Day 117 Getty Fountain

I went to the Getty Museum today with Justin and Brian. Unfortunately, the sun was way too bright for many good pictures. We had fun anyway and are planning another short outing real soon. These fountains are kind of nice to look at and I'm sure they would photograph much better later in the day.

 

             f/36; ISO 100; 0.6 sec. exposure; 53mm focal length

Day 116 Angel Figurine

This little Angel figurine sits on one of Kim's shelves in the living room. It's holding a little flower while it observes our daily routine.

          f/1.8; ISO 1000; 1/30 sec. exposure; 50mm focal length

Day 115 Candy Canes

Yay for Candy Canes. Sorry, nothing creative to say here so look at the pretty candy.

 

         f/1.8; ISO 1000; 1/30 sec. exposure; 50mm focal length

Day 114 Fire

Here is the fire we had going at our College/F.I.T. Holiday Hullabaloo. This is before it got REAL big...

           f/1.8; ISO 500; 1/30 sec.exposure; 50mm focal length

Day 113 Matching Sweaters

These kids belong to a Missionary couple from Guatemala. I thought they looked real cute so I asked them to pose.

       f/1.8; ISO; ISO 100; 1/50 sec. exposure; 50mm focal length

Day 112 Christmas Morning

Duke decided to find out if the candle Kim was holding smelled nice. He wagged his tail afterward, so I guess he liked it.

          f/4.5; ISO 2000; 1/30 sec. exposure; 50mm focal length

Day 111 A.J. and Verity

Nothing like getting together with family and especially little ones on Christmas. All of the little kids just love A.J. This was A.J. and V hanging out after Brunch.

           f/5.6; ISO 400; 1/30 sec. exposure; 55mm focal length

Day 110 Dragonfly

This little dude was just minding his own business in my back yard. Beautiful creatures.

          f/6.3; ISO 100; 1/125 sec. exposure; 45mm focal length

Day 109 Fire Ants

I was at work today and disturbed a wet pile of dirt when all of a sudden a horde of Fire Ants came pouring out of the ground They were pretty mad and they Just. Kept. Coming. I later went back and agitated them several times. Amazing how fiercely they defend their home.

           f/11; ISO 100; 1/50 sec. exposure; 55mm focal length

Day 108 Lion and Lamb

This is a little ceramic container that Kim keeps coins in. This sits atop the T.V. in our room and I look at it every day. It took 108 days for it to make the blog!

            f/4.5; ISO 100; 1.0 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 107 Dreaming of Summer

No I did not take this today, but I am completely sick of the rain right now so I posted a nice sunset to cheer myself up.

          f/4.5; ISO 100; 1/100 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 106 Sleigh

This is a little sleigh we have out for decoration at Christmas time. I took this one in front of our tree this evening.

             f/25; ISO 400; 30 sec. exposure; 27mm focal length

Day 105 Another Nativity Scene

We went to a Christmas party at the Pittman's house tonight and I kept staring at this Nativity Scene. It was quite mesmerizing. I finally had to go out to my truck and take a photo.

          f/4.5; ISO 1000; 1/50 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 104 Garnet Lake

I took this one while A.J. and I were on a hike near Mammoth in the summer of 2009. This is on the John Muir Trail at 10,000 feet above sea level.

            f/4; ISO 100; 1/640 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 103 Garden Grove Christmas Tree

This is the Christmas Tree that is at the Village Green over off Main St. in Garden Grove. A.J. was quite disappointed that it was fake.

              f/29; ISO 100; 30 sec. exposure; 30mm focal length

Day 102 Plotz House Decorations

Here is the front view of the Plotz house all decked out for Christmas.

              f/4; ISO 100; 8 sec. exposure; 24mm focal length

Day 101 Sea Gull

No time for a new picture again today. This is one I took when Kim and I went to Morro Bay/Cambria in 2008. I thought this Sea Gull looked interesting just sitting there.

         f/4.5; ISO 320; 1/500 sec. exposure; 150mm focal length

Day 100 Nativity Scene

Here is the first of many Christmas-themed photos. This is a Nativity Scene a friend gave us a few years ago.

            f/3.5; ISO 100; 1.3 sec. exposure; 23mm focal length

Day 99 Butterfly

Here is a kinda close up of a Monarch Butterfly on a stalk of Lavender. I need a Macro Lens!

