Red Rhododendron

A nice red Rhody at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. It's a little bright for me, I should bring that down a bit in Lightroom. Still, I thought it looked good. :)

Thanks for the Peanut

After I gave this squirrel a peanut, he ran up in the tree and started eating it. I tried to get a picture, had the camera on full digital zoom, which makes it a little blurry, and it had a hard time focusing on the squirrel instead of other stuff. That was a bummer because I thought this is a neat photo with him looking at me. :)

Grammie and the Grandkids

Can you ever go wrong with a photo of Grammie and her Grandkids? Here they are watching the waves at Neskowin. All together now, Awwwwwwwww. ;)

Rhododendron Garden Pond

This is one of the ponds at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. I liked this angle because I thought it framed the pond well.

Proposal Rock

Here's another photo of Proposal Rock at Neskowin. Not the usual angle people see, and I liked how I captured so much sky.

Where's My Peanut?

Upon entry to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens, we were immediately greeted by this squirrel looking for someone to give him a peanut. Of course we had plenty and obliged. :)

Spring Colors

I love the new green colors of spring, so bright, so alive. I liked how this tree looked along with the others blossoming against the others yet to come out, and the reflection in the water.

Arch to the Duck Pond

This is a cool arch is the bottom of a bridge at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. I tried to get some good framing, wish the people weren't in the photo but there were SO MANY people it was next to impossible not to get them - plus I was with the family and they were moving on. ;) A little post-processing in Lightroom to enhance it a bit. :)

Sunset at the Beach

A nice sunset at Neskowin from a few years back. I like how the sun is this big, bright orb glowing through the clouds.

Sunset

Oops, I'm slacking again, forgot to post a photo yesterday. :(

This is from a few years ago. It was a really beautiful sunset at our house. I should photoshop out those powerlines, but I still like this. Really love the colors. :)

Old, Fallen Tree

While walking around the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens, I saw this old tree that had fallen in the water. It had some really cool features and I knew would be fun to post-process. I dropped it into Lightroom and started playing. I really like how this turned out! I should probably post the original so people can see the difference. The original is very blah and this has life.

Hanging Squirrel

We go to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens not just to look at the plants (though they are pretty), but to feed the ducks, geese, other birds, and squirrels. Most of the squirrels come up to you and take the peanuts out of your hand. This one wouldn't so we tossed him a nut. A little later I noticed him coming down the tree with a nut in his mouth. Then he grabbed hold with his hind feet, hung there to the side of the tree and began eating the peanut! I have never seen a squirrel eat that way, it was funny and cool. After he was done I reached out to the tree and gave him another.

Wave Rolling In

Being at the beach offered me so many great photos! Tomorrow I will try to find one somewhere else, give my Photo of the Day some variety. ;) Here's the end of a wave rolling in.

Walking on the Beach

7:20pm and the clouds/fog were rolling in. Still quite nice. While Riley and I were digging, I took this photo of everyone else walking to the waves so Maddie could play in them. I LOVE how this photo turned out!

Sun Setting Behind Proposal Rock

The fog and clouds were rolling in as the sun was setting behind Proposal Rock. This is just how it looked, no extra processing in the camera or after. I liked how calm and peaceful it looked.

Sunset at Neskowin

As the sun went down I went back to the beach to capture it along with Proposal Rock and some water. I really like where everything is in this photo, seems balanced and calm.

Seagull on the Rocks

It was low tide and this seagull was standing around looking for stuff to eat and just relaxing.

Bright Sun and Clouds

Last of my cloud pics for awhile. The sun was a little behind the clouds. I pointed the camera at the bright spot and took the picture. It's always fun to see how the camera will handle it. I liked how this one turned out, some good brights and darks without needing to play around in Photoshop. :)

Big Clouds

More clouds from our trip to the park. One thing I love about spring and fall is there can be lots of dramatic weather creating lots of cool clouds. I wish the power lines and poles weren't in the picture. Maybe if I find the time I'll Photoshop them out.

