Journey

… not something we can really do, but I took a trip back in
time to February 2001 going through some of my early digital photos. Corky and
I stayed on the beach in Huntington Beach in our then new motorhome. Travel by
that time had become exceedingly difficult with all the stuff we needed for her
so we ordered a custom Class A 30 ‘ motorhome from Winnebago and it was made to
specs for Corky so that she could function in it and we could once again
travel. Travel we did and it worked for her for over five years before her MS
caught up with the design of the motorhome and we sold it to another family who
had MS and as far as I know it is still working for them. Corky and I spent
twenty five years in Huntington Beach and our girls spent a lot of time on
these beaches with Corky and once in a while me when they were young. I took
this shot with a Nikon Cool Pix 950 and if memory serves me it was a one
megapixel sensor. It took good shots and by today’s standards likely not as
good as the cameras in inexpensive cell phones … and it cost nearly a thousand
dollars. I’m glad I made the switch to digital back then and the photos are not
bad … it is still the person who is looking through the viewfinder. Palos
Verdes is visible on the left horizon and to the right of it you can see some
of the buildings in Long Beach. Still love the ocean, miss it and wonderful
that I get to go back and visit it once in a while. Sedona is home now.

A very good day for us today and the major event was a trip
to the doctor … we are still breathing so it was a successful day. A quick stop
at Zanies for frozen yogurt and then home. Q had a couple of outings and he is
curled up in a basket on the display case in the front hall … time for me to
follow his lead as the coffee is ground and brewed in less than four hours. We’re
into the weekend, enjoy each moment. Back Monday morning.

Cheers

Ted

… it was one of those days when I was trying to emulate Q
and find renewal in rest and relaxation. Not a great number of accomplishments
today, but I did finish a number of photo jobs that have been promised … and a
few more lessons on PS CS6. It was a good day for us and the highlight came
when late afternoon we headed into town and got a frozen yogurt at Zanies.
Believe it or not Sandy, but Corky is now enjoying yogurt with no more thoughts
of your mom making yogurt with dirty coins … truly a miracle… and the end
of an enduring joke taken seriously. Following that it was up to the airport
and Mesa Grill to see all of the photos up on the wall. They looked nice if I
do say so … and we visited with a number of friends up there, Quiet evening and
soon sweet sleep.

I took this shot in August of 2008 near the end of the
runway at Sedona looking towards the NE. A wonderful storm system was on the
way in and it was good.

Happy days and lend a helping hand to those who need it. You
never know …..

Cheers

Ted

Every once in a while a larger subject strikes me as just so
beautiful that I have to capture the beauty of the moment and then spend more
time just sitting and looking at it and all the features of an area I know so
well. I took this shot when my son-in-law Ted and I were out playing the ocean
course in Half Moon Bay on a beautiful day last month. The castle like
structure on the first outcropping into the Pacific is the Ritz Carleton and
beyond, to the left and across twenty some miles of ocean are the radar domes
on the far side of Half Moon Bay. To the right of the domes a few miles is the
Half Moon Bay airport which is equipped to take large commercial jets from San
Francisco if the need arises … It will be fun to land on it this fall when I
fly our Lambada up there. Very few aircraft up there and so much room. You can
see the marine layer sitting off shore waiting to roll in with a heavy fog bank
… for most of the summer the sun will not make an appearance in the area. This
was a rare day and it was appreciated.

Corky and I had a very fun day visiting with friends and
then dinner with them at the airport. The photographs I shot are now up on the
walls of the Mesa Grill … stop in for a visit and take a look at them and then
relax and have something to eat as the food is good.

Time to put a wrap on the day … hope your day was filled
with beauty too and that today will make you glad to be alive … it is good!

Cheers

Ted

And love in the still of
the star-flecked night,

When earth was all strewn
with gold,

Has lifted my heart like
the chords of song

Oft sung in the worlds of
old.

Max Ehrmann

… for food, translated to doves, pigeons, snakes and
rodents. Served rare. Survival depends on the skill to find and successfully take
down the prey and so it is in all of nature … we call it work as we have split
up the areas of responsibility and are served by a segment of our society whose
calling it is to raise and process our food and then make it available in
stores and such. We are about the only species which has established the
division of labor allowing each of us to focus  on smaller areas of interest and labor so that
we may advance as a species. For other creatures such as this Coopers Hawk,
each day is a day of hunting and if he is not
successful too many days in a row, he perishes. Such are the rules of
nature. Predators are perhaps my favorite subjects to observe and photograph. I
got this shot in a tree just about thirty feet off our deck.

