Ever wonder why dogs are man's best friend? Well, I think it's because the dog is the one keeping us company when we're in the dog house!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Happy Labor Day
I find it interesting that we recognize Labor Day by not working. It's like celebrating Christmas without Christ...or forgetting Memorial Day.
Nonetheless, I started my Labor Day at 6 AM....getting ready for an early morning hike at the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, north of Livermore, CA. A friend picked me and my brother up at 7 AM and we hit the trail by 7:30 AM. Within minutes, we came across this pond...with the early morning sun lighting up the hill in the background. My vision was to capture the nicely lit hill and its reflection in the water. I also liked the curves in the bank and used it to add interest to the foreground.
The bad thing about sunrise is the light looks beautiful early...then steadily gets worse. The incredible orange, morning light quickly disappeared, depriving subsequent photographs of her glorious warmth.
Nonetheless, I started my Labor Day at 6 AM....getting ready for an early morning hike at the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, north of Livermore, CA. A friend picked me and my brother up at 7 AM and we hit the trail by 7:30 AM. Within minutes, we came across this pond...with the early morning sun lighting up the hill in the background. My vision was to capture the nicely lit hill and its reflection in the water. I also liked the curves in the bank and used it to add interest to the foreground.
The bad thing about sunrise is the light looks beautiful early...then steadily gets worse. The incredible orange, morning light quickly disappeared, depriving subsequent photographs of her glorious warmth.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
I Iz An Artist
Growing up, we played baseball. When it wasn't baseball season, we rode our bikes or threw mangoes at the bus. I had no interest in the arts...musical instruments, singing, drawing, painting, dancing, drama, etc. So, my interest in photography is somewhat like squeezing a square peg into a round hole...ask my daughter, it's tough to do.
Some folks think taking pictures isn't art. Anyone can point a camera at a subject and press the shutter release button, right? Well, take a look at the typical photo shared on Facebook and you will realize, it actually takes artistic skill to take a halfway decent photograph. If we had tougher camera control laws, many people would have their cameras confiscated for indecent exposure!
To overcome my lack of genetic artistic skill, I've been doing a lot of reading on composition and in on photography in general. The theme for my photo project this week is "Learning." I may focus my pictures this week on my photography-related learning.
This is a picture of a page out of the book, "The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman. If you're interested in reading this book, drop me a line and I'll let you borrow it.
Some folks think taking pictures isn't art. Anyone can point a camera at a subject and press the shutter release button, right? Well, take a look at the typical photo shared on Facebook and you will realize, it actually takes artistic skill to take a halfway decent photograph. If we had tougher camera control laws, many people would have their cameras confiscated for indecent exposure!
To overcome my lack of genetic artistic skill, I've been doing a lot of reading on composition and in on photography in general. The theme for my photo project this week is "Learning." I may focus my pictures this week on my photography-related learning.
This is a picture of a page out of the book, "The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman. If you're interested in reading this book, drop me a line and I'll let you borrow it.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
TGIS
Thank God It's Saturday...I like Fridays, but I love Saturdays! I got up this morning and decided to go for a walk around Pleasanton. I really enjoy walking around town with my camera. There is something special about walking around....I think I see a lot of things I don't normally see when I'm in my car.
Here's a picture of the fence around the Pleasanton Century House/Bicentennial Park. As I walked by, I noticed one of the posts was bent. I used a shallow depth of field to draw the viewer's eyes to the bent post.
Here's a picture of the fence around the Pleasanton Century House/Bicentennial Park. As I walked by, I noticed one of the posts was bent. I used a shallow depth of field to draw the viewer's eyes to the bent post.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Working Out
The boy is playing AAU basketball this fall. Instead of paying $100 for two months at the gym, he's working out "old school" style. No, I'm not talking about Rocky Balboa chasing chickens around. He dusted off our Olympic weight set in the garage and is lifting free weights three times a week with his friends and jogging a couple times a week.
