Night of the dreaded Christmas concert

OK like many parents I have grown fond of my kids... most days.

One of the things a good parent must do is attend the little events that their children deem important. One of these such events is the Christmas concert. I like Christmas and I like all the things that Christmas is about, being a Christian I should...

However the Christmas concert... well no the Christmas concert is great I mean how can you not love little kids singing Christmas carols and doing cute little actions with them. What is not so great is the parents that have no clue and no tact. The beginning of the concert is started with the principal asking everyone to please stay until the end of the concert as it is disruptive to the performers etc. What he failed to say was that it is out and out rude! Sure enough at about the half way point people are leaving and the door to the gymnasium was swinging like a saloon door at happy hour. I mean come on these are little kids at least indulge them for thirty minutes...

Another thing I dislike about the Christmas concert parking... why is it that every moron that can't drive comes out to these things? I mean the driving around the school is treacherous on a regular day and turns to a complete suicide mission on a rainy day but on a concert night, my word it was armageddon for about half a kilometre it was a dead stop. People you have to be friendly here otherwise no will go no where. Ladies and men if you are going to drive the SUVs or minivans please know how big your vehicle is before you turn the ignition key, this is imperative (I am allowed to make fun of people's driving abilities, I am licensed for and do drive trucks).

Anyway that is my rant for the day,

peace

The business of the holidays...

Oh the commercialism of Christmas...

I oft' wonder if other cultures are as swept up in the consumerism that is Christmas. Living in Canada and that Christian religions being somewhat predominant and being Christian myself I wonder if other religions suffer from the same commercialism of their holidays and celebrations. for instance today I spent $50.00 on a gift card for a family member... why?... because he has everything he needs and or wants but we still feel obligated to give gifts guilted even... Think about how different the world could be if instead of buying the Xbox or PS3 or that big Plasma TV you just spent time with you family and played with your kids.

I got a huge eye opener yesterday from my interview with my sons teacher. They were doing a exercise about feelings and what makes them mad. My son said he gets mad when I don't listen to him. It was just about all I could do to not cry in front of the teacher, I know my eyes got watery I'm not sure if she caught it or not. The thing is I do listen to him but I do take him into the office with me and I do have to ignore him from time to time, because of customers etc. but I always make sure he understands why.

I was driving in the car with him today and we were talking about it and the topic of time came up and making time for him. He thought I didn't make time for him so we are going to start switching off the TV more often at night rather than letting that entertain us. We will start doing things more as a family rather than mindless zombies watching the TV or playing on the computer. So more book reading for me and the boy and maybe some discussions about the stories too, his teacher said his comprehension could be much better.

Anyway it's late and this chair is uncomfortable

Santa Claus Parade season

Well it's been just about a month since I last updated... I know for the two or three people that read this it's tough to go through my ignoring you. You'll live trust me ;o) Anyway I took the oldest to go see Santa in a parade today bright an early at 9am we had to leave the house at 8. I was hoping to get to actually ride in the truck pulling the float but the "number 1" co pilot showed up so me and the boy were reduced to watching from the sidelines like most people. Anyway I thought I would share some of the interesting sites I saw...

Been awhile huh?

Anyway been busy with the kids, the wife and work. I miss being lazy... well I still am lazy but I just don't have as much time to be lazy in...

Anyway some sad news today, my dad had to put his dog down today. she was an older dog like 15 years or something and she was a lab shepard cross so she was pretty old for a dog of that stature. I feel bad for my dad though. He'll miss her when he watches a hockey game, she would always watch with him. I wonder if he will get another dog, she kept him and his wife very active taking her for walks.

Hopefully they will keep active even though they don't have a dog anymore.

Now the pressure is on me to dig out a good photo of her to give them. I think I have some good ones... I hope...

edit... I found this one of Thomas playing with her. Kinda cute I think...

Love you guys miss you both...

Remember those you love...

