The Coy Pond

Last Friday I had the day off. In the morning I was on kid patrol, but I wanted to take some photos in the afternoon. The problem of course is writer’s block (or photographer’s block). I couldn’t think of a new place to go that I could get to relatively quick and still be able to take some good shots. I have been struggling with this quite a bit. So I asked Christy, and we didn’t come up with a good answer. So rather reluctantly I headed out with my tripod and camera to El Dorado Park Nature Center. I have been going to El Dorado for over a year and taking photos there. It is some place that I go at least once a month if not twice. It is great, and I’ve gotten some great photos there, but it is so familiar. Last year about at this time I took some photos of thistles, which I thought were an unlikely subject, but ended up being one of my best photos  last year. So  anyway last week I went out and the thistles were out, but I didn’t bring my camera.

I went out with low expectations on Friday, but I was so impressed. On my trip I found not one but two red dragonflies. I saw one of them for the first time in May, but because of our hard drive on our other computer and the transfer process, I lost the photos. The dragonflies are amazingly striking and big. I kept my distance and used a zoom lens that was all the way zoomed at 300 mm. I also happened to see a regular dragonfly and it was about 1/2 to 1/3 the size. Though the length was maybe only 50% bigger.  My trip also involved a close sighting of a Red shouldered hawk (I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo though, booo!!), a large tortoise, a rabbit, another hawk perching up in a tree, and two large blue herons. I got some good shots of the thistles, seen above (and got sunburnt for my trouble). Anyway all told it was my best day at the park in months, and I was a little sad to leave to come home. Hope you enjoy the photos.

 

Saturday of course was the 4th of July, and for most of the day I had to work. Work was alright, but no one likes working on a Saturday, and much less the 4th of July. A few days before the 4th I had an idea of photgraphing fireworks. For some reason I had never  thought about photographing a fireworks show until I got an e-mail this week with tips on how to do this. I thought this was a great idea and nothing that I’ve ever done. Also we live really close (about 1 mile away) from the military base that hosts an annual show.  No hassles or hours waiting to find parking, just a nice walk. It was so much fun. Not only being able to see the show (which was amazing), but capturing it on film added something to my satisfaction. 

For those photo buffs out there, I set my ISO to 200, the aperture to F8 and turned my shutter to bulb mode. The recommendation was to shoot the shots for 5 to 15 seconds depending on  how much you want going on. I put my camera on a tripod and hooked up my remote switch, so that I didn’t have to hold the shutter down  and move the camera while taking the shot. All of the fireworks came up from about the same place so I really didn’t have to move my camera much. I tried a couple of different positions for fun. Anyway it was really easy, and I was amazed at how much fun it was.

I think that firework shows are so cool, and that I forget how cool they are. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen one so the “Wow Factor!” was fresh. And it was even more so since I was taking really nice photos (well I think so, hope you do too).

Unfortunately Christy didn’t get to share in the fun! Someone had to stay home with the sleeping boy. But she is hooked on the Twilight books, and for a Saturday night fun, we rented the movie. She enjoyed it and didn’t feel that deprived, especially since she stopped to watch some of the show by stepping outside.

Anyway hope you enjoy!

In late March, Christy and I were aching to go on a road trip. We love going to Santa Barbara and before Jarrod was born we went there a couple times a year for mini road trips. Oxnard was always on the way, and we were excited for strawberries one year and stopped there to pick them up. There are tons of fields in Oxnard, but we realized pretty quickly after stopping to pick up fresh grown strawberries there, that they weren’t all that good. Quite a disappointment.

Anyway we decided we would love some fresh picked strawberries and we didn’t want to go all the way to Oxnard, especially for subpar strawberries. So Tanaka Farms in Irvine was the answer. We couldn’t really take Jarrod to the U-pick lot, since he was too little and squirmy, but the kids play area with kid size strawberry pots were perfect. And the strawberries, were amazing!

We thought we were so smart big hats, and SPF 50 sunscreen to spare. Christy and Jarrod had a great time. Jarrod explored every pot and hay bail (my goodness, I didn’t realize that a baby could love a hose so much), and Christy enjoyed watching him and eating fresh strawberries. I was the miserable one, lubing myself with so much sunscreen that it got in my eyes. I could hardly see, and my eyes kept watering. I had fun taking some photos of Jarrod, though. Anyway hope you enjoy.

[caption id="attachment_212" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="View from a field 1/2 mile from my parents house"][/caption][caption id="attachment_214" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Wildflowers on road to Rock Creek Lake"][/caption][caption id="attachment_216" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cool Red Lichen looking up at the Sierras"][/caption][caption id="attachment_218" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Dandelion and fan shaped plant"][/caption]

On our trip to Bishop Christy and I were pretty busy, though I have to say we had our own little times of bliss. We generally took turns watching Jarrod. In the mornings Christy took a couple of trips to alpine lakes and would sketch and paint for 3-4 hours and I would watch Jarrod. We would go for drives and explore a little or roam around town. In the afternoons was my turn to explore. One afternoon Jarrod couldn’t sleep, and neither Christy nor I could convince him to take a nap. I needed to get out for an hour or so, so I took some photos from just down the road from my parents home. I wish I had views like this 1/2 mile from our home in Los Al. We were in luck to catch irises blooming in the fields around Bishop, though I had heard that they were past their peak. I was still impressed.

