My wife had a wedding dress trade show in Chicago with her best friend. Logan and I hung out solid for three days! I took off from work and we did lots of cool stuff: walks, multiple playground visits, Baby Gym, a happy meal with chicken tendies, coffee and croissants, tea party, a you-pick farm with her friend E and E’s dad. There was a petting zoo, a firetruck tour, and the biggest hit was the Pomona Train and Rail museum.

Logan loves trains. She has a Thomas the Tank Engine set (knock off) and will watch Thomas and CoCo Mellon Train videos until she goes cross-eyed. She was excited when I told her where we were going that morning, but when we got there she lit up like a bon fire! I couldn’t get to the trains fast enough.

She had the biggest smile and made a bee-line into the shop to look at stuff. When she saw the engineers hat, she immediately snatched one up and did a stompy dance of glee. I showed her the pink stripped one, but that just would not do! It had to be a “real” engineers cap. After the small gift shop, it was off to the trains!

The steam whistle scared her a little at first – no tears, just jumpy, but no force on this earth could have stopped her from blowing the whistle or ringing the bell once she saw someone else do it. There were three engines open and she made all the whistles blow at least three times. The 4-8-8-4 oil burner needed special attention and got 4 visits. She had to touch all the engines and cars and their wheels.

We were there for 2 solid hours and when we had made multiple rounds, wooed all the docents, and it was time to go, there was a little bit of a melt down… She REALLY wanted to stay. There were real tears!

We had to reset her wooden trains when we got home and played a mix of Thomas and Dino Ranch for the rest of the evening.

Spent part of the day at the Earl Burns Japanese Garden in Long Beach. IT is REALLY small, but done and kept really well. wanted to practice shooting Infrared B&W film before a trip to Joshua Tree and to Japan next month. I have never shot with it and wanted to work out any exposure kinks while still close to home. I am not 100% happy with the look, but most of that is not the film. I didn’t have a light meter and shot sunny-16. I was REALLY happy to catch the duck at the top of the waterfall and for the pictures to turn out!

I shot 1 role of 35mm of 200 ASA Rollei IR film, but the A16 Hasselblad film back I had hung after the 1st shot. I said dirty words and put in an A12 back and shot a roll of Tmax 400 B&W instead. I bracketed all my shots with the 35mm to see where the best exposure will be.

I also shot a little bit of digital with my handy iPhone for reference images and was medium happy with the results – noting really popped, but they were not terrible.

My Father-in-Law, Donald, flew into SoCal from a 3-month, once in a lifetime, trip to India and while he was jet-lagged and wasn’t in his full facilities, I asked him to sit for a few shots at magic hour. Pictures taken with my Rolleiflex 3.5a Automat and Olympus Pen FT, both loaded with Kodak Max 400. Logan loves her Grandpa and hopped up to share the pictures with him. I REALLY like how they turned out!

I flew to India and spend 5 days in-country for my day job and while I spent most of the time in meetings or at supplier sites, I did get a chance to get out in both the city of Mysore, three hours south west of Bangalore and in half a day in Bangalore to take some pictures and see some sights. 

With a couple hours free, I went to the Maharaja of Mysore’s Palace, built in 1912. Stunning. The castle, the grounds, all of it.  A lot of time is spent in upkeep on the palace and on the grounds. Labor in India is not an expensive thing, so while building materials and the cost per square foot to build things is comparable to the west, the manpower to do stuff and build and repair is Infinitely less. 

I was working in Mysore, but my airline tickets were booked in and out of India through Bangalore, so on the way back toward the airport I stayed at a hotel in the heart of the city. The Oberoi is stunning. A really nice place to stay and would be in any country. The grounds are amazing. No, really. I know that word ois overused, but it is like staying in a park with a Michelin star restaurant.  

Since I had such a positive experience at the Mysore palace, I decided to take an hour and check out the Bangalore palace, which is sort of modeled after Buckingham Palace. I was more than a little disappointed.  There are absolutely no photographs allowed of the interior. I’m not sure if that’s a privacy concern or because it’s so shabby. There is so much potential and they have actually done a bunch of work to the doors and trim and some of the ceilings, but they have some amazing art that is not taken care of and is moldy and damaged, and just put up here and there to cover walls that need attention. You don’t get to tour the whole palace, really just the two wings adjacent to the sallyport and a couple of open air atriums. 

