Almost every day I wake up earlier than I need to, and almost every day I wake up feeling blessed. I really want to make the most of every day and I tell myself each morning that, “No matter what’s come before, or what’s waiting for tomorrow, at least I have today.” I know it sounds corny, but I really do say it. And tomorrow I’ll say it again, and the next day too. And each day, from when I wake up in the morning until my head hits the pillow at night, I do my best to make the most of every day and to be the best that I can be. Every day is a gift and I try to make the most of the many things in life with which I’m blessed and for which I’m thankful: my family, my friends, my work, my passions, my beautiful Liz (and her boys), my dogs, my cats, my camera and my photography. It’s all mine and it’s all a blessing and for this I am thankful. I really don’t know how I got so lucky. They are all are a part of what makes each day so fantastic and for this I want to say thank you. I’m thankful for all of it. And I’m thankful for strong coffee too, I can’t forget that. Anyways, I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! May your holiday be blessed.

I came across this beautiful creature on my way home from the airport. The surroundings were surreal, the light was fantastic and the reflection was a bonus. I had to pull over and capture the moment.

I was up and going extra early this morning. I woke up around 3:30am, made some coffee, grabbed my gear, and hit the road. I headed down to South Mountain Park to catch another sunrise. (I don’t know what it is about that mountain but it always seems to call out to me. It feels like home, if that makes sense, and it always seems like a good place to start the day.) The park was just opening when I got there and it was still pitch black outside. I slowly drove my way up the winding roads and reached my destination at the top (which is, of course, Dobbins Lookout). I hung out for awhile, hiked around and waited for the sun to come up. There were a few other people milling around - also waiting to see a spectacular sunrise I supposed - and it was just as quiet as can be. After about an hour the sun came up and I made a few snaps. I walked around some more, set up my tripod, and snapped a few more shots, but, sad to say, came up empty on any spectacular sunrise photographs. I thought, “Oh, well, maybe next time,” and I headed back down the hill. I reached the bottom and was headed for the exit when I looked up and noticed an incredible looking storm cloud that had just rolled in. I could hardly believe my eyes! I quickly made a u-turn, hit the gas, and raced back up to Dobbins Lookout. I parked my car, grabbed my camera and jumped up on top of the big concrete compass that sits at the peak. Everything up there had changed so dramatically in just fifteen minutes. It was incredible! There were all kinds of storm clouds, the wind was blowing hard, and dust and trash were flying all around the place. I stood up on my perch and had to fight the wind for my balance but was able to finally snap off a few exposures. After a few more minutes the wind became too much and the rain rolled in so I had to get to safety inside my car. But, wow, what a journey! What began as an unsuccessful attempt to capture a sunrise suddenly turned into an amazing opportunity to capture an incredible storm cloud rolling in over the west valley. I must say it was quite spectacular. I’d never seen one like it in person before and I’m sure glad I turned my car around. It was definitely worth a second trip back up.

We stopped in at a nearby Spirit Halloween store to play around and have some fun.

There were lots of people up on the mountain last night. I think many were there to see the beautiful sunset but many also came out because the weather has finally started to settle down. It’s been a very hot summer, and I, for one, am looking forward to the cooler fall temperatures.

I caught the sun hiding behind this amazing cloud near dusk. It kinda took my breath away…

I woke up early to pay my respects (and take some photos) at the 13th Annual Healing Field ceremonies this morning at Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, AZ. The Healing Field consists of row upon row of U.S. flags, each flag placed to honor a person lost in the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

We were standing in line for a ride at Disneyland when I noticed this girl perched on her dad’s shoulders. I noticed her because she was making all these funny faces at me: smiling, smirking, making googly eyes and being really cute. I raised my camera to catch her in the act but she suddenly decided to play it straight. I snapped this shot real quick and then noticed the ice cold stare coming from Dad. I brought the camera down from my face to see if I’d made him upset by snapping the photo. He was staring at me pretty hard and not looking too happy at all. The only thing I could think of was to give him a quick smile in hopes of breaking the ice. It didn’t work. He stared me down even harder - for just a moment - and then broke into a huge grin. I smiled back once more, feeling quite relieved, and the little girl went back to making faces at me.