It was a good day again and an amazing amount of the day was
spent relaxing, roasting coffee and taking tutorials on the new version of Photoshop
CS6. I decided to go with the Adobe Creative Cloud and have downloaded and
subscribed to several other programs I have an interest in. Lots of neat
features in the cloud subscription including 20GB of personal storage in the
cloud which beats saving images to USB memory devices and the possible loss of
them when traveling.

Looks like another neat day coming up and time for some
sleep before the coffee pot gives me a wakeup call at 6:30 with the grinding of
the beans … and then the pleasure of pouring a fresh cup of coffee and
attending to the morning brushing of Q.

Enjoy the day, share a smile with someone and be well.

Cheers

Ted

… there is a profusion of life and such a place is found in
the Science Hall in San Francisco. Ted, Sus,  Annika and I spent the better part of an
afternoon exploring all that they had to offer including a real rain forest and
it was a trip back in time; reminded me of the days spent in the South Pacific
in air force days. High humidity and temperatures and not much relief. Most of
the neat life forms we were not allowed to photograph, but did get to shoot the
butterflies and there were some very nice ones such as the little critter in
tonight’s photograph. It was fun. But a relief to get out of there and into non
tropical weather.

Corky and I had a fun weekend and hope you did too. I am
really behind in answering my emails – sorry, but working on it. Enjoy to today
… what a gift.

Cheers

Ted

… Allan requested a shot of the whole Iris that I sent out a
few days ago and since he and Marge are kind enough to allow me to spend time
on their property shooting their beautiful Irises every year, I think it is
probably a reasonable request. He did not specify which view of the Iris he
wanted however, so here is my choice and I hope that they and you all enjoy the
beauty of the bloom. These are really tall Irises with the blooms at about
chest level so to get this shot I just held the camera as high over the bloom
as I could get it and pointed as best as I could and took the shot … actually
several of them, to get the one I wanted. I really love the colors in this one
and hope that there will be a few more days to shoot them. Irises have an
intense beauty, they appear and give a burst of beauty and glory and then they
are gone, resting until the next spring.

It has been a very good week for us with a lot of time spent
with friends and on the whole things just seemed to go good for us … and we’re still
breathing and smiling … hope you are too.

Into the weekend and I’ll be back Monday morning if all
continues as hoped. Have fun, give thanks for all that surrounds us and give
some joy to others …

Cheers

Ted

… and so it was on my walk late this afternoon that I was
treated to some pink Argentina Giant Cactus blooms. The sun was streaming in
giving beautiful lighting on perhaps four blooms and I had some fun shooting
the blooms from various angles and varied settings. These blooms appear to go
backwards forever, and perhaps they do and it is possible to travel to worlds
unknown through the portal. The pollen or perhaps fairy dust is scattered over
the lower petals creating a golden highway to follow into the bloom. Hope you
enjoy it and the view seldom seen.

We had a terrific day; mostly work for me, but then I enjoy
that. Cork read magazines, listened to books and also had a good one. Look for
a nice pano shot of mine gracing the webpage of Sedona Dental Arts sometime in
the next few days. I took the shot from their balcony whilst Corky was having
some work done.

Hope your day was joyful and evening peaceful … time for me
to wrap it up. Live the day and spread a few smiles throughout the day.

Cheers

Ted

UFO's

… aside from the common definition of the acronym I have now
enlisted its use as Unknown Flower Origin; not sure what this flower is, but it
is beautiful and resides on Turnberry Road in Half Moon Bay, California. I saw
the small group of flowers whilst on a walk on my respite break a few weeks ago.
It almost looks a person is trapped in the center of the flower … it was a day
of day dreaming around here, rest, relaxation and not much else. Late afternoon
Cork and I headed into town to get a treat and dinner; dessert consisting of a
frozen yogurt treat with toppings was enjoyed prior to picking up the main
course at New York Deli, an artichoke, spinach and sausage pizza. It was most
excellent!

Some photo work and not much else today; it was pure
pleasure to just conk out for a couple of hours this afternoon with Anugama
playing and breezes coming in ….

