This was a recent Instant Video™ that I did for a couple out at Wente Winery in Livermore.
The bride is actually the step-daughter of an old friend of mine from my EA days.
Anyway, please enjoy the video... it's long-ish, but I think it's good enough to keep one's attention. You can be the final judge.
Enjoy!
I have a great rapport with kids when I go on my wedding shoots. They just naturally gravitate to me and respond very well to my instruction and my camera. They love to hover about and be a part of the celebration.
CLICK HERE to see the video.
I know I deserve to be labeled a nerd (again) for doing this, but I spent an hour or so yesterday making a custom wallpaper for my desktop. I used it for a day and then got tired of it.
I took one image from the Lexus website and the other images were all composited from photos that I took myself. After a wee bit of Photoshopping, I came up with this:
Feel free to steal it.
Of course, for those of you who read the excerpted article in my Independence Day photo essay regarding the trials that various authors of the Declarations of Independence, it should be obvious that it was from taken from one of those pesky emails or the product of an iffy urban legend rumor mill.
I posted it without any real thought about the legitimacy of the allegations thinking it was, in some ways, beside the point. (The point being that the men who signed the DOI were basically considered treasonous rebels and were treated as such.) However, on-point or no, the excerpt does indeed fall squarely in the realm of internet rumor/fiction versus historical accuracy and truth. Just for the record, I was a little skeptical as well but just wanted to get it out there. (My wife was commenting on the article and I -- perhaps subconsciously aware of the possible exageration therein -- said, jokingly, "oh, that? I just made that up.")
Anyway, a friendly blogger posted this rumor-busting article for me to peruse.
I thought you would like to read it too.
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp
Cheers!
Here are more pictures from July 4, 2006. (Every one of these pictures were taken without a flash... Long exposure only... for example, the first image in this set was taken at 14mm ISO800, 1/2 sec f5.0) If you want full-sized images [3888x2592, 72dpi 24bit RGB JPEGs] sent to you, please let me know I will be happy to email them to you.
God Bless America!
We had our annual Crossroads Independence Day BBQ/Potluck at our house last night and it was a good time with great food and even better friends. Below are some pictures from that night's fireworks fun just outside our house.
Enjoy! 
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
* Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
* Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
* Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
* Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
* Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
* Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
* Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
* Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
* Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
* At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
* Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
* John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
*Contains Spoilers*
Just saw it last night. Yay!
I loved Superman Returns!
My friend, "J-Mag" remarked, "I was thrilled. I was awed. I was a kid again." I think that just about sums up my feelings of the movie. I totally felt like a kid again! The scene after Superman catches the plane and he opens the door and walks in and asks matter of factly, "Is everyone alright?" gave me goosebumps. I really got a sense of "Superman's back!"I do think that the movie was maybe about 15 minutes too long though... After Superman was rescued by Cyclops'... err... Marsden's plane, I couldn't figure out how Superman was going to beat Luthor. His solution to everything seems to be a little redundant: Just friggin pick it the heck up.
The fact that Superman had to spend time recouping in the hospital was kind of lame too. Ahh well. I can't think of a better ending to the movie either.
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Another friend of mine said,
"The parts that really worked are the things that Singer brought to the table such as the suggestion that Superman needs and seeks the adulation and attention, a nice little character beat."That's an interesting interpretation. I didn't get that from the basebal stadium scene. To me, it was more like Superman remembering what his purpose on Earth is; to help people. Him looking around and seeing all the humanity made him feel fulfilled and right again. That was my take on it.
I designed three logos (revolving around the same main graphic) for my church's choir. The design is intended to for embroidery upon a polo shirt.
Here they are. (all polls and votes indicate number two as people's favorite.)
It's a fairly large WMV file so let it buffer.
This was shot, edited, and shown on the same day of the actual wedding.
Location: Livermore, CA; San Jose, CA; and Danville, CA
Enjoy!
CLICK HERE
