RAW

I figured out the settings on my camera and Aperture to work in RAW. And I think it looks pretty good. This is another step bringing me closer to my goal of world domination! Not really, just domination over a small Caribbean island will be enough for me. I am excited about photography! The possibilities are endless, but I must be patient. I must learn fundamentals and fine tune them to become one with the force-tography. I am changing my name to Luke. Speaking of Luke, look at this picture of my puppy dog's prey:

This is Bear. Lilly hunts it from time to time. She pulled a Mike Tyson on Bear's ear. Poor Bear, he looks traumatized. Don't feel too bad for him, though, because he instigates the hunt. I see him taunting Lilly. She cracks, and then the hunt is on. Those two can't be together, and they can't be apart. Speaking of a part...

...this reminds me of a partridge in a pear tree. Honestly,  I have no idea what a partridge is other than that famous singing family from the 70s. This just looks like an artichoke bird on a candle stick. It was a subject that was easily available to photograph.

I have a few more pictures of Bear and Artichoke Bird in my gallery. Feel free to browse. Until, I find a playboy model to pose for me, I will be taking pictures of some furniture that is waiting to be given a second chance.

BLAHG you later!

Boiled Eggs

I have some questions about boiled eggs:

How long do you boil an egg for?
How do you know it's done?
What happens if you boil it for too long?
What's the best way to peel them?
Do you peel them warm or cold?
How do you store them once boiled?
How long will it last stored?
Do you eat the yolk? Yuck!

Oh Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty is gonna get his ass kicked cuz he has to be difficult when it comes to boiling!

Maybe this flower will take my mind off the boiled eggs.

BLAHG you later!

Cross Fit & Photography

As I had mentioned in a previous blog, I signed up for a Cross Fit Training class about two weeks ago. It has been really intense, and I am constantly starving. Not from the diet that doesn't allow bread or junk food, but because I can barely lift my arms from the soreness to feed myself. I also had the opportunity to take some photos during a class workout to add to my portfolio, and to bring you the world of Cross Fit Training one picture at a time. It's a world-wide phenomenon, bigger than Justin Bieber.

Cross Fit training is a mix of exercises all different each day. Weights and other exercise equipment is used. ALL exercises are INTENSE. Everything is for time, meaning how fast can you do it, or how many can you do in this time-frame. Either way, I feel like I am back in school under the enormous pressure of finishing a final exam within one measly hour. Immediately, I feel nauseated and I am sure I will be the last one finished. That's IF I finish. Of course, the training isn't unjust. It is scaled for all levels of fitness. I'm just starting. I will eventually reach my goals.

These are some of the highlights:

You can view the rest of the photos by clicking on the photo of the weight on the sidebar. And there you can experience a Cross Fit workout for yourself...at least in pictures. Or just go to My Gallery and check out my other stuff.

BLAHG you later!

Still Here

It's OK. It's OK. I'm still here.

I haven't blogged because I've been at work or I haven't had anything to blog about. I wanted to blog and add new photos, except that I haven't taken new photos. Shortly after I got my new lens, the bad weather came and I wasn't about to take a chance on falling, rain, or snow messing it up. Really the timeline was weather first, then work, then now. Hopefully, the weather should be better now than last week. I should be able to venture out and bring new photos to the blog.

I am going to try and take some pictures for the website of the workout center I go to. I could use the subjects as practice. In turn, they get the photos for their website. Still working on that project though.

Lilly, my puppy dog, who is going to turn six years old in March, is feeling better from her kneecap injury. However, she still wants to run and play with her soccer ball and managed to jack up her knee again today as we watched the Super Bowl. (CONGRATS GREEN BAY! Well played.) I'm happy to report that she disappeared for an hour and a half then re-appeared all jolly again.

Here are some photos I worked on. Nothing great. It's just what I have left that you haven't seen.

Iron Ballerinas 

 G Pumpkin

I will try to get some new photos out soon. There is a learning curve, so be patient.

BLAHG you later!

ER Dogtor's Visit

Last night I had to visit the emergency room. Not for me, but for my puppy dog, Lilly. After playing in the park earlier in the day, I noticed Lilly had been limping around the house and not putting weight on her back left leg during the night. I immediately thought, "OH MY GOD! SHE'S DYING!" Without hesitation, I called K9-11 and asked for an ambulance to come pick us up to go to the 24HR Emergency/Critical Care facility just a few miles down the freeway.

When we got to the emergency room (via my own transportation because apparently there isn't an ambulance service for injured puppy dogs, unless you're some giant, exotic, on-the-extinction-list animal) and managed to make our way through the incoming arctic front, we were greeted by a black cat statue on the registration counter inside the lobby. To my surprise, as we got closer to the counter, the black cat statue actually greeted us with a warm, "MEOW!" It was not a statue. It was real!

My first thought, who leaves a cat in a medical facility? That's just not hygienic. Someone needs to clean and sterilize in here. Then I remembered that I was at an animal hospital. Luckily, Lilly didn't go after the cat. (Chino would have chased it around the entire hospital causing a lot of equipment damage.) Lilly couldn't run because she was limping it. Besides, she was inside her pink Burberry carry-on carrier wearing her khaki with pink-piping trench coat to match.

This is Lilly waiting in the ER in her carrier wearing her trench coat.

This is Chino. Need I say more?

Once the "Dogtor" saw us, she said Lilly's patella, or knee cap, was popping out of place, but didn't appear to have ligament tears. She recommended some NSAIDs and pain pills and limiting her activity. (Good luck with that!) If after a few days she continues to have the same issues, I would have to take her back and have them reevaluate her again. Sometimes it can be repaired surgically. (I'll sell the house if I have too so they can keep that knee cap in place.) The dogtor said it's hereditary. I blame it on my mom with her bad knee. 

Lilly has been walking around, taking it easy. On occasion, she won't put weight on her leg when her knee cap pops out. Then when it's back in place, she's limping it, trying to play. My poor puppy dog.

BLAHG you later!