My Task At Hand

March 31 More from the French Quarter... There's much more to photograph than just the wonderful characters! (see two recent posts)

March 30 Back up to the week of March 5 - 11: I attended WPPI in Las Vegas. The convention, classes and trade show was all good, but the very best part was the awesome S'Mugger get-together! L - R Shelly Porsch Chetty (SPC Creative), Hillary Yasmer Shemin, Mary Elizabeth Roberts-Graff (mbgpics), me! Also met up with, but not pictured here: Monica Toohey-Krause (katchinyakandid), Andi Grant (AndiGrant), Jackie Pinto We're all members of this awesome DP community!

March 30 Amongst the wide variety of activities surrounding Jackson Square in French Quarter, New Orleans, this last Saturday, one of my favorites was this fine character!! The Cub Scouts were pretty mesmerized, too! The Living Statue

March 28 My husband and I spent four days this last week in New Orleans; a business trip for him. We stayed at a beautiful hotel in the French Quarter, which is an area definitely in a world of its own! One of the photographic subject matters I found the most ....entertaining, was the local personalities! I certainly was grateful to return home last night to our pretty, quiet and relatively small California suburb!

February 27 Sadie's By The Sea, Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa This shot is looking back towards where I was standing to take the shot which was my most recent post. I'm posting this specifically today with deep concern, as the present tsunami threat from the earthquake in Chile, includes Samoa and our new friends there :( These peoples are among the MANY that are evacuating areas, as I type. As I mentioned in my previous post, this island is still suffering the aftermath of a tsunami which hit them in September. I have also already talked with my son Evan, who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, as he was awakened this morning by the tsunami warning sirens. The entire area which we just experienced with him as our excellent activities director is evacuating this morning, as they are the first of the Hawaiian islands in the path of the threatening tsunami. I certainly am anxious to speak with him later today! As well as hoping to be able to speak with our new friends in Samoa. Offering many prayers, blessings and much positive thought and energy for any and all that might experience affects today, and for those having already experienced affects from the earthquake.

February 24 Got home today from our trip to American Samoa, and a stop off on the Big Island of Hawaii during our return. This was our first Samoan sunrise. We stayed at Sadie's By The Sea, Pago Pago Harbor, on the island of Tutuila. American Samoa is the only U.S. Territory south of the equator, consisting of five rugged, highy eroded volcanic islands and two coral atolls. The land area of the territory is 76 sq. miles. The population is approximately 60,000, with most people living on the main island of Tutuila. The people were friendly and still dealing with the aftermath of a tsunami which hit the islands last September. The climate is hot and (very) humid, the colors are gorgeous, the vegetation is lush and the waters are warm. I'll be sharing some of the photos as I'm creating the gallery.

February 8 Happy Valentine's Day --- early! My husband has made arrangements for a (lengthy) business trip which includes Valentine's Day; he has asked me to accompany him! I'm not taking my laptop, so this will (probably) be my last post until our return. We head out tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. Any of you ever been to American Samoa? Blessings!

February 6 The storm systems passing by have caused some spectacular shows. This was the show on Friday!

February 2 Was working with photos from a trip to Carmel this last November. This is an awesome wallhanging/light fixture; diameter of the outside edge of the white ring is @6 ft. Taken at night, through the display window while strollling through Carmel Village. I featured another of these light fixtures on Nov. 19, and offered more explanation on Nov. 21.

January 28 I just HAD to go outside and leave dinner preparations again last evening!! Huummm? My last three DP's might indicate that I haven't been getting too far away from home lately?!

January 27 Yesterday's sunrise, SOOC !

January 25 While preparing dinner this evening, I was watching this gorgeous show by looking out the kitchen window! Dinner had to be put on hold; grabbed the camera and headed outside!

January 24 For Christmas I gave my husband this photo of him experiencing his favorite place on the planet! The first week of July, 2007 we were staying in the Kihei area of Maui. We went for our early morning walk; the sun was behind me. The photo itself is 18 x 24, and he has chosen to hang it above our fireplace.

January 15 View from our deck last Saturday.

January 7 I didn't take the photo, but Maria came over last night so that we could create this in PS. It's been a while since we've promoted a show; we're certainly looking forward to it, and the fun we'll have in putting it together. Of course, he is a favorite of ours! There will be another version of this, soon, when we are certain of the 'Opening' entertainment. We have our sights, hears and souls set on a particular local female singer/musician. Just don't have her confirmation ....yet! Let me know if any of y'all want to order tickets!! A S'Mugger get-together, with fabulous entertainment!?