Well 7 years ago my Grandmother passed away on my birthday. She was buried in a city about 2 hours from where i live. Every year since then I have taken my mom to visit the grave site on either the weekend before my birthday or after. I have always gone with Dianna, Thomas and David too up until tomorrow... I will be going with just Thomas and my mom. David does not travel well for long distances so Dianna thinks it will be better without him and he sort of needs some one to care for him...

It was such a weird time 7 years ago, Dianna and I were only married less then a year and I got a phone call at 5am or so saying she had passed away. She suffered a massive stroke and had made arrangements with my mom to not have machines keep her alive as well as a DNR request. It was sad to see her go... Sad she never got to see my boys...

Last year Thomas was asking who we were visiting and I told him my Grandma and my Grandpa. While at my Grandmother's grave he asked why he never got to meet her I explained to him that he wasn't born yet when she passed away. He just stared at the stone and said, "I guess it's my fault I didn't get to meet her then because I wasn't quick enough being born." It was cute to hear his comment but sad that he thought it was his fault.

Been a week now of working part time from home

It's a little harder than I expected it certainly does take some discipline to do it but I seem to be getting the hang of it. It is always a distraction to go do housework or sit and play with Thomas but as long as I have a fun lunch with him I seem to be OK and can manage to get some work done in the afternoon. I really have to give credit to those parents that do work from home all the time it certainly isn't the easiest thing I have come across. I especially feel bad that I take Thomas straight home after school he has friends that so want to play with him and have him come over to play a little before lunch.

I think I will take a little time for him and his friend on Thursday or Friday if I can.

First Day of School

Well I dropped my boy off to school today. This was my first run at the first day of school thing. It was really weird to be honest. For so long I have always been rushing around trying to get out of the house as quick as possible. I got to sleep in today, have breakfast with my boy and just do things I don't normally get to do. It was very weird. I liked it. Makes me want to stay at home all the time and be able to pick him up all the time. It was a strange set of emotions to go through, I was proud yet sad at the same time both for the same reason, my little boy is growing up.

I will end up picking him up on Thursday and Friday this week so that will be interesting to be working from home from those days. So we will see what happens from there...

I'm a bad uncle

I admit it I am lazy when it comes to processing photos...

Quick bit of info about this one. It was shot under horrendous conditions for capturing sports. Night sports under stadium lights are terrible venues for an amatuer photographer, I really need a fast prime to do it properly or a better camera body. Like either of those are going to happen soon.


Anyway this is a picture of my neice I did get a better action shot but I cut her head off so i have to settle for this as my second best of the night.

Anyway, I hope you like it it is a bit grainy because I had to bump the ISO so high but flash photography is not a good thing when one is playing sports and you certainly don't want to make the officials mad... seems like they are mad to start with...

I think I am going to try to work this one a little more to see if I can get it to look better though...

Cheers

OK so I have been slacking...

Or should I say working.... Blogging is a leisure activity not a job. Although that would be cool if I could have a job just blogging, hell I'd even make up stuff to make it more interesting, oh wait that's what I really want to be an author :)

Anyway I got some nice pictures of my neice the other day while she was playing soccer. It was under horrid condidtions (stadium lights) I had to take my ISO up as far as I could which I was not happy about, makes all the pictures grainy.... sigh maybe one day I can get a 5D, I have heard those handle high ISO much better than my little Rebel.

I have still to edit the photos and I know she wants to see them I have been just sooooooo lazy when it comes to completing that stuff. I know I know just do it.

K off to finish up work then maybe I can get to editing some photos....

Flying High!

I took an introductory flight today. Wow talk about fun stuff. I can really see the attraction to flying. The instructor let me take off and do a few turns so it was pretty fun. Then he showed me a few fun maneuvers like a 60 degree bank and some dips. Way more intense feeling than in a rollercoaster. I actually had enough fun that I am actually thinking of getting my pilot's license. It might be a while before I do it but it is something that I will have in the back of my mind from now on.

I think I will take the boy up there to show him the plane that I flew, he seemed really interested in it. He thought I was going to fly one of the big commercial airline jets. I don't think he has ever seen a Cessna before.

