Christmas 08

Well we managed another Christmas. We spent a fairly quiet four days in Thousand Oaks with my family. And had by far one our coldest Christmases, closest we'll probably come to a white Christmas in So Cal. We also had a fun little trip to the Santa Barbara zoo. Enjoy the photos.

Updated Photos.

With all the busy-ness of Christmas winding down I was able to spend some time on my photos the last couple of weeks. And I added the above photo taken from Bergen, and "fixed" some others. So far "Bergen in the Mist - Harbor Ship" and the my Mount Rundle photo on the site have been updated. Hopefully I can get some more quality time on the photos over the New Years break.

Photomatix

My father-in-law introduced me to some new software that looks rather impressive called, Photomatix. It's an HDR program that can do some impressive things to photos. Like the above photo. For those not familiar with HDR photos, basically you take the a series of shots all taken at different exposures and the software combines them all into one file with an incredible range of lights and darks. You can see some HDR examples here.

I am still haven't been fully converted to the HDR camp. You can do some impressive work if you do it right. But some photos still warrant the traditional approach. I mostly see this HDR software as another potential tool to accomplish what I want to make. The above photo was actually just a tone map, not a true HDR image. I am still working on a true HDR image, it's not quite the way I'd like it. More to come.

Back from Red Rock

Well we survived a rather wet weekend camping at Red Rock Canyon. And as you can see that didn't stop me from getting some pictures. The above picture was how the campsite looked when I first got up. The bottom picture is Heidi and I while we were hiking through the park after all the rain. Thank goodness my parents came with their trailer. I am not sure Heidi would have been sane trying to keep a puppy entertained all day in a tent while it poured all day. It was a nice relaxing trip regardless of the rain. I hope to finish a few more pictures from this trip.

Feels Like New

Well I finally was able to set aside some time to change the look and feel of the blog. All the new features on Blogger makes customizing the blog tons easier. I hope in the next couple of weeks to add a current work mini gallery and easier links to my work so people can come here to see what I am currently up. The above photo was one I took on a trip Heidi and I did last year to the Cottonwood Lakes and Mount Langley in the Eastern Sierras.

I should have some new photos next week after our little trip to Red Rock Canyon. Should be lots of fun.

What Was Lost Is Found

I know it's been quite awhile since I posted anything. This summer has been quite a roller coaster with Heidi's grandma's passing, the birth of the first Hammer grandchild, the upcoming Hammer wedding, trying to adjust to a puppy in a condo. On top of all that I was in a bit of a creative funk, course all the summer stress might have been a big cause of that.

Regardless I am trying to get back to the art. I had a big surge of inspiration last week when I was finally able to recover all the photos I took in Olso on our trip last May. I have been scouring the web for software to recover corrupted flash cards which was quite frustrating. Anyways here are the photos I was able to work on over the Labor Day holiday.

Here Comes Trouble

Hi, my name is Lucy and I am the newest edition to the Dub clan. You can read more about me here.

Back from Europe

Well Heidi and I made it back from Europe to quite a pile of work to catch up on (amazing what three weeks away from work and two natural disasters do.) All that being said it was a great vacation, we got to see some incredible sights and meet some great people, but I was definitely ready to come back home.

Later this week, once the dust settles I do some reflection of the trip. In the meantime enjoy the photos I have posted, to see the full group you can check them out here.

Dependence on Technology

Well two days ago I found out all my pictures I took in Oslo might be gone, due to an evil card reader that corrupted my card. I am holding out hope I can restore it, but we'll see.

I'll leave to rest of our travel stories to my wife the wordsmith.

And yes Reindeer tastes good.

-dub

Slow.... computers

This post will be short... because of a slow computer and different keyboard. But we're in Oslo and having a good time. Check out Heidi's blog for more on our trip.

easttoweston.blogspot.com

Dubland goes to Dublin

If I was witty enough I'd come up with a limerick or something marking this special occasion. How often do you find a Dub in Dublin. But alas I am no poet.

