Beautiful Drive to Mt. Lemmon in Tucson AZ

If you want to get out of the valley and head to cooler weather, Mt. Lemmon in Tucson is a great option. We went today, and it is a beautiful drive. You go from 1000 feet above sea level to over 8000 feet above sea level, going through 3 different ecosystems. Supposedly there are mountain lions and bear, but we didn't see any.

The drive is amazing, with all sorts of places to pull off the road to take pictures, hike, picnic, or just enjoy the views. The rock formations are AMAZING, and the views are SPECTACULAR!! Here is a taste of what you can see.

Also the ski lift is open all year round so you can ride that to the top if you like. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Until next time, Happy Photography! :-)

Butterfly photos for possible tattoo

Alvin and I have been talking about getting tattoos for quite some time. We wanted it to mean something to us, we wanted to play a role in the design, and had to find an artist we thought would do a good job. We landed on an idea of incorporating our cameras, and some of our flower photographs. My brother bought me my first SLR camera, my Pentax K-1000 so that is what I chose to use, and made my tattoo a memorial tattoo with RIP SMH x 3 since my parents and brother all shared the same initials. Alvin used the same idea, only using his Nikon D-80 digital SLR instead of his original SLR. Several friends at work had tattoos and shared who their artists were, and we chose Keith Pulver from Alta Mesa Tattoo to do the work. It was a great experience and he did a fantastic job on both of us, mine in color and Alvin's in black and grey.

I have decided that I want to put something around the tattoo to incorporate more of my shoulder, so I have decided to have some 3-D butterflies added. Keith has since closed his shop, so I was in search of another artist and was told to check out Skin Deep Studios in Apache Junction. So last Saturday Alvin and I paid them a visit and were very impressed with the shop and the artists, so I am going in tomorrow and want to have some butterfly options to show him. Hence this post.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the pictures, and keep snapping, shooting and capturing all the memories and beauty around us!! :-)

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I have another blog called Emblemishments.  This is a term my loving husband gives to the embellishments I use in scrapbooking and paper crafts.  I know that this is a photography site, but I wanted to post a photograph, not taken by Alvin or I, but of a beautiful baby boy.  The reason this is so special, is that the blanket the baby is sleeping so peacefully on was made by me.  So forgive me for posting a photo that we did not take, but I couldn't resist.

Congratulations Mary and Aaron, on your beautiful bundle of joy.  Your lives will be changed for the better forever!

3x5 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

1st Birthday

Birthday parties are always lots of fun with friends, family, food and gifts.  This little guy was celebrating his 3rd, FIRST BIRTHDAY.

 This is the cool Birthday Shirt they got me to wear.  Pretty stylish for  a little dude

 This is my Dad, he's filling me in on all of the important details for the day.  Everybody says I look like him, and I guess that's a good thing, since Mom picked him, he must be really handsome!

 They gave me a lollipop to keep me busy while people were coming and things were getting started, these suckers are serious business!

 This is Mom, she is responsible for all of the cool Mickey Mouse decorations, she did a really good job.  Mickey is such a cool dude, I can't get enough of that mouse.

 This is Grandma, she's great, she carries me around and lets me drink out of those really big grownup cups, even though I'm probably not supposed to.  Grandma's are pretty good about letting little kids get away with stuff.

See, it's a Grandma thing!

 This is one of my buddies, I was trying to share my sucker with him, but he didn't really get what I was trying to do.

 This is one of my Uncles, he is really cool, he plays with me a lot.  I really like the facial hair, can't wait until I'm old enough to do something cool like that!

 Sharing my sucker with Dad, he loves when I share.  

 This is Uncle Travis.  He is always carrying me around, doing fun stuff.  We do this "raise the roof thing"  "Who's ONE!!"  We always look cool.

 Uncle Travis is strong, here he is with me and my friend, we hang out and play most days.  Mom takes care of both of us during the day while Dad goes to work.

 Here is my friend showing off his cool style, with the glasses from our birthday gift bag.  I call him "The Professor" in this picture.

 This is another friend at the party, for a girl, she is pretty cool. She is pretty tough and doesn't let me get away with anything.  She goes along with everything.  Pretty cool tattoo on her cheek!

More friends

Can you tell who my big brother is?  Pretty cool Mom, matching outfits!

 So now we get down to business.  Since I am 1 year old.  I get a whole cake to myself.  Once again, Mom did great with the Mickey thing!! MICKEY ROCKS!

 At first I was trying to be careful, taking my time and trying to not make tooooo much of a mess.

But I love me some Birthday cake, and after all, it is my day!

 Dad got into the action too.

 Hey everybody, look at me, I'm the birthday boy!!

 Uncle Travis...."WHO's ONE!!!"

 Here, have some of my cake.

Dad, this is AMAZING, you usually don't let me play with my food!

And look, at the end of the day, no evidence!!! It's amazing what a quick shower will do.

If this is what Birthday's are like, I think I'm going to love this "being a kid" thing.  Thanks, Mom and Dad and everyone else who made by first Birthday Sooooo Special.

How cool is this shot, black and white and color, this photographer has some cool moves.


Until next time, 
Happy Photography!

Historic Tempe

As a Trainer, before graduation, I take each class out of the office to find some places to take pictures that will then be used for a Graduation Powerpoint presentation.  It is a nice way to finish off a training class, and lots of fun for the folks in class.  With my last class, we walked to Tempe Town Lake, and went by a few of the historical buildings in Tempe.  Here are some of the shots.  

Hayden Flour Mill

 I had some fun with the editing, hope you like them, 

Happy Photography!