January 3 My dear friend Maria came by this afternoon to offer me a belated Christmas gift! Wrapped in pretty pink paper was this book. She found it in a book store, and said "despite whatever its content, I just HAD to get it for you because of the title alone!!" She did browse through its pages though, and said she was LOL in the store! And we both knew I had to share this as a DP!! Thank you Maria, for the sweet sentiment, and the laughter!! (Great way to take care of your 'gift for the day'!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! May each of you, and yours, experience abundant health, love, peace, happiness, fulfillment, and prosperity in 2010!! I also wish to offer my gratitude to SmugMug, and this awesome community! I thoroughly enjoy my interactions here. I greatly appreciate all the wonderful comments, suggestions, knowledge and humor which I have received from so many of you! I value the friendships I'm experiencing through my participation here, and am looking forward to another wonderful year of S'Mugger awesomeness!! Blessings!

December 26 Our Fabulous Family really enjoyed Christmas together today! Greg and I, our six (including Evan!)- and their main squeezes - three grandkids (with one on the way!), and five, of the six, granddogs!

Blessings to this outstanding community for a very merry, healthy, and peaceful Christmas! P.S. This is a 3 ft. x 5 ft. garden flag.....which is hanging in my entry hall !

December 23 There's new critters hanging out with my dear friends, Julie & Steve! The front and inside of their home is wonderfully decorated!

December 15 Another of the 38 Christmas trees in one home! I absolutely loved this particular ornament! Checking this out in larger version is worth the effort!

December 14 On Dec. 12, I posted a photo from an incredibly & beautifully decorated home which is showcasing 38 Christmas trees! In that same home, these are in opposite corners of the living room, with another big tree in a third corner, all of which are religious/spiritual themed. This is especially for Irish, Normz and Fotomom!!

December 13 Did some Christmas decorating today.......................

December 12 I shared the privilege with many others tonight, of attending a Christmas party. I was forewarned to bring my camera! It was a beautiful home and the Hostess has a passion for Christmas decorating and is EXTREMELY creative and talented. When I walked in, I stood in total awe, and was rendered speechless!! Not counting the rest of the wonderful decorations, there were 38 incredibly beautiful Christmas trees, each with its own theme!! As you can understand, my camera and I went off together in our own little world, mesmerized by the photo ops! Choosing which photo to post for tonight was VERY difficult. I only chose this one because you can actually see three of the showcased trees. Each of these was on a table; there were many that were floor to ceiling.This white tree predominately featured rubber duckies and purple butterflies! I asked if I could come back at another time, as I barely scratched the surface with what could be incredible Christmas photos. THANK YOU, Sharon (and Mike)!! Was a wonderful party and a fabulous experience! And I haven't even finished decorating my two trees !?!?

December 10 We got to play Gramma and Grampa this evening! During some of our time together, Colby was protecting us while wearing his Fireman costume and Hannah enjoyed some exercising on the floor. This was the first time Hannah (2 months, 5 days) acknowledged Roxy! Roxy loves babies and kids!!

December 3 Backing up to the wonders of October 5: we were blessed with the birth of our second grandchild!! My husband's oldest daughter Samantha, and her husband Chad, are the proud parents of our first two grandchildren. It was a precious experience to be in the waiting room when proud Daddy Chad came in to present Hannah Jane to excited family members. The now, 4 year older brother, Colby, was very enthusiastic about holding baby sister. After Mom and Dad, he was the first to welcome her to the family! He is a very good big brother, and we are very proud of him. Hannah is a lucky girl! FYI: No! I am not responsible for the darling hat!! However, I do have dibs on presenting her with her first Tiara!!

December 1 I just can't seem to get away from feathers!! I've been working on my Paso Robles Poultry Show gallery , in an attempt to catch up! I ask the owners to fill out release forms, and to write the factual name of whatever type of poultry it is. The owner of this beautiful Duck forgot to fill in that part :( So, I have no idea what kind it is. This is SOOC.

November 27 Our Matriarch, Roxy, had just been mingoed by a Mini !

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

November 23 Did a fabulously fun photo shoot with my little friend Julie this afternoon!

November 21 Happy Belated Halloween!! In mid-October I took my 'portable portrait studio' to the Central Coast Feather Fanciers Annual Poultry Show. And I must say, we had a blast! The epitome of Work! Work! Work! Regarding my previous post: We were strolling through Carmel Village, after dark; the storefront window displays were fabulous! One of our favorites was a furniture and light fixtures shop, with VERY unique inventory! I was shooting through the glass, using my 18-200; zooming in on a portion of an incredible wall hanging, a portion of which is also lighting. In actuality, the portion in my post is @18" x 10", of a crescent moon, which is @ 8" in front of a fabulous sun, with rays and a face. The sun is not lit. It has a big open smile mouth, with these glass spheres pouring forth out of the mouth. I loved how the light and camera settings didn't allow visibility of the sun. The entire wall hanging is fairly round, with a diameter of @5-6ft. Thank you for the compliments and the welcome backs & missed yous! Gave me the warm fuzzies!