Cool Clouds

We were at a park back in February and while the kids were playing, I was noticing how really cool the clouds were. I took this photo and didn't notice the birds until I downloaded it to my computer. I think they add some extra coolness to the photo. :)

Drawing by Riley

Today's photo is a drawing by Riley. He has a book that shows how to draw Pokemon characters. So he got out the dry erase markers and drew Pikachu. WOW! He had no help, did it all himself. I was amazed at how awesome it is! So I just had to share it with everyone. Not bad for a 7 yr old! :)

Neskowin Panorama

Several photos I stitched together at Neskowin. The ocean is to my back, this is looking at the river that empties into the ocean, our condo is in the background. Such a great place!

Small Arm's Allan

Last year the One More Time Around Again Marching Band was playing a crazy parade. Crazy because no one knew what it was about and there were VERY few people watching. It was the first year for the parade and I don't think they publicized it very well. It was cold in the morning and Allan was trying to warm up while keeping his arms warm. The image cracked me up so I took a picture of it.

Sleeping Maddie

Yesterday was Mad Maddie, today is a much prettier, peaceful photo of her sleeping. We were replacing the carpet in our bedroom with laminate flooring. Maddie climbed into the top bunk, wrapped herself up in a blanket, started watching TV and fell asleep. I was amazed she could sleep through all the banging and loud noise we were making.

Mad Maddie

After we got to Reno and checked into our hotel, we went to dinner. Maddie was tired and did NOT want her picture taken. Of course I HAD to take it. haha Very bummed this was blurry. :(

Reflection at Neskowin

I really liked how calm the water was and how everything was reflecting in it. This is at Neskowin looking away from the ocean back to our condo.

Riley, Roxy & Zoey

Puppies are so much fun. It's neat to watch a little kid play with them - three puppies having fun. Here they had just finished playing a bunch and were taking a breather.

A Boy and His Dog

Riley had so much fun playing with Roxy when she was a puppy. She was definitely HIS dog, often sleeping together too. Nothing like a boy and his dog!

Vine Covered Chimney

Another cool photo from the Leach Gardens.

Winter Oak Trees

It was a beautifully clear winter day. I was at the school with Riley's Cub Scout Pack and saw these grand Oak trees sleeping against the deep blue sky. I thought it looked really cool, so I took a picture of it.

Leach Gardens

We went to these very cool gardens in SE Portland off 122nd by Johnson Creek. They are AWESOME! They had a special Dinosaur thing going on, which the kids loved, so we didn't have a chance to fully explore this place. We'll have to come back here when the kids are older because it looks awesome to hike around.

Afternoon Clouds

There were some great clouds awhile back when we were at the park with the kids.

Marci & Maddie at the Beach

I had to play a band gig in Astoria, then I met Maddie, Riley & Marci at Seaside for some fun at the beach. Here's Maddie having fun jumping over the waves as they come rolling in. It was a great day!

Light Behind the Tree

While we were out trick or treating one year, I looked up and saw this very cool view of the street light on the other side of this tree shining through and making the tree glow.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

While looking for our Christmas tree one year, I saw this little one. It looked so cute and sad at the same time, reminded me of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Beautiful Sunset

We get a lot of great sunsets, and fortunately, our house sits is a great spot for them. When you go upstairs you can see a long way. I just wish the power lines weren't there. I asked Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs to look at a few of my photos. He liked this one, which means a LOT to me! :)

Trumpet Player

In the parades we have two gals march with us holding our banner. They are usually like Miss Oregon, or Mrs. Oregon, or Miss Teen Oregon, something like that. Very nice ladies who are great sports. Usually during the parade, two of our trumpet players in the front row run up and trade with these gals - they hold the banner while the gals hold their trumpets and march with us for a bit. I'd definitely rather have one for these gals marching next to me than some of the guys who do - it even doesn't matter if they can't play trumpet. LOL!

Louie, Louie!

