Separation anxiety:
(photo of my Canon G10 before shipping it off for repair)

Alpharetta, GA

I've been a photographer for a lot of years. In 1973, I was 18 years old and saved up to buy my first 35mm camera. It was a Miranda Sensomat. The year I turned 24 years old I obtained my first full time photography job as a newspaper photographer. Most of my background has been as a photojournalist. I've worked for newspapers, freelanced and directed the photography department of a non profit entity and now I'm freelancing again. Over the course of my career I've seen all kinds of technological change and for the most part have embraced all of it. For the past several years my main camera system has been a Nikon DSLR with assorted "fast" lenses. The camera system has been great but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for compact cameras (some call them point and shoots). Years ago I took some kidding from my friends that used Canon cameras when they saw me carrying a Canon G2. While assuring them that I hadn't "jumped ship" to their camera brand, I wasn't ashamed to admit that Canon's offering in the point and shoot category was preferential. BTW - Canon makes great professional camera equipment too. As the years passed by, I slowly stopped using the G2 for much of anything. It had become a technological dinosaur. Don't get me wrong, the camera still can deliver decent images if I work at it, but its limitations are far outweighed by its newer sibling's features and benefits.

A few months I did some research and decided to purchase a Canon G10. I wanted a camera to take with my everywhere and still have manual controls and the ability to shoot RAW. Within a few days of ownership, I knew that I had found the camera I had been searching for. Was it a perfect camera? No, but I learned to work with it and embraced the challenge of the new tool added to my arsenal. Using this camera has done so many things for me - it has helped restore the joy of photography, I'm finally able to "walk the talk" and do what I have encouraged other aspiring photographers to do, and that was to carry their camera everywhere they went. My new G10 has gone everywhere - whether on a bike ride, to work, church, walks, doctor's offices, dentist offices, etc. Much of what has been posted on my blog for the past 5 months was shot with this little gem of a camera.

Within weeks of buying the camera I noticed a strange black line running through one of my pictures. My heart sank. Deep within my gut I knew that this was something which might show up again. I saved the "defective" image on the desktop of my computer, hoping that a Google search would turn up something on the internet. I could find nothing.

Today, things changed. While reading the Canon discussion forum on DPReview.com I saw a posting about Canon's service notice concerning the G10. Sure enough, it described the exact problem that had happened on my camera month's ago. I wasn't imagining things. After a call to the Canon service center, I arranged for my G10 to be sent in for repair. I also asked them if the problem was something that was corrected by the recent firmware update. The service rep assured me that this problem had nothing to do with the firmware update. For all of my friends out there that are using the G10 - here is the link to the Canon USA service notice.

Life will go on without my camera for the next few weeks. Just as the acquisition of this 14.7 megapixel wonder caused me to make some adaptations in my shooting style, so too will its brief absence. Stay tuned for more.

Friend stops by to have his portrait made.

Alpharettta, GA

A few days ago my friend Joe Marino called. I hadn't heard from Joe in a while and he needed to update his picture. Today Joe stopped by and we did some portraits. Joe's a good guy and I really enjoyed our time together.

Jason and I put in 22 miles during training ride.

Alpharetta, GA

Today, my friend Jason and I put in 22 miles during our Saturday morning bike ride on the greenway. Along with our friend Mark, our goal is to complete a one day 100 mile ride on the Silver Comet Trail. The Silver Comet Trail is an old railroad bed that's been reclaimed and paved. It runs from Georgia to Alabama. I have always loved cycling and as the "senior" member of the group at (ahem), nearly 54 years old, I'm looking forward to the ride.

I have many fond, and not so fond, memories of cycling. In 1974, my grandmother gave me money for a new ten speed bike as a graduation present. With it, I decided to pedal the 120 miles to my grandparents' house. The plan was to complete the trip in two days but something got a hold of me and will power combined with endless sugar highs from stops at ice cream stands along the way provided the fuel to complete it in one day. You should have seen the look of astonishment on my grandparents' face when I rode up to their house as they were enjoying a sunset from their front porch. It took me 11 and 1/2 hours over very hilly terrain to complete the trip. I had a deep tan when the ride was finished.

I graduated from college in 1978 and decided that I would do a solo cross country bike ride from western New York State to Santa Fe, New Mexico. On a crisp fall morning I said goodbye to my tearful mother as I headed off on my journey. Five days and 350 miles later I called my parents to come and get me. I had been involved in a hit and run accident in rural Ohio. I was fortunate that I wasn't seriously injured. The driver never stopped as the passenger looked over her shoulder at the ensuing mess created by the damaged saddle bag exploding its contents onto the road. It took me many minutes to finally be able to flag down a motorist to call for help. Later, after the saddle bag was stitched back together I discovered a gray spot on the bag where contact with the bumper of the car had made its mark. My leg had missed being struck by about an inch and a half! My guess is that the car was traveling at least 55-60 mph.

To this day I'm still leery of riding on roads but love trails made for cyclists - no cars at all.

Portrait at the Apple Store.

Alpharetta, GA

My son Joel will turn 16 this month. Here he poses for me during our visit to the Apple Store. We stopped by to drop off his Powerbook computer for repair. Joel is about 6'1" tall and soon will be as tall as his dad.

Rounding the turn.

Alpharetta, GA

A rider at this past weekend's equestrian event at Wills Park rounds the corner in the riding ring.

Severe weather moves through Georgia - dumps large hailstones.

Alpharetta, GA

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings this evening as high winds swept through the metro Atlanta region. Tornado sirens wailed multiple times as winds picked up and the skies darkened. I had forgotten to park my late model Buick in the garage and then I heard the sound of the hail hitting the roof. I scrambled to put on my shoes and dashed out the front door with the hope of preventing serious pock marks from developing on the car's exterior. I'm not sure if I made it in time - there were some seriously-sized hailstones. I'll have to wait until daylight to see if I responded quick enough. This shot was taken maybe 15 minutes after they had been on the ground. With the weather in full force, there was no way I was going to put myself in harm's way for a shot. Bottom line - they were probably much larger and lost some size to melt. Point your cursor on the picture and click it for an enlarged view. Looking closely at the hailstone on the far right, you should be able to see what appears to be many tiny hailstones seemingly "cemented" together to form a single unit.

Portrait before we head back home after a meal downtown.

Atlanta, GA

We had just finished our meal at the Hard Rock Cafe and were heading back to the car for the ride home when I asked to take my wife's portrait outside the neon lit exterior of a nearby restaurant.

A different take on "take out."

The reflected glow of the neon "take out" sign as it appears on a nearby table at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Becoming "tired" of the pollen.

Alpharetta, GA

Spring in Georgia signals the start of pollen in the air. Nowhere else have I seen this much pollen. Trees and plants release their bountiful supply to the wind causing sneezing and allergic responses by many who breathe it. The yellow-green stuff sticks to everything. Occasional rains will temporarily cleanse the air and ground until the next breeze loosens more. My late model maroon colored car continues to be plastered with the stuff. Forget washing it - that's a loosing battle. Even the tread of my car tires had a thick coating of pollen - despite being under the overhang of the wheel wells. All of this, of course, is a small price to pay for the enjoyable transition we experience as days grow warmer, while spring establishes itself in Georgia.