Of course, my car is parked in the garage and is in close proximity to the weights. He's very aware of this...and he tells his friends to not scratch the car as they walk by "or his dad will kill them." His friends must think I'm psycho! Quite honestly, I wouldn't kill them....although torture is not out of the question....
Anyway, he asks us to move the car out of the garage when they are working out....smart kid. For my photo of the day, I walked out to the street and decided to shoot the reflections in the roof.
Of course, my car is parked in the garage and is in close proximity to the weights. He's very aware of this...and he tells his friends to not scratch the car as they walk by "or his dad will kill them." His friends must think I'm psycho! Quite honestly, I wouldn't kill them....although torture is not out of the question....
Anyway, he asks us to move the car out of the garage when they are working out....smart kid. For my photo of the day, I walked out to the street and decided to shoot the reflections in the roof.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Vision
Today was a rough day. My colleague is on vacation this week and I'm covering for her. Unfortunately, it's an extremely busy week....I blinked and ten action items arrived in my e-mail inbox! To make matters worse, four people from my group got laid off today. The corporate integration is beginning....
Needless to say, I was not in the mood to take pictures today. I took a couple quick snaps of the tread from the truck's tire and was going to title it, "I'm Tired!" Okay, that was lame...so, I crawled out of my bad mood and was determined to create a quality image. One of the topics of discussion in my photo group is shooting with a vision....actually thinking about the image, mood, etc. before you press the shutter release....then use the appropriate lighting, camera settings, post-processing, etc. to fulfill that vision.
For this shot, I walked into the dark garage and noticed the light coming through the garage door and loved how it reflected off the car. My vision was to create a dramatic shot using the light, reflections, and shadows. I don't think it came out half bad! I'm glad I washed my car this past weekend.....
Needless to say, I was not in the mood to take pictures today. I took a couple quick snaps of the tread from the truck's tire and was going to title it, "I'm Tired!" Okay, that was lame...so, I crawled out of my bad mood and was determined to create a quality image. One of the topics of discussion in my photo group is shooting with a vision....actually thinking about the image, mood, etc. before you press the shutter release....then use the appropriate lighting, camera settings, post-processing, etc. to fulfill that vision.
For this shot, I walked into the dark garage and noticed the light coming through the garage door and loved how it reflected off the car. My vision was to create a dramatic shot using the light, reflections, and shadows. I don't think it came out half bad! I'm glad I washed my car this past weekend.....
Monday, August 30, 2010
Cars
The theme for my photography project this week is "cars." There was a car show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds this past weekend, but I missed it. I spent the day yesterday in San Francisco checking out the Japanese tea garden and the art museum. No complaints...I had a fun time taking pictures yesterday.
My co-worker is on vacation this week so it's going to be very busy at work. My approach to the car theme this week is to focus on close-up "artsy" shots of car parts this week.
For today's shot, I tackled the rear wheel from Mia's truck. I used a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field (focused on one of the lug nuts), a circular polarizing filter to cut some of the glare off the wheel, and processed the photo using Lightroom 3 software to give it a soft, rich, monochrome look.
My co-worker is on vacation this week so it's going to be very busy at work. My approach to the car theme this week is to focus on close-up "artsy" shots of car parts this week.
For today's shot, I tackled the rear wheel from Mia's truck. I used a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field (focused on one of the lug nuts), a circular polarizing filter to cut some of the glare off the wheel, and processed the photo using Lightroom 3 software to give it a soft, rich, monochrome look.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
de Young Museum
The family went to see the "Birth of Impressionism" exhibition at the de Young fine arts museum in San Francisco today. We also spent some time at the Japanese tea gardens across the way in the Golden Gate Park. I'm not much into art, but I had fun spending quality time with the family and taking pictures in the museum. I don't know much about Monet, Manet, Degas, Pissarro, Renior, or the other French impressionist painters of their day...but I did appreciate the naked women they painted!
