San Diego shoot

I recently undertook a short visit to my old stomping grounds – San Diego.  It was nice to catch up with family and friends as well as soak in some of that good old California sunshine.  While down that way, I also set up photo shoots with several families.  Here are some shots from one of the shoots…….

New Year’s Day 2012

If the first day of this year is any indication of the year ahead, it’s gonna be great fun!  We took the kids, and us, on a sledding adventure up to Mt. Hood – we’ll be back soon…….

Holiday Express

There is an organization in town called the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation.  It’s mission is to preserve and promote old steam locomotives, and once in a while they ‘fire them up’ for special events.  We recently booked a ride on one such event – the annual Holiday Express.  This consists of a ride through Oaks Bottom nature preserve on one of these old steam locomotives (built 1941 in Lima, Ohio – 35 miles from where I grew up), in vintage rail cars.   It was a pretty ‘cool’ experience, topped off with Santa on board and the train decorated in holiday fashion.    The kids really enjoyed it, though the loud train whistle was a bit too much for their sensitive ears.  Here are a few shots from the day…….

I like to take walks in our neighborhood, especially when it’s raining.  Recently, I came across an old Chrysler New Yorker on one of the side streets.  This old classic was under a tree which was in the midst of shedding it’s fall foliage.  The leaf covered car created a perfect photo opportunity.  Here are a few images from 2 separate occasions – the first was an overcast dry day, the second was a rainy day.  You can see the dramatic change in the feel of the 2 images from the dry day to the images from the rainy day.

Preschool Personalities

After discovering that I am a photographer, my youngest son’s preschool teacher recently asked me to photograph the different class groups.  Of course, I agreed.  There are 4 different class groups, ranging from 5 – 11 kids each.  The group shots were fun and challenging, getting all the kids to sit still and not wander off – some were only 2 1/2 years old.
After the group shots, I took each child aside to take a few individual shots at an attempt to capture their individual personalities.  Man, were there ever a varied array of personalities at work!  I placed them in front of a red door I had noticed earlier, thinking it would make a nice backdrop.  Here are a few shots from that cold, autumn morning…….

 

autumn

I forgot how amazing autumn can be!  Growing up in Ohio, it was there every year.  The woods we lived within and the surrounding countryside where we played was alive with color and the crispness of fallen leaves for more than a month, every year.  Of course, being a little kid, I don’t know if I fully appreciated this beauty every year, especially when we had to rake all the leaves on over 2 acres of land laden with trees.  I do have very fond memories of playing in the piles of leaves with my brothers.  The piles were huge, REALLY huge!  All of us could hide in one pile and disappear for a few precious moments.  I can still remember the feeling of the leaves and their stems tickling my nose, getting inside my ears, my mouth, up my pant legs, and anywhere I had an opening in my clothes.  And the smell of those leaves ….. I remember this most of all.

Inevitably, there would be a huge bonfire and the leaves would be gone – at least until we raked the next pile.

Here are a few local images – an homage to those carefree and precious autumn days of my youth …..

Scarecrows and Pumpkins

We heard about a pumpkin patch and a large corn maze just outside Portland, on Sauvie Island.  It was a rainy Sunday that we picked for the day to bring the kids and check it out.

The weather couldn’t have been a better fit for what we encountered when we arrived.  It was great fun, the kids had a blast, we only got lost twice in the maze, and the crowds were sparse.  Perfect!

Our New Home

We have been looking to make the break from southern California for the past couple of years.  After researching options for our new home, and visiting several of these, we decided on Portland, Oregon.  This surprised quite a few of our friends, who almost unanimously factored the weather as the main reason to stay in southern CA and as the main reason not to move to Portland.  Every place, as well as most decisions in life, seem to be a trade-off or compromise of some sort, and this decision is probably no exception.

Every day here so far we discover more to love about our new adopted home.  The people, lifestyle, food, and yes………even the weather, have all contributed to reinforce the reason for our move and the soundness of our decision.

We took 3 days to drive up here, which gave us a little time to relax and enjoy the trip.  Here are a few ‘snapshots’ from our adventure………

 

 

Prints For Sale

So, I’ve been told I have a ‘slight tendency’ towards procrastination.  Maybe this is why I have not as yet created my second website through which to highlight, share, and (hopefully) sell some of my ‘fine art’ imagery.  Ok, I’ll put more time and energy into it.  If only that little 3 1/2 year old would give me a bit of his energy!

Meanwhile, here are a few local surf and seascape images to enjoy.  And, yes…… they are for sale!  Contact me if interested.

hipstamatic

I recently purchased my first iphone.

I was one of the patient holdouts for the verizon version.  I can’t remember the last time I was so happy with a purchase of any kind!

One of the main reasons I wanted this phone was for the camera and, specifically, the camera apps which are available.  One of these is a fun little app called ‘hipstamatic’.  I was a very faithful user of Polaroid films and was very disappointed when the company went ‘belly up’.  I could still kick myself for not stockpiling boxes of type 55 4×5 film.  Well, this app allows for several lens, film, and flash options which simulate old school polaroid effects as well as other alternative film processes.  It is SO much fun to use – in fact, I can’t seem to put it down sometimes!  The only drawback is that I find myself not ‘dusting off’ my dSLR much these days which, in actuality, may not really be that bad for a while.

Here are a few recent examples…….

Oh, and by the way, the ‘Daily Gumby’ has moved back to facebook……. sorry.