Have a wonderful day … take a nap (but not at work). I have
stocked up on 100W incandescent light bulbs and now marvel at the ingenuity of
those who avoid the strict letter of the law and build and market 90W bulbs.
Not 75W bulbs, but 71W bulbs. Oh well, my lights shall be at 100 and 75 watts
for the foreseeable future … they give off such a warm and beautiful light. The
incandescent bulb is here to stay!!!

Cheers

Ted

… it takes a close look at natural world to remind me of the
overwhelming beauty found everywhere around us and to appreciate and give
thanks for the gift of life. I took this shot early this afternoon after I set
out on a “flower walk” and it is a variant of some kind of Iris. I really do
not pay much attention to what I shoot and as frequently as not do not know the
name of whatever I shoot. Beauty is beauty and sometimes it is best to worry
less about the nomenclature and more about the dreams conjured by the image;
all are privileged to view but so few actually see.

A good if somewhat bumpy day and capped with this beautiful
image … blessed for sure.

Have a terrific day, be well, be a blessing.

Ted

Today was one of those neat days; I got several hours of
work done and then got Corky up and we made it to church. After church it was
home, a little rest and then some more work on photos for me and the news for
Cork. Late afternoon Q and I went out to the deck for a little relaxation and
enjoyment. A golfer stopped and asked if Q was our cat and suggested he go in
as a good size bobcat was on the first green and heading our way. Q ambled
towards the door when I called him and I had time to get some shoes on, camera
in hand and off to find the bobcat. I found her about where I expected and
began shooting; she was very tolerant and a bit bored by me and she more or
less just strolled off. I think she is probably in the thirty pound range and
check out those powerful legs. Fun to see her again.

The next shot is of Q yesterday as he was sampling some
greens for a salad before the main course. Shortly after this he brought a
friend into the house for lunch, a rather large lizard … I think Q may have
skipped dessert after such a large meal.

Relatively speaking the bobcat weighs in around thirty plus
pounds and Q around twelve pounds. A cat can take down prey seven times its
body weight … do not plan on letting Q gain much weight.

A lot of work on photos this week, for the gallery and my
new book which I got a small start on this weekend. Still struggling with
direction for it, but it will evolve as I bring it forward. Look for the
Cockscomb photo that went out last week in the August issue of Arizona Highways
and two more photos in Sojourn a fantastic publication on the Colorado Plateau.

Have a terrific day … Monday is well underway, so a bit of a
rest before I continue it. Good things happen and we are blessed to be here and
experience life … use the gift and help others who need a hand.

Cheers

Ted

… this describes getting to shoot a sunset over the Pacific
on the northern shores of California and it was! Half Moon Bay is one of my
favorite places to be and each time I visit Sus, I get sights like this. What I
have never had is someone shooting me and want to thank Dean Singer for taking
the shots he did. I was pretty absorbed in my work and as always never worry
about a little water or whomever was around me. After I finished the shoot I
turned around and started back to the stairs which take you to the top of the bluff
overlooking the beach and ocean. A gentleman approached me, introduced himself
and told me he had been taking pictures of me with his iPhone at work and
offered to show them to me. I liked them and he sent them from his iPhone to
me. Dean was in Half Moon Bay doing a project for the Ritz Carlton a little
further up the bluff and had gone for his evening run … he saw me on the beach
and decided it would be a fun shoot and so he did and here is one of the shots
I took and at about the same time one he took of me … fun stuff, much
appreciated Dean … thanks.

Dean has a design business and check out the fabulous work
that he does on his website : http://design360unlimited.com
Thanks again Dean and hope to catch up
in person again.

Very busy day yesterday and again today so time for some
rest before the coffee is ground and brewed in a little less than four hours.
This is a wrap for the week, have a terrific weekend and I’ll be back Monday
morning.

Cheers and make someone’s day the way that Dean made mine.
Neither of you will forget it and your lives will be irreversibly changed and
brightened.

Ted

… this redhead is picking them and laying it down fast as he
reaches take off speed. Diving ducks typically run along the water surface to
get the speed they need to enter flight. I got this guy with a very determined
look on his face just as he was attaining flight speed … he is focused! I took
this shot a couple of months ago down at the ponds; all the redheads, canvas
backs and blue bills are long gone and likely back up north and mating. Just a
few mating pairs of mallards left at the ponds and a good summer shall be had.
Mid to late fall the ducks will once again be migrating and I’ll be able to
walk among them again. Until then some good memories relived.