There is an entire wing and some grounds behind a wall and a greenhouse/orangeries that you don’t have access to on a tour. Probably someone still lives there.

The formal garden out front is only haphazardly taken care of, and there’s trash in the bushes and just general disarray.  It was not a palace that I would recommend to future visitors.  It could be, but not in its current condition.

I also toured the main Hare Krishna Temple in Bangalore, and that was an experience. I didn’t know that you could pay to skip the devotee line until I was halfway through the line as the faithful recited the mantras. It took me like 45 minutes to go from the entrance into the main hall because I had to take one step at a time with the rest of the devotees.  There was no walking ahead. I just went with it and enjoyed the cultural experience.

I will say I was most impressed after the temple tour: you walk through an area where people are fed. There were some people there that just took a bit of porridge in the edible bowl because it was offered to them and they had gone through worship at the temple that day, but there were some folks there that really needed the meal and apparently there’s no cost. You just have to spend an hour of your day going through the mantra walk and then you get a meal. Now, it’s not gonna make you fat if you do it twice a day, but it’ll keep you from starving. It was impressive to see and really made my heart a little happy. I gave them some cash that I hope goes to feeding people in need.

On my way back to the hotel before we left I did have a long conversation with a guy who ran a sugarcane pressing mill. I was in Bangalore during the sugarcane harvest season and they have street vendors that set up mills that crushed the sugarcane and provide juice for people and they sell it on corners and it train stations and bus stops. This one vendor spoke really good English and we talked about the machine and the Honda engine that was running it and what he does with the sugarcane afterward, etc. I appreciated conversation and now I know more than the average bear about sugarcane processing in India   

India has always been really hard for me. There is so much beauty and so much ugliness, amazing sites and smells and people coupled with absolute depravity and tragedy and poverty.   The volume of humanity can be crushing as well. Bangalore has 14 million people in the city and the roads are absolutely packed. So much hauling so much dust and so much exhaust. Walking in the city and having to cross streets is literally taking your life in your own hands as traffic rules/laws here are an absolute fucking suggestion. 

My youngest turns two years old today! the runs and laughs and jabbers away. She loves soccer, putting on bracelets and necklaces, dinosaurs, books, raspberries, puppies, cute shoes, and shrimp. She dislikes diapers, changing time, and taking a walk in the stroller if the stroller is not headed to the park!

Logan shares a birthday with my father and one of my dear friends. Today it is all about her though. I have the day off and we are headed to the Baby Gym for playtime and for ice cream after. Tonight there will be family and friends, cake, and presents.

We did her birthday photoshoot at Crystal Cove State park and she had a ball! the light was perfect and our photographer was great. Here are a couple snaps from my iPhone. It will be a couple weeks before we have the files and I can hardly wait!!

My dad would have been 91 today. I miss him very much and think of him, what is reaction might be to something, and what he would say in any given situation almost every day.

Happy birthday, Daddy.

We lost Truffle today. It was peaceful. She wasn’t in pain or scared. She laid down on the porch beside my wife this morning after I had left for work and just never woke up. It has been a hard day. I was her person and I loved her very much.

I knew she felt so-so this morning. Instead of popping right up to go outside and then into the den for morning snuggles, she wanted to be a little closer to me and under the warm blankets. I snuggled her a little extra before my shower, with belly, neck and head scratches. She was a little shaky when I picked her up and out of the bed, but that sometimes happens first thing in the morning because she was getting a a little older.

I had been at work for 3 hours when Laurel called and said that she was pretty lethargic and seemed sick. Truffle has had cancer 4 times and she was receiving palliative care for the latest diagnosis. It had been 9 months and she was doing pretty well. Laurel called 30 minutes later and was at the vet and it was bad. I took an Uber strait to the Vet’s office and she was gone. I got to pet and kiss her one last time. She was my girl. My underbite princess. I have never loved a puppy like this – not in my whole life. I am just really sad.

