1. 347/366: Fish Sauce on Flickr.

    347/366: Fish Sauce on Flickr.

  2. 337/366: Going to Vancouver on Flickr. Via Flickr: Fischer took his week long trip to Bill and Alice’s home today. He is going to be missed. I am going to be in NY most of the week leaving the house with only 3 out of 5.

    337/366: Going to Vancouver on Flickr.

    Via Flickr:
    Fischer took his week long trip to Bill and Alice’s home today. He is going to be missed. I am going to be in NY most of the week leaving the house with only 3 out of 5.

  3. 329/366: Nate and Fischer on Flickr.

    329/366: Nate and Fischer on Flickr.

  4. 322/366: Fischer Man on Flickr.

    322/366: Fischer Man on Flickr.

  5. 252/366: Fischer’s First Soccer Game on Flickr.

    252/366: Fischer’s First Soccer Game on Flickr.

  6. 20110628, a set on Flickr. I got home from work to find Jocie had gotten the kids a slip and slide.  It was pretty warm today (upper 90’s) and so they were cooling off on the slide in the backyard.  I took the opportunity to snag the camera and try to capture some shots that “froze” the water droplets.  I flipped it to shutter-priority mode and set it on 1/2000th and something like iso 800 (here is the detailed exif data).  Those settings seemed to do the job.  I had to hustle to get to my 6 PM softball game which ended in a bad loss.  We then ran quickly over to Sammy’s baseball game with a quick pitstop at 7-11 where Sammy and I each got a hot dog dinner.  I have to say, I love a beautiful meal, but it doesn’t ruffle my culinary feathers one bit to eat a hot dog with chili and cheese.  Sam looked good at practice and Fischer had a blast playing at the park right by the field.   The practice finished with a little game of kick ball where the parents played a bit.  We played until 9 PM when it was quite dark. Sophie is spending the night at a friends so I’m missing her as I haven’t seen her since this morning.

    DSC_2072DSC_2078DSC_2080DSC_2071

    20110628, a set on Flickr.

    I got home from work to find Jocie had gotten the kids a slip and slide.  It was pretty warm today (upper 90’s) and so they were cooling off on the slide in the backyard.  I took the opportunity to snag the camera and try to capture some shots that “froze” the water droplets.  I flipped it to shutter-priority mode and set it on 1/2000th and something like iso 800 (here is the detailed exif data).  Those settings seemed to do the job.  I had to hustle to get to my 6 PM softball game which ended in a bad loss.  We then ran quickly over to Sammy’s baseball game with a quick pitstop at 7-11 where Sammy and I each got a hot dog dinner.  I have to say, I love a beautiful meal, but it doesn’t ruffle my culinary feathers one bit to eat a hot dog with chili and cheese.  Sam looked good at practice and Fischer had a blast playing at the park right by the field.   The practice finished with a little game of kick ball where the parents played a bit.  We played until 9 PM when it was quite dark. Sophie is spending the night at a friends so I’m missing her as I haven’t seen her since this morning.

  7. 20110626, a set on Flickr. We had a pretty laid back Sunday. I cleaned up the garage by organizing the bevy of bikes and tools. Sam helped sweep it out and his fascination with the lawn mower took over. For the last two years he has loved to try (and sometimes) succeed in mowing the lawn. He was begging to let him mow the lawn and I told him if he helped me clean up the garage I would let him. The lawn was already mowed, but you can’t beat that deal of having your kid agree to work so he can do more work. We got the garage nice and clean (looks like a different place) and he then got busy trying to start the mower. After about 15 pulls he finally got it going. I thought he might just take a few laps since it is not a power driven mower, but he stuck with it and did the entire front yard himself. I paid him 3 dollars for his impromptu and unsolicited job completion. Later we went to some friends for tacos. We came home and played outside for awhile. Sophie took her gerbils for a “walk” in her wagon while Sam and a friend kicked the soccer ball and Fischer rode his new bike around.

    Taking the gerbils for a walk (2)Sam mowing (1)Sam mowing (2)Sunlit Leaves

    20110626, a set on Flickr.

