Winter Waves

Enjoy the simple things in life.

Waves and Clouds

Winter along the California Coast brings storms. The waves those storms produce will bring out the surfers, and will provide lots of opportunities for photographers to capture some of the magic.

After the Flood

Sometimes it's just fun to take a simple image and play around with it in Photoshop.

Golden Years

"Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true,
Or is it something worse?"

Gone Gone Gone

An image works if you feel you can walk into the scene. I'm not sure this one does, but you get the idea.

Glowing Mission

Just because the sun goes down doesn't mean that it's time to put away your camera. There's lots of opportunities to capture something different.

The Last Time I Saw Bill

The thing with photographs is that you can give them titles to add to or give them a bit of a story. That may actually change the way a person views the image.

Group of Friends

Use the direction and quality of light to your advantage. Make it part of your composition.

Lone Surfer

Simplicity.

A lone surfer serves as an icon of beach life and tells that story. There's not much need for more. I like to make images such as this.

All in a Day's Work

Taxifornia has what it takes to take what you have.

How does California solve its budget problems?

1. Take more from its citizens struggling to get by.
2. BORROW more money and prolong the problem.

Would you borrow money to pay a debt burden you can't afford? I didn't think so. But that's what California is doing. It's criminal!

But there are things we can do to help ourselves.

Here are a few things I've read and think are good ideas.

1. Buy less. Stick with the essentials and postpone buying everything you can.
2. If you're one of the lucky ones who can still afford to take a vacation, take it in another State. Forget Yosemite, head for the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone.
3. Drive less. Do more at home. Spend time with the family.
4. Barter. A little quid pro quo between professions.
5. Cancel your newspaper and magazine subscriptions. All the content you want is online.
6. Start packing a lunch.
7. Still going to a gym? Why not find other ways to exercise? A walk or jog perhaps.
8. Pay off your credit cards. This is the quickest way to give yourself a raise. (you get to keep more of your money)
9. Stop eating out.
10. Start buying things on sale. Look for value, always.
11. If you're a reader, remember you can always get books from the library.  There's lots of free digital books for the Kindle too.
12. Got stuff you don't need anymore? Have a garage sale and get rid of it. You'll feel better and have a little extra cash too!
13. Get rid of extra phone lines or 2nd cable boxes.
14. Compare prices and look for sales.
15. Buy what you can online and/or from out of the State.

Other Worlds

Sometimes the world is such a strange place.

Beach Exploration

Photographing the beach is about capturing it in all its phases, Morning, Night, High Tide, Low Tide, Calm, or Stormy.

From sunrise to sunset the beach is ever changing and full of live. It has a lot to say, and there's much to explore.

Pier Fishing

I'm still working at low light photography. I've got the concept down, so now I just need to practice the technique.

The Tarnished State

I try not to use my blog as a soapbox. Lord knows there are enough blogs out there for that.

The thing is that for many of us, it's hard to sit back and watch the State of California implode. The mainstream news would lead many to believe that the State's recent problems are due to the economic downturn facing many economies around the world.

This is misleading and far from the truth. The reality is that mess California is in has been building up for a long long time. We could play the blame game all day long, but the fact is everyone who lives here needs to share in the responsibility of the nightmare we find ourselves in.

We've become a welfare state without the means to pay for the never ending list of things voters keep approving.

Margaret Thatcher said that ”The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”.

That's where California is today. Out of money! Unlike the Federal Government, States can't print money. But isn't the next best thing borrowing? That's what we did, and continue to do. But our credit is cut off. California is too risky. A bad bet!

Guess what? Borrowing didn't work. Couldn't work for that matter.

Not all of us liked it. We saw the train wreck coming, but just didn't know how bad a wreck it would be.

The only option seems to be leave. The ship is sinking, and all Sacramento can do is re-arrange the deck chairs.

It's sad really. This has been my home my whole life, but it isn't wise to stay in a burning building.

Calling it a day

When I'm at the beach, I never know that to expect. Often times I come away with very little and other times I'm able to get a grab shot like this that sums up a day at the beach nicely.

Luck, location, and persistence are key. Just keep at it and things will work out.

I just wist the surfer wasn't dead center. I know I could crop this, but I consider it a throw away shot at this point. I took lots of other ones.

With hat in hand

Shape and color can say a lot and set the tone and mood of an image. It's something to always keep in mind.

Modern Times

I think this about sums up the state of the world today. The way I see it, the boat is the U.S. Economy and the person cleaning up the mess is the American taxpayer.

Need I say more?

The light comes shining through

Faith and love will always guide us.

Slick

This just reminds me of all the words we hear from politicians. A lot of slick words, but the reality is that the ship is still sinking.

Rainy Day Prayers

A little faith provides a lot of shelter from the storm.

I've got my eyes on you

Ever get that feeling you're being watched?

Me too...

Okay, looks like I've got the Flickr settings fixed and can blog to my heart's content.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

I've been having some problems posting to my blog from my Flickr account. I've updated a few settings, so lets see if it works now. This thing has been giving me fits lately.

Chasing Waves

The beauty of nature is a wondrous thing.

Dredging Up Some Sunshine

Having a few elements with which you can compose a silhouette makes a world of difference when photographing a sunrise or sunset. Without these elements, you might as well just enjoy the show and leave you camera in its bag.

Up with the Dawn

Sometimes we get lucky and are in the right place at the right time.

Morning Fishing

Undeterred by the cold or approaching storm, a lone fisherman patiently works at making his catch.

Riding into the sunset

And taking in the last of a beautiful day.

Like a Minstrel

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises."

Psalm 98:4

Twisted Remains

Two flatbed trailer trucks carrying wreckage from the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center traveled through California a few years ago.

One of the stops was in Santa Barbara, California. It was a chilling experience to witness the twisted metal and contemplate the scene.

These photos have just been sitting unprocessed on a CD which I recently took out of my archives looking for something else. Upon seeing them I had the same strong reaction that I did when the saw the wreckage in person and decided to process and upload a few of these images.

Let's face it

Sometimes going back and seeing what we've done will give us inspiration and new direction.

Angels in the Architecture

Sometimes we need a little help to get us through the day.

Chromatic Gate

Lines, Shadows, Pattern, Texture, and color. All good subject matter.

That last bit of light

Being in the right place at the right time of day makes all the difference in the world.

Checking Messages

Winter beach photography is great. There are usually just a few people on the beach, which in this case works just fine.

Green Isles

We all need a peaceful place where we can go to collect our thoughts and give our soul a bit of rest.

And the nice thing is, we don't have to go there physically, it can be a place of our dreams.