Hello 2009!

As we look forward to 2009, there are always unknowns. Will I have a job, will all of my family still be with me at the end of 2009, where will life take us. All of these things are not up to me. But one thing I know is that I will be surrounded by good people, I will have the love of my wife and family, and the support of great friends spread across the country. This is the time of year, when we should look back on the year behind, pay our respect to those we lost, those we added, and to take stock in what we achieved, and to give thanks for what we have received, and be ready to take on the new year. I know I am ready for 2009, ready to start a new year, with new experiences, new places to go, new people to meet and good times to have. Because God knows, I have had about enough of 2008.

So, lift your glass, celebrate the year behind, and embrace the year ahead. CHEERS! Happy New Years!

Random Photo of the day

I took this picture in Wichita, Kansas, this past weekend. I am not sure of the names of the pedestrian bridge, or the park in the island between the two bodies of water. I know the main river is the Arkansas, as it passes through Wichita. What I liked about the scene, was the contrast of the still water over the spillway to the rough water at the bottom and on into the flowing river. The back lighting made for some nice silhouettes of the oddly shaped structures. It was a tough shot to get, the lighting was not great, and I had to prop my camera on a wall to shoot the 1/15 second exposure, any longer than that, and there was too much movement in the camera. I wish I had my tripod with me, that could have been interesting, or it could have been worse. No matter, I like what I got. It is the desktop of the day.

Little Surprises

My grandfather can be a surprising person. He has always had an ornery side, and he has always kept me on my toes. You never really know what he is going to do. In the hours following the funeral for my grandmother, we as a family gathered at a common place, the home of a family member. We were there for a number of hours. Grandpa was alert, and part of the evening, and eventually joined everyone in the basement, where there was a pool table, TV, games and all sorts of things. The family was enjoying each others company, the women were chatting, and the men were involved in a little sibling rivalry, best settled at the pool table. And then, out of nowhere, Grandpa decided it was his turn to shoot a little. He played 5 or 6 games, and all things considered, did quite well. It was not a matter of who won or lost, it was time well spent with him.



It was a great way to end the day, and a nice break from the day that we had all been through.

An Angel went home.

Last night, at around 6 PM, an angel went home. We will miss her, we will cherish all of the times we spent with her, but we will be at peace, knowing that she is singing in the choir again, because her voice has been returned to her. She is no longer encumbered by the disease that took her away from us, her pain and suffering are over. We know she will eternally be with us in spirit, watching over us in everything we do.

I am so grateful that I had the chance to see her one last time at Thanksgiving, got to hold her hand, and spend some time with her. I will forever remember that time, and always be glad I got to see her one last time.

GRAND OPENING...quiet exit

The project that I have been working on for the past 13 months, has come to an end. The Grand Opening was held on Wednesday, and I was fortunate enough to attend. This was the first hotel that was mine, from the time the first lines were drawn, to the time the last furniture was put in place, and the last piece of carpet was vacuumed. There is a sense of pride in standing in a building that big, knowing that you had a hand in it. I learned a lot, got to see a lot, traveled way too much, but in the end, it is a great project for our office, not glamorous like the downtown firms, but for us, and what we do, it is a good project.

I got to go to my first Grand Opening party, got to meet all of the big players in the partnership, got to meet the mayor, and all of the power players in the city it is built in, and then, got to quietly climb into my rental car, and leave at 5 am the next morning, with a job well done.

A few pictures.
The Front Entrance and Porte Cochere

The Main Lobby


The Pool at Night


and finally, my favorite one, the pool in the fog.


When we arrived, a coastal fog was setting in on the site, and I knew I did not have long to get up and capture this image. The building created a pocket of light fog behind the building, and everywhere else was dense fog. It reminded me of the California coastal fogs that I had seen during my visits there. This is one of my favorite pictures of the year.

18mm versus 10mm

The new lens for the DSLR works great, I think I am going to really enjoy having it, both for my personal photo work, and the work for my office. It opens up the ability to shoot interiors, and in cramped spaces outside.

A little comparison, side by side. First, the widest angle the 18mm could produce, then second, the 10mm version from the same spot. I can reduce some of the barrel distortion in the 10mm shot, it looses some of the image on the sides, but it makes it feel a little less like a warped perspective.

Hey, nice glass!

Yep, I finally got the super wide angle lens I have been wanting, for oh, since I got the camera. I ordered the Canon 10-22, f3.5 ES series lens. It is a digital only lens, but I don't see myself graduating to full frame anytime soon, so, this will be great for what I want to use it for. It will be great for taking landscapes, especially when we go on our vacation next year, and it will be great for architectural interiors...can't imagine when I will use that part...HA!. Anyway, it came in yesterday after I left the office. So it was a nice treat to see it here today when i got in. It is a really well built lens, metal body, metal attachment ring, much nicer than I expected. My other digital only lens is all plastic, this one is quite sturdy, well built, and a little on the heavy side. It has a great feel to it though, the zoom movement is nice and fluid, I now see why so many people love this lens. I am sure I will too.

I will put it to good use today, since I am going to a Grand Opening for my hotel project in LA...Lower Alabama. I will take some shot of the interior with both lenses for comparison. Should be fun. Can't wait to get out and use it.