Christmas Day, 2006

Left to right that's Peter, Dan, myself, Lisa, and Mickey. Lisa and Dan made a delicious English style dinner with chocolate French crepes for dessert. Thanks guys for another wonderful holiday.

Last Day at Wawanesa December 22, 2006

This is the building I worked in when I worked for Wawanesa Insurance. They own 2 nearly identical buildings that are side by side. We were in the one on the right. The building on the left is rented out to other businesses. There's a deli in the corner of the other buiding and the courtyard in between the two is were I usually ate lunch. Working there I felt very much like the Queen of Hearts; running very fast in a very fast land and never making any headway.

Mt. San Jacinto State Park, December 24, 2006

This is a slide show of photos taken on my 2nd trip up the Palm Springs Tramway to Mt. San Jacinto State Park. My friend Stan, who lives in Illinois and is visiting Palm Springs, joined me. Since we hadn't seen each other since before I moved west we had a great time catching up with each other.

It was a bright, sunny day in the 40s with almost no breeze. The air was so clear we could see the far side of the Salton Sea over 40 miles away. And the sun was so bright we had a hard time taking photos even in the shade. There was just enough snow on the ground to make it fun. Stan, it was great to see you. Thanks for joining me and letting me show you this amazing place.

Rudy & Mazen's Holiday Party December 2, 2006

Here it is almost the end of January and there are still photos and events from December that I haven't posted yet. I beg the excuse of the crazy holiday rush.

This photo is from Rudy and Mazen's Holiday Party on a fine Saturday evening in December here in San Diego. That's Rudy holding the oversized present with Mazen in the red shirt to his left.

They take a lot of time with the decorations and go to some expense for a caterer that provides great food and a popular coffee cart. It's their present to their friends. They're such great, nice, warm, friendly, down to earth guys the people that attend their party are all terrific. I re-scheduled dinner out with Dan and Peter so as not to miss their party. Thanks again for another great evening guys!

P.S. The fireplace photo I included as part of my Christmas Letter posted on Christmas Day is theirs and was taken during their party.

This seagull happily posed for me even though I was just fifteen feet away.

This was another example of a picture that took me all day to get and was a surprise when I realized that's the photo I was trying to get all along.

When I walked out of the building I work in and looked towards the bay I was startled by an even bigger cruise ship than the one shown below and docked slightly closer. It seemed to be bearing down on me from a quarter mile away. I tried all day to get a picture illustrating the effect. I took pictures just out side the building, I got shots along the dock close to the boat, I even took some shots outside our second floor conference room with the top of the ship lurking over the tops of the palm trees. When I left work at 5pm, the sun had started to set. As I walked towards the bay, taking photos as I went, the ship's horn gave off a great loud, low, long blast that is still echoing among the buildings. And then the ship started to back away from the dock.

At glacial, stately speeds the ship backs up and turns, then heads forward towards the mouth of the bay. I'm taking pictures the whole way, even some video, and I'm not happy with what I'm getting. Meanwhile the sun is going down fast. Finally, I see that a small sailboat is going to cross the bay behind the cruise ship and when they line up will be my picture.

I know that most will say that the camera needed to be on a tripod to avoid the shaky lines caused by my inability to hold the camera perfectly still while the shutter is open for a long time in the low light. Perhaps, but I still like the shot.

Ice Storm in Austin

Rey in Austin sends this photo of the ice storm that has blanketed their area, turned their streets to ice rinks, and kept him home for several days.

Even though this photo was taken within a minute of the one below, the colors are all cool while the other one is more warm colors.

Art Project Source

The assignment was to create by hand, drawing or painting, an art project inspired by the beach. Now I haven't done an art project since my age was in single digits and the thought filled me with considerable trepidation. But I just told myself to break it down into small parts. "You like to go to the beach, and you like to take pictures, so just go take some photos and see what happens." I had conceived the idea of getting some shots of the cliffs and the beach and the ocean and drawing that. Somehow.

Though sunny it was cold so I pulled out the winter gear. Sneakers, no sandals, crew socks, long pants, and a long sleave thermal t-shirt. This is "bundling up" in San Diego.

I expected sunny and clear, but I wasn't prepared for how incredibly clear it was. The ocean looked higher, closer. I could see mountains way to the north beyond Camp Pendleton. The horizon was a clear, distinct line between water and sky. I had a great time for 2 1/2 hours taking photos of the cliffs and the beach and the surf and the rocks and the birds and walking and breathing. I thought I had some good shots and kept putting the camera away as the sun was going down and it started to get really cold. I didn't want to climb back up that cliff in the dark. But the sunset just kept getting better and better. It actually dropped beneath the sea as I was pulling out my camera for the last time. This photo was taken just after the sunset. The sky was completely saturated with color. It was the second to last picture I took. Somehow I don't think I could have just shown up at sunset and taken that photo. I needed that 2 1/2 hours to search for what I didn't realize I would find.

Downtown San Diego, January 2, 2007

I'm enjoying working in Downtown San Diego very much. There's always something to see. I've started taking my camera with me to work every day so I don't miss any photo opportunities.

The building I work in is just 2 blocks from San Diego Bay where all the cruise ships dock. I didn't realize how big these things really are until I moved to San Diego and saw one in person. These things don't just pull up and park in downtown Champaign, Illinois. If they did they'd be the tallest thing there. This picture is taken from over 2 blocks away. Not in the picture is a 15 story Holiday Inn directly across the street stretching its neck trying to be taller.