We adopted Truffle in 2014 in Toulouse, France. She was less than a year old and was meant to be a friend and companion for our Boston terrier, Brodie. I let her sleep in our bed the first night and that was her assigned place for the next 11 years. She had to be touching you, no matter what you were doing: watching TV, reading, working on a computer, on the toilet… if you were still, she had to be on you. No matter how much you were petting her, you needed to pet or love her more! Truffle was amazing with Logan. She was so sweet and so gentle.

Truffle was so soft with the kindest deep brown eyes. She was built for snuggling and she LOVED kissing. If you got too close or too comfy, she would lick your teeth. Really. Her tongue was out almost all the time. She was beautiful. She was smart. She was loved.

The need was urgent, consuming
It was coming
A dash through the door and an escape into my sanctum Santorum
Rapidly I sit
What is that?!
A look, a touch, realization, horror!
Seething anger. 
A little deer-like pebble of doo-doo upon the seat of my throne. 
Now smashed and attached to me
Hard words. Dirty words. 
Who has done this!?!
This injury!  This violation. 
No one admits fault. 
No one knows how it got there. 
I think it was the toddler. 
I HOPE it was the toddler…
Disgruntled.

In Haiku Form:
Urgent call of fate,
A Throne marred by betrayal -
Silence cloaks the blame.

Took three camera out this weekend to take some pictures of a local VW – the Igloo Buss at their US Headquarters in Costa Mesa. I ran a roll through the Hasselblad and Rolleiflex and snapped a couple of pictures on the Zeiss Ikon to finish up the loaded roll of 35mm.

Happy with the light and the subject! pulled my van in to add it to some of the shots and will make a video of the entire process.

This is part of my 2025, 1 roll of film a week project.

We have been in California, the new house, and new shop for 10 months. Progress has been slow. We have a Toddler and I have a Jobby-Job. I have been organizing, throwing away, moving, and rationalizing tools and supplies in the garage (woodshop) and the machine shop/forge a bit more lately. I am still not there, but I am working at it.

It has been hard not having a shop that could be worked in. I have so many things that I bot want and need to do. I have replaced forging and cabinet making with a little machining, some baking, and lots of photography, but I long for a shop that I can make sparks fly in.

Hammers and tongs are all clean and waxed and up near the power hammer. Tool boards in garage and shop are installed and MOSTLY populated. Still looking for a few tools that are scattered about in still unopened boxes.

C-Clamps and jigs are up in the welding/fabrication area. The 2″X72″ grinder belts are finally up and out of the storage drawer, and ready to use.

Again, coming along slowly, but it is happening.

It is well documented and known amongst family and friends that I love taking pictures with real film. My newest camera was made in 1983. Using film, especially black & white stock, makes me happy, but life gets in the way sometimes and I have not been using and enjoying my film cameras – it has been mostly digital work for the last couple of years.

So, I have challenged myself to take at least 1 roll of film a week, intentional shots, multiple cameras, film only, color and B&W, for the entirety of 2025. A re-acquisition of skill, love, focus, and reflection. A challenge that I have laid down for myself. At the end of the year, I want to take one shot from each roll and my favorite images, document the camera, settings, subject, and location for each and have a book made through Shutterfly or Mixbook. Just for me.

I feel blessed. Christmas this year was full of love and great food. Our home was warm and dry and we shared the holiday with friends, my mother-in-law came in for a few days, and my son and his wife spent 7 days in California with us.

we went to the beach a couple of times, cruised Hollywood Blvd., ate at Roscoe’s, went to the La Brea Tar pits, punched paper at the range, toured the Huntington Gardens, talked and laughed and had a big time!

Lots of bread and pies are being made and consumed as Christmas Day arrives. I do love to bake and someone got a new KitchenAid Mixer from the fat man in the red suit this year!

