Malara running full bore for the camera. Tracking was pretty good considering I was laying on the ground upside down with her running like made around the yard. I wouldn't do a 16x20 of this but she had fun. Only used Picasa touchups for fill light, contrast, straighten and sharpen...okay, that's more than a little but like I said, it was for the fun of it.

The commute today was busy with a multi vehicle accident on the 14 in Rosamond. Many support personnel on the scene with helicopter, heavy wrecker and lots of other EMS folks. The responders had everything well in hand and when I spoke to the crew chief for the helicopter, he indicated that the crew working on the injured was one of the best he knew. The tractor trailer looked to be carrying lumber/trusses and the smaller vehicle was in rough shape. I was able to shoot from the highway and the bridge with my 24-105.

My take on the lunar eclipse from the Antelope Valley. The wind was ripping tonight and my hands felt like they were going to freeze off. The family enjoyed the adventure. Many minutes of totality, or at least cool red colors. Exposure waas tricky as was keeping the tripod steady. Live view was awesome and worked great to help with framing.

Laura Tsaggaris came to town last night at my friend Al's house and played an awesome set. She is a fantastic folk guitarist with a great voice, wonderful presence and excellent playing. She is in California for a week or so (you can find her on myspace) and she is definitely worth a listen. I only caught about four songs and will be doing the iTunes thing for them. I caught a few shots of her from the front row and put together this poster to share. She was great.

I must say that if it weren't for Zack and Brian and the folks that gave me the GREAT orange ear plugs, the evening would not have been possible. Courtesy of Zack and Brian I had GREAT access to angles around the stage shot all night with my 5d and no flash (which made for some wild shots when the lighting got more difficult). Backstage was GREAT with the band members and great company and conversations with everyone. The people at the event were polite and pleasant throughout the evening. I can't say enough about how well the event was run, security was handled and sound controlled. Granted, the volume was way louder than ANYTHING I normally listen to but that's why the ear plugs were PRICELESS! So I've been thinking about some of the things I learned.

1. AIDS in Africa is devastating the nation and they need our help.
2. World Vision is doing something about it, support them.
3. Everyone can pull together toward a common goal.
4. The Vineyard has their act together in so many ways.
5. People worship differently in different places but love the same GOD.
6. People listen to different music but serve the SAME GOD.
7. GOD is great and worthy to be praised, in many different ways, not just mine.
8. God blessed us with our senses to bless others, take care of them.
8a. THANKS FOR EARPLUGS!
9. I look forward to serving as photographer for more events at the Vineyard if I have the chance.
10. God is good, all the time. Even when we can't and don't understand. Serve Him.

Grace be with you!

The main event of the evening, Project 86 from Orange County was the epitomy of intense. These guys were louder and harder than both of the opening acts combined. Band members Andrew Schwab, Randy Torres, and Steven Dail had the crowd prepped by the openers and when they took the stage at about 9pm, the wave of sound was overwhelming. All the proceeds from the evening were directed to help World Vision take care of AIDS orphans in Africa and I must say the crowd got there money's worth in support of a good cause. If you haven't seen the experience yet, it's available at the Vineyard through Monday so don't miss it!

Josh, Daniel, Dan and the guys from Empire of Light rocked the house at Desert Vineyard in Lancaster as the second opener for Project 86. Josh's hard core style and the driving music was an intense experience. You can find them on MySpace at Empire of Light. Josh's voice is amazing and while they are a bit more METAL than I can listen to, the experience and the energy was pretty amazing. I hope everyone who got to hear them enjoyed the show and even more so that everyone took the time to see the World Vision AIDS Experience that was just across the hall from the concert. There were people going through the event throughout the evening and everyone I talked to was amazingly polite. Meeting Josh after the show was great and having the opportunity to shoot the event was incredible.

Daniel, Josh, Jenna and Lane of His Coming Day performed Friday night at the Desert Vineyard in Lancaster, CA in support of the World Vision educational event on AIDS in Africa. The band played old and new music from the more mainstream to songs that specifically reached out to today's youth.

Shots from a recent dance party I attended. I took this photo for the guys with the intention of trying to create something cool and unique. As you can see, the ceiling and background definitely made it unique. I was able to do some quick edits, clean out the background (somewhat challenging as I was tired), drop in a gray backround, difference clouds to liven it up and added a selective 'coolness' filter from lightroom. Et voila, I thought it came out pretty well. It does well up to 12x18 and with some fluidity on the background removal, I think it would go bigger. I hope the guys like their unique and somewhat intimidating shot.