        f/4.5; ISO 100; 1/250 sec. exposure; 150mm focal length

Day 98 Brother and Sister

These are two cute kids from our church. They posed nicely for me for about 3 seconds. I wanted to get a shot at their perspective, but I could not get them to stand still long enough.

        f/11; ISO 100; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 97 Knott Avenue Christian Church

Another church building that I will eventually include in a project I have planned. Not much to say other than it is in Anaheim on Knott Ave. (between Orange st. and Lincoln).

            f/22; ISO 100; 1/25 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 96 Mike and Jill

Of course, I did not take this one today. Today is my sister Jill's Birthday, so this is in honor of her. This one was taken back in May 2005 right after Mike and Jill were married

          f/2.8; ISO 100;  1/15 sec. exposure; 6mm focal length

Day 95 Parrots in my Tree

These three Parrots decided to roost in our magnolia tree for a while. There were about 15 others. They sure are pretty, but man are they noisy!

         f/4.5; ISO 200; 1/100 sec. exposure; 150mm focal length

Day 94 New Tom Clancy Novel

I've been waiting seven years for this! 949 glorious pages!

           f/4.5; ISO 100; 1/60 sec. exposure; 34mm focal length

Day 93 Frog

This is a little frog statue that belongs to A.J. He received it as a gift a while back. The frog is hiding under a daisy.

               f/5; ISO 100; 4 sec. exposure; 45mm focal length

Day 92 Fall Colors

Well, what passes as fall colors in California.

           f/4; ISO 100; 1/250 sec. exposure; 22mm focal length

Day 91 Water over Rocks

I was at Eisenhower park in Orange today. There is a nice little water feature that flows down into the duck pond. Severely cropped due to tons of people in the background.

             f/4; ISO 100; 1.0 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 90 Christmas Season Begins

Well, Christmas Season has begun at Village Bible Church. Tonight a lot of people came to decorate the Church campus inside and out. Janene Zirges leads the way with plenty of help from a lot of creative people. This is one of the displays that sits above the stage. I could not do it justice in that light, but it still looks kinda cool.

          f/4.5; ISO 1600; 1/30 sec. exposure; 30mm focal length

Day 89 Double Double Times Two

A.J. and I stopped for a little In-N-Out after hockey practice tonight. Yummy...

            f/4; ISO 1600; 1/30 sec. exposure; 25mm focal length

Day 88 Tiny Bird Cage

This is a little bird cage that sits on our china hutch. I lit the candle and took a few shots. I liked the black and white one the best.

            f/4; ISO 100; 2.5 sec. exposure; 25mm focal length

Day 87 Late Night Snack

Mmmmm.  Popcorn. It drove Duke crazy to watch me eat it.

            f/25; ISO 400; 1/30 sec. exposure; 27mm focal length

Day 86 Big Lights

These are some of the Christmas decorations that our neighbors the Ruggle's have set up on their lawn. I love the way these looked so I messed with a few settings and came up with a shot I liked.

             f/25; ISO 100; 30 sec. exposure; 35mm focal length

Day 85 Pilgrims

These are some nice Pilgrims I met this weekend. They aren't much for conversation, but they have such great skin!  Anyhow, these belong to the Uemura's and I snapped this one off while enjoying the annual Turkey Soup Night.

          f/5; ISO 1000; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 84 Stacked Cups

Lame, I know.

              f/4; ISO 1250; 1/40 sec. exposure; 22mm focal length

Day 83 Pinwheel

My niece creates and then sells these really cool pinwheels for just abut any occasion. She has a shop on Etsy called Rule 42. Go to her blog and follow the links to see more.