Law and photos this morning and then another trip down to
Phoenix for a meeting with Cork’s neurologist, and then home. It was a good day
though.

Take care, be well and help another person do something
today … a smile would work.

Cheers

Ted

… of our home there is a little patch of ground where a few
months ago we planted a few Iris bulbs given to us by our friend Anne. Everyone
who comes to the front door walks by this area and the first photo titled “Ours2”
shows the area and the little planting of Iris and the one bloom on the plants.
A pretty unremarkable entrance to be honest. Most people who come to the front
door do not bother looking at the Iris and simply pass it by. Perhaps it gets a
fleeting glance. In so doing they are missing out on the incredible beauty
contained in the bloom. That is the second shot titled “Ours” is a closer look
at the bloom; if you are looking for beauty you will find it and this could be
what you find.

Our day was very good and I expect the ‘morrow will be so
also. I’ll continue my quest in the search for and sharing of beauty. I hope you
will take advantage of the opportunities around you today and look closely at
the plants and blooms you see. Look for the start of a smile in another and light
up your life when you return it.

Busy day underway; be careful and be well.

Cheers

Ted

… a million years this rock formation will have eroded away
and indeed most of the red rocks in the Sedona area will also have eroded away,
perhaps additional seismic activity will have formed new canyons and alter the
landscape; approximately a thousand new volcanoes will have erupted in the
Flagstaff/Sedona (San Francisco Volcanic Field http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_volcanic_field
) area as the cycle is about 800 to a thousand years and we are about due for
another one now. Already there are six hundred inactive volcanoes within a
forty mile radius of Sedona and the most recent one was Sunset Crater just
north and east of Flagstaff which erupted in about 1065.

Late afternoon we headed into to town to run a few errands
and to launch me back into the sky and regain a sense of reality and peace. I didn’t
really have a destination; just up and off the ground. Did a little work on the
ship and launched around six o’clock … took off and headed straight out climbing
to ten thousand feet over Mingus before turning around and returning to Sedona
via Sycamore canyon. There was a tremendous amount of pollution in the air so
about the only aerial shots that were going to work were those with the sun on
my back and shooting nearly straight down. Not sure of the origins of the
pollution, perhaps blowing dust from the deserts, fires or? I took this shot of
the Cockscomb formation SW of Sedona. The erosion which is ongoing and what has
shaped this area is evident below the formation.

So it was a good day, didn’t feel like cooking so picked up
some deli food from an unnamed deli … should have just fasted … smiles.

Enjoy the day, the company of friends, family and coworkers …
we may be short lived creatures but we do choose how our lives play out for the
better or not.

Cheers

Ted

… that began with watching the early morning light work
across the grass, critters large and small coming across the lawn, birds flying
and singing and I knew it would be a good one. Coffee was brewed, Q was brushed
and I sipped the first cup of coffee whilst listening to all the birds begin
their day of work hunting for food … sparrows, doves and an occasional call
from a Coopers Hawk. I determined that I would head out mid-morning to get some
flower shots, iris and more. Then back to get Corky up, and the three of us out
on the deck for a couple of hours of doing absolutely nothing other than
soaking up the sounds and sights of the world around us.  And so the day progressed and it was very
good.

I got more than 200 shots that I really liked and which we
spent a few hours looking at on the Sony large screen in the living room. Here
are three of my favorites, two cactus blooms and one Iris. The cactus were fun
shots and make me wish I could shrink a bit and wander the beautiful gardens
within the bloom and the iris just seemed classic and for me unusual to have a
full bloom. Thanks to Dan and Joann who showed me the red bloom in their yard
as I headed out in the morning and to Ann for allowing me time in her garden
this afternoon … don’t know the folks in whose yard I shot the Argentinian Giant
cactus bloom, but thanks. Hope you enjoy them and more will follow another day.

The coffee shall be ground in just a few hours so time to
put a wrap on the weekend and a little rest before the day continues. Look for
beauty … in the world around you … in the people you meet and see today … you
will always find it.

