Living in the Alaskan Wilderness

Last July (2007) I went with my dad and uncle to visit my cousin and her family in Soldotna, Alaska. It was an amazing trip. Well, her son (my 15 year old cousin) Cody is a great kid, and I had a great deal of fun spending time with him while we were there. He comes up to me one day while we were there and says "Hey, I know where we can go see this old, broken down cabin. Wanna go see it???" Uummm, YEAH!!! So we travel across a field and into the woods. I mean "THE WOODS!!!" No trails. No that is fun. We come across this cabin, and the out house (I am assuming) you see here. I love to think about what the story of an old place like this is. Who lived there?? How long?? What was life like?? It was a fun trip. We even heard rustling in the woods while we were there. Who knows what that was. We weren't eaten by a bear...so that is a positive. I didn't have to out run a bear. I mean, I'm fast.........just not that fast.

It was a great trip.

Bird o' Orange

I love taking pictures of animals. Whether out in nature, at the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park, it's all the same to me. Animals are a fun subject. There are those who think that photographing animals at a zoo or ones that are "tame" is not "true" animal photography. Well, I disagree. Perhaps it is less of a challenge, but still no less satisfying, especially when most of us can't afford the time or the money to visit Africa or Antarctica. I took this particular shot at the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. I love the contrast of the bright orange feathers against the dark green leaves. Also, while this rule is not hard and fast, when shooting animals I try to "get their eye." Meaning, many times I wait for them to look at me. The eyes, just like in people, is a type of window to the soul. Crazy I know. I just am always trying to "capture the eye."

Jumbo Rocks : Joshua Tree National Park

Last summer I decided to visit a place I had never been. Joshua Tree National Park. Only an hour and a half from my home I can't believe I hadn't taken the opportunity to visit sooner. I love the desert and it was a beautiful day. With my U2 CD in the player, I drove around the park. So many sights. So much beauty. I took some time to walk amongst some of the rocks that at times dominate the landscape of this place. It is here at Jumbo Rocks that I took this picture. Originally a color photo, I threw it into Photoshop and turned it black and white. I will share the original color pic as well.

Which one do you prefer????

Flower of the Garden

I took this picture in the garden at my school. Sometimes when you are taking pictures, it is important to "get small" if you know what I mean. Get down and get close to the little things. Such intricacy in the tiny things of Earth. God is in to the smallest details. Don't forget that. I just love this picture.

Picture of the Day : Mountains from Homer, Alaska

This picture was taken from Homer, Alaska. If you look closely you can see a few glaciers up in the mountains. I love this picture. Most of the time when taking pictures one should try to aviod having a lot of sky in the shot. Unless of course the sky is an important part of the image. Well, I felt the sky was a huge part of this image. It lends a sense of "Wow!" to the image. At least it does for me.