Heidi and I really cannot wait to get going on this epic trip. Our first stop is the capital of Ireland where we'll wander a couple of days and then head to Norway. I am glad we're making it here. I really wanted to go to Ireland when I was in England 5 years ago but I just didn't have the time.

So here's to the Book of Kells, U2, Irish pubs, leprechauns, four leaf clovers, and lots of green. It's supposed to be raining when we touch down. I will try to post as often as I can, but not sure whether I will be able to upload pictures til we get to Vienna.

Europe Bound!

In less than two weeks Heidi and I leave for an epic trip to Europe. And right now I think it's the only thing on both of our minds. We are so excited about our destinations. We're going to Ireland, Norway, Czech Republic, and Austria. I have a feeling we'll get quite an eclectic view of Europe this trip. We'll try to post picts and blog entries while we're there but not exactly sure how frequent that will be.

Right now I am getting ready for a crash course on my new camera. So expect a lot of great new photos when we get back.

Gallery Time

This weekend my Father-in-Law, Doug Hammer, is doing a gallery exhibition of his work. He has quite a body of work. He used to make his own  large format cameras, and do the whole dark room process at home on the side. And now with the digital revolution he's done quite a bit more, now not restricted to film. I definitely recommend you check out his site. 

Springtime in Death Valley

I finally had a chance to go through some of my photos from Death Valley and here are a few of the choice shots. I should have more after the weekend. To read more about the trip check out heidi's blog.

The shot above was taken on Artist Drive near the entrance, and can be seen in the Outdoor section of my selected photos.

Death Valley or Bust!

Next week around this time Heidi and I will be packing for our trip out to the desert to get away from it all and enjoy all the nice wildflowers. The plan is Death Valley right now after concerns that Joshua Tree might be very busy. This however is not a bad plan B since Death Valley is one of our favorite places to go. Lots of people think we're nuts going to place with "Death" in the name. But if they ever saw the place in person they would change their mind. So in about 2 weeks I should have new photos up on the site. Hopefully some with wildflowers.

New Work

Now that the site is finished I have been able to work on a few new pieces. Have a look, they're in the abstract section. There will be a few more soon as well. Just need a little more time. These two were taken on a trip up San Jacinto last summer. To see the rest of the abstract photos click here. 

Photos Up on Flickr

Not that you can't see these on Dubland already but I have put my photos up on Flickr. For those not familiar with Flickr it's a big photo sharing site. Kinda like Myspace for your photos. On cool feature it has is you can mark on a map where particular photos were taken. So if you're dying to see where my Banff photos were taken check it out on Flickr.

The New Dubland

Well if finally finished the redesign and everything is in it's place. I am so glad to have that monkey off my back so I can now focus on other projects that are much more satisfying. Enjoy the new site. Above is a picture I took from our backpack up to Mount Langley in the Eastern Sierras.

dubland.net

Thankful

I am back after all the holiday celebrations and family shindigs, and now back to work for me. And I am definitely glad to be back into the swing of things. And now I hope to get my web site up and running real soon. It's amazing how quickly 4 months can pass by and I still feel like I am in the same spot. Above is a picture of my nephew taken on Thanksgiving, one of the several pictures I worked on over Christmas.

I spent some time this past week thinking over the last year and as I took a step back, I truly marveled at how blessed I have been this year, blessed monetarily, circumstantially, and relationally. This was a pretty expensive year for Heidi and I, as we had medical bills add up from her kidney stone episode last spring, and then some unexpected expenses like our fridge falling apart. Anyway, even as we weathered those expenses and watched all the fallout from the mortgage crisis in the news, we were still able to do everything Heidi and I were hoping to do this year. I feel like I have been truly blessed this past year.

I also was able to spend a good deal of time with friends and family this year, for which I can't help but feel grateful. Several people around me have been going through some rather awful and tragic relational trials in their lives. Whether it be health scares, family tension, or broken relationships I have seen quite a bit of heartache this year. I feel fortunate that I have family and friends that I know will be there for me in good and bad times.

I truly feel blessed.