A Glance at Race Day

Here's some shots from around Carsland. I need to practice more at shooting on-ride shots along the side of the car, because I want more shots like the one posted below to turn out along various parts of the track.

LAX Photos

I really can't wait to get down to L.A., mainly because there's SO many different things to photograph. I love urban art and architecture, so when my family went to pick up some family from their trip to China, I went around LAX and snapped some photos. Here's two of them that I really liked. I'm still trying to work on long exposures with so much light around me. I'm used to standing out in the middle of a field in Bakersfield shooting stuff and making the dark sky light up, so this is a fun new challenge to me. But, I think these turned out well, and would love your opinion.

Blasting Through A Solar Flare

I love this ride. It's old, and admittedly needs some upgraded love, in my opinion. However, it's still a lot of fun. Every time I'm with family or friends, we're on a constant competition to see who gets the high score. But, I don't think it's fair for the rest of them, because I found out where all the high score hidden targets are. Do you know where they are? 

Is This Your Sign? Magic On Main Street

This has to be one of my favorite stores on Main Street. It's small and quaint, but it has some cool history. Steve Martin got his start here before he went on to be an actor. In fact, there's a photo of him near the cash register. Also, this is the only building (outside of the Coke Corner's red lights) that has colored bulbs, outside of the traditional white that adorn the rest of the buildings along Main Street.

Disneyland Forever: An Orange Start to a Magical Kingdom

I'm trying to get back into a habit of posting more photos I've shot. Most of these have been sitting on my desktop for a while, and I've done nothing with them. A while back a friend of ours signed us into Disneyland, and we got to check out the new 60th Celebration stuff. All of the shows are fantastic, and the upgrades to the attractions are top notch. So, let's start this off with a opening shot of the new fireworks show, Disneyland Forever.

This show's technology is fantastic. Steve Davison and his team took the projection mapping from previous shows they've done in other Disney parks and brought it home for the 60th. It starts out with orange groves, as it once was before Disneyland was built. To see something like this, even projected, gives a really surreal idea of what it must have been like for Walt to look at trees, and see where his Castle would go, or where the world of Tomorrow would be. Tying it back to what was once there was really awesome to see, and to think that imagination truly has no limits is inspiring, to say the least. 

Meet Winnie

It's been about a week since we've had our new family member, and she's already captured my heart. It's funny, because I didn't even want her. Hailey has been on me for about the last six months, trying to convince me that we needed a dog. I haven't wanted one since I lost my first dog DJ. It just never really felt right.

But, a week ago, after coming home from a trip to Long Beach, she had looked up at least half a dozen puppies of various breeds, and wanted to 'just go look'. I had started to take a nap, but I was woken up around 8:00pm with a phone in my face and Hailey saying "Theres puppies we can 'just go look' at right now. Well, look at how well 'just go look' went. We 'just bought' a puppy. Not just any puppy, the first puppy we looked at. There wasn't any hesitation or doubt. She was ours.

The owner was a good old country boy. I'm not talking your basic redneck. I'm talking, the guy had a definitive twang, and when we walked up, he was finishing up a pack of bud light with his friend, and smoking deer jerky from a recent hunting trip. Shorts, tank top, fishing hat, he fit the stereotypical bill for redneck. But, he was an absolute gentleman, and came off as a guy who would hug you over hit you. His dog, our puppy's mom, was super clean, well behaved, so I figured the puppy had to be the same way. We walk to his backyard, and there she was, laying by the side wall of the house, in the shade. There she was, a little half Queensland, half uhm...half...Schnauzer? Terrier? We don't really know. Anyway, Hailey held her first, and watching her, I knew that this was it. The minute I would hold her would be it. I'd melt, and say yes.

Now I've got two girls to look after. 

Well, that obviously happened, because now we're a week into owning this puppy, and she's adapted so well into our little family of two. Hailey was right. A dog would be great for us, especially me. I've been grumpy lately, because of a variety of reasons. Coming home now to a dog gets my mind off things, and I've got a little thing that loves me unconditionally and doesn't care what happened during the day, and just wants to play. It really is the best.

 Obviously we're still learning how to train her and housebreak her a little bit, but she really is quite adorable, and learns fast. On friday nights, we decided she gets to sleep up on the bed with us, but otherwise she's adapting well to her crate. In the next few weeks we go to get her second round of shots, and once she's cleared, I'm thinking a trip to the park to play is in order.

As for now, I'm going to go play some tug of war with this little one, and just enjoy some pure happiness.