All around the world

The web meets RL on a chalkboard.



-- Post From My iPhone

Tasty

Cell Phones may not be the greatest cameras, but they are great to capture the moment quickly and spontaneously. The also work for getting a GPS fix on your location, and make for a nice down and dirty blogging device.

Now that's tasty technology.

Hat and Ribbon

I've just got to get out with my camera, that's all there is to it. A day away from all the distractions of the unreality of day to day living.

Truck Stop

Off an old stretch of highway, commerce takes a rest....

Trash

Welcome to California... land of broken dreams.

Family Time

The moments of today that we keep forever.

Empty

And they say we're on the road to recovery?

Nuts!

Final Destination

Here's a road I'd love to follow forever. I've been photographing as many of the places around California that I can manage to. Not an easy task given the size of the State, and the shape the economy's in.

When the opportunity presents itself, I'm gone. Goodbye California.

I'm not planning on ever returning. Despite all its natural beauty, the State is sucking the life out of the people who live here.

Like all bad relationships, it's better to just walk away.

Jammed

Hard to tell from this photo, but traffic was backed up for miles. Come to find out, it was the result of two 15 year old boys crossing the freeway at 6:00 am. One of them got hit by a truck traveling at 65 miles an hour.

You can bet the boy is seriously injured. So, you've got to ask yourself... what were these two doing on the freeway?

While sitting in this endless traffic I couldn't help but notice all the graffiti on the walls and bridges of the freeway.... So, I don't think it would be a stretch to guess these boys were out tagging.

Wasting youth on the young.... it's very sad they couldn't find something better to do. Tragic in so many ways....

Our Indian Summer

Nature turns up the heat

Still Moments

Reflecting the rich color of life.

Indecision

This is where life gets tough...

Running By

The complications of forgetting.

Back Roads of my Memory

Yesteryear's are all but an illusion to me now...

Modern Times

She's a wreck Jim...

Right at home

One of the few sunny days this summer.

Summer's Over

It's a official, the summer we didn't really have is over.

A long way to go

The government seems to think that the recession ended fifteen months ago. If we're even on the road to recovery, we've got a long way to go.

My Beach, Alone

Give me a beach and some wet sand.... and I'll see what I can do.

Grab Shots

I'm always surprised by the things I left behind and never processed, like this shot. They just sit on my hard drive for months, and then when I'm getting ready to free up space, there they are.

Time Out of Mind

It happened long ago, though it seems like only yesterday....

Solemn Sunday

I was asked to contribute a picture to the flickr group "Your Personal Sunday" - and this is the one I picked.

In thinking about it, Sunday has meant many different things to me over the years. Always changing. It's never been about single events.

When I was young, it was never a day that I particularly cared for. It was a lonely day, as most of my friends were gone and there wasn't anything particularly interesting happening. Most of the time I couldn't wait for the day to be over with. I wanted to be done with the boredom.

At other times it was a day I looked forward to, church with the family and perhaps a meal out.

When I was studying in France, I was reminded how I felt about Sunday as a kid. In Paris, a lot of the shops are closed, and the streets feel empty and abandoned. I'd walk around admiring the architecture, or just spend hours along the Seine. I don't speak french as well as I'd like, so I'd get the stranger in a strange land feeling, but not in a bad way.

Up until a few months ago, I lived just down the street from the Santa Barbara Mission (which you see here in this photo). Living so close, I'd go to mass, and enjoy it very much. It was almost like being in the Notre Dame Cathedral. You feel more engaged in the ceremony, and the sights and sounds feel more alive and vibrant. You lose a sense of time, and are lost in the reflective moment.

Since becoming infatuated with photography, Sunday's have also meant road trips. Time alone with my camera and nature, lost in the wonder of it all.

Sundays are special, but so is the gift of life. It's a journey filled with surprises.

Flags on water

Abstracts and reflections are great subjects for photographs. Often one in the same. Once you start looking for them, you'll notice they're everywhere.

Since you came along

Wet sand really helps with sunset silhouette photography. It reflects the colors of the sky. The trick is to have your subjects on the wet sand.  This helps to separate them from the background.

Long Haul and Tree

Letting things speak for themselves.

Sunset Catch

Summer's over, the crowds are gone,
leaving empty beaches and a setting sun

So soon

It had been a strange year,
Phil stood and gazed,
everything had slipped away,
and yet, the sea so blue,
the sky so clear,
still, good, and amazed,
the sea his ballet,
here he bid his troubles adieu...

Mountain Road

When you want to get away from it all....

Vintage Reflections

Just another way of seeing the world...

Gathering Light

These were tough shots to get. My subjects were moving and there was little light. Opting out of using the flash, I experimented with changing up ISO settings and hand holding the camera.

Oil Fields

Quietly keeping the Nation running...

In Dreams we are

Like a canvas showing off magic hues...

Guess Again

Happy Labor Day!

Be thankful if you've still got a job.

In their all too predicable fashion, the politicians are out touting about all the jobs they've saved, but it's still not enough, and they are going to save the world with Stimulus 2.0.

Give it a rest.... you've done enough damage already.

She's Automatic

Taking me back along forgotten roads of memory...

On the ranch

I made it out to "the ranch" yesterday.... It was great seeing some old friends and sharing some good times...

Sand Stairs

Dreams built along the shore....

Surf Time

Summer's over, time to say goodbye...

Blue Wheel

Last I knew, it was Saturday afternoon and we were leaving town...

Califailure

Two months after the start of the fiscal year and still no budget. Any other type of organization would have had to declare bankruptcy, but state government?

This is failure on a grand scale.