I'm always amazed by some of the work I get in response to my "Journal Feature" forum posts. Sure there are the usual few who post their same pictures every time (and I consequently ignore each time), but I always end up finding some wonderful new photos to enjoy. On occasion I also stumble across an artist who is exceptional, and I take time to browse their galleries and enjoy their vision.

I hope you take the time to look at the art I've found and enjoy it too. Who knows, you might just find something amazing...

Fall is here, along with everything that goes with it. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp and cold, and flu season is in full swing... My wife and I both already got that lovely little present of nature, and it took us out for over a week. That was not a fun week, and I'm so glad I'm better. And now that I feel good again, it's time to take some trips out to photograph the fall foliage. I'm so anxious to get out and use my new camera! Oh yes, I finally got an upgrade to my Rebel XT: a 50D! Hurray!

I'm back! And for some reason I'm finally feeling motivated to get out and take more pictures. Hopefully that will last a while. And I'm waiting on this Canon announcement about the 7D and 60D. I'm way overdue for an upgrade from my Rebel XT. Whether I have the money for it is another issue...

Insurance is a great thing. After having my car broken into a few weeks ago, I met with the appraiser, or whatever his title was, and now have all the financial stuff taken care of. I just had to pay my $100 deductible and let them pay for everything else. Good thing too. Who would have thought the heater/AC control unit would cost almost $900! Maybe that's what the thief wanted... That's worth a whole lot more than the stereo was. I still haven't gotten around to replacing either part yet, but hopefully I'll get that taken care of this week.

Anyway, enjoy the features!

My mom is in town for the week, so I took today off from work. We had these great plans to go take some family pictures of my wife, daughter, and me (my mom's idea) and then we were going to spend the rest of the day visiting various waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. I was excited about taking pictures of the falls I haven't seen yet (not so much about the family photos). Well, neither of those happened. We got everything ready this morning and went out to my car to find that a window was broken and my stereo was gone. Actually, it wasn't just my stereo but the entire center console where the stereo was mounted. So I spent the morning on the phone with the police, the insurance, and the auto glass shop. Not the day I was hoping for. There goes some of my new camera or lens money...

And it's my birthday tomorrow, so my wife was joking that now she knows what to get me as a present.