.  Keep your eye out for them.  Till tomorrow...

3/10/10 - I'm Still here!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and my 365 is on my mind.  With a few personal bumps in the road and work being really busy...I took a few days off.  I hope to be recharged and posting again shortly.  Stay tuned!!!!

3/7/10 - Sunrise

To allow the dawn of a new one....

i want to say thanks to a great friend for the inspiration for this series. Thanks brother!  Till tomorrow...

3/6/10 - Sunset

The sun sets on one horizon....

3/5/10 - Sorry....

I didn't have a chance to get a shot in today.  I didn't even have a chance to turn on my camera.  Between working late and attending to some personal matters...It just didn't happen today.  Stay tuned...Till tomorrow...

3/4/10 "Hollowed" be thy name....

61 of 365 - I have to admit it...I cheated on this one!  this is a shot that I took a while ago and didn't do anything with.  Tired today.  Need to get some sleep.

I went back through some of the images that I had and found this one.  I like it for some reason.  Its not that exciting...It's simplicity may be the attraction for me.  Till tomorrow....

3/3/10 - Computer....

So recently my computer has been giving me drama!  The monitor has been turning on really slow and flickering...I'm also almost out of hard drive space.

So for today the drama queen PC is the winner!  I sat down to check e-mail and the drama started...So I figured that maybe a public embarrassment will make it work right.  We'll see!  Till tomorrow....

3/2/10 - Flower

61 of 365 - Today was a hard day to get motivated to shoot for some reason.  All day I carried my camera and didn't really have anything jump out at me.

This flower was back lit by the sun and it caught my eye. All the reflections off of the leaves are a little distracting.  Nothing real exciting...Sorry.  Maybe better luck tomorrow.  I need to get a polarizer for my 50mm.   Till tomorrow. 

3/1/10 - Handled

60/365 - Payton and I went for our Monday night walk.  On the look for something new and different to shoot.  I didn't find anything spectacular...Just a handle.

 

The light, spiral, and rust highlights caught my eye here.  Till tomorrow...

59 of 365 - Staring Down the Storm

Rain...Rain...And a little bit more rain.  We have been having a wet spring here in AZ and the weather provides interesting back drops for the photography...

I'm pretty sure that everything behind this flower is sky.  I thought it was a good contrast between the two subjects in the photo.  Till tomorrow...

58 of 365 - Locked up...