    We had a pretty laid back Sunday. I cleaned up the garage by organizing the bevy of bikes and tools. Sam helped sweep it out and his fascination with the lawn mower took over. For the last two years he has loved to try (and sometimes) succeed in mowing the lawn. He was begging to let him mow the lawn and I told him if he helped me clean up the garage I would let him. The lawn was already mowed, but you can’t beat that deal of having your kid agree to work so he can do more work. We got the garage nice and clean (looks like a different place) and he then got busy trying to start the mower. After about 15 pulls he finally got it going. I thought he might just take a few laps since it is not a power driven mower, but he stuck with it and did the entire front yard himself. I paid him 3 dollars for his impromptu and unsolicited job completion. Later we went to some friends for tacos. We came home and played outside for awhile. Sophie took her gerbils for a “walk” in her wagon while Sam and a friend kicked the soccer ball and Fischer rode his new bike around.

  8. 20110623, a set on Flickr. As you can see Fischer was the unwitting victim of my photography practice today. I came home from work and Sam and Sophie were off at activities (Sophie at a friend’s house and Sam at a scouting activity). Fischer and Jocie were reading a book about being “impatient”. The three of us ate dinner and then took a ride up to the yogurt store with Fischer’s small bike in the back of the car.  He wanted to ride his bike to the yogurt place, but with the size of the tires and crank that could have been a two hour round trip so we decided to drive and then let him ride in a paved open area at the strip mall where the yogurt store was. He was thrilled to be riding around and we had to tear him away from his riding to get home in time to meet the kids.

    Close your eyes and look insideWho needs to watch the road?Dreaming of being done with dinneryellow

    20110623, a set on Flickr.

    As you can see Fischer was the unwitting victim of my photography practice today. I came home from work and Sam and Sophie were off at activities (Sophie at a friend’s house and Sam at a scouting activity). Fischer and Jocie were reading a book about being “impatient”. The three of us ate dinner and then took a ride up to the yogurt store with Fischer’s small bike in the back of the car.  He wanted to ride his bike to the yogurt place, but with the size of the tires and crank that could have been a two hour round trip so we decided to drive and then let him ride in a paved open area at the strip mall where the yogurt store was. He was thrilled to be riding around and we had to tear him away from his riding to get home in time to meet the kids.

  9. 20110622 Fischer’s New Bike, a set on Flickr. Today was another busy day.  Woke up and went to work (same as always).  Met up with Jocie for a 3v3 soccer game of Sam’s.  They had two back to back games and picked up a third game with a team whose opponent was a no show.  They are looking better and picking up some of the nuances of 3v3.  Jocie picked up a bike for Fischer.  We have had him ride Sam’s a handful of times to get a sense for using pedals and brakes and now he has his own which is much more his size.  He is very excited by the new bike and spent about an hour riding after we got home.  In his own words, “I LOVE this bike way more then my no-pedal bike.” All these photos and the one movie were taken with my new cheap off brand lens which I am really liking.  It is manual focus which is going to take some practicing but I like some of these first shots from it even with the operator error and inexperience.

    Fischer in the last of the sun's glowFischer's First Sping on His New BikeAmerican Goldfinch On Matching HydrantNew Bike 1

    20110622 Fischer’s New Bike, a set on Flickr.

    Today was another busy day.  Woke up and went to work (same as always).  Met up with Jocie for a 3v3 soccer game of Sam’s.  They had two back to back games and picked up a third game with a team whose opponent was a no show.  They are looking better and picking up some of the nuances of 3v3.  Jocie picked up a bike for Fischer.  We have had him ride Sam’s a handful of times to get a sense for using pedals and brakes and now he has his own which is much more his size.  He is very excited by the new bike and spent about an hour riding after we got home.  In his own words, “I LOVE this bike way more then my no-pedal bike.”

    All these photos and the one movie were taken with my new cheap off brand lens which I am really liking.  It is manual focus which is going to take some practicing but I like some of these first shots from it even with the operator error and inexperience.

