glass half empty

What I've been up to lately...

It's just been one of those days / months / ...

my fourth

For the first time in a long time, I was actually looking forward to the 4th of July. To me that meant spending the evening with some good friends, grilling some meat, drinking some beer, and taking pictures of the fireworks. And just to get three out of four would be great on any other day, except yesterday. I let the fact that I didn't take pictures of fireworks bother me, and I think that bothers me more than anything else. I had a good time last night. So what if I couldn't manage a great viewpoint for fireworks pictures. The view we had was special in its own way. The fireworks just peaking around the trees and over the bridge. It was just us, no strangers. We were right on the Mississippi River, for crying out loud! The crescent moon setting on the horizon. Why would I want to give that up for a better spot to take pictures??? Plus, I still think I got a couple decent shots of the night.

 51oz of (really) good beer

grilling some really good meat

sunset on the mississippi

all the festivities in the sky i need

seven - four - eleven

Not your average set of stars and stripes...

Hopefully some fireworks photos will be added in the next few days.

Happy 4th of July!

brighter than sunshine

My apologies for not blogging lately. My computer had a virus which caused my files to 'disappear'. In reality, they were not gone, but I could not find them. I knew they were still around as my iTunes could still play my music, even though I could not locate the files. My biggest fear, however, was that all of my photos were gone. Sure, I could just keep taking new photos, but what about the thousands of photos I had already taken. Luckily, these photos (and many others) were saved. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

22° halo

The week after I left Holden Village I celebrated my birthday. My brother and my sister also celebrated their birthdays. Yes, we all share the same birthday; we are triplets. Unfortunately, we are not together for our birthday every year. But this year I did get to go whale watching with my sister. Before the boat left, I captured a picture of this fairly common optical phenomenon, the 22° halo. It is not that uncommon, but still quite a sight to see.

Not long before I left Holden, I went for a hike to Copper Basin. I took this picture of Copper Mountain, which seems much less significant the closer one gets. That is not why I posted this picture. What amazes me is what appeared in the photo, especially when it went unnoticed to my eye as I took this picture. After review my photos from this hike I notice this photo has a rainbow in the bottom right corner. Many times when I take pictures, I take several within just a few seconds. I did at this point also, and the photo I took just seconds before did not have this rainbow. But this one did. I can't help but think of the story from Genesis of Noah and his ark. God made a covenant with Noah that the rainbow would be a symbol of God's reassuring presence. It makes me happy to think I caught a glimpse of that myself.

the mercury is rising

It's hot outside. Okay, so maybe not southwest desert hot, but triple digits is still triple digits. Apparently, Minneapolis broke (or melted) a record by hitting 100 degrees yesterday. Today is even hotter. But really, it doesn't seem all that bad. I am still able to enjoy the great outdoors by biking, walking and (thankfully) swimming in rivers. This would never happen in Tucson. Mostly because there is no river. Or shade.

Anyway, pictures below are what it feels like outside. Clearly they were not taken in Minneapolis. They were taken in Arizona near the Utah borer.

me, a wedding photographer?

Do I think I could make a living as a wedding photographer? Maybe. But a more important question, would I even want to make a living as a wedding photographer? Not at all. Weddings (and open-bar receptions) are to be enjoyed. Not spent stressing over getting the right shot (especially at a "once-in-a-lifetime" event). Sure, it is different to have an assignment rather than taking photos at a friends wedding, but I'm not sure its something I want. I like to shoot at my own pace. I don't like to set up props (or people). At the wedding I attended this last weekend, the event coordinator for Viceroy Palm Springs asked if I was the photographer. She also asked if I was local and available for other events. Even if it's something I know I don't want to do, it's nice to know I can pretend, or at least have people assume, that I am a professional.

a southwest summary

Palm Springs (and a gracious family) welcomed me with warm weather (and open arms). While a week in Palm Springs is about seven times as much luxury as I can afford, I was reminded of how priceless a family's love truly is.