November 19 The truth is: I HAVE REALLY MISSED THIS COMMUNITY! I've missed my interactions with the members, have missed seeing what's going on around the world--through the eyes & lenses of incredible photographers--and I've missed this as a way of journaling. My plan is to play a bit of catch up, as far as the journaling, for my own records; probably not on a daily basis. I have a couple of extra projects which I'm working on that need some focus. The catch up will be some highlights of 'life as I know it' since August 25----which is the last of when I was being kind of regular with postings. I took this image November 4 during a wonderful time away with my friend Myki (MyKey was a member here for a while). Our adventure took us to Carmel (CA). This is SOOC. I was practicing how to save photos on my new MAC. I'm going to leave you wondering until I post next!? Hopefully tomorrow, I can look through some Daily pages to catch up on many of you! ************************************************************************************************************** I did put an explanation on my next DP (with the Halloween Rooster!)

Photo taken November 4 "Before"; actually came "After"!

August 25 While spending some quiet time outside this morning, this little guy was very busy feeding nearby. I had to go get the camera! Apparently there are some who have experienced leaving comments here on my site; hopefully that will be resolved tomorrow.

August 24 HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVAN!! Here's a little taste of home for you! This, and the new gallery (linked below) is what the view was behind Travis and Kimberli as they were married. This last Thursday I was returning home from watching my son, Travis, coach his Women's Soccer Team (Cal State San Bernardino) as they played a scrimmage game in Santa Maria. It was a beautiful, sunny evening and as I was approaching Shell Beach, I knew I had to stop in order to take some photographs--specifically for Maria and Alex! ---Maria and I took Alex to our favorite birdwatching area. On that particular day, there was low light and it was quite foggy. I took this shot from approximately where Alex is kneeling in the 'foggy' image. I created a new gallery of my brief stop in Shell Beach.

August 23 (Sorry John! Headed to kitchen for breakfast, before uploading DP, and a few of Bambi's buddies were cruising through our yard. So, this one seemed much more apropos for today.) Early last evening, I found it VERY difficult to practice being non-judmental when someone here in our (heavily wooded) neighborhood chose to use some big-ass gun (within city limits) and attempted to kill one of the bucks that wander the properties :( Somehow my husband, Maria and I instinctively knew what the shot had been for; I ran in the direction of the shot in time to watch a buck finish coming down the slope and manage to cross the street onto our property and collapse in the gulley:( He had been hit in the rightside butt. I immediately started yelling at the top of my lungs "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??" And on, and on, and on I yelled---I haven't been that mad in a LONG time. Retrospectively, it was very unwise of me to have be screaming like that NOT from the cover of some trees. I am grateful right now for my safety. We had called the police; three squad cars arrived. The buck got scared and managed to get up, climb the hill and hide behind our shed. They did put it out of its misery:( The shot came from across the street and up the hill; our neighbors from across the drive came out to investigate also. He was pissed, too, and walked to that next street uphill to try to find the asshole! Coward never did show their self---knowing the cops would have hauled their sorry ass out of here! And the police would have had to find the 'fool' actually standing there holding the gun. Of course, 'someone' never had the courage for confession; was a bummer:( Then we learned that since it fell on private property, that it would be up to us to take care of it. After several calls, we found someone who was very happy to look forward to fresh venison. I'm still trying to not be judgmental; and am not succeeding with that quite yet:( Check out these links to photos I posted of some of our deer: http://www.ladykatesphotography.com/Daily-Photos/My-Task-At-Hand/4264698_TXQ5N#422589921_FhZW8 http://www.ladykatesphotography.com/Daily-Photos/My-Task-At-Hand/4 Some of our bucks: http://www.ladykatesphotography.com/Weekly-Challenge/Challenges-for-2009/7087350_zhcHC#440898222_W3N3c And Alex posted one from when he was recently visiting here: http://aktpics.smugmug.com/My-Galleries/The-Great-Outdoo...rs/RV-Roadtrip-2009-Highlights/9030721_fm69J#618234177_Wj3rR

August 19 Spent a little time at a water park this evening; the light was wonderful; as was the company!