A couple of days later my dad and I took a trip up above Rock Creek Lake, and went down the trail about a mile toward Little Lakes Valley. It was pretty sublime looking up the valley at the creek leading up to the massive mountains. Dad survived alright, but I think I walked with him a little too far. He was tired and had some trouble with all of the rocks. I think he enjoyed it though, his camera was out of memory. (Booo!!!) Fortunately I brought my tripod for a shot of us both.

I was having fun finding creative subjects like the lichen and a dandelion (which was actually taken from our trip later in the week to Tahoe, but more about that in a later post). It’s kind of fun finding an unusual subject and turning it into a cool picture. Anyway hope you enjoy.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Christy, Jarrod and I spent some time with my folks in Bishop. Bishop hosts an annual celebration of all things mule (“Mule Days” its called). There are competitions, show jumping, concerts, and lots of other events around town over the weekend. On Saturday morning there is a parade where all the mules and people are dressed up many in costume. Even Shrek’s donkey made an appearance. I hadn’t been to a parade since I was maybe 10. It was a lots of fun and probably would have been more except Jarrod was in quite a rare mood. He wasn’t interested in sitting out in the sun for an hour and a half, and told how many places he couldn’t go. We survived alright with my dad taking about half the photos.
Mule Days are fun, and we happened to come on the 40th anniversary, so it was probably even more so. I was surprised by how popular it all was. There were people from all over the west, even Montana and Idaho. Christy had fun, but I think she preferred the Arts and Craft Faire. Anyway come out and check it out next year. Hope you enjoy the photos.

[caption id="attachment_195" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="I love it so much, I might even blow you a kiss"][/caption]

Having a baby is all about discoveries. Not only for him, but also for us. One of our recent discoveries is pasta with marinara sauce. Oh my gosh, does this baby love pasta and marinara. He loved it so much that he even wants to feed it to us. There are few things more cute than a baby trying to feed you some of his pasta. Anyway hope you enjoy!

It has been a while since I posted on the blog, and life has gotten so busy. We took a welcome break however over Memorial Day weekend and the week thereafter. Christy, Jarrod, and I took a trip to the Eastern Sierras to see my folks  in Bishop and spent a couple of days by ourselves up at Lake Tahoe.
The pace of our lives took a welcome change allowing  me a little time for photography. I took a lot of pictures on our 7 day trip, and we saw a lot. In this section of photographs I tried to capture water, whether moving or still, and some reflections.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of creativity and inspiration I feel when I’m out photographing, particularly when I’m in a place as beautiful as the Eastern Sierras.  It is such a welcome sensation to not feel rushed and be allowed to savor, this gift that God has given us. Several months ago I went to a photography club meeting, and seeing some photos from others in the group, and being particularly inspired by one photo with an amazing reflection out of a puddle. Kind of ironic turning a puddle into art, I remember thinking; but the photo was pretty amazing.  This trip I was looking for reflections and saw some pretty amazing ones on occasion. It wasn’t hard. When seeing some of these great alpine lakes, it makes my body slow down and consider, especially when there is complete quiet. Where can you find complete quiet in LA? May is such a great month for this too; since it is warm enough to access the high country but too cold to see too many people. It also is a time to see the Sierra with its grand snow covering still on. Anyway these are some reflections from a few nature hikes I took up there.

Anyway this is the first in a series of different photography themes from this trip. Hope you enjoy!

I just realized that the last time I mentioned my pregnancy on the blog, I was frustrated after finding out I was only 7 weeks along. I know that most of you who read know the basics of the latest, but I thought I’d post this update anyway.

Everything turned out to be fine, just as I suspected, I was just 7 weeks along instead of 9. Everything has been going very well since then, aside from the fact that I have been sick beyond belief. Only in the past few days have I had any real relief, and I’m not really ready to say I’m done being sick yet. I’m just not sure. But I’m 19 weeks along as of yesterday, and…

Monday, we had our “big” ultrasound, where they do lots of measuring and checking and all kinds of stuff that is totally beyond my comprehension. I haven’t heard anything from the doctor yet, so I assume everything is OK! The biggest news from the visit is that we are having a baby girl! I am very excited, and so is Bruce! Jarrod, I’m not sure yet. He’s not really old enough to understand the concept of a baby sister yet. :)

OK, that’s all, just wanted to post an update. If I get around to it, I’ll scan one or two of the ultrasound pictures and post them here. But don’t hold your breath, I tend to be pretty busy these days…

Edited to add: OK, I see I did mention that things were progressing a few posts ago. Well, this is an update anyway… that the baby is a girl is new information. :) Blame my mushy pregnancy-brain for the mix-up.

So anyway a couple of weeks ago Christy and I were missing out on days of yore when we would go out for a   gourmet picnic. We decided that since we didn’t feel up to a long drive we would just go to the beach and have a picnic with a few gourmet goodies. It was a lot of fun. And of course Jarrod loves the park especially by the beach. He enjoyed munching on some gourmet goodies and walking around with daddy’s hat and water bottle. He felt like Indiana Jones exploring the park. (He kind of looked like it too). Anyway I was happily snapping lots of photos of the little bug. Here are a few for y’all to view.

This wasn’t Jarrod’s first Easter, but it WAS his first egg hunt! We didn’t really “hide” the eggs exactly, we just put them in various places on the grass. He had fun picking them up, and trying to eat them.

When he was done finding his eggs, we went inside and really ate one!