Cheers

Ted

… for food, survival and more … and in the pursuit of this
you will daily find vultures, ravens, hawks and eagles plying the powerful
ridge lift along the mountainous shorelines of northern California and other
shorelines throughout the world. It is sheer joy to watch these masters of the
air work the lift in front of the rocky cliffs as they cruise for miles looking
for their next meal. This shot was taken about a mile NE of the Pt. Reyes
Lighthouse north of San Francisco; there are three vultures and two ravens
working this section of the coast when Sus and I were up there last week. The
fog was moving in and out and we were part of the landscape, appearing and
disappearing just as these natural soaring machines did the same. Grateful
always for the supermarkets we cruise to get our food.

A full day around here as I worked on images all day and
Corky enjoyed an audio book and the company of a close friend. Some of my
projects worked out and a couple that I thought would be excellent concepts
ended up being much better in my mind’s eye than on the screen and are now
displayed on the world wide bit bucket with other deleted works of art; most of
which need to be returned to the random pixels which once they were and now are
awaiting rediscovery in another photograph as yet untaken. Another day is
underway and perhaps another chance to get it right … another photo or perhaps
life itself.

We’re into the weekend and a good one it shall be; excellent
seating at the Celtic Woman concert in Phoenix tonight will get things off to a
good start. Have a wonderful time, enjoy those things you wish to do and most
important the company of friends and family. I’ll be back Monday morning and
hope that you are both blessed and a blessing.

Cheers

Ted

… yes I do sometimes
shoot the entire flower bloom and here is one such shot of a white Iceland
Poppy … hope you enjoy it. Today kinda got away from me so this will be short.
It was a fun day with lots of visits and friends coming over for visits; hoep
your day was filled with such joy too. Back tomorrow night to close the week
out with perhaps a critter shot.

Be well, be a blessing

Ted

… a break from photos from the respite break as the Iris are
blooming around here and I need to get them while the getting is good. I got a
couple of hundred shots and have been winnowing them down. Our friend Marge has
some very beautiful white ones which have been bred to have what they call a
tongue on the end of the beard. Not sure what the purpose is, perhaps to make
the bloom more inviting to the insects who are required to properly pollinate the
plant? At any rate this is a shot of one of the blooms showing this feature and
also the dust of the pollen which has already found its way to the underlying
petal. The world within these flowers is a special place  and try to imagine this world if you were a
size equal to one of the small insects that inhabit it. Anyhow, I hope you
enjoy the image and tomorrow night it will be a return to photos from the trip …
more California Dreaming.

Corky and I had a nice day, a quiet day and many images
worked on. Tomorrow its Welcomers for Cork and some work for me. Life is a joy
and what a blessing to be able to experience and revel in it while it is ours
to enjoy.

Blessings and joy

Ted

Today was a relatively quiet day; cataloging, editing and
deleting photos from the respite break … and of course trying to decide which
ones to send out tonight. So I settled on one from Pt. Reyes at the Lighthouse
and one from a garden near Sus home. The flowers in the one at Pt. Reyes are
beautiful pink blooms cascading down a very steep rock face before coming to an
abrupt halt before plunging thousands of feet to the ocean surface. No
Disneyland here, everything is for real and catching the overall effect of the
flowers works for me and I’ll pass on getting the close ups of these blooms.
The second shot I am going back to the inner world of flowers and this bloom is
of an Iceland Poppy. I’m always amazed at the beautiful detail and function of
all the component parts of a flower and think that it would be neat to have a
microscopic level trip to the center of a bloom. The Iceland Poppy is beautiful
and comes in many colors and this is my favorite … at least for now.

Have a terrific day, for us it will be a bit laid back and restful.

Be well, be blessed and share the blessing.

Ted

… or so it would seem. I returned from a most wonderful
respite break earlier today and uploaded all the photos this evening. First a
huge thank you to our daughter Sus, her husband Ted and our granddaughter Annika
for having me as a house guest and lining up so many fun places to visit and
things to do, we are blessed and the week was packed with beauty at every turn …
and a treat to one of the best baseball games I have seen … Giants and Phillies
and each starting threw less than 100 pitches through the first nine innings,
pure fun and what a great stadium the AT&T Giants stadium is.

