Learning Curve

I've loved being behind a camera since I was young. Even as a teenage, I wanted to make photography my career until my Dad told me I'd have to be as good as Ansel Adams to really make a living at it. Recently someone said they don't like to take pictures because they like to truly experience life instead of view it from behind a camera lens. To me, capturing the moment on film makes the moment last that much longer in my mind.
But I'm learning that the more I learn about different aspects of photography, the more I have to learn about photography. I recently emailed a friend about some different photography questions that I've had because I think he's one of the most talented photographers I've had the privilege of knowing. He answered my questions and then ended the email saying, "There are rules in photography, sure. But some of the most innovative imagemakers break those rules on a regular basis. Photography is not the same as bookkeeping. It's art, and it's beauty is totally subjective." It was reassuring to an aspiring photographer to learn that, although there are rules, it's subjective to a certain extent. This gives me certainty when I'm looking at the pictures I've taken or looking at other people's pictures for that matter.
I'm excited to continue learning new things in this field. I've already learned so much since picking up my Dad's camera last June but, like most things, I still have SOOOO much left to learn!

OK, so I figured out the new style of pics but it's a pain so I may limit pictures until I can figure it out. Anyway, we got our first "big snow" last night/today. We woke up to a few inches this morning and then it snowed off and on throughout the day. P has been asking to make a "chinnuck" snowman for a week now so we took him out to make one. Then Rob tried to show him-unsuccessfully-how to make a snow angel. We topped off the snow fun with a snowball fight. Although it was snowing by the time we went in, it wasn't super cold outside. P stayed warm with all his new snow gear on and absolutely loved his time outside. By the end of the week the snow will most likely be gone so we had to enjoy it while we could. The best part? Hot cocoa and marshmellows when we came inside!

No Bueno

For some reason our blog will no longer allow me to post pictures. It started with the fire pictures Thursday and no matter how much I mess with it, I can't resolve the issue. Today I messed with it long enough to really mess it up. Now it's not a fun format to blog on. So, I may be creating a new blog site. I'll keep ya posted!

Calm Anxiety

What an oxy-moron, but it's how I'm feeling right now. Today, after only being on the market for 2 weeks, we received an offer on our house. I personally thought it would take longer than that just to get an offer. I'm sure it'll take awhile to jump through the hoops or the buyers may back out so I'm not holding my breath but as of now it looks like we'll be moving sooner rather than later.
The weird thing is that I'm filled with a calm anxiety. I have spent months praying during sleepless nights about selling our house and moving. I've felt nothing but calm about it since we made the decision to do so. The anxiety is from thinking about the magnitude of packing the house, moving everything and then unpacking it all. It's been done before and it'll be done again but it's always something that makes me anxious until it's behind me.
I am excited about moving. Don't get me wrong. There are things I love about our house such as the views from every room, the neighbors, how quiet and dark it is at night, how safe I feel here, the wilderness that surrounds us, the photography opportunities on a daily basis. But there are things I'm excited to be done with such as the water system, the wind, the inconvenience of where we live, all the rocks and dirt. I'm excited that P can finally learn how to ride a trike, how he'll have a real backyard to play in, how going to the park won't take forever, how we'll be close to places and friends, how I'll be able to for a quick run much easier than I can now.
All in all, it's a good thing. It'll just be a better thing once the packing, moving and unpacking is behind us. I like change but I don't like to be unsettled....hence the calm anxiety.

president?

well, we are down to 3 choices for president. mitt romney the mormon, newt gingrich the scumbag, and ron paul. i believe ron paul is the best of the 3 due to his business sense, but i do not think he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. the attitude " anything is better than what we have" may be true, it sucks that is the way it is. i love my country but i really dislike our government. i believe it was thomas jefferson who said a country is governed best that is governed least. i couldnt agree more. i wish we had a man/woman who would stand up there and say they want to get us out of debt, they want to restore faith in the country, and that they believe in the principals set by the forefathers. we are in a heck of a mess here and i just dont see it getting any better anytime soon. they are trying to take away our 2nd amendment, take God out of everything, and turn our government into a political mess. while my wife and i do not always agree on politics, i think we both agree somethings got to change. im pretty much an idiot when it comes to finances and the way things are done in washington, but i believe i could do a better job than what who we have in office now. i do know that you dont get out of debt by borrowing money. you dont spend money you dont have, and you certainly dont make it harder for people to live. stop importing things, that will cause us to spend more money here and will create jobs, stop sending money all over the world when we need to be spending it here, and stop trying to micro manage the people. although we owe people, there are several countries that owe us trillions of dollars. i wouldnt give another nickle till i got all of it back. i dont know, maybe im wrong about all of this but i do know that they arent right about any of this. just my 2 cents

Going Through Hell

I have been trying to post pictures that I took of the fires ever since I wrote this blog but for some reason it's just not going to happen tonight. So look back at it tomorrow after 5(ish) and hopefully the pictures will be posted them. Just an update: It's 9:30PST and we're doing fine up on "our" mountain.


Some states deal with hurricanes. Others have to contend with earthquakes. We have destructive wildfires and this year we've had way more than usual. The wildfires burn thousands of acres and many homes. It turns people's lives upside down. On a minor level, considering all things, even allergy sufferers like me have difficulty breathing. It affects so many!
Earlier this afternoon I thought I smelled smoke but I didn't think much of it until my principal came over the intercom and announced there was a fire in the south end of town. By the time the bell rang, Rob was calling to ask me to get home ASAP because of how fast the fires were spreading. It's crazy to think we're having wildfires in the middle of January. We should be dealing with feet of snow, not scorched land.

On my way home I felt like I was driving through hell. I've never witnessed a fire that close, where I could literally see the flames jump. I was stuck in traffic for almost an hour but it gave me an opportunity to take pictures of the ever growing fire. As of this moment in time, we don't need to worry about anything other than power outages. It could be so much worse for us but my thoughts and prayers are with those that have lost homes, animals, etc. How sad to be dealing with this all over again!

Clouds

Every photographer has something or many things that they like to photograph. For me I like to take pictures of flowers, barns, farm equipment (or old equipment), trees, sunrises/sunsets and clouds. On the way home this afternoon I'm sure P was getting frustrated because I kept stopping to take pictures of the gorgeous clouds that surrounded us. Here are some of the clouds we saw from our back deck and from our drive home. I wish I could've captured their true beauty even more because the clouds were breathtaking!