  10. 20110619 Father’s Day, a set on Flickr. Today was Father’s Day.   We had a delicious filet mignon “linner” (our combo of lunch and dinner).  With storm clouds approaching we were debating whether to go to the park or take a drive and look for a hike in the foothills.  I made the call and we decided to go for a drive, but kept the baseball stuff in the car.  We stopped at Mount Falcon Park and took a short hike up to the lookout tower.  Along the way there were a few drops of rain, but the sun also poked out of the clouds once.  We took the long way home and visited an italian cafe and gelato store called Spuntino in Denver.  Sammy got one of the largest cookie-gelato sandwiches ever created.  I got the Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart shown in the picture (hey, it’s father’s day and you sometimes have to cheat when low carbing). On the drive home there was a crazy hail storm (check out the short video in this set).  We quickly parked the car under a single tree’s canopy while the kids jumped out to take a few lumps on their backs.  Once the hail subsided it actually stopped raining all together and the sunset looked like it could actually produce a pretty nice show so we stopped at Jackass Hill Park on the way home.  It has a nice overview of the foothills to the west and I shot a few of the kids and some HDRs of the sunset as did Jocie on her iPhone.  Good day to be a dad.

    DSC_1467_HDRIMG_0983DSC_1341IMG_0992

    20110619 Father’s Day, a set on Flickr.

    Today was Father’s Day.   We had a delicious filet mignon “linner” (our combo of lunch and dinner).  With storm clouds approaching we were debating whether to go to the park or take a drive and look for a hike in the foothills.  I made the call and we decided to go for a drive, but kept the baseball stuff in the car.  We stopped at Mount Falcon Park and took a short hike up to the lookout tower.  Along the way there were a few drops of rain, but the sun also poked out of the clouds once.  We took the long way home and visited an italian cafe and gelato store called Spuntino in Denver.  Sammy got one of the largest cookie-gelato sandwiches ever created.  I got the Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart shown in the picture (hey, it’s father’s day and you sometimes have to cheat when low carbing). On the drive home there was a crazy hail storm (check out the short video in this set).  We quickly parked the car under a single tree’s canopy while the kids jumped out to take a few lumps on their backs.  Once the hail subsided it actually stopped raining all together and the sunset looked like it could actually produce a pretty nice show so we stopped at Jackass Hill Park on the way home.  It has a nice overview of the foothills to the west and I shot a few of the kids and some HDRs of the sunset as did Jocie on her iPhone.  Good day to be a dad.

  11. 20110618 Rapids Soccer Game, a set on Flickr. Today I spent about 2 hours working on a side project trying to put together a do-it-yourself steadicam for my DSLR camera.  The project is pretty close and as soon as I get a first prototype together I’ll be posting a demo video.   Sammy had a baseball game today and it was the first game they won.  Sam had a nice hit that was a single but they overthrew first and he was off for second.  Instead of getting it into the catcher they threw the ball to second and again bobbled it although  not as far as the one to first.  You get the picture—he made it all the way to home using this technique.  The umpire ended up putting him back at second saying the ball had gone out of bounds and hence he was limited to one extra base.  He pitched the last inning and had 3 strike outs.  His pitching is really improving with each game.   Tonight we went to the Colorado Rapids soccer game against the LA Galaxy.  They lost 3 to 1 (Sam even now, the next day, insists it was 2 to 1 since it was clear from the replay that the first goal was crossed once it had already gone out of bounds), but it was fun to watch.  Also, Beckham and Donovan were both out so there was a little disappointment there.  All in all a pretty good day.

    Rapids Header On GoalDSC_1290Rapids on the OffenseGalaxy Goalie Punch Out

    20110618 Rapids Soccer Game, a set on Flickr.

    Today I spent about 2 hours working on a side project trying to put together a do-it-yourself steadicam for my DSLR camera.  The project is pretty close and as soon as I get a first prototype together I’ll be posting a demo video.  

    Sammy had a baseball game today and it was the first game they won.  Sam had a nice hit that was a single but they overthrew first and he was off for second.  Instead of getting it into the catcher they threw the ball to second and again bobbled it although  not as far as the one to first.  You get the picture—he made it all the way to home using this technique.  The umpire ended up putting him back at second saying the ball had gone out of bounds and hence he was limited to one extra base.  He pitched the last inning and had 3 strike outs.  His pitching is really improving with each game.  

