Practice makes Picture Perfect!

This past weekend I had the privilege to attend a photography workshop on the skills needed to photograph Bald Eagles in their natural habitat; for this our workshop group travelled to Big Bear. The workshop was sponsored by Canon, because of this we were able to use top of the line camera lenses. I got to use a 600mm lens, which can cost up to a retail price of about $8,000.00; which incidentally I almost dropped from a slip while I was walking on ice to follow an Eagle.

Now I never really had an interest in photographing birds, this is mainly due to the fact of required or “essential” equipment needed for this style of photography; not to mention birds are just in general difficult to photograph! However, I recently began having the desire to photograph Bald Eagles in the wild when I saw a Bald Eagle at the Santa Ana Zoo.

I photographed this bald eagle at the zoo.

After seeing this majestic bird, the urge to see one in the wild became overwhelming. The photographing of a bird that has been such an important symbol to our country was a great honor, but to capture the Bald Eagle in its full majesty, it needed to be photographed while in flight; only then can the beauty of the Bald Eagle truly be appreciated. The eagle we found was a young or immature; which is an eagle that is less than 5 years old and hasn’t fully matured, because of this, the Bald Eagle we found didn't quite have the look that Bald Eagles are most known for.
Once an eagle was spotted, we had to wait patiently for the eagle to leave its spot; the purpose of this was to capture in-flight images of the Bald Eagle. Photographing a Bald Eagle was more waiting than anything else and not to mention the Ravens that were often chasing off the eagles. Needless to say, when the moment was right, It was all worth the while.

Into a New Decade

It is now 2010, another year has conveniently gone by and with all circles, a new one is just around the corner like a wave at a coliseum getting ready to come down on me without notice. 2009 was a struggle for me; between working for myself and working for another company I had little time for family, and my personal life. But this year things will change, this year I plan to spend more time with my son, Anakin. Three and a half years have gone by since his birth and it feels like time is going by faster and faster as he progresses with his development and I need to make sure I am an important role in that development.

Along with spending time with my son, I plan to spend more time with my family in general. This year is going to be crazy, and I can’t wait! We are already planning a few trips; the biggest ones are to Pennsylvania with the potential of Hawai’i as well. Of course, these trips won’t be pure leisure; with my camera and equipment handy, there will be time where it will still feel like work. I already have great ideas for shots in Pennsylvania, and when that day arrives, I will share them with all of you to see and enjoy.

Not to sound too cliché but with every New Years, there are the traditional resolutions, I would like to share mine with you all.

My New Year’s Resolutions are:

1. To reconnect with old friends and make a couple new ones.

2. Follow my financial Plan for the year

3. Keep in shape

4. Just out more and have fun!

Oh, also; i had the privilege of attending my good friend's Meike and Matthew Rusting-Morey's New Year's Eve party. It was a blast! I took some pictures to catalog the event. It was decided to be a formal event. Nothing like good times with good friends, to bring in the new year.

Myself and Matthew:

My brothers Ron and Rudy also attended, here is Rudy, dressed to impress:



My Girlfriend Cellanae was there as well with one of her sister's and their boyfriend:
And not to forget the man of the hour, Norm the Gnome and all his glorious splendor:
I hope to see all you in 2010!