For a time, I was a geology (or an, ahem! Environmental Geosciences) major and during that time, I could have told you what this type of rock was. If I had continued along that rocky course (no pun intended), I probably would have never picked up photography or my clunky junky funky Holga and I wouldn't be offering you this photograph. So, for all intents and purposes, let's call it granite. So here it is: Granite (even though it's not).

Old Faithful erupts! The Old Faithful webcam is my homepage so I can see my second home everytime I get online. This was a live image from this morning of the world's most predictable geyser spouting off. If you've never seen an eruption of Old Faithful, book your trip. It's pretty damn cool.

I've only posted a handful of photos on this blog so far and each time I select a photo, I begin my dialog by writing about how each photo is a favorite. Well, this is no different. I guess maybe it's a given -- each photo here is a favorite because I don't even bother scanning an image unless it has that "favorite" potential. I normally don't even take the time to work with an image unless it calls out to me from the start, and for that matter, I normally don't even waste the film if I don't find what I see through the viewfinder particularly interesting. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, I just hate to waste film. I don't mind wasting money on shoes or time on the internet or calories on Dreyer's Dreamery Peanut Butter Chunk ice cream, but I hate wasting film on less than desirable compositions. I guess where I'm going with this is that it's just really nice to be doing this for myself now. No college instructors commanding 10 perfect prints by next week, no showing up when the lab opened so I could get the Bessy enlarger that I liked the best, no signing up for time slots on the 2000P that didn't band, no more wasting film just to fulfill an assignment... I can do what I want, when I want and I can do it in the comfort of my own home, my "favorite" place to work. That being said, this shot is a favorite for many reasons: the place, the day, the company.. it had all the workings of a favorite memory. It was taken at my dad's cabin just after a brief but strong summer thunderstorm. He and I sat up against the house in a comfy wooden porch swing and waited out the rain. My first SLR, my grandpa's Fujica AZ-1, sat ready and waiting in my right hand. I love the summer.

Another from the North Fork trail to Ben Lomond. This is a view from one of the many switchbacks along the first four miles of the trail. The sun was just up from behind the mountains on the other side of the valley. It was absolutely stunning.

Each year on the last Saturday in September, my husband and I carry on his birthday tradition by hiking to 9712' Ben Lomond Peak. There are a few ways to reach the summit but we tend to hike the trail beginning at North Fork. It's 7.6 miles each way and gains about 3500' in elevation. This image was taken on my first trip about three miles from the trailhead.