The Tree
I was walking through the desert in White Sands New Mexico this week and I spotted this tree in the distance. It looked very interesting and a little scary so I went off the path to go take some pictures of it. The branches were dry and they sprouted in all directions towards the stormy skies. The sun began to peek out of the clouds and lit the branches and the trunk of the tree but everything else around it was still dark. It was a scary tree.
God Bless my White Chucks
I have been the wearing the same type of All Star since I was 16. I wore white, black, red, gray and even plaid chucks through the years but I always come back to white. I have worn high-tops, low tops, with and without shoe strings but one pair always comes through tried and true – the low top white chucks. I have worn them with socks and without socks. Remember when people used to wear shoes without socks? Don Johnson? Well, that was me with Chucks but I soon learned that sweating feet was pretty uncomfortable not to mention the blisters.
I first started wearing them when I was 16 after I saw some punkers wearing them around Santa Barbara. I thought they were so cool with their spiked up hair, ripped jeans, 1950 sweaters and chucks that I went out and bought myself a pair. They were my first pair and I loved them. I tried moving to many different types of sneakers through the years but the white chucks just have a hold on me. I still love them 30 years later.
I like the white converse because they look good with just about everything – suits included if you can pull it off. Plus I love them because I love white shoes. The key with Converse is to wash them every few weeks but you have to be careful not to do two things – no bleach and no dryers. You have to let them dry on their own otherwise they crinkle up, and if you use bleach the soles start to turn yellow and that is not a look that you want when you are wearing your beautiful white chucks. God Bless my white chucks they have taken me to so many parts of the world. They are not always ideal mind you. When I used to wear them in London for example they made my feet freeze because there is virtually no cushion on these things and it is like walking on the frozen tundra when it gets below 50 degrees outside. Nevertheless I wore them every chance I got.
If you have a pair, then congratulations; if you don’t, then what are you waiting for? Get your chucks and remember, keep them clean.
Traveling to the White Sands today
What a long day. I spent the day driving from El Paso to White Sands National Monument. What an unusual place in the middle of New Mexico – brilliant white sands in the middle of the desert. The white sand is created by gypsum deposits from nearby mountains which has formed over many thousands of years.
People come here to take photographs or to take sleds down the huge dunes of white sand that cover 250,000 acres. It sure is easy to get lost in the desert with all that sand around you. Spring is the windy season so when you go walking your footprints are erased almost immediately. You really have to keep your sense of direction to avoid getting lost. I was fortunate but they have to rescue people all the time here.
Why are chickens fascinated with wide angle lenses?
I placed the wide angle 15mm super wide angle lens on my D3S and I was determined to take some cool shots of chickens. Patrick has two very extraordinary looking chickens at his ranch in Bonita so I headed there to get some epic chicken shots with my super wide angle lens.
When I got there, we decided the model would be Maria – the chicken. Apparently Maria fashions herself as some sort of super high fashion model because she was absolutely in love with my wide angle lens. I find that typically people are afraid of the lens because it appears to them that I am shooting so up in their face. But with Maria it was different. The closer I got to her, the more aggressive she began to come toward me and the camera itself. Apparently she viewed my wide angle lens as some sort of enemy to her territory so she progressively got more and more aggressive as I moved the lens in closer and closer. She began to peck at my camera like it was her worst enemy. But all the while she maintained her composure and I was able to get some terrific shots of her.
Maria is some chicken, but I am still caught wondering what her fascination with my wide angle lens is?
Happy Easter Everybunny
It was a great down at El Rancho Patricio and Monica. It turns out the Ranch is becoming quite the place to hang out and enjoy life – I find myself heading down there quite a bit for events and parties these days. Patrick and Monica threw a smashing Easter Party at their house and the highlight of the event was the Easter Egg hunt where they hid over 188 eggs filled with candy and money for the kiddy kiddies. The weather was perfect, the food was awesome and everyone had a very good time. Look at this little cutie baby and how much fun she had – at one point she was eating pop rocks and making the funniest faces. Nice Easter all around.
Eoin Blue works the ranch
It’s been a long day on the ranch; I mean one long day. After baling a barnful of hay, corralling the cows and repairing a few hundred yards of broken down fence Eoin Blue decides to call it a day and get some chow. He gets in his faithful blue truck – the same one that he has had for 15 years – and slowly looks over the good work that he has accomplished. It feels good to have a nice productive day on the ranch and while the work was hard it was something that was sorely needed to keep his families ranch in tip top shape. Eoin Blue starts up the truck with a roar and smiles to himself as he slowly backs up – its been a great day. And I’ll probably wake up and do it all over again.
Soon to be published photographer
Sometimes having a brother that is an accomplished pilot and that owns a helicopter can come in very handy for someone practicing photography. In this case it is me that is the lucky one that has been able to grab shots that few photographers could ever dream of. My brother called me a couple of years ago to take some aerial shots of his friends boat that had just been renovated at a cost of $15 million and the Yacht was at a very beautiful state. We took a short 45 minute helicopter ride out the Catalina and shot his boat churning through the water at unbelievable speeds. I captured some great photographs that were deemed good enough to be pictured in Yachting Magazine which is the magazine that features some of the most incredible boats, ships and Yachts on the ocean today. I am really grateful to finally be published in a magazine. That is one of things that I really wanted to do as an amateur photographer.
Geno in the Cardboard Ship
Geno is in the South Pacific. He is alone in a Cardboard ship drifting amidst the wreckage of submarines and battleships. In his Cardboard naval ship his gun turrets made out of penny whistles and cardboard are set to launch missles at the enemy. The enemy could be anywhere. Geno begins barking orders in the heat of battle to his squadron. Fight, he tells them. Fight on. We will destroy our enemy.
