Raising Arizona

This past weekend Rachel and I visited Scottsdale, Arizona to celebrate her 28th birthday. We stayed at the JW Camelback Resort and enjoyed every minute. Most of our time was spent eating, drinking, and poolside at the resort. However, we did venture to downtown Scottsdale on two occasions in order to take our eating and drinking routine off-campus, and spent one day checking out scenic Sedona. Mostly, this trip was all about spending time and kicking back a few fancy drinks and thats what we did. In all honesty I think it was the best trip that I have ever been on.

However, since Arizona is such a beautiful place I found it necessary to carve out a little time for photography. I took plenty of memory shots and shared them on facebook. The images below are made up more of landmarks, landscapes, and my creative inclinations. The whole of Arizona seems incredibly photogenic and I hope to return again soon with more time to photograph.

Thank you for stopping by and my apologies if you were looking for information on the 1987 classic Coen brother's movie starring the Nic Cage...

Montezuma Castle on the way to Sedona, AZ.

Montezuma Castle on the way to Sedona, AZ.

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ.

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ.

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ.

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ.

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ.

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ.

The most amazing backyard I have ever seen located in the middle of the desert.

Caltrain Portraits

These images were taken while looking out of the window of the second level seats on the south-bound Caltrain. The window adjacent to the seats that Rachel and I were sitting in was covered with tiny scratches. It almost looked like the spidering of a newly cracked windshield. The interesting thing was the effect it created looking through the lens at my particular angle with the sun shinning in. It almost created a bokeh effect on the front of the image. I experimented with manual focus and shooting away during the 30 minute train ride from Millbrae to Mountain View. The following results are the ones I liked best. The front end bokeh/ blurry effect along with the surveillance-camera style composition create, in my opinion, an interesting glimpse of Caltrain patrons passing by. Thank you for stopping by and take care.

DIY Photo Ledge

I was recently checking out different photography websites and came across a great, easy, and inexpensive photo display idea. The materials needed are easy to find and it will cost less than $15 to create this DIY Photo Ledge.

Materials Needed-

1. Plastic Cap Moulding  - I found a 8 ft. strip for less than $3 at Lowe's.
2. Adhesive Strips - Also less than $3 at Lowe's.
3. Scissors or utility blade.
4. Measuring Tape (optional).
5. Beer.
6. Pictures- I printed 4X6 with white borders from Costco, but polaroids or smaller prints would also work great.

The process is pretty straightforward-

1. Cut the Plastic Cap Moulding to the desired length.
2. Apply Adhesive Strips to Moulding.
3. Measure (or eyeball) where you want to place Moulding on the wall.
4. Stick Moulding to wall.
5. Add pictures.
6. Drink beer, look at pictures, Enjoy!

Along with the low cost and easy setup, this photo ledge looks great and the pictures are easily changed out. So, you can keep up pics of the family or get creative and change them with the season.