This is Jay leading the One More Time Around Again Marching Band signaling the next song to play. We usually play 3-4 songs in the parade, which each having a different number. That makes it easy to signal everyone which song we are playing. Our signature song is, "Louie, Louie", which is #2 - we play it every year along with some other new ones. This band has been around for 25 years and now when we're between songs, people watching will hold up two fingers asking us to play, "Louie, Louie"! It's a great band and a ton of fun!

Waves Crashing

Another photo from Neskowin. I stood there with the shutter button half-pressed waiting for a good wave splash. It seemed like I was there forever! I finally got this one and am pretty happy with it.

Roxy & Zoey

Our two wonderful Corgi's. Roxy is the Pembroke and Zoey is the Cardigan. They are so much fun, so smart, so cool. I never wanted a small dog because most small dogs just "yip yip yip" all the time, drives me crazy. But Corgi's aren't like that at all. In fact, they are more like a big dog, just in a small dog body. Before Roxy and Zoey and we had three other Pembroke's, and I think we'll have more after these two. Just fantastic dogs!

Grave Digger Crashes

Last Monster Truck photo for awhile, promise. Grave Digger always goes last in the Freestyle program. He was having some troubles with his truck's motor stopping. This time he went up the big hill but didn't go up very fast, didn't have the momentum to go over the top, and flipped over to the right, rolling down the hill, flipping over, and landing on its top. No one was hurt, just the fiberglass body. Of course the crowd loved it! Sometimes I think Grave Digger does this stuff on purpose. It was a good way to end the show!

Maddie & Me at the Monster Trucks

One more Monster Truck photo. This time it's Maddie & Me! I held the camera out in front of us and took the photo. It really was a fun father/daughter time!

Monster Trucks - The Patriot

For most of the Monster Trucks I had my camera in sports and continuous mode and fired away when the trucks would do stuff. I didn't notice the smoke coming from The Patriot until I pulled the photos off the camera. I like how the smoke kinda gives that foggy, extra cool atmosphere feel to it, like he's been sitting there spinning his wheels building up the smoke then popped the clutch and took off fast. Looks like he's about to explode WAY over the cars. :)

Monster Truck Iron Man

Iron Man was new this year, at least to the Portland show. Very cool looking Monster Truck! Looks more like a Monster Sports Car. haha

Monster Truck In The Air

Here in Portland they do the Monster Trucks in our Rose Garden, where the Blazers play basketball. It's not as large as other places so they can't do a lot. But at least they were able to make a big hill for them to jump off. It was really cool to see them way up in the air! Here's Captain USA going off the jump.

Link to the rest of my Monster Truck photos.

Maddie at the Monster Truck Show

For the past four years Riley and I have gone to the Monster Truck show. It's been a really fun, we have a great time. This year a friend from school had a birthday on the same day and he decided he wanted to go to that instead. I was a little upset, but it's actually better for him to go to the party, building friendships that could last forever, and all that stuff. So Maddie decided to go along with me - our first big Father/Daughter day!

We had pit passes so got to see the cars close up, had some lunch, then enjoyed the show. She really liked the Monster Trucks, but not the other stuff and got a little bored, so I let her watch Scooby Doo on my Droid. LOL! OH, and we borrowed my Dad's Bose noise canceling headphones for her, I have my own (thanks to Dad). THEY ROCK!!!

So here's Maddie all ready for the show to start. I'll have some more later. And here's a link to the rest of my Monster Truck photos (I took 650 but only posted 146).

Riley & Me at Camp Ireland

We really had a blast last year at Camp Ireland. Here we were sitting in the stands waiting for something to start and I decided to take a pic of Riley and me. I just held the camera in front of us and clicked. I was very happy with how it came out, especially since right after they started and I didn't have time for another.

Old Fire Engine

One year at our Rose Parade they had this really old Fire Engine that was going to be in the parade, pulled by horses. It was very polished and looked awesome!

Pinewood Derby Cars

It's always fun to see what cars the kids (and parents) create. Some are very traditional, some are wild and crazy. All are awesome!

Zoolights Tree

Another fun photo from the Oregon Zoolights event. These were a very nice and bright green. I'm really happy I was able to hold the camera still enough to capture this!