Back in town

Well I got away from the city for a bit. Had a good time with the kiddos. Didn't get as many photo ops as I would have liked but hey you can't put a price on spending time with kiddos :o)

Anyway here a fw shots I took I am not sure if I like them or not. The sunset is heavily photo shopped there was atually next to no colour in the sky so I just adjusted it ;)

I'll list some more photos later...

Well not a whole lot to say

I am going away for a few days, kids and wife are coming too. Along with my family paparazzi kit. That's what my wife refers to my camera gear now. I don't think it is too big of a deal I mean I have two lenses, a tripod and a flash w/bracket.

Well in any event I am hoping to get some good quality captures of nature and of the kids. Something frame worthy :)

The mind wanders...

Ever notice how your mind can wander? Like someone will be talking and you'll find the most obscure thing to keep your attention? Listening to speeches the other day I was enthralled by a man in what I might refer to as the ugliest suit I have ever seen. I must have spent a good part of the evening trying to figure out what made him want to purchase that suit in the first place. Then my attention wandered to a rather large spider outside the window hanging in it's web. It was a big fat orb weaver, I kind of wished I had my camera to take a photo of it but I only had the wife's small point and shoot I hate that thing... Then there was a storm to watch, quite incredible really it was a torrential downpour. Then the sun was setting and produced a beautiful pink, purple and blue sky amidst the grey of the storm. I mean none of these speeches were life changing and they weren't something I was going to be quizzed on. There is an art to speeches and a certain way you need to keep your audience captured and unfortunately there was only one speaker that really did that well the rest were well just speakers. I mean these speakers were chosen for who they were not their public speaking ability. Just goes to show me how much public speaking can mean in life, you might only use those skills once or twice in your life but to keep a audience captured while you recite a humorous anecdote you need to keep their attention keep them wanting more. Now of course that is only my opinion and I just might suffer from ADD or maybe just terminal boredom.

Human virus or the nature of things...

A place called the Badlands. Funny how a place so devoid of life can be so beautiful. How did the badlands come to be? It was a section of land cleared for farming and livestock grazing the land was eventually eroded away and exposed the underlying red and grey shale.

To me this represents all that mankind shouldn't be, it shows me that the human race is not much better than a human virus that consumes with out care for the survival of what it consumes. Think of the extinct species of animals that will never bee seen again, the resources that we consume, trees, fossil fuels.

I am not much better than the virus I speak of, I recycle, I drive an economic car but I still consume fossil fuels, my house is still made with wood framing. I am just not sure how to go about doing more, I think most people are like that. Looking for the answer in an environmental movement that isn't overly expensive and relatively easy to follow.

Worry about what I have control over...

OK so I went to get the photo I wanted, I couldn't get it. It was a little too late in the day and there was a couple having a picnic right smack dab in the middle of the spot I wanted to photograph. Sure I could have asked them if they could move but I didn't want to intrude on their "romance" time. It was an iritant to say the least but I ended up with the shot in the left so it wasn't a complete loss. You can only control what you can control.

On a more philosophical note, ever notice how sometimes you can get wound up over things you have no control over? I mean you can't make people do something they don't want to or aren't willing to. You can't make a deceptive person honest, you can't make a liar tell the truth. The whole world really would be a better place with out liars and manipulators in there. Secrets are fine if they are that but does a secret ever truly stay a secret? They always get found out in the end, and a person ends up getting hurt or embarassed or a supposed friendship ends in ruins because of it. This comment is not directed at any one person but more of a general observation I have made, if you feel it's directed at you then maybe you need to rethink your actions. A guilty concience is not a fun place to be. I know I'd rather be taking pictures than trying to figure out if my lie or deception has been found out.

weather won't co-operate with me

OK so there is this part of the world I love to photograph and I wanted to go there on the weekend and the entire weekend was nothign but rain. I even got a polarizing filter and everything all ready for it. Maybe I can get it today.... I'll have to see when I get home....