There were a lot of photos I wanted to get and I got most of
them. Sus had set up a shoot for me at Filoli Gardens just south of Crystal Springs
Reservoir. This is one of those beautiful mansions out of the late 19^th
century California era. Originally built by William Bourn  and after the deaths of he and his wife in
1936 the estate was purchased by the Roth’s. You can read the complete history
and learn more about this incredible place at: http://filoli.org/explore-filoli/the-house/history.html
I love to shoot flowers and after spending part of the day exploring the
grounds, I had the opportunity to do an artist/photographer shoot after the
normal hours and we were left with only a handful of photographers and artists
roaming the grounds. The lighting was special too and , well, take a look at
the photo titled “Class”, and it will give you a little idea of what I spent
several hours shooting. No embarrassment at laying down on the pathways to
shoot up at flowers that were backlit by the sun or peering down into the
depths of blooms. Many more to follow, but this is a departure from my normal
inclination to spend most of my time inside the bloom exploring worlds as yet
unknown. Pure joy!!!

Since I am doing white tonight the second photo is of a
white egret which I shot at Pescadero State Beach about thirty miles south of
Half Moon Bay; he was feasting on fresh seafood in the tide pools as the tide
was coming in. Elegance of creation at work.

So many images I want to get out, but still sorting; down to
around 750 for the week and not many I want to delete.

It is wonderful being home and being able to share all the
joy I see every day as I continue my favorite exercise of breathing … the trip
to Point Reyes and the lighthouse and much more to come. Cliffs that drop
thousands of feet into a wild ocean frothing at the shore and narrow winding
roads that run along them. Sus did a great job driving and we returned with
images that inspire the soul.

Have a wonderful day and a wonderful week. We are blessed and
a major part of the blessing is the ability and choice to share the beauty we
find in life.

Be well, and share a smile or a silly grin with someone today
… have I used the word wonderful in this? J

Ted

… according to one of our ISO 100 members last night, I
should be ducking from an encounter with this beautiful soaring machine, all
natural, living and part of the overall design for efficient management of all
things living … or at least those who once were. The little humor related to my
not wanting to spend the time learning  Adobe
Lightroom a program to catalog and work with my images prior to opening them in
Photoshop. Bridge works for me and the frequency with which I try to organize
my portfolio, change folder names, move images into what I know will be the
best way to organize them and so on would bring Lightroom to its knees.

So, my friend Derek, wisely commented that I shouldn’t waste
my precious remaining time trying to learn a new program – or words to that
effect … we both agree on that. So as a gentle reminder to him I present this photo
of a magnificent member of nature’s waste management team, the Turkey Vulture.
While sometimes maligned because it does not hunt or kill its own food, it does
mop up after others that do and its ability to follow a trace scent to its
origin is among the best of all life forms. The vulture only eats “fresh” food,
just as we buy our meat products at the supermarket, the vultures have about
the same standards of freshness as we do and that which goes beyond the “freshness”
range of what we would consider acceptable they leave for other life forms to
recycle. We have the meat markets, they have an incredible olfactory sense to
guide them to their food. It is beautiful to watch them as they swoop back and
forth on outstretched wings sampling the air trying to pinpoint the source of
their next meal. Our turn will come soon enough, although I would prefer an
alternative method of recycling – smiles! Please check out Derek’s website at: http://derekvonbriesen.com/ , he is a
very talented photographer and I know you will enjoy his work.

Another friend is exhibiting his photography at the art fair
in the Village of Oak Creek Factory Outlets this weekend. Look for Guy
Schmickle and his wife Tammy in the tents there. Guy is a very talented
photographer and you will enjoy his work. Stop in, take a look, say hi and if
you are inclined take one of his photographs home with you. He also has a
website and you can check his work out too: http://www.explorethelightphotography.com/

Finally a photo of a white iris I saw on the way home today.
I always enjoy the challenge of shooting white and black subjects and hope you
enjoy it too; the wind was doing wonderful things to the petals.

Have a terrific weekend! I’m off to California Sunday
morning for a weeklong respite break so this will be the last email until I
return on the 22^nd … share your joy and be a guide to those on life’s
journey.

Blessings

Ted

… rules and when I went to see a client at their home
yesterday I found they had a beautiful; bed of flowers in the front and with
permission took a number of shots of some Columbine that were receiving rays
from the late afternoon sun. This bloom looked to have been around for a while and
yet it seems young and ageless. The wind was blowing pretty good so it was a
wee challenge; the upside is that you get shots with the leaves in unusual
positions as they blow in the wind. Anyhow, I hope you like it.

