Thirty Word Thursday's - USS North Carolina

No fine china on board the USS North Carolina. 

For those who spent WWII on this floating city, 

these trays represent the cold hard fact

 that freedom doesn't come easy.

Thirty Word Thursday - Superhero's

There are hero’s all around us, 

hidden by the mask of life, 

quietly waiting for that special moment

 when they have to save the day 

or simply make us smile.

Thirty Word Thursday's - Light of Hope

There is a place where the stained glass is cold and colorless from the inside

 when it’s dark outside, but offers a beautiful light of hope to those passing by.

P.S.  Notice on the sign - "Where God's Word Is Sweet"

The Arches National Park

On our way back from Yellowstone we stopped at the east edge of Utah just a little ways south of I-70 at the Arches  National Park.  The color of the rock and the beautiful natural arches create a great playground for any photographer.  This is a great area to visit and we stayed in Moab which gave us access to both the Arches and Canyonlands National Park.  These photos were shot with my Canon Rebel XT and my Tamron EF lenses.

Looking through these has me longing for warmer weather and some of God's natural beauty!!

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/9, ISO 100, 18mm

1/200, f/9, ISO 100, 21mm

1/160, f/10, ISO 100, 31mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/9, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 58mm

1/200, f/8, ISO 100, 18mm

1/160, f/7.1, ISO 100, 18mm

1/400, f/13, ISO 400, 18mm

1/400, f/13, ISO 400, 18mm

Tis the Season

I decided that this week I'd share some winter scenes and simple reminders of the wonderful Christmas season.   I hope you enjoy!

I borrowed this one from my wife's blog

I cannot take credit for taking this picture

He's been watching over me all my life and I'm glad!!

And this shall be a sign unto you;

You shall find the babe

wrapped in swaddling clothes,

lying in a manager.

Merry Christmas

and 

Happy New Year!

California Coast

My last post included photos from one of the best vacation spots in the United States. Now I'd like to share a few more pictures from that trip that reflect some more of the treats we found along the California coast.  Hope you enjoy!!

The photos on this trip were taken using a Kodak P850 and automatic settings.

1/500, f/3.2, ISO 50, 16.8mm

1/640, f/2.8, ISO 50, 8.3mm

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/800, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/50, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 64, 6mm

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

The Redwoods

We've traveled through a lot of the United States over the past 30 plus years and have seen some of the most amazing sights imaginable.  But to me, this it the place that beats all of the rest.  There something about the purity of the beauty in the redwoods that easily made it my favorite.  We would pull off the highway and head onto a trail and within a minute we were in a whole different world of tranquility.  I would think to myself this is amazing and I'll never have a feeling of awe like this again and then we stop at the next spot and it would start all over again.

There's really no way to capture the beauty of this majestic place in photos but here are some of my better shots.

The photos on this trip were taken using a Kodak P850 using auto settings.

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 100, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 80, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 125, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 64, 6mm

1/10, f/2.8, ISO 100, 6mm

1/50, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 160, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 80, 6mm

1/10, f/2.8, ISO 100, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm