Merry Christmas!

Not to sound like a Grinch, but the magical feeling of Christmas seems to have diminished year after year.  Is anyone else feeling this?  Perhaps I am just getting older.  Or maybe because it has been a while since I spent Christmas back home.

Rain and photography has helped to fill that void though, and for that I am thankful.  And Christmas will never really lose its magic.  Not as long as there is a copy of Home Alone to be found.

A few things:
1) I have started a facebook page.  Here is the link.
2) I have decided that I will focus more on landscape type photos.  I still have much interest in portraiture, and will continue to try and develop that skill (and post about it as the opportunities arise), but I think landscape photos fit Rain and I better.
3) I gave away my first camera to the two boys of the family that I got Rain from.  Rain got me into photography.  Now I'm giving photography to them.  Full circle.  Or so I like to think.


Here are some shots from Christmas weekend:

Lindon Harbor.

Utah Lake.  This was a really cool sight.  I'm guessing the lake froze over several times and each time the current would push a layer of ice against the rocks.

Also Utah Lake.  I went back the following day to see if there would be a cool sunset.  There was.  By this time though, the ice had started to melt.

  
I have started to use a two capture process more in my pictures now.  With the dynamic range of my camera, it is hard to adequately capture details in the sky and the ground because the contrast is usually pretty large in sunset shots.  I've also started to add a signature in my pics as well.  I forgot to for the middle one, and am too lazy to do it right now.

And here are a few shots of Rain:

I was able to get this shot because she was intently following a plane as it slowly made its way across the sky.  Otherwise she would have been whining, or exploring, or trying to make her way back to me.

That camera there belonged to my dad.  It could be older than I am.  No idea how to use it.  Neither does Rain.

Rain and I on a Christmas morning hike starting at 6:30 AM.  No, it's not a tradition.  Nor will it likely become one.