Another busy day and it looks like every day will be so
until the weekend and I leave for Half Moon Bay. Guess there has been a lot of
rain in the bay area and perhaps we’ll get some dry downtime relaxation by
Sunday. Starting to look forward to the trip and the break … Corky is too … a
break from me. Lots of shopping, lunches and fun ahead for her too.

Enjoy the day and find a way to lend a hand to one who needs
some help, sure to bring a smile and some warm feelings to everyone.

Cheers

… the Iris are beginning to bloom and the next several
months will find me collecting hundreds of shots of this beautiful flower and
all the varietals and colors I can find. On my way back from the barber late
afternoon I saw some beautiful Iris illuminated by the late afternoon sun. What
could a guy do? Pull the motor scooter into the driveway and be happy I brought
a camera along and best yet the camera I bought specifically to do flowers
with. Iris are amazing and the worlds within each bloom are such that it would
be easy to get lost in their beauty and remove yourself within the depths of
color, design and space. So look for more than a few blooms as the next month
or so progresses.

This image will be available in up to 24 x 36 glossy photo prints
(with very fine detail) and if you are interested in this or any other image
send me an email. Next week I’ll be in Half Moon Bay, California visiting Ted,
Sus and the delightful Miss Annika; Sus has set up a shoot for me at Filoli
Gardens during an hour when no other visitors are present in the park. Check
the place out at http://filoli.org . I’ll also
be doing a lot of shooting along the coast and perhaps the bay. It is unlikely
I’ll be getting any emails out next week, but on the 22^nd will be
home with an abundance of images to go through and start getting out.

Once again, feel free to share these photos with your family
and friends and if they would like to be added to the list send me an email and
I’ll add them. The list is totally private and never shared. Currently there
1285 on the list and would kinda like to end the year at 1500 or more.

It was a good day for us, although a bit on the quiet side;
a lot of work and sometime soaking up the beautiful weather. Q enjoyed the day
too and is sleeping on the chair next to me. Have a wonderful day today … like
why not? And share the beauty in your life with others.

Cheers

Ted

I finished all the photos which are going to be displayed in
the Mesa Grill over the weekend and there are some really cool shots of some
very cool aircraft. Without prejudice I can honestly say that our Lambada is
the classiest and most elegant of the fifteen aircraft that I shot and which
will be on the walls of the restaurant within the next few weeks. I’m sure that
the other guys may not agree with my assessment, but for the vocal, be warned
that I can cause wings to disappear, propellers to warp … ain’t Photoshop great!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend and hope that your weekend
was as blessed as ours. The new week is well underway and I need to get a few
hours rest before the coffee pot goes into action. Keep the smile going and
brighten someone’s day today.

Cheers

Ted

… these iris plants that I received as a gift last year will
bloom and I will be in the Iris business (photographing them); next to
dandelions these are my favorite flowers. It will be special this year having
some of my own to shoot and even more special that these five bulbs are from
the original plantings of Sedona Schnebly … life goes on and the next photo of
these plants will be of the inner blooms. Can’t help but wonder what color the
blooms will be; nail biting riveting anxiety … not! My own irises and tomato
plants this year, that is an achievement.

It was an interesting day around here; mostly law for me and
Corky had a friend over this afternoon, dinner and some recorded programs
finished it off. Corky has her date at Chic Salon tomorrow and then it is into
the weekend.

Have a great day and weekend; I’ll be back Monday morning.

Cheers

Ted

… I finished the photo last night about 2AM and then began
writing a new message on the screen, but nothing came and from about 2:15A to
3A I found myself just staring at the screen knowing I should do something but
not doing anything … so I went to bed with good intentions to get it out today.
I didn’t get it out today either so will double up with photos tonight.
(technically Thursday Morning, but still seems like Wednesday).

The first shot titled Low Flight was shot in January and is
a favorite; love the wing positions and the gold reflections in the water as a
background. The second shot titled Countdown was shot yesterday and is of a
Coopers Hawk milliseconds before he took off in pursuit of prey. The Coopers
Hawk is not a large hawk and the wingspan is typically two to three feet. The
hawk is immature as the eyes are yellow and when mature they will turn a beautiful
red. Nice to have them nesting nearby again this year as the past couple of
years they were either up the arroyo from us or down arroyo. So for at least
the next several months I will have many opportunities to get the shots I want …
mostly inflight photos.