I killed my last sourdough starter. like forgot to feed it in the back of the fridge for like 8 months. I love baking bread, but was so swamped this summer and fall that I just didn’t stop and take a little time to make a loaf or two. I would cringe when buying bread at the grocery store, but just did it in the moment, had some self loathing, and told myself that I would make bread “next week”. Next week took a while, but just before thanksgiving, I decided to just make it happen.

The new starter was 1st. A week of feeding, cutting, feeding and BAM! Sourdough starter done.

Next was making the dough, folding, rising, proofing and cutting with my new super boogie lame (dough knife) that I got at Make Camp this year.

And then we had yummy fresh bread. I have made a loaf a week for the last month, have been making sourdough pizza crust, pancakes, and am keeping my new starter alive and well fed.

My Father-in-Law is a Buddhist and on a 2+ month trek in India and Nepal, staying at temples, ashrams, and monasteries. It think it is part vacation, part practice, and part pilgrimage for him. He had the opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama while there – no really!!

This is a huge deal! not only for him in the religious aspect, but also because of geopolitics, timing, and the future of the position. I know how much this meant to him and how happy he was! I am so happy and proud for him!

On the day we learned about his visit, we happened to be at the Fullerton Arboretum and took this picture in front of a tree that the Dalai Lama witnessed being planted. I sent him the picture 🙂

One of my many trades is baking. I love to bake: Bread, pie, cake, tarts, you name it! I bake an apple pie most years for Thanksgiving, but this year someone else was bringing the apple pie to our gathering, so I was asked to make a blueberry pie and “something else.” I chose Buttermilk pie.

Both were hits! most of the folks at Thanksgiving had never had a Buttermilk pie and there was not a crumb of either left. I really only bake for folks I love and to have it appreciated makes my little heart go pitter-patter.

Now, I am going to have an apple pie for thanksgiving and I had my doubts about the pie that was randomly promised. Was the crust going to be homemade? Would they use Crisco or Lard or some BS margarine?! What kind of apples would be in it….? Now I am not a complete ass. I didn’t bake an apple pie and bring it anyway. No… I baked an apple pie and left it at home for us to eat with turkey, stuffing, and ham leftovers.

Because I have this pie problem, I also have a pie basket made by a sweet amish woman that signed the bottom. It holds two pies nice and snug. I may have a problem…

It is the time of year that the evenings are fantastic in SoCal for grilling and eating outside. After way too long of a wait after our move, I finally got the Grozny pizza oven up and running and we have been having Saturday night pizza parties with friends.

The oven burns propane or wood, but I have mostly been running it on propane to make everything from Margarita, to Chèvre Miel (French creme fresh base, goat cheese, and honey drizzle) to pepperoni, to Hawaiian, and even Banana/Nutella desert pizza! Chicago style sourdough crust and all baked for ~90 seconds at 950F

In early 2023, Dr. Ross Brown and I started talking about a “Grand Whisky Tour of Scotland”.  Though it started as a “we ought to…” and quickly progressed to a “we need to” discussion.  We both love Scotch Whisky, Ross had never been to Europe and Scotland is a gentler introduction to the other side of the Atlantic than France or Germany, and as I am of Scottish descent (~55% according to family lore and 23&Me: Duncan, MacHam, and Baird) I will take any opportunity to roam the hills, glens, shore, and consume Aqua Vitae at the source.

It took us a year and a half to align schedules, buy airline tickets, research distilleries and Scotch, obsess over logistics, and pour over maps.  Multiple guide books were bought and devoured for general itineraries, historic sites, and “cant miss” spots on the map. 

Both of our work schedules were nuts and the days and nights leading up to the trip were crazy busy dealing with the daily details that would allow us to check out of everyday life for a short stint.  On September 11, 2024 we left the US for a 10 day tour of Caledonia!  

The itinerary was shuffled on day two and we were met with blue skies and perfect weather every day that were tour Scotland, with the exception of one drizzly morning and afternoon.  We drove our huge RV on tiny roads through Edinburgh, Sterling, Speyside, the north coast, Inverness, Loch Ness, the Highlands, the Isle of Skye, and Glencoe – sampling Uisge-beatha na h-Alba the entire way.  

