The Garden Isle
My wife and I recently visited Kauai, HI. We went there for our honeymoon 2 years ago and loved it so much that we went back. It is so beautiful there, I highly recommend it to anyone who has not been! They call it the “Garden Isle” for a reason – 360 degrees of beautiful, raw nature.
While there I took my camera, of course, and attempted to capture they way I saw the island, the beauty. Below is a collection of those images. I singled out a few below and then put the rest in a gallery below these. I hope it gives you a sense of “Ahhh” 
Nature…. and Thor
I forced my brother to take some pics down at the beach yesterday because he has become quite the Thor as of late. He did it reluctantly and didn’t know I would be posting a pic either 
I just wanted him to have some cool shots of ”Back when I was in the best shape of my life” when he gets older. I am only posting the one for now so he doesn’t kill me! Besides that, it was a beautiful day at the beach and so I snapped a few other shots of the surroundings on our walk to the water. Good times!
Laguna Beach Valentines Day
This last weekend, me and my wife officially “celebrated” Valentines day. We put the dogs in day care and went out and spent the weekend in Laguna Beach. It was a great weekend and we had a ton of fun. On Saturday we went for a little stroll down the coastline. I had to bring my camera for those ‘just in case’ moments. It was relatively uneventful, photographically speaking, but I did manage to get the two photos below that I appreciated.
Just another California morning
A typical morning here in Southern California where it is beach weather year-round. Beautiful.
Click for a larger image
This time, it’s for real…
This last week I was honored when a good friend asked if I would photograph his family portrait. Of course I said YES, that was a no brainer. But, with that answer, this was no longer a fun hobby to take “meaningless” pictures…I had to deliver for a family’s memories! So, needless to say, nervousness set in. I was pretty calm until the day of the shoot – the importance of not screwing up really set in!
However, this family is one of the nicest you could ever meet and made me feel like one of them. The atmosphere was very casual, calm, and playful as you can see in the photos. The time of day in these shots was a little later than preferred, making the light a bit harsh, but I think they turned out good considering that fact. After the “official” family shots, we all kinda just hung out on the beach during that beautiful CA morning. This gave way to the kids playing and the other family members getting involved. I was able to capture a few candid shots of a family just enjoying each other. It was awesome.
I think the family thought I was doing them a favor, but in reality they were doing me a favor by helping me to really focus on delivering something worthwhile. And for that, I say “Thank You!” Below is a sample of some of the shots. Click for bigger versions.
Learning to Appreciate
For Labor Day I visited my family. They live down in the desert of CA where a typical summer day is 115 - almost just as typical are 120 degree days. So after visiting I drove back up to Orange County and after the three hour drive, I arrived. The beautiful weather got me thinking how I do not appreciate the beauty of where I live enough. It was this thought that made me take a spontaneous left to Laguna Beach instead of the right turn that lead home. I drove down to the beach with my wife and two dogs and we walked along the beach. It was perfect timing – I drove straight to the closest parking and found a parking spot open – that alone is a miracle during the summer time! We arrived just in time to catch a beautiful sunset; I was able to snap a few photos – What a confirmation of thoughts!
This was a great lesson in appreciating the beauty that surrounds me.
