Just a happy dog

Like a young child, I think he was posing for these shots ...

Hens and chicks

Hens and chicks have long been a part of my family ... I'm not sure why, they just have been. They're very interesting plants -- they're not pretty, but you can't stop looking at them. What's above doesn't look like much, but they're actually thriving compared to what we've tried to grow before.

Baby birds

This spring my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing baby birds grow up. Currently in the same flower there's a slightly revamped nest with five more eggs. The birds must love us this year!

Mmmmm ... sticks!!

"Hey dude, I'm going to eat this stick no matter what you say."

Signs of Spring

Just another day and this thing will be blooming!

Posing for a picture

OK... so I love taking pictures of my dog. This one above and the one below I posted a few days ago were taken with a 2.1 megapixel camera -- you know, that HP that everyone seemed to have a few years ago.

Smile!

Here's my lovely golden retriever when he was about 8 weeks old.

A late winter beach visit

If you want to get away to the beach and not have anyone bother you, head to Virginia Beach in March. You just won't want to get in the water, but you'll often find sites like this with no one around.

Lovin' the snow

One of many crazy photos of my dog. Additional ones are below and more are yet to come!

Mmmmm ... Chili!

This doesn't actually look that great, but it was. In fact, I think it's hard to have "bad" chili, especially at the fall chili festival in Richmond.

"Cousin" Carl

If you've ever gotten a chance to be in the pits at a NASCAR event, you know that it's hard to get decent photos of drivers in action. Generally, in the pits, they're not focused on getting pictures taken or giving autographs. The best thing to do is just stand still and eventually they'll walk by. Above is Carl Edwards in Richmond last fall. I have a few others to share down the road.

Obama or Clinton?

In what seems like forever ago, I had the chance to get very up close with the Democratic candidates for president -- Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, for those sleeping under rocks these days -- when they were at the same dinner. It was a very interesting experience and one I won't soon forget.

Creepy Christmas

Halloween? No. This was actually taken this past Christmas Eve. It was kind of creepy, but the full moon allowed for a perfect evening stroll to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood.

Mystic, Connecticut

One of the secrets of the Northeast has to be Mystic, Conn., and the surrounding casinos. Before we went and wasted money in the fall of 2006, we visited the Mystic Aquarium. From the outside it seemed like I was stepping back to the 1980s, but inside was pretty cool. Now, about that $100 or so I lost at Mohegan Sun ... there is not, unfortunately, any photo evidence of that.

Sleepy Time

Note to anyone who knows me: Don't fall asleep near me if my camera is around ...

To Oh-So-Sad Golden Retriever

I love how golden retrievers can look so sad one minute, then ecstatic the very next. How can you not love a dog like this??

Fall in western Massachusetts

Well, nothing like some weirdness to kick off this blog. These were taken in western Massachusetts while on vacation in the fall of 2006. Nothing like some fine blue sky for the background. There are more in my collection that I'll eventually add.

Welcome

Somewhere along the way, I probably chose the wrong career path. When I was in high school and first got involved in journalism, I loved everything about the field - from writing to editing to taking photos, it was a ton of fun. Gradually, I dropped the photography side of things and focused on writing and editing.

For a short time a few years ago, I got the chance to take photos again as part of my job. I loved it, but once again it wasn't the main focus. And I don't have the courage right now to pursue photography as a career, but I can be convinced otherwise.

To be honest, I don't know that much about cameras -- when it comes to lighting, F stops, speed and whatever other lingo is out there, that's not for me. But quite honestly, I feel like I've taken some good photos over the years of various things. So instead of keeping photos on MySpace or Facebook where only a select number of people can see them, I thought I'd give this a try.

So here's to attempting something new ... my next blog posting will come soon!