Google

Rather than watching the news to get my current events...or even loading up a news site, I like to let Google's "auto complete" feature tell me what is current in today's world. 

Simply typing "Why" got me this...

Good Grief.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Forrest Turns One

My son Forrest is now one year old.  I'm sure every parent says this, but the time flew by and it's hard to believe that it's been a whole year already.  On the other hand, he's grown so much and come so far, it's hard to believe that he's changed so much in only a year.

Here are some shots from a quick photo shoot I put together.

Forrest loves this truck.  He pushes it all around the house making engine sounds and saying "tuck".

Laying down on the job.


He got the 'Bee Bop Band' as a birthday present from his Baba.





Forrest and his proud Papa ;)

Kananaskis Landscapes

It's been a fairly busy summer...well, at least it seems that way. It's September already and it feels like it was June only last week. Lucky for me, we did get a couple chances to get away and do some camping...my favorite was the week we spent in Kananaskis Country. We had a couple really nice days but then the rest of the week it rained quite a bit...including very loud thunderstorms.
I was determined to get some landscape shots while in the Mountains, my trip just wouldn't be complete unless I managed at least one good landscape.
Now while it's nice to shoot landscapes in good weather, with bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds...I think it's more challenging and thus more rewarding to create landscapes that have some drama, some moodiness. Here are some of the shots I came up with...let me know if I pulled off my goal.

I'm imagining that these first three would look good if they were hung on the wall as a set.






These next four shots were taken at Wedge Pond.









and in black & white...









This one is a little more....abstract.



This is a shot of my father-in-law's truck. I thought it would be a nice gift for him, as he lent it to us (along with his 5th-wheel camper) for the trip.



These sheep were quietly grazing by the road...a little too close to road for the Ranger that showed up. He shot a noise flare at them, then chased them with his siren on and honking his horn. I wasn't a big fan of that, but I guess it's better than getting hit by a vehicle on the road.

Slave Lake 2009

Every year, we make a trip up to Lesser Slave Lake and camp with a group of friends & family. The fishing is pretty good and the lake is...well, it's a lake. As a photographer, I much prefer the grand vistas of the Rocky Mountains...but there are still some good photographic opportunities to be had if you are creative.






This is Canyon Creek, also the name of the village and campground.




My Wife loves these tree shots, I must say, I like them too.




And of course, the obligatory sunset shot. Life is pretty good when it's July and you can set up your tripod, sit back and have a beer while waiting for the sun to go down. At that time of year, that far north, the sun doesn't set until after 10:00pm. I may have had time for more than one beer. ;)


More photos (for friends & family) can be found HERE.

Forrest likes his new house

As some of you may know, we recently moved into a new (older) house. We are a lot closer to friends and family now, which is great for us and will be even better for Forrest as he gets older.
The downside to buying an older house (in our price range) was that it required a lot of work to make it livable for us. It's been a long month of painting, laying new flooring, replacing lighting and plumbing fixtures etc. It's still a long way from done but we are finally getting settled.

Forrest has been a little trooper though the renovations...he's had to spend a lot of time 'trapped' in his exer-saucer...but now that we have gotten rid of the rather disgusting living room carpet he is free to roam about...which is perfect timing for him now that he can 'army crawl' like a champ.

Anyway, here are some new photos of Forrest at 8 months old.