Whew!!!

This has been a LONG week. Let's start on Saturday. I got up in the morning and began disassembling my rear axle in my Scrambler, to install a locker. A locker is a device that transfers power to both tires on the rear axle, instead of just one (which is the default for all automobiles). Having a locker gives you more power and traction in offroad, wet and snowy conditions; anywhere where one tire may slip. Anyway, it's supposed to be an easy install, but taking into consideration that the Jeep's 23 years old, it took awhile. I worked all day Saturday, all day Sunday and Wednesday and Thursday. I finished it last night, drove it around and it worked great! I'm pretty happy and consider the whole mess a giant learning experience, one that I learned a ton from. Also, on the Jeep front, I finished the installation of the winch. Here's a pic. It's a mean machine now!

So I'm glad that the whole car mess is over now. My boss is back in the office, he has radiation once a day now but will be here to work. We have an intern for the summer as well, which takes some of the tedious work off me. So all in all, things are beginning to pick up. I'm beginning to see which things are more important, which things are worth thinking about and which things we should just throw away.

Today's Friday Foto comes from a shoot I did this week. This is a picture of the new Beach Club at Sea Island. It is still under construction (as seen in the photo), but coming along nicely. They have folks working around the clock over there and it is slated to open by July 4th I believe. We'll see if that happens. It is truly amazing though, no expense was spared.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. It's Memorial Day and time for a break. I'll be a beach bum the entire weekend. Definitely going out in the boat as well. That's all I got. Last day of school today for Kelly, she's beyond excited. I'll talk to y'all soon.

Almost forgot... Apple looses 4 bil.

One other thing... did anybody hear about Apple Computer this week? Everybody know about the iPhone right? Apple's new cellphone, slated to come out July... well, an editor of one of the most popular technology blogs on the Internet, Engadget, got wind the other day that the phone's release date had been pushed back to November, and Apple's new operating system, back to January. This tip came from a reliable source within Apple and the editor attempted to confirm this with Apple's PR department, but didn't. So, he posts this info. Within 24 hours, Apple looses close to $4 BILLION in stock. A huge chunk was sold just minutes after the post.

So, what do you say to that! Can you believe how much power blogs have now? It's crazy.

Friday Foto: Almost Over

Yes, Friday is here and the week is almost over. I have spent more time at work this week than I ever imagined. It's needed though. My boss is in the hospital right now undergoing surgery to try and remove the cancer that he was just diagnosed with (two days after his mother passed). I've been "holding down the fort", if you want to call it that (I still haven't found the cannons though). It's been busy to say the least. I'm sure all be in over the weekend sometime, just trying to keep the business up ya know?

So Kelly and I went out for a little cruise the other night and made our way over to the new dock that Sea Island built out in Epworth. I like that dock, they did a great job on it. I was hoping to photograph one of the highest tides I've seen in a long time. Monday night it was insane, you could not see marsh between St. Simons and Brunswick, no lie. It wasn't this high on Tuesday, but I did get this shot. I really like it. It really conveys the mood I was in. I really feel like I shoot in moods. I use photography to unwind sometimes; I'll go out and shoot one evening to decompress all my stress, etc. I can see that in my photos, compared to shots not taken in these "meditation sessions", if you will.

I've been reading a good bit about flash photography, using it to fill in shots. I have a friend who's into it too, although he's planning on using it more for still life, and I want to use it more for people. Check out this site: www.flashflavor.com. It's devoted to the stuff that I might start getting into. Pretty amazing technique. I know I could do it, but it would definitely require me ponying up a little bit more money to pay for some equipment, not that I've ever had a problem with that (don't worry Kelly!).

On the Scrambler front, I got some new stuff done. I installed a new set of Skyjacker shocks last weekend and I really like the difference. It's not much of a smoother ride, just a little less crazy over the washboard-type road. I installed a Warn M8000 winch on the front, now I can go anywhere. Warn is the best company I've ever dealt with. I bought a used winch from a buddy with plans to rebuild it. After countless emails and phone conversations with Warn, they wound up sending me a factory refurbed one free of charge! It's amazing. I haven't used the winch yet, but don't worry, it's not going to be that way for long.

Anyway, that's all I reckon. No plans this weekend. Probably beachin' it all day tomorrow. Thinking about hosting a little BBQ too, tomorrow night. Who knows? I do have loads of photographs to process, so I will be doing that this weekend at some point. Thanks for reading.

Friday Foto: Ramblin'

Well, last weekend I shot a big wedding. It wasn't the biggest (as far as the amount of guests) but it was definitely one of the nicest. Today's Foto is from that. These are the bride's and bridesmaid's bouquets sitting in their stand waiting to be carried down the aisle. I like this shot. Straight out the camera, no manipulation. I say that because to get the faded focus in the background can be easily down in photoshop, harder to do and get right in the camera. It's all in the depth of field, choosing which aperture you shoot at, and not going over board. Anyway...

This week has seemed to fly by, I can't believe it's Friday and I'm here again. This weekend I have nothing planned. Actually, for the next couple of weekend I have nothing planned. Then, it's cruise time! Yep, I have a cruise lined up for the first week in June. That will kick off my summer, with something planned every weekend until mid-August. So, I'll be busy.

I plan to work on my Jeep a little this weekend, work on the house, definitely squeeze some beach/beer time in, and prepare a nice feast for my mom and mom-in-law on Sunday night (I know, I'm such a model son...). So that's it. That's all I got.

Friday Foto: Happiest Place on Earth

I like Disney, I'm not obsessed with it as some people I know are, and it definitely gets old, but for a couple of days, when it's NOT hot outside, it can be a lot of fun. That's why I just signed my wife and I up for one of those business/seminar trips, where you get all those stuff if you sit through a 90 minute tour/sales pitch. I get 4 days/3 nights lodging and tickets to the park. It's not a scam, I checked it out...

Anyway, this is a picture from The Magic Kingdom from Grad Night we went to the other week. As I said, it was fun, but long... the band playing is "The Fray".

I'm taking a half day today; this weekend I have a big wedding, with rehearsal to shoot this afternoon and wedding all day tomorrow. So, that will be good. Keep me busy for sure.

That's all I got right now, sorry so short, but I am super busy. These past two weeks I've been running all the work load at the office by myself. My boss's mother passed and he has been very sick. It's been very busy, but things are under control. Have a great weekend.