    Tonight we went to the Colorado Rapids soccer game against the LA Galaxy.  They lost 3 to 1 (Sam even now, the next day, insists it was 2 to 1 since it was clear from the replay that the first goal was crossed once it had already gone out of bounds), but it was fun to watch.  Also, Beckham and Donovan were both out so there was a little disappointment there.  All in all a pretty good day.

  12. “I want food” on Flickr. We have a robin’s nest in our front yard that I spotted last weekend. I lifted Fischer up so he could basically stand on my shoulders to peer into the nest. He came down with total amazement, wonder, and excitement to tell me there were three blue eggs. We later saw the mother sitting on the nest. Ever since then he has been pretty obsessed with checking the nest to see if the eggs have hatched. Well, today was the day—Sophie discovered that the eggs had hatched. Here is one of the three begging for food. It wasn’t that easy to crawl into the tree and this is not a great photo. Hopefully I’ll take a few more as they mature. I know Fischer will be keeping tabs on their progress.

    “I want food” on Flickr.

    We have a robin’s nest in our front yard that I spotted last weekend. I lifted Fischer up so he could basically stand on my shoulders to peer into the nest. He came down with total amazement, wonder, and excitement to tell me there were three blue eggs. We later saw the mother sitting on the nest. Ever since then he has been pretty obsessed with checking the nest to see if the eggs have hatched. Well, today was the day—Sophie discovered that the eggs had hatched. Here is one of the three begging for food. It wasn’t that easy to crawl into the tree and this is not a great photo. Hopefully I’ll take a few more as they mature. I know Fischer will be keeping tabs on their progress.

  13. Fischer Learning to Ride a Bike (by phishery)

    Fischer has been cruising around on the home made jimmy rigged “balance bike” (a bike I took the crank out of so he could just push with his feet). After towing him to the park with a small rope on his balance bike it seemed like it was time to put him on Sammy’s small bike (where hey could barely put his toes down). He got going on his first try and was totally amazing. He was a bit afraid after the second run, but after some bribery (I promised him a box of candy) he took about 10 more runs.

  14. 20110610 Picking Up Sophie From The Airport, a set on Flickr. I flew back in from NY around the middle of the day and we went back out to the airport to pick up Sophie at 9:00 PM. Sam and Fischer made Soph a nice sign for her homecoming.

    DSC_0595_HDRDSC_0623DSC_0630DSC_0621

    20110610 Picking Up Sophie From The Airport, a set on Flickr.

    I flew back in from NY around the middle of the day and we went back out to the airport to pick up Sophie at 9:00 PM. Sam and Fischer made Soph a nice sign for her homecoming.

  15. Sparks From An Old Fashioned Lighter on Flickr. The boys were having fun in the bathroom striking this lighter and watching it spark (it doesn’t have any fluid).  It is the kind that you have to use liquid fluid absorbed into a cotton material with a cotton wick.  I asked if they wanted to see what the sparks looked like (looking for any excuse to take a break from work and play with the camera).  This was a one second exposure using my 50mm prime—it took about 10 shots in order to get my hand so there wasn’t too much movement and also to get the sparks semi in focus.  I focused it with the lights on and then turned the camera to manual.  I also used my remote and a one second shutter delay which when you are using a Nikon means two clicks of the remote when you have the shutter delay on.  The first click raises the mirror.  The second click starts the exposure. 

    Sparks From An Old Fashioned Lighter on Flickr.

    The boys were having fun in the bathroom striking this lighter and watching it spark (it doesn’t have any fluid).  It is the kind that you have to use liquid fluid absorbed into a cotton material with a cotton wick.  I asked if they wanted to see what the sparks looked like (looking for any excuse to take a break from work and play with the camera).  This was a one second exposure using my 50mm prime—it took about 10 shots in order to get my hand so there wasn’t too much movement and also to get the sparks semi in focus.  I focused it with the lights on and then turned the camera to manual.  I also used my remote and a one second shutter delay which when you are using a Nikon means two clicks of the remote when you have the shutter delay on.  The first click raises the mirror.  The second click starts the exposure.