Here's a picture of the de Young Museum. I loved the lines, angles, and reflections in this scene.
Here's a picture of the de Young Museum. I loved the lines, angles, and reflections in this scene.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Life Lessons
I never knew what real love was until I had children. Sure, I love my wife, parents, siblings, and my mistress (well, just kidding about the last part), but I never truly understood unconditional love until I had kids. I wrote about parenting in my blog back in January...about how children need more than food, water, clothing, and shelter....they need love, support, guidance, morals, and values.
My parents beat their strong morals and values into us (literally) and for that I'm eternally grateful. I likewise take my responsibility as a parent very seriously. By providing love, support, guidance, morals, and values to our kids, I believe we are developing people with strong character, high self-esteem, and the determination and drive to succeed in life.
Parenting is a tough job and there are tons of books and magazines out there to provide guidance and advice to parents. My recommendation is to save your money and invest in two small, short, and inexpensive books. If you have a girl, get "Father to Daughter, Life Lessons in Raising a Girl." If you have a boy, get "Father to Son, Life Lessons in Raising a Boy." If you're like me and have both, then get both! The books contain short phrases and insights in raising kids. The key, however, is to not take these as cute little sayings, but take the words to heart. A lot of these five word phrases are tougher to live out than one would think!
It's "book" week and here's a picture of the kids reading the books. I know some day, they will be great parents....but kids, no rush please....
My parents beat their strong morals and values into us (literally) and for that I'm eternally grateful. I likewise take my responsibility as a parent very seriously. By providing love, support, guidance, morals, and values to our kids, I believe we are developing people with strong character, high self-esteem, and the determination and drive to succeed in life.
Parenting is a tough job and there are tons of books and magazines out there to provide guidance and advice to parents. My recommendation is to save your money and invest in two small, short, and inexpensive books. If you have a girl, get "Father to Daughter, Life Lessons in Raising a Girl." If you have a boy, get "Father to Son, Life Lessons in Raising a Boy." If you're like me and have both, then get both! The books contain short phrases and insights in raising kids. The key, however, is to not take these as cute little sayings, but take the words to heart. A lot of these five word phrases are tougher to live out than one would think!
It's "book" week and here's a picture of the kids reading the books. I know some day, they will be great parents....but kids, no rush please....
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Treasury of Keepsakes
The theme for my photography project this week is "Books." BTW, this isn't a reference to any ethnic groups. Quite honestly, I initially had a lukewarm response to the theme, but I decided to embrace it and try to put together some creative and/or meaningful shots.
This photo includes Kami's keepsake book. It contains facts, notes, and photos from her first five years. Well, technically just one year....since we forgot to fill in the rest of the pages. You see, sometimes the best of intentions get overwhelmed with life....diaper changes, midnight feedings, projectile vomiting, slips and falls, high pitched screaming...well, you get the picture. We were so busy living life with a new baby, we forgot to fully document life with a new baby. Although the book isn't completely filled out, our memories are full of fun times!
The pillow in the photo is a "Certificate of Birth" pillow, which listed her birth weight, length, etc. Kami still uses the pillow to this day. It's her favorite pillow and she even travels with it. Some day, I'm sure she'll let her own daughter borrow it....maybe....
This photo includes Kami's keepsake book. It contains facts, notes, and photos from her first five years. Well, technically just one year....since we forgot to fill in the rest of the pages. You see, sometimes the best of intentions get overwhelmed with life....diaper changes, midnight feedings, projectile vomiting, slips and falls, high pitched screaming...well, you get the picture. We were so busy living life with a new baby, we forgot to fully document life with a new baby. Although the book isn't completely filled out, our memories are full of fun times!
The pillow in the photo is a "Certificate of Birth" pillow, which listed her birth weight, length, etc. Kami still uses the pillow to this day. It's her favorite pillow and she even travels with it. Some day, I'm sure she'll let her own daughter borrow it....maybe....
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