Got my new lens

I have a few shots with it but it's taking a bit to get used to the weight of it. It is nearly three pounds of glass.

Anyway I have been super busy with birthdays this past few weeks... seems liek the whole family was born in July....

Here's my little guy playing at a park. This was taken with no flash and nearing dusk in a tree covered park.

Wow Have I been busy lately

Well I never did get that lens I mentioned before... I suck :)

Father's day was really cool. My youngest decided that was a cool day to take his first steps actually got it on video :). Wife has decided it would be a good excercise for me to redecorate the bathroom... well actually decorate it is more like it, a step from builder white you know. I need to find some nice fields for me to get some photos of for decorations now.

We took off to Centre Island for the day on a Friday that was a ton of fun kids really enjoyed themselves... me too :)

Anyway I'll leave this entry with a picture of my little man who will soon turn 5.

3 Weeks....

...or so and I will get a new lens. I am pretty stoked about it. For those interested in it it is a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO HSM. That is fancy talk for pretty good lens :)

I have a friend picking it up for me in the states so it will be pretty cheap for me :)

I'm feeling un inspired lately...

I have no desire right now to take photos....

Sigh.....

Get my camera back tomorrow....

A week and no update....

Well I haven't taken any pictures. I've been so busy being a good dad I've been forgetting my camera. I also lent my camera to a friend of mine. He had to do an unexpected photo shoot and had already lent his camera to his business partner and didn't want to go back to film, can you blame him?

I should be getting it back in the next day or two.

OOOOPS!

I forgot to add this one of my littlest guy I'm such a bad dad :o)

New pictures!

Took a bunch of photos on the weekend. It was a really nice day out and I was there with my wife, both my boys and my mom too. She's becoming as obsessed with photography as I am it's funny :o) It's nice having some on to share your passion with.

Well Saturday was awsome

It was a beautiful day. The kids were fantastic, well behaved little people. I got some very nice pictures I just need to go through the photos and sort the good from the bad. There were a few that I forgot to change the settings of my camera and taking the photo in bright light was not a good combination. I did get some really nice shots though. I am pretty pleased with the over all results and hopefully other people will be too.

Still No new pictures to post.....

I am enjoying going through my older photos.


Some from Christmas and around that time :) I can't remember all the exact details. I'm bad for that :o)

Two days of....

RAIN I so want to get out and do some photos outside. I am really looking forward to getting some pictures this weekend of the kids and the park. It's the first time I have been excited about taking pictures in quite some time.

I hope that the kids and my wife are going to co operate with me :o)

Well what a write off....

So I get all excited about getting some new photos and what have you and guess what.... it rains all freaking weekend and I mean all weekend. Non stop drizzle all weekend. Well up shot is there should be some great spring life coming up from all this water :o) and my mommy wants me to go to a garden with her to get some photos of some things with her. So atleast that should be fun if the weather holds up :o)

Some old photos before I got my DSLR

My ducks lol
Well not really but he (she?) seemed to like me.




























I wish I could have had a back ground with out the fence, but getting eaten by a tiger was not high on my list of fun things I need to do before I die.

Some older photos of mine

Hmmmm Colour or Sepia.... Sepia or Colour....

I don't know...




I placed third in a local photo contest with this one :o) I was disappointed i didn't get higher but it was nice to get recognition and they framed it nicely for me and I got a gift certificate which I spent on another frame :)




just a picture of the setting sun through some trees I liked it... I think it might have been more interesting if I had the sun more offset to one side.

Well it's started...

I am going to start bringing my camera everywhere with me....

Pets

I like this one. This is my Mom's dog I was playing around with a shallow DOF so that only her nose would be in focus, the poor puppy has "old" eyes.

My first people portraits I am happy with

One of my better photos thus far.

I should have done this a long time ago

I never thought of blogging my photos but what a great way to get me to do rather than wish.

Be back soon with some photos to share. Hopefully they won't be hideous :)