This photo was taken in Sedona Arizona at Crescent Moon Ranch State Park. Oak Creek runs along the border of the park as it makes its way through the town of Sedona, Arizona.

Embraced by his wife

The Best Christmas Present

My son Brian returned home December 20th, 2006, from his latest 90 day deployment to Iraq. He is a radiologist and worked in the 399th Combat Support Hospital, Mosul, Iraq. I think the happiest were his three children in grades 10, 9 and 2.

This photo is a bit of serindipity that came my way. I shot this photo with a 300mm Image Stablizer lens and this bird was at the outer limits of distance for my lens but I was pleased how this shot came out.

Sure Amazes Me

Photography sure amazes me. It is full of wonderful surprises like the above photo. I was down in Oregon near Gladstone just this past week and remembered this special place by the river that I had first seen over forty years ago. The reason I was there forty years ago was to receive some pre-induction training put on by the SDA Church for young men who would possibly be drafted into the Army as medics. It was during the summer and because we all behaved ourselves we were rewarded with being able to go down to the Clackamas River to go swimming at the above swimming hole.
The reason that I was there at Gladstone recently was that my wife, Barbara who is a school teacher was receiving some training in a new reading program. We weren't sure wether I was to go along but we both came to the same conclusion that I would drive her down there in our new black Impala LTZ.

One of the things that I knew that I wanted to do there was check out the old swimming hole. Well much to our amazement the hotel that we decided to stay in was on the river just adjacent to the swimming hole. While my wife was in the meetings I spent my time photographing the river and the wildlife that I encountered there which included this Great Blue Heron pictured below.

I was also photographing some Mallard ducks that were contentedly resting in the eddy of the river when I noticed a larger duck like bird come floating down the rapids and then came to rest in the eddy area of the river. I clicked off several shots of the now recognized Canada goose. Then on uploading my photos to my computer at home much to my suprise I noticed that I had actually photographed an entire family of geese. Goslings, mother and father.

Made My Day

Sometimes a very small thing that you remember from your youth can really bring a smile to your face. In my teens and early twenties I did a considerable amount of backpacking and mountain climbing in the Puget Sound area. One of the fun parts of backpacking is planning the menu and then of course eating the food that you have brought along in spectacular scenic surroundings. One particular food stuff that I remember was Sailor Boy Pilot Bread. The reason it is used for backpacking and mt. climbing is that it will keep for a considerable length of time without molding or spoiling. It is a very hearty and sturdy cracker that is used in the same way as hardtack but the Pilot bread is more able to take the hard jostling around in your pack as you hike along the trail. It can also be described as a very large round saltine but again remember much harder, sturdier, hearty me boys, thicker, with no salt.

Well for several months I have been doing searches on the web trying to find this Pilot Bread. I did find some but I would have to by it in large tins for I think around $12.50. This is more than I wanted to invest and another reason is I'm not sure I still like the stuff. I mean I'm not sure if it is fit for eating at home. I do remember it being eaten with anchovies or canned salmon. Sounding better all the time. Well on with my quest. I called the two main grocery stores in my town with no luck. Then I called a QFC market in a larger town to the west of us and they told me that they have my Sailor Boy Pilot Bread. Eureka!!!! Yipeeee!!!! Yahooooo!!!!

Well now I know that some of you out there might be thinking "well that is such a little thing to want to find." Well as a person gets older I think we want to remember how great it was to be young, and to remember things or even rediscover things that were a part of our youth. These things and memories get more precious as time goes on, whether it be old photos, places we once frequented and the cars that we drove to get those places. Where is that place in life when we no longer want to be older and we don't want to be younger? How long does it last and are we aware of this place when we are there or are we just never satisfied?

Update: A couple of Saturdays ago we were in the town where they have the Sailor Boy Pilot Bread. We drove to the store, parked the car, my wife opting to stay in the car. I entered the store and searched out the cracker isle and there to my joy I found the familiar blue and white box with the Sailor Boy on the label.

This is probably my best photo from the film days. It was digitized from a slide that I took in 1970. I came home from work and noticed that these swans were resting in the pasture below our place in Maxwelton on Whidbey Island. I grabbed my camera which had a new roll of film with 20 exposures. I donned some rubber boots and ventured out into the flooded pasture. I was snapping pics right and left, all the while testing how close the swans would let me approach. Then on the 21st exposure (fudging an extra shot) the swans entered the water and got in single file and well what you see is what I got.

I have recently had a renewed interest in photography because of the digital revolution. I bided my time until a digital SLR was within my budget, well I mean was within the realm of reality. I purchased a Canon Digital Rebel which has turned out to be a great camera. I still haven't bought an additional lens but am considering a Canon EF lens 70-300mm lens with IS (Image Stabilization).

Along with taking digital photos I learned that I could digitize our slides that we had started taking in the late '60's. I bought a Konica Monolta Dimage Scan Dual IV. Let me tell you that it was the most rewarding purchase that we have made in years. Digitizing treasured slides and being able to access them from the computer for cropping, exposure control, color correction, and being able to actually save underexposed pictures has been phenomenal.

Not my photo.

This regal bird is a black grouse. In more ancient times it was known as a heathcock. My ancestors apparently revered this bird and took it as their surname. I have used blackgrouse as a handle on the internet for several years.