This is the set she brought over for Thanksgiving yesterday.

            f/4; ISO 1000; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 82 Sleeping Angel

Verity arrived at our house today in mid-nap. She looked so sweet while she was sleeping that I had to take her picture.

           f/4; ISO 1600; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 81 Centerpiece

This is a Thanksgiving centerpiece that Kim's Mom gave us. It will be on the table tomorrow along with a little bit of wheat in the background.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

           f/4; ISO 640; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 80 Mexican Flame

These flowers are found at Anaheim High School. This is a very nice specimen with bright, vibrant colors.

          f/4.5; ISO 100; 1/200 sec. exposure; 33mm focal length

Day 79 Bug Zapper

I thought this would be an interesting subject. This is our bug zapper that we hardly ever use. It does glow nicely when plugged on and gives off this cool blue light. Kinda cool.

            f/4; ISO 100; 1.2 sec. exposure; 28mm focal length

Day 78 Kids

Here are some kids from our church playing a game. I have no idea what it's called nor do I know exactly what the rules are. They get in a circle and are supposed to hold still. Then one of them make a move to strike another player adjacent to them. The other person is allowed to make one move to avoid being hit. It is kind of fun to watch.

            f/4; ISO 1000; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 77 Alice

Today at Joshua and Sarah's wedding I was able to get a few shots of Alice Gilmore while her Dad, Andrew was holding her. She is a happy baby and especially loved the feel of my goatee.

           f/4.5; ISO 320; 1/30 sec. exposure; 32mm focal length

Day 76 Angel of Friendship

The other night some friends of ours came by (Dave and Christy Ritner) and gave this statue to Kim. It is called "Angel of Friendship" It is an Angel cuddling what appears to be a Yellow lab puppy. It was very thoughtful and a much appreciated gift. It was very nice to have our friends come by and extend their sympathy. I really appreciated that.

             f/4; ISO 500; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 75 Duke

This kind of happened real fast. Kim has a friend who knew some people who needed to find a good home for a Yellow Lab. I was not looking to "replace" my friend. That can never happen. However, I have added a new buddy and his name is Duke. He is two years old and man, is he ACTIVE. So far he gets along fine with Kobe (who has already let him know who is the boss). Brendan, however, can't stand him. That will take time, I suppose. Duke could not care less about the cat, but I think he'd better watch out for a few days.  So, here he is.

           f/5; ISO 3200; 1/30 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 74 Lonely Buddy

Here's our other dog, Kobe. I don't know if he has fully realized Thor is gone just yet. Kobe has never been alone for more than a day. We got him at 6 weeks when we still had Isaiah. I took this one just as he was waking up this afternoon. He's a very sweet dog.

             f/5; ISO 500; 1.3 sec. exposure; 84mm focal length.

Day 73 Thor

At 9:53 this morning I said goodbye to my friend. I held him tightly and had my hand over his heart as life left his worn out body. I wept over him for a short time and then left the veterinarian's office, still in tears. I came home and then cried some more. It isn't easy saying good bye to a good friend. Below is a poem I found when I lost my Golden Retriever Isaiah. You may have heard of it. It's called the Rainbow Bridge.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

 

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... 

Author unknown...

I miss you, my friend.

Day 72 Goodbye, Old Friend

This the last picture I will take with my Yellow Lab, Thor. Today, I learned my old friend has inoperable, terminal cancer. He has a large tumor at the base of his tail that also encapsulates his internal organs in the area. I laid down with him one last time tonight and my heart is breaking right now.

He is a good dog who always thought I was the best thing ever.

He greeted me at the door and slept by my bed.

He loved me and I love him.

I will miss him.

 

               f/5; ISO 100; 2 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 71 Kids at Play

Today we celebrated Brody's 5th birthday with a lot of fun and frolicking. There was a Dinosaur theme and the garage was decorated like a cave.  There was a bounce house and a Pinata and I think all of the kids had a great time.  This is the sign that was placed in the street to get the drivers to slow down. Very effective.

           f/10; ISO 100; 1/60 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length

Day 70 ER

So I spent 3 hours in the ER today. I have an umbilical hernia and it was causing excruciating pain today. I tried to tough it out, but could not, so off to the hospital I went. I'll need surgery real soon according to the Doc. Anyway, here's my admitting bracelet.

          f/4.5; ISO 1250; 1/30 sec. exposure; 28mm focal length

Day 69 Wind Chime

This is a wind chime on our front porch. I look at it from this angle often.

          f/4.5; ISO 100; 1/80 sec. exposure; 22mm focal length

Day 68 Western Exterminator "Little Man"

I took this one today while at work. There is a Western Exterminator office next door, so I asked permission to photograph the one in their courtyard. Kinda cool looking and unusual.

              f/4.5; ISO 100; 1/640 sec. exposure; 18mm focal length