SEEING WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE

WHITE SANDS....ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO

If you have a keen interest in photography you may see things a little differently than other people. FISHING ON MITRY LAKE.....YUMA, ARIZONA

I first noticed that years ago in the old 35mm film days when I developed an interest in photography. It didn't happen right away but after a few years I began to notice things that I had never paid much attention to before. I think it is just something that slowly works it's way into the subconscious mind. I became aware of colors & shapes & how they interacted with the environment. Maybe it's how an old fencepost leans into it's background or how the rusted color of an old hubcap stands out against the graying fender of an aging derelict car in an overgrown junk yard. Maybe it's big billowing cloud formations on a bright sunny day. Gathering storms take on a new beauty if you have a photographic eye. Bird formations overhead take on meaningful shapes & a cactus bloom backlit by the morning sun suddenly becomes an object of wonder. Long shadows stretch across landscapes as gentle winds ripple across resting ponds. It's a world of beauty we live in & we just have to open our eyes & minds to see. An interest in photography will greatly enhance that world for you. Let it become an unending source of inspiration as you scan the vistas around you in a subconscious or deliberate search for nature's bounties. AJO MOUNTAIN RANGE....ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA

Some folks are able to take their photographic skills to a higher level than the rest of us & a fellow comes to mind that we met 2 years ago while boondocking near Why, Arizona. He is one of those dedicated photographers who is up before the sun most mornings & out there in the landscape with his equipment & photographic eye waiting for those first sleepy shades of sunlight to spill soft hues of pastel colors into the morning shadows. His name is Gordon Wolford & you can find his fine photographer's eye here.......... http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/root Gordon also has his own website at....http://www.gordonwolford.com/home.htm & Gordon's wife Sandra chronicles their daily RV adventures here...... http://srmerrikinblog.blogspot.com/

GRAND CANYON'S NORTH RIM.....ARIZONA

Well, better go charge up my cameras because I'm off to Grand Bend to-morrow with the mobility van & while I have a 2 hour stop-over there maybe I can take my photographer's eye down to the new beach complex they are constructing & see what I can find...............................:))IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN AT ARCHES NATIONAL PARK.......MOAB, UTAH

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

GOTTA GET RID OF ALL DIS STUFF!!!!

I noticed last night when I was looking at our Feedjit Live Traffic Feed (bottom right of our blog) that someone in California had clicked on a photo I took a couple of years ago while hiking in Palm Canyon near Borrego Springs CA. Kelly & I were moving along a trail with our guide friend Butch when we heard some rocks tumble down up on a steep mountainside off to our right. Butch spotted mountain goats right away but I didn't see them at first. I zoomed in with my Nikon telephoto lens & snapped a picture of the area where Butch was pointing. When we got back to the rig later I downloaded my pictures & was able to enlarge the one above. It wasn't until then that I saw all the goats. So far I have counted 15 goats in this photo. There may be more in the picture that I haven't seen. (just had a problem with this picture enlarging big enough!!) I spent the morning in a frustrating attempt to clean up & organize one of our two garden sheds. We have accumulated soooooooo much STUFF over the years that it is just plain ridiculous. We not only have a ton of STUFF in our garden sheds but we've got STUFF in the house, under the house, in the carport storage area, up in the rafters, in a cartop carrier & just about every other place you can think of. I know we are not alone in this problem but that didn't help my attitude as I picked away at this & tried sorting that this morning. Nobody to blame but ourselves for dragging things home from thrift stores, garage sales, & discount stores over the years. Just too many bargains that couldn't be missed....ya right!! Add STUFF to that from my late Mother's house & my Uncles house when he moved into an assisted living facility. We have a brand new set of ladies downhill skis & boots that have never seen snow for example. Been hanging on to that STUFF for about 12 years now in case we take up skiing again. No, that isn't going to happen!! I've got about 40 open end wrenches of all sizes & shapes. Haven't had to use a wrench for anything in years but the brain says better keep them cause you just might need them.....I got one word for you brain......baloney!! Furnace filters for a furnace we don't even have. And light bulbs!! Got more light bulbs here than the whole city of Las Vegas has. And how about those old paint cans that have been sitting here for years freezing up & drying out every winter. A man just never knows when he might need a dab of paint you know.........baloney!! And would you believe we have STUFF that we don't even know we have. I know that when STUFF is moved......there is gonna be more STUFF behind it!! And more STUFF behind that!!!! And how did all these priceless little treasures we dragged home over the years slowly turn into STUFF. Well, the little treasures didn't change but we sure did. I think RVing has brought our heads around over the last couple of years & shown us the folly of our ways. When we are on the road traveling we get along just fine with whatever we have. With the limited space of an RV we have to tune ourselves into a different mindset. Less is better & we travel very light & lean. Many times while on the road we have remarked how silly it seems to have all that STUFF at home that we very rarely ever use. We always vow to take care of that problem as soon as we get home.....ya right!! Now, in defense of ourselves let me say this because there has been some definite progress on our part this past year. We are no longer dragging junk home. I have stopped reading the Canadian Tire Flyers searching for bargoons on things we may or may not need. Kelly isn't frequenting the scratch & dent stores anymore & she has curtailed her thrift store purchases to just about zero. I'm not in the garden centers anymore loading up on flowers, shrubs, & plants either. Basically we have that part of our new "light & lean" plan under control. We have stopped the flow of STUFF coming in. It is now up to us to implement step 2 which is getting all this existing STUFF going out. Say, anybody need a dozen screw drivers.............