Cork and I had a nice visit with my cousin and his wife
today and another friend stopped in for a visit too. The weather was beautiful
and most of the day was spent on the deck. Spring fever reigns, but later this
morning it is back to work and that is fun too.

Enjoy the day and all that is around you … we are blessed.

Cheers

Ted

… or so ago, the wonderful snow ,melt was underway and I
decided to try and get some decent shots of the water being flung over the edge
of the drain from the roof. I had a lot of fun and memories of playing in
puddles all came flooding back. I like this shot in particular and for no
particular reason … I just like the bright and happy droplets as they plunge to
the patio below. In real life they fell pretty much straight down, but I like
this better.

Four beefsteak tomato plants now grace the fenced in area
where once a propane tank rested and we’re looking forward to the day we again
get large fresh tomatoes’ from these vines. They shall not only be beautiful
red tomatoes, but they shall taste like tomatoes.

Cork and I got a nice long walk in today and it was good
having her out on them again; I do the walking, she does the riding and I do
the driving for her now too. Fun to visit with friends and neighbors and soak
up sun. Spring fever is here in a big way, but the work is getting done. Down
for follow ups on the latest surgery today and likely a stop at In N Out
Burgers on the way home.

Enjoy the day, kick back a little and do something
productive, like looking at water droplets fall.

Be well and be a blessing

Ted

… I was fortunate enough to witness an encounter by two
predators over the weekend, a Coopers Hawk who was preparing for an attack on
predator number two a fairly large Gopher Snake who was heading for safety. The
hawk had been perched on the lee side of a tree near our deck and he spotted
the snake crossing the golf cart path … down he came. And as he was planning
his attack a rather clueless person drove up in a golf cart and stopped about
ten feet from the hawk; I had tried to wave him off but alas he wanted the very
front row seat and after thirty or so seconds the hawk decided to split. The
person in the cart was fascinated by the snake which he thought was a rattler
and he was totally clueless about the event that had nearly unfolded … oh well,
so it goes. Had I been assured that I would be tried before a jury of my peers
(all professional photographers) I think I would have inflicted mayhem upon the
uninformed citizen driving the cart … an acquittal of all charges would have
been granted. Corky reminded me that we lived on a golf course and that golfers
do have the right to drive on the cart path … I cautioned her that she could be
next. So the snake escaped harm, and will continue to feed on rodents in the
area and the hawk may have another shot at him. Still, it was exciting to view
the encounter. Check out the talons on the hawk.

A quiet weekend with many projects completed and even a
little rest. Time with friends too and time thinking of the past as I viewed
astro photographs taken by friends of galaxies whose light is just getting here
after more than ten million years en-route … then too the future as created in
our own minds.

Another month underway and thankful for all who make our
life so full and blessed.

Cheers

Ted

PS a little quote from a past president, recently commented
on,  to we in his future … remarkable wisdom coming from a politician.

… today was one of those remarkable days that just seem to
happen once in a while … nothing special really, but the day just seemed so
good. Corky had her time at Chic Salon this afternoon and there was a beautiful
bouquet of flowers on the reception desk. I asked Preston if it was okay if I took
the bouquet outside for a few minutes and take some shots of it. So, I set it
on the steps and setup for backlighting on one of the tulips in the arrangement.
The result is here … the essence of creations light. I love to shoot flowers
and the season is upon us. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and hope you do not
mind the additional intrusion of your time and that you feel the image is worth
the effort.

Back Monday morning … beauty is everywhere you look.

Ted

… is perhaps my favorite canyon here in Red Rock country. It
is fairly wide in the mid reaches of the canyon and has some very beautiful red
rocks in it. I took this shot Thursday afternoon while over the mid area of the
canyon and looking through the slot between Casner and Black Mountain toward
the ENE back at the Sedona area. Sycamore creek is dry and seen in the bottom
of the photo. The air was quite hazy today and I think it is smoke from
Colorado? If not local, the USFS is planning on igniting new burns near Grand
Canyon airport again on Monday … so we will be back to polluted skies over
paradise.

Into the weekend; have fun and enjoy it. Back Monday morning

Ted