Lunch with Anna 1.29.10

Speeding Trolley

After Sunset

SPF Zero

Lunch with Steve, 12/24

Hummingbird

Quote: The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true
enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the
teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

- Dr. Kent M. Keith

Michael R. posted Mother Teresa's version of this quote on facebook. I found myself thinking about it and referring back to it

Because It’s There

I came across an article in a magazine where they quoted a photographer as saying: “the best camera to have is the one you have with you.” This makes sense to me. The best camera in the world does you little good left at home. Another very accomplished photographer was asked what kind of cameras she has. After listing a very impressive array of Nikons and Canons, she said she always, religiously, carries a point-and-shoot.

I’ve noticed a paradox when I have a camera with me. I’m at once more involved with my surroundings, looking for those little gems of light and form, while at the same time I’m more detached, an observer.

So I got an Olympus Tough for a very good price from B&H. It'll go 30 ft under water, will stand temperatures way below freezing, and will hold up to being knocked around. Not that I'm being super active right at the moment, but, you know, I aspire.

Why this photo? Because it was there. All of it: the mug, the fireplace, the camera, the software; refusing to be ignored.

Christmas Day

Peter and Mikey

Briar and Star

Lisa, Star, & Briar

Lisa & Dan

Lisa & Mikey invited Dan & Peter and me to her house for dinner. Lisa and Dan prepared a traditional English dinner with roast beef and pudding. Peter made an incredible apple crumb pie. Mikey recently adopted Star whose scruffy face and soft fur is so adorable!

Forgot to Blog This:

I bought myself a digital photo frame for Christmas and was going through photos to load into it when I came across this shot from July 5th that I posted to facebook but never got around to putting in the blog.

I had recently reconnected with friends from Champaign Tim and Keith (front row) on facebook. They were already planning a trip to SD over the 4th so we made plans to meet for brunch in Coronado. They brought along Michael, back left, and his partner (Robert? David? Help me out guys!). As a special treat, afterwards Michael took us on a tour of one of his client’s condos that he had just completed redesigning. He had stripped it down to the bare bones and rebuilt all interior walls and surfaces. The results inside were as spectacular as the views outside.

Of course, now that I have all of the Nik Software programs on my laptop I had to play and adjust the photo; part of training for work, of course. I took out the noise and emphasized the fine lines and details, except for our faces. At our age we don't need those lines emphasized at all. And since I hadn't spent much time in our program for black & white images I converted the image to give it a vintage look. What do you think?

Nik Holiday Party 12-11-09

Friday, December 11th at noon, we closed the office and headed across Mission Valley through the rain to the Town & Country Hotel and Convention Center for the Nik Holiday Party. There a feast awaited us with plenty of Drink and much Roast Beast. Unlike the Casino Night a few weeks before everyone brought their Cameras with Serious Lenses. I was quite intimidated with my little semi-manual Olympus. But it's not too big, fun to use, and does surprisingly well.

After dinner and awards and speeches and general congratulations all around, and more beverages, we had a White Elephant gift exchange. As you can see in the background of the pictures and movie, there is hardly any sort of Holiday decoration at all making it difficult to get into the Christmas Spirit.

I kid: the whole place was wall-to-wall decorated trees and elves several layers deep, some a little scary.

The gift exchange was aggressive, but fun. I started out with a great looking game called Fact or Crap. But I didn't keep it long. Next I unwrapped a cloth shoulder bag that was beautiful, but not me, until I found out it was an actual prop used in the Bourne Identity movies. I'm a huge fan of that trilogy and was quite delighted with it, until someone else thought it delightful, too. So back up I went and unwrapped this:

Hmmm. What should I take as my White Elephant present next year?

Gypsy

I took these pictures of Ms. Gypsy Thanksgiving Day to test out the Nikon D200 I borrowed from work. She was originally looking all cute on the couch, but had to come check things out when I sat down on the floor looking in her direction. I just pointed and told her to “go over there” and she happily posed for me.