I got out and setup my tripod and was able to get a few shots of the fireworks.

It was actually my first valid attempt to shot fireworks. The method i used was to simply set the mode to Time Priority, set the 2 second timer, and let it fly. I tried different amounts of shutter exposure, just increasing and decreasing the seconds of each shot.

It is weird watching the news reports on TV and reading them on the various newspaper websites. Some information is correct, some is wrong, but it is what it is…

I would say that no one wants for there to be a strike or lock out, but that, unfortunately, is completely up to the companies.

We are 100% prepared, ready, and willing to walk the picket line to protect the 24% of employees who they want to layoff and to protect our jobs from being sent to non-union workers.

In any case, I had my camera with me for the Strike Authorization Vote and Negotiations Planning Session that we had last night. Our president, John Fageaux asked me to keep my camera close at hand for any other events. Stay tuned…

There are many different kinds of photographers… Wedding, travel, adventure, fashion, journalistic, etc… I feel that as long as I do not have a specialty, I will not grow as a photographer.

I will continue to be a rather amateur photographer with just semi-nice equipment. I want to be more than that. I want to be a true photographer. It allows me to view and connect with the world in profound ways.

I need to find my path… I need to restart…

As a start on my restart, here is a photo of Joan and I in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The two jack-o-lanterns behind him are the works of art that Joan and Harveen made earlier in the day. Joan made the cat and Harveen made the owl. They are so good; I believe they are going to turn it into a yearly tradition. Next year, I am going to carve Bosco’s likeness into the pumpkin! I will call it a “Bosc-o-lantern!!!”

And if you just can’t get enough of Bosco’s costume this year, tune in tomorrow for a better shot of just him in all his glory…

A Turtle and Two Jacks, originally uploaded by jasolutions.

When we were on the ferry going into Venice, we were greeted with this wonderful and, no doubt, most famous sight. The area surrounding St. Mark’s Square and its Basilica is known as the Piazza. From here, the most prominent object is the giant Campanile which towers above the city. We did not have a chance (read: too tired!!!) to climb to the top, but perhaps we can next time we are in town. Flanking the Square is also the Library and the Doge’s Palace, which is where Casanova was once held.

Too bad we only had 1 full day there. I think we could have easily spent a week there, exploring all the little alley ways and catching up on all the sights we missed out on. For being such a relatively small place, there are so many things to see, do, and take pictures of.

Piazzetta San Marco, Venice, Italy, originally uploaded by jasolutions.

I had to go down to the TTI terminal one night to take some pictures of a container for one of China Shipping’s customers. I took this opportunity to snap a few shots of the cranes and staging area. This is the area where trucks line up to either pick up import loads or drop off export loads. The sun had just barely set, and there was still that twilight glow in the sky. With the crane and terminal lights, it looked pretty cool.

Now this was back before I had a digital camera, so I didn’t even really know how the shots were going to turn out. It is really weird to think back when I first started out in photography. There was a refreshing quality to not know how a shot was going to turn out, forgetting about it, and then when you got the prints back, being pleasantly surprised.

Now you can, shoot, review, shoot some more, and even do basic corrections without having to even think about basic photographic principles. I like to think that my photos were somewhat better back in those days, mainly because there was a cost associated with every frame. You had a vested interest to make sure the shot was composed properly because it was costing you money every time your finger hit that shutter release. It made you think before you took the picture, instead of after the fact.

I wonder if Costco even processes film anymore…

TTI Staging Area on Film, originally uploaded by jasolutions.

Confused, yet somewhat intrigued, I took a look at the site. It didn’t look malicious in nature, so I allowed my picture to be included. Apparently, they liked the picture, because 2 days ago I received another email saying that I had won. Here is a link to the page with my winning photograph.

I guess they select pictures to be included on their site to show different touristy areas and landmarks of cities.

The picture they selected was my shot of the Arc de Triomphe from Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It really is nothing to be that proud of I guess. I mean, come on, it’s not like it’s the National Geographic or anything. But nevertheless, I am going to consider this my first published picture. I hope my ego doesn’t get too big due to my new found success… Here it is again, in all its glory…

Arc de Triomphe from Avenue des Champs-Élysées, originally uploaded by jasolutions.

In any case, we let Bosco run around, chasing other dogs, getting chased himself, and watching him avoid the water the water at all costs. Bosco really hates the water. Can’t blame him really. If I were that delicate, I would probably try to avoid the water as well. I think Bosco really thinks that people are going to drown if the water touches them. If you get too close, he will bark and bark and bark. Its kind of annoying after a while. But I guess you can’t blame him for worrying.

I am trying to bring my camera to more places so that I can have more opportunities to take pictures. I always hope that I can get at least one good picture when we go out. So on this day, we got out to the beach a little late and the sun was just about to set, so we sat down to take a few pictures. This is one of my favorites… My two loves in this world… How could you not love these two beautiful faces???

Bosco’s Day At The Beach, originally uploaded by jasolutions.

We avoided booking the Nassau Island Tour Package on the cruise ship because it would have set us back about $120 ($60 per person). When we arrived in port, we hopped off the ship and waiting for us were a bunch of taxi drivers pretty much offering the same package, but for only $20 per person.

We had our reservations, because the driver that approached us first could have literally killed me with a flick of his finger. This guy was pretty huge! Anyway, we saw that there were about 9 other people that were already going with him, so we figured, why not…

Our driver loaded us into his van and off we went. We saw pretty much all of the highlights of Nassau, including Fort Fincastle. This castle was built around 1793 on Bennet’s Hill which overlooks all of Nassau.

The castle itself is a little run down, with little shack shop surrounding the immediate area. It’s kind of a shame though. If they built it back up a bit and turned it into a true tourist spot, I think it could add a lot to the island of Nassau.

Remains of Fort Fincastle, originally uploaded by jasolutions.