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

GUESS WE'RE JUST KIND OF AN ODD COUPLE

A LONE SEAGULL WINGS IT'S WAY ALONG THE BEACH TO-DAY

We were just heading out the driveway on our daily walk a couple weeks ago when our friend & neighbor Gayle came walking across the road with an envelope in her hand. As she approached us she said, "happy anniversary." For a few seconds neither Kelly or I knew what she meant & I figure the puzzled looks on our faces prompted Gayle to say, "it's your wedding anniversary isn't it?" Well, she was right & if it hadn't been for Gayle reminding us we would have blown right past the date again for another year. Needless to say we were both pretty red faced as we opened Gayles lovely hand made anniversary card. It is one of many she has remembered for us over the years. DEERPARK'S VOLLEYBALL COURTS AWAIT THE SUMMER'S GUESTS

I think most normal people remember birthdays, anniversaries, & special occasions but then again Kelly & I haven't been like most people. We're kind of an odd couple of sorts as far as mainstream goes. We did exchange cards & things when we first met but eventually got away from that figuring why spend money on expensive cards that only end up in a drawer or on a shelf collecting dust anyway. Besides, the Coutts-Hallmark card company was already a multi-million dollar enterprise so why give them any more money when we could use it ourselves!! Flowers never made a lot of sense to either one of us either. They were expensive one day & stone dead two days later. And besides, what a waste of a beautiful flower's life. We don't do gifts for Christmas or birthdays either. We just consider them ordinary days. Our monies are integrated & anything we buy like a TV, vehicle, toaster, garden rake, or whatever is considered a sharing gift. Well, something like that anyway. The concept works for us ok but probably not for a lot of people.

DEERPARK LODGE IS GETTING A NEW SET OF STAIRS TO THE BEACH THIS YEAR

Before we met, Kelly had led a very busy social & family life & never had a lot of time for herself. I came from a slightly less social life but was already beginning to tire of it so the timing was perfect for us to meet. Kelly had had enough of the social scene & I was feeling the same so after a couple of years going out to-gether we found ourselves an old abandoned farm house way out in the country with lots of wide open spaces & no social commitments. We just kind of happily disappeared from everything & everybody:)) I THINK THERE'S ENOUGH ROOM ON THAT LANDING FOR AN ICE CREAM SHOPPE

We worked hard on that old 2 story brick house to make it livable & ended up quietly staying there for nearly 7 years. I think it was this period of time that changed both of us forever. We knew there was no going back to city living for either one of us. Why drive to big noisy traffic congested cities to do things we weren't really interested in doing in the first place anyway. Our interests in social events just kind of faded away. Figured it made a whole lot of sense to do the things we wanted to do instead of what other people wanted us to do. As I mentioned before, both of us had spent many years doing the social thing & by the time we met we were both way overdue for a huge change in our lives. Fortunately we had the same interests, dreams, & desires. The old abandoned farm house & life in the country was only the beginning for us & it was here that the basis for our future RV dreams began to take shape. The stage was set for our many tranquil boondocking adventures ahead......................:))

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/