New Gallery—You Are Invited!

There are several more entries now in the Colorado 2007 Gallery. I hope you will drop by.

Click on the the thumbnail below for a larger version of the image and to enter the gallery.

Feature Article

If you are in southern California, I hope you will check out the current issue of The Equestrian News. It includes a feature article about my work. Who doesn’t like some good publicity?

A New Lens Added to the Gear

Just before leaving for a trip to Colorado, I took a deep breath and bought a new lens. After reading rave reviews by several photographers whose opinions I respect, I invested in Canon's EF 24-105f4L IS lens. What a joy to use. When I first began to flirt with the idea of buying this lens, I almost balked at the price. I should have known better. When I bought the 70-200f2.8L, I had the same issues about spending the money, but learned then that while L stands for "luxury item"—meaning you can't include it in the list of essentials, it makes a dramatic difference in the quality of the raw files I capture. That results in less time processing and that means more time can be spent taking photographs. That's a big win in my book.

By the way, the photographer who most influenced me in this decision was Paul Butzi. If you have never visited his blog, it's a treat. You can find him at: http://photomusings.wordpress.com/

Home Again!

Around mid-June, Jim and I decided to explore southern Colorado. We trudged across that infernal and interminable California desert (which is most unfriendly to humans during the summer months) and headed straight for the mountains of the Centennial State. Once there, we had to drag ourselves away. We spent most of our time on the east side of the Continental Divide taking day-trips that left us road-weary, but delighted. There are only about four-and-half million people living in the state and don’t ask me to explain that fact. To be more realistic, one does have to deal with snow (I have to confess that would certainly give me pause). Still, the area is so gorgeous I can’t understand why it isn’t crawling alive with people. Mind you, I’m grateful it isn’t.

I want to send a special "hello" and a big "thank you" to all our wonderful and generous new friends. We were bowled over by the warmth of our little family at the Riverbend Campground and the open arms that seemed to welcome us everywhere we went. We came home with our faith in humanity refurbished and our minds filled with images of beauty that will help to sustain us through this hot, dry summer.

New Directions

It's time to open up the photo-blog and commit to this online journal. To celebrate the commitment, here is a photo. It's one of my favorites taken at Silent Knight Farms. For a larger version of the image and to view others from the Classy Mercedes Gallery, click on the thumbnail below.