g in a tree

It's been a pretty good year. new baby, new art house, gabby and alex in new schools doing well. I am excited to see what the next year has to bring...happy new year!

art house is open for business

Today, the electricians came by and ran the romex out to our art house. Just in time for our "not-quite-new-years party". The kids were in there all night long, but they had a blast. Michele is the artiust behind the art house sign. Pretty happy.

cosmo-naut

Tomorrow is our not-quite-new year's eve party and we decided to make a cosmo with a swedish twist. Perhaps it was 3 trips to Ikea in a week or an overwhelming desire for meatballs or volvos...who knows. All I know is, these things are deadly delicious...

capitola - michele and jess

A great day in Capitola today. The girls were cute and mom was glowing. Of course, every time I decide not to bring a board along, the surf is great, so all of you who had a solid session yesterday, I think a little thank you for my sacrifice would be in order.

shoes in the late afternoon

I was heading to document the completion of our art shed and somehow this rag tag collection of galoshes and flip-flops caught my eye. It just made me think of how Californian we are. It is the middle of winter, yet right next to our rainy day gear lies our let's-head-to-Santa-Cruz gear. (By the way, Santa Cruz, prepare yourself, we will be invading tomorrow - send a bit of surf!)

gradndma char and baby j

Again with the baby? Yep. Papa and Grandma Char are up for Christmas and I was able to snap off a few shots before I went out to work on our art shack.

cool baby j

Yes, I know it may be a bit overdone, but little baby in shades is classic. You have to admit she is the cutest thing ever...Merry Christmas!

visions of sugarplums

Tonight is the night. The girls were extremely excited, so I was surprised to find them sleeping. Can't wait till the morning!

la luna, finalmente

It took a few days and quite a bit of experimenting, but I finally got a decent shot. Whew! I know it may not look very exciting, but there is something so peaceful about the surface that I find irresistible.

Michele and Jessamine

Waiting for Santa to arrive at the mall. Had a few really nice shots, but how can you pass up two of the prettiest women in the world?

Sweet Gum

This time I was prepared...batteries, tripod, 300mm lens. The moon was mine. I can't seem to figure out why she eludes me. This shot was completely on a whin, noticed a silhouette of a gum tree against the sky. Had no idea it would be my shot for the day, yet here it is.

Pipes, Cigars, Payday Loans

Saw a fantastic shot of the crescent moon passing through epic clouds that I saw right at sunset. Figured it would be ok to wait a bit and have a little bite to eat. One hour later, went to shoot and viola, dead batteries (two sets). One hour after that, went outside with the newly charged batteries and tripod and...viola, RAIN! Drove around for awhile and saw these neon signs. Looked cool through the rain-speckled windows...

Gabby and spoon

Breakfast time! Gabby and I were playing a game of dice (lowest roll had to eat a bite of oatmeal). She is pretty good and rolling that 6, perhaps a Vegas trip should be on the docket.

Self Portait #3

I started working on an art house/darkroom in June and I am thisclose to actually being done. Sand, paint and accesorize and we are arting it up!

Heart Bokeh

Neighborhood carriage ride tonight. Somehow I captured an accidental heart-shaped bokeh!

ugly tree at night

By day, it is easily the world's ugliest tree, but when the sun sets...Playing with a little nighttime photography.

Alex In Tree

Michele brought the kids to my school this afternoon for ornament making in our art studio. Alex got bored, so while Gabby was making more and more glass ornaments (I think she ended up with four or five) we went on a nature hike.

Happy Baby J

It's nice that after a day stuck in the classroom with no chance to shoot anything, I can come home to the cutest baby in the world.

Self Portrait in Puddle

Another self portrait.

Hopscotch

Rainy day adventure before we went to "Princess and the Frog" Of course the kids got completely soaked and muddy...mom was not thrilled, but we had a blast.

O Christmas Bokeh, O Christmas Bokeh...

I know the bokeh is cliche, but that is ok . I like it.

Baby J

6 month old Baby J after a bath. Needed a bit more light, but was afraid the smiles might turn into sleep.

All I want...

Gabby lost one of her front teeth today. Perfect timing...

Negatives

Trying to figure out which negative belonged to which student.

Gabby, 6th Birthday

Gabby is officially six years old, I can't believe it. I was cursing my wife for not giving me time to pop on my flash, but really liked the motion blur of Gabs tearing into her gift, so I forgive her.

Premo!

Worked all day on the art shed and ran out of light. Michele surprised me with this 90 year old Kodak 2A Folding Cartridge Premo about a month ago. Haven't run a roll through it yet (it uses old 116 film, so some modifications are needed), but I will soon...

Alex v. Ginko

The Ginko trees are amazing right now. Alex, Gabby and I took a walk and the girls had a great time tossing the leaves. Oh, to be a kid again...

Magnificent Gabby

Gabby's 6th birthday party.

Four Rolled...No Guac

Last year, I helped start a plastic camera club on our high school campus. Over 25 kids are in it now (about 10% of the whole school) and of course, four of them turn in their first project late. Made for a cool shot on top of my car though.

Lights Up

My daughter Gabby chose this shot for today. Motion-blurred Christmas light bokeh from the people who live across the street. It made me hungry for cheetos...not sure why.

It's a toss up...

Thought I would start this 365 with a self portrait. The shot was inspired by SB photographer Greg Lawlor (check his work out at http://www.zinkwazi.com). This was the only image that I did not have either my tongue out or a look of "Oh God...why am I tossing my camera 10 feet in the air?"