Good Evening

As the sun set, I got a few shots of the wonderful iris down by the garden - exquisite in their beauty.

Watching the clouds

Sitting in our backyard watching the clouds and being serenaded by a robin - fresh strawberries at our feet and an orange kitty for company...Life doesn't get any better.

Trials

Today's gift from the universe is a series of trials. Do they work? No thinking about them, just do they work for you?!
Red is the hardest color to capture on my camera.  To get the vibrance, the depth, the richness, etc. is difficult.  I tried it out on these roses.

A Couple of Cats

We had dinner with a friend last night, and her jet-black cat Nikko posed for me. This morning Fuzzy posed also, after trying to bite Diana's hand!
Plus these colors and shapes that struck me solidly so I had to share.

Peekaboo

Played peekaboo with plants today, viewing some over the arm of a chair, some hidden by a rock and honeysuckle that looks like a foot!. A bit of sun, with rain occasionally and a breeze made it a wonderful spring day.  We are eating strawberries, along with the cold weather plants of lettuce, radishes, etc.

Westside - or why you should always carry your camera!

My 4 year old friend, Carmen, came to visit and play last night with her parents and grandparent.  During the visit she picked a small bouquet of flowers for her mom, but the flowers got left here.  They seemed both lonely and symbolic of love so I captured them.

Now - onto why you should always carry your camera!  Murphy has been bugging me to take a hike with him, so I took off with him to a place west of the airport that we had never been.  The weather was windy with sprinkles and I was considering leaving my camera in the truck as I did not want to get caught in a storm with it.  But when we arrived, no more rain for the moment, and look what we saw and captured!  The face (eyes) on the shed look like I did it in Photoshop, but really that is what they look like.

The rest of the story is this:  We have friends who are departing for New York, and were having a party this afternoon. I wanted to make a card for them that had a road in it - and viola!! - here it was right in front of me.

Gardening with Supervision

Diana and I have changed the vegetable garden this year, adding a drip system and extending the garden. At the rate it is being extended there will be no yard left in a couple of years!!
We have been impressed with the drip system, using both emitters and drip lines.  Seed starts, tomato plants, squash mounds, garlic, onions, etc., are all doing well there.
Then there is the supervisor - every job has to have one.  He sits with his eyes shaded against the sun and watches the work!  Occasionally he will wander through the work area to check on what is happening. The plants do not seem any worse off for his depressions in the soft dirt!

Rich Saturated color

I can see that I am a sucker for rich, saturated color (altho loving black and white also), as I look through the shots from today and what I selected.  Come along on a feast of color and richness, like perfect chocolate mousse!!

Backyard

Back in the backyard again; just cannot escape it's beauty.  As things come to life again this spring, I work to capture and preserve these moments of beauty.
A large dove stopped by - he/she had a very hard time deciding whether to get on the ground and eat the seeds there since they were too big to eat from the bird feeder.  Carey's rose is blooming in such golden beauty that it is breathtaking; and 'normal' flowers take on a different life when you play with the colors a bit!  Enjoy.

A Trip to the Zoo

I accompanied Mom to the zoo yesterday, hot day but fun to be together with her.  Chocolate ice cream cones, lots of Canada Geese and goslings, elephants, rhinos, monkeys, etc.
I found myself photographing the animals a bit differently, so what you will see doesn't represent a normal 'zoo trip'.  I liked the different way of seeing, albeit a bit weird at times.

Another world

Periodically I get to visit other worlds, as a photographer for the e-mag 15Bytes, which covers the art scene in Utah. I've been places that I would not normally have gone by myself or even knew existed.  Part of my education and I've met wonderful people.

Friday I shot a pair of artists for an upcoming article, and, during the shoot, met this artist and saw his visually stunning work! It is an incredible piece of art and worth a visit just to see it. Address is 663 West, 100 South.

Yellow, yellow, kiss a fellow!

That refrain was heard on my school yard as a youngster - amazing what kids do to one another.  Anyway here's some yellow and you can kiss a fellow if you want!

Flower sunrise

As the flowers bloom, every morning the sun highlights something else in beauty.  It's hard not to just sit down in the middle of the flower bed and take photos as the light changes. Of course, you can't sit still, as the light changing makes you have to change your location to capture yet another Moment of Beauty! We are truly blessed!

Here's some beauty from this morning to share with you. The peony is a new plant out front, survived the winter and has graced us with one very gorgeous blossom.

Red Ferrari

By the way, the Ferrari is red! I took some other shots of the wheels today, came up with the one as the best so far of today.  While the wheel by itself is beautiful, the dark tire and the red body add a lot to this photo.  We'll see what the owner likes.

Murphy's Place

Ever since Murphy had a shoulder injury as a young puppy, we've been taking him up to this pond to swim and run.  It's about 20 minutes away off I-80 up in Summit county, where they like dogs! Lots of dogs visit here, swimming and playing and on weekends it is a regular social event!  There are a couple of nice trails up the side of the hill and into the forest, occasionally deer and sometimes Sandhill Cranes.  Hawks, blackbirds, swallows, geese and ducks round out the wildlife.
The first shot gives you an idea of the play area for Murph.  If you look closely at the pond, you'll see a pair of Mallards swimming plus  a family of Canadien Geese on the near shore - Mom, Dad and one young one.

The sun was moving down as we hiked, which gave us some neat colors, light and shots.  Here's a few of what we enjoyed.