I can be the quintessential tourist, with multiple cameras slung about my neck and in my pockets, whipping out a light meter, or setting up the “perfect” shot. I am aware of how annoying this can be for the people with me, so I limited myself to one 35mm camera, one lens, my iPhone, and a GoPro.  I brought rolls of slide file and 400-3200 ISO/ASA B&W film to document our travels.  Ross, to his credit, was so patient and didn’t complain even once when the camera came out or when I had to swap film constantly.  

We have been adventuring and traveling together for over 20 years and get each others strengths, challenges, and quirks.  We had a blast taking turns driving and navigation and, our RV laughing for 850 miles of some of the best Scotland had to offer.

A fine trip, fine company. stunning scenery. great whisky, and memories that will last a life time.  We also brought back more than a few bottles of scotch – all stuff that you can only get at the distilleries.  Five bottles came home with me, all carefully packed and padded.  I picked up one bottle of Glenturret especially for my son, who is coming to appreciate Scotch.  I try to help foster an appreciation of the good stuff.    

To say ‘thank you’ for letting me be a camera nut, I made a 50 page photo book from the shared album of both of our pictures after we got home.  Thick paper, matte finish, and hardcover.  Not cheap, but worth it as a memory of the trip and experience. I made it online with Mixbook after doing a couple evening of research.  I don’t have a discount code or get anything from sharing who I used.  I think that I am going to start doing a yearly “best iPhone photo dump as well. So that I have a physical copy of the 1TB of photos that live rent free on my phone.

We live in California, therefore we should go to the beach! I had an afternoon off an instead of doing adulting related things at home, we loaded up and headed for the sand.

The van is great for weekends and weeks on the road, but it EXCELS at day trips! Load it up with founders, coolers, snacks, toys, and gear and Glamp the day away. WE chose Dana Point, because you can drive right up to the sand, the fire pits are usually open, and it is 40 minutes from the house (if no traffic).

We spent hours playing in the sand, relaxing, walking the Surfline, finding the best rocks, building sand castles, and making Godzilla noises as they can crashing down…

Logan LOVED it all! The beach was a big hit!

Laurel, Logan, and I went to the Orange County Zoo and the Irvine Regional Park Pumpkin Patch this past Sunday. It was nice to be home after so much travel and the weather was perfect! Logan had a big time! Laurel got soft serve ice cream, and I played cameraman.

Mornings in Fullerton involve coffee, nest making, Blippie on the TV, and a pile of the three ladies that are my life: Laurel, Logan, and Truffle.  This is the routine.  

I was having a little bit of a hard day yesterday (Sunday).  I miss my son.  I want to hang out with him and just do dad stuff, but he is grown and lives 3000 miles away.  I sent him a note and tried to call, but he was tied up. 

To take my mind off it, I did some work in the yard, swapped a battery in the van, and went for a long walk with Logan.  We then played and read books until nap time.  We napped and I shot a picture of her snuggling that made me tear up.  I love her!

Carlton texted me back that afternoon and we talked on the phone.  Hearing his voice, laughing together, and spending time with Logan made my heart a little less heavy.  I am looking forward to Christmas when I will have them both under my roof – at least for a little while.

2024 was my second year at Makercamp and again, it did not disappoint.  It was a great time, I got to see blacksmiths, carpenters, printers, fabricators, photographers, YouTubers, and makers that I know as well as meet a bunch of new folks.  I bought a few things, made a coffee scoop, riveted together a fish spatula, fixed an electrical issue on a resort-owned golf cart, snagged a few freebies, had my picture taken by the amazing Mark Adams, checked out some tooling that I would like to buy from Coal Iron Works, snagged some letterpress prints for my shop wall.  Drank a little too much one night, roasted marshmallows, danced a little, did not do any Karaoke, ate fantastic food, and drove around the Catskills on my final day there before flying to a series of off-site meetings for my day J-O-B.  

I want to do it next year with my wife and daughter (We will be Karaokeing!).  The rooms at the Blackthorn are rustic and that is being generous, so, I would love to rent an RV for the weekend and make a long trip of it!  My two ladies will be more comfortable that way.