Loving my new Droid X

Yeah, I know the iPhone just came out for Verizon and yeah, I had planned on pre-ordering one at midnight. I actually bought my Droid 2 days before the iPhone hit stores and wondered if I had made the right decision. Since having this phone, I have not looked back... I am not going to sit here and review the phone's features (which would take quite awhile) other than the one that pertains to this blog...the camera.
I love this camera. Clear pics in low-light, customizable settings that would rival most prosumer point-and-shoots, 8 megapixel resolution and, get this, an actual mechanical shutter. It also has some pretty robust native editing programs. Not to mention 720p HD video at 24fps. Its pretty cool. But enough words...

This is just the standard camera sample

It also has a setting that will assist you in taking a 6-shot panorama, then stitch the photos together for you.

This is an app called Retro Camera. Very cool effects, simulating the old-skool toy cameras.

John and Jamie Elser

3/4 Day trip on the Freelance

Headed out of Davey's Locker on the Freelance this past Monday. Definitely not the limits of bass they saw just a few days earlier, but nonetheless a decent day on the water with a number of nice grumpy sandys. This was more of a working trip for me, so I only brought 1 rod and decided to throw plastics all day, which I did fairly well with (2 cuda, 2 sandys and a handful of mackerel all of which I gave away).

Looking forward to my next trip out. Hoping to get on the boat with this Dan Hernandez fishing day on the 28th. We'll see...

Endless Summer of Fishing

So I am now SUPER excited because I will be working with Davey's Locker in Newport Beach a lot this summer, putting together more slideshows like this one.

I'm Back

Well, actually I was back 2 weeks ago, but I forgot to post anything here. Besides, there are only like 4 people who ever read this thing and I am sure I called you all while killing time in Denver waiting for my plane. I actually miss the weather out there. After 2 weeks, my body acclimated itself to an average nightly low of 22, so of course when I land at John Wayne at 9pm, it's still in the low 70's here. I miss having different seasons, even if only for 2 weeks.

Still here, and still cold

Well it snowed a little yesterday. It was actually the first time the weatherman got it right since I have been here. As the title says, it's still cold. With the wind-chill tonight it's 11 and still dropping. I haven't gotten nearly as much shooting in as I had wanted, but tomorrow my mother-in-law goes in for surgery and will be at the hospital overnight so I might have a little time to myself. The bad news is my father-in-law has come down with a case of Death and is constantly heaving his guts out (I think I actually saw one of his shoes come up earlier) and I am sure that will put a damper on my taking of pictures.

Life in the Sooner State

Came out to Oklahoma to help out my disabled in-laws for a couple of weeks while they recover from surgery. It's pretty nice here - definately my type of weather. The mercury hasn't gotten above 44 degrees since I got here and it got as low as 17 the night I arrived. I Flew (or should I say slid) into OKC the night after a huge ice/snow storm. A good 2 inches of ice on just about everything and another 6-8 inches of snow on top of that as the pics will show. Looks like more tomorrow...the forecast calls for a "Wintry Mix" which is weather-speak for "something's gonna happen...we're not sure what, but something WILL happen."

Finally!!

New pics of a recent wildfire here in Diamond Bar...

Time Flies

Wow...has it seriously been a month since my last update? /sigh, I used to be so good about it. Well, since no one is follwing this, I guess it really doesn't matter what I do. For for my millions of fans who have not committed to clicking the 'Follow This Blog' button, I assure you I will have something new up by the end of the weekend. Until then, go visit What the Duck for a little humor or Strobist and brush up on your off-camera flash work.

Field Trip to Joshua Tree

What an incredibale day! Not really much to say other than that. I am trying to put together one more trip before the weather starts getting a little too warm.

OC Register...Finally

...just too bad it took a tragedy to do it.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kotrys-dead-2348714

Fatal OIS in Garden Grove

46 year-old Jeffrey Kotrys, a resident of Garden Grove, was pronounced dead at 9:44pm at UCI Medical Center following an officer involved shooting, Friday, March 27th. At 8:56pm, the Garden Grove Police Department received a call regarding a violent male subject inside the residence on the 12000 block of Janet St in Garden Grove. Upon arrival, officers were confronted by a knife-wielding Mr. Kotrys, who has threatened violence in the past, which led to the officer involved shooting. The Orange County District Attorneys office responded to the scene to conduct an independent investigation into the officer involved shooting.

2 for 2

Although according to the caption, this photo appears to have been taken by my evil twin...he's always out there lurking...causing the mis-spelling and mispronunciation of my name...curse him. Tune in tomorrow after I have taken my meds.

So it's not the OC Register...

...but it's still kinda cool to see my name in print (especially on the FRONT PAGE). My new goal is to send them pictures every week until they offer me a staff position

Water Water Everywhere...

So my wife had just left to go pick our daughter up from preschool and I was just settling down for a quick nap when my cell phone starts ringing. I took a look at the caller id and it was my wife and when I answer the phone, I hear: "You gotta come down fast...the thing is on the ground that holds the water and the water is shooting EVERYWHERE!" From that code, I was able to decipher something about water, and the fact that it was everywhere, apparently.

Bakery Fire in Santa Ana

So I am on my way home from working on an assignment on Friday night when a few fire trucks go whizzing by me. Being the inqusitive type (and wanting to see more of my pics in the Register) I flip a u-turn, follow them, and found this cool little fire...

Pinhole Camera 2.0

Wow. So I was looking back on my days of high school photography class and out of a fit of nostalgia and a little bit of boredom I decided to make a pinhole camera. Not just any pinhole camera though, a digital pinhole camera. If we break it down, a camera is nothing more than a light-tight box, a shutter and a lens. So after drilling a hole in a spare body cap then taping a piece of cardboard over it, I pierced it with a pin. Fortunately, my wife sews and there are thousands of pins EVERYWHERE, sometimes even in my feet. Anyway, a few minutes later I was testing out my new Nikon D80 pinhole camera...

My Little Cowgirls

So it's 4:15 in the morning, and I hear what sounds like an explosion. The power goes out and then comes back on a few seconds later as I start to hear sirens. So I throw my clothes on, grab my camera and found this...

My daughter and I took advantage of the nice day today and had a little fun out in Irvine Park.