August 16 I've been a touch busy and am just now creating the gallery from our most recent photo 'expedition' with ALEX (K. Tiethof) (aktpics). Alex armed Maria with his extra DSLR! Uh-oh! She was lovin' it! Here's what they were aiming at: Avila Bay and pier

August 11 Hey.....this one's for Alex, Maria and AndreaKaus! I posted yesterday about Maria and I sharing another S'Mugger get-together with ALEX (K. Tiethof) (aktpics)! Part of our local tour for Alex was taking him to our favorite bird-watching spot . Yesterday's DP was taken there; [somewhat] showing one of the reasons for being a favorite spot; standing on a bluff, we're looking at a BIG rock, which is the same height as the bluff, and @25 ft. offshore. Several varieties of birds use this rock (and every other rock in the area!) as a place to roost. There are thousands of birds, giving us much to watch. The best part is as they fly inbetween the bluff, and the rock. This means that sometimes they're flying by at our eye level-- at times only 5 - 10 ft. away-- then sometimes below bluff height!! This provides unique and incredible perspective! Alex has also posted some shots here , and here of our shooting spree together! ************************************************************************************* My --Tiara-- is off to those of you that have posted the gorgeous, sharp images of BIF!! This was the best I could accomplish; sometime soon, I will be going to try again in late afternoon, and hope for no fog.

August 10 We have been priviledged to share another visit with Alex K. Tiethof! We bribed him with another 'Premium' RV facility, if he decided to begin his journey homeward by heading back this way from Santa Barbara, to keep himself and his home on wheels out of the L.A. area!! My friend Maria and I took him to Morro Bay, then south to Shell Beach. Another great time was had by all! I'm ready for a looong nap now; more about our S'Mugger get-together tomorrow!

August 7 Where in the world is Alex K. Tiethof?! ********************************************************************************************** I'm spending photo time creating the gallery of our photo 'expedition' with Alex (I'm not quite done yet!) Maria's photos from our day together can be found here

August 5 Another fabulous S'Mugger get-together! ALEX (K. Tiethof) (aktpics) is presently touring California and we were honored with his presence last night and today!!! My friend Maria has also been watching Alex's DP gallery since right after I joined this community ! (no, she is not a member of SmugMug) She was as tickled as I was at having an opportunity to spend some time with Alex! So, since he was King for the Day, the first place we took him to was a Castle!! Some things just HAVE to be! We 'wet his appetite' as to what is available here in our neck of the woods as far as places to go and things to do. Now, he's hungry for more! Our day went by way too quickly, was wonderfully enjoyable and the weather was perfect! He really was having a good time!! I'm thinking his stance here was making it clear that he was NOT going to be wearing a Tiara or one of those fluffy feathered things!! He did see your comments ladies! Within the next couple of days, I'll have a gallery up with the rest of the shots from today! Thank you for a great time together Alex....and Maria!

August 3 'Fanny' wanted to show off her new Fascinator and shades!! It's all in a day's work!?!?

August 2 Still working with the photos from the Ladies Camping Trip! My daughter, Kamryn and I are always up for a good hike! And it was her turn to carry the pack! Behind and below us is Doris Lake. Please refer to the link to see a 3 (verticle) shot panorama of the lake, taken two hours previously, before we climbed to the top of this rock. (This shot was taken by our up and coming photographer buddy, Zac!) ************************************************************************************************ Now for the really fun and exciting news: Guess who's coming to dinner?!?! ALEX (K. Tiethof)!!!! (aktpics) I'm really looking forward to our S'Mugger get-together! :) We're not sure if he'll be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday. He's heading to Santa Barbara from the Bay area and is taking Hwy. 101, which puts him driving right through the middle of my 'neck of the woods'!! Yay! Don't worry y'all ! I'll speak softly, and [not] carry my big stick! (I only use that for hiking!) You might just see something from us soon :o)

August 1 is a perfect day for imagining myself back at one of my favorite swimmin' holes in the High Sierras, ready for some floatin' and loungin'!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rest assured, I was thinking about you, Irish, as we were taking this shot!

July 30 More from our annual Ladies Camping Trip. Meet Will and Sharon! (W & S: y'all are GREAT! We love ya!!) Also staying in the same campground as us! We've found them to be 'right up our alley'!! ************************************************************************************************* The shirt which is displaying in the background has some wonderful, yet bittersweet ,history.

July 25 Work, work, work!! Irish....this one is for you! My daughter grabbed this shot of me during the camping trip. Our campsite is behind her. ************************************************************************************************* A series of images from last year's camping trip can be found here

July 23 Back from another MIA!! Just returned from our annual 'Ladies Camping Trip'!!! Oh, my, my! We did have a marvelous time! This is one of our favorite destinations; the reward at the end of a wonderful hike. Doris Lake, in the Sierras 3 image panorama, shot horizontal Am still unloading the camping gear, and haven't had the priviledge of looking through the Dailies for quite a while :( I'm hoping to do so tomorrow, and see how y'all are doing! I've missed you! Blessings to all !