100 Years In The Making

I just got back from Detroit. For those that don’t know, Detroit is where I spent most of my teenage years and early 20's. Although it is always special when I return, this trip was even more special than normal. My wife’s great grandmother turned 100 year old and every member of the family was expected to attend the party for this special occasion.

The party was held at the Double Tree Hotel's banquet hall in Dearborn Michigan. Grandma was pleasantly surprised for the large attendance of family and friends. And I am glad me and my family were able to travel from Houston to be apart of this special even.

What is grandma's secret to a long life? A daily glass of Cognac!!! hmmm... I think I'm going to try to make it to 150.

For additional birthday party pictures, go to: http://lojack-media-productions.smugmug.com/gallery/7480679_GrSto

Barack Obama Inauguration

What a week… My cousin (Steve Morris) and I went to Washington DC to experience the Barack Obama inauguration excitement. Steve works for Southwest airlines, so we were able to fly free. We caught a 6:00am flight out of Houston Hobby airport to Baltimore on 1/16/2009. Due to the number of stops the plane made, we did not arrive in Baltimore until around 3:00pm. After getting our rental car, we arrived in our Sheraton suite around 5:00pm, dropped off our luggage and immediately went into the City of DC. Did I mention that my cousin used his bonus points and we stayed in the hotel for 5 nights, free?

The next morning (1/17/2009) we went to Virginia to see the Pentagon and visit the Arlington Cemetery. It was pretty dead, but it was something to do.

On Sunday (1/18/2009), we drove to Philadelphia. I could not see being this close to the homeland of the Cheese Steak and not get one. It was a 2½ hour drive, but worth it. We visited the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross’ House, Benjamin Franklin’s museum, Independence Hall and of course Geno’s Philly Cheese Steak restaurant. This just happened to be the day the Philadelphia Eagles were playing the Cardinals for the NFC championship. We watched the game in a Philly sports bar.

Monday (1/19/2009), we went into DC again. This time the visit was a dry-run on the Metro train system. We wanted to make sure we knew where to catch the train, which train to ride, where to transfer and where to get off. This dry-run proved to be very useful.

The BIG day was finally here. Tuesday (1/20/2009)!!! We woke up around 3:00am and left the hotel a little before 4:00am …and boy were we surprised with traffic and the size of the crowds. The traffic was so bad it took over an hour for a trip that was only 15 minutes a day earlier. We arrived at the DC mall around 7:00am. We did not have tickets for the sitting area, so we had to stand …and stand …and stand. There were approximately 8 jumbo-tron screens in the mall. We situated ourselves in the middle of the mall by the 3rd screen. It was very cold, somewhere between 15-28 degrees at various times in the day. The density of the crowd and the pure excitement kept us warm (…and a bunch of new warm pieces of clothing I bought days earlier to layer under my leather jacket) We met people from all over the USA (Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan) and all over the world (France, England, Australia, Jamaica). After about 3 hours of standing the ceremony started. When Obama was sworn in around 12:00’ish, the crowd went wild.

Although the conditions were rough at times, I am glad I was there and I’m glad I can share these pictures and memories with you.

For additional Washington DC pictures, go to: http://lojack-media-productions.smugmug.com/Travel/694319

Lights in Motion

While passing by the Sam Houston Race track one evening, I saw a small carnival in the parking lot. I would not have been so interested in this carnival if I did not have my camera with me, but I did and I've always wanted to get a picture of lights in motion. Here's one of the shots I got that evening.

Photos Everywhere

While on a business trip in Asia, I stayed in a luxurious hotel that had tons of things for a person with a camera to get excited about. I have stayed in this hotel several times in the past, but I was never there armed with my shutter gun. This trip opened my eyes about photography. I realized we are around things everyday that make good photo subjects. We simply need to open our eyes to see the photo potential. A strange bug walking on the ground, a vacant lot full of wild flowers or the rich colors in a old rusted out barn shed. There is beauty in everything and creativity in us all.

Taipei, Taiwan

This picture was taken while hiking in a Taiwan national park with a friend (Todd Kruse). The green moss on all the rocks gave the hike a mystical feel. I can't wait to do some more traveling so I can take more indigenous pictures.

For additional Taiwan pictures, go to: http://lojack-media-productions.smugmug.com/Travel/667713

New Moon (almost)

Tyia (my 13 year old daughter) was studying the earth and moon’s orbital patterns in her science class when she discovered the moon would be in a ‘new’ state. Unfortunately, I did not catch it that night but here’s a picture from one night later.