Mantas in Papua

These guys are BIG and majestic!!

My favorite animal to be underwater with...the gentle giants. Some of these guys are more than 4 meters across...

To get photos of these large animals, I had to be within inches of them with my
super-wide 10.5 mm lens. At times, the animals would just hover over me while I fought the ferocious currents to stay under them with my camera. It is not easy... my two strobe arms would be spread out as far as they would reach, with the current raging and tethered to the reef with a reef hook, one has to try and maintain buoyancy while holding the camera with one hand, maintain a good camera angle, and make sure bubbles don't get in the way of the shot...but the rewards of getting great shots of these guys are well worth the effort...

Underwater Week

For the past couple of days, I have been working on my new website. Today, I was working on my underwater photos, and trying to decide which ones to include on my new site.

I could actually have "underwater month" with the amount of underwater photos I have, but will try to feature in the blog this week a few of my favorites, and hopefully some that you have not seen before...

Another Surfer Girl Shot

I couldn't resist putting just one more photo of Kayla that I was playing with today...

Kitchen Installed

Ok, you are probably wondering what a Scarlett Macaw has anything to do with our new kitchen...

Well, nothing...
I just really liked this photo I took of this parrot while in Bali a few days ago.

Anyway, our kitchen was installed today and yesterday. It really looks nice, and Tika is happy. That is the important thing...Tika has her kitchen, and I have my office...

Here is a view of the house you probably have not seen before. The sky is really a rare thing in Jakarta...a beautiful day today, but HOT...

...and here is the kitchen...

Still need to get a new refrigerator, but that will come...

Sky Watch Friday

This is a new gig for me on this blog...

"Sky Watch Friday"

My fellow bloggers Sonia and Quint told me about it. Every Friday, a bunch of bloggers from around the world post a photo featuring the sky...

So, here is my first entry...now, I think I have to check out a hundred or so other blogs that also participate in this...

My Bali Surfer Girl

After checking out of the hotel, we took a walk down Kuta Beach. We usually don't go to Kuta Beach cause one is bombarded with people trying to sell you paintings, give you a massage, rent you a surf board, or do your nails for you, or put beads in your hair, or sell you a rolex watch, or give you a tattoo, or...well, just bug you as you try to have a peaceful walk down the beach...

We were shocked how we made it almost 15 minutes without one person bugging us...I was even able to snap several shots of Kayla by some surfboards without one person asking where I was from, if I wanted beads on my bald head, or if I wanted a taxi...

Our flight was one hour delayed...typical.

It took us three hours to drive from the airport in Jakarta to our house...welcome home...

My surfer girl...

Hangin' At The Pool

We spent most of the day yesterday in the car driving to Ubud in the rain...we had to run an errand for Mom and Dad...that mission was accomplished.

While in Ubud, I searched for the restaurant, "Nuris" which Tom had recommended to us saying they had great pork ribs...well, we couldn't find it, so we stopped to eat at Murni's. While eating, I told Tika that on our way out of Ubud, we would probably find Nuri's. Sure enough, just down the road from Murni's on the way out of Ubud, I spotted Nuri's....too late...I had a full stomach...I was tempted to just have a second lunch, but it was not to be...so Nuri's will have to wait until the next trip...

We did not want another day in the car, so today we just hung around the pool and got sunburned...

The Bali Safari Park

Today, we drove to the new Bali Safari Park. We got lost on the way there, but we eventually found it. The best part of the park was that there were hardly any people there...we pretty much had the park to ourselves.

The park itself was ok, but nothing spectacular...they had some white tigers which were pretty cool, but they were all too far away for me to get a decent photo, so I was stuck with a photo of an owl and some flowers, and of course, Kayla had to strike a pose as well in her new Bali dress...

Back to Bali

It has been a year since we were in Bali...usually we make it there a couple of times a year, but since we are building our house, the money for travel is limited. We got a good deal on plane tickets and our hotel, so we jumped on it and went...

Needless to say, it was a good time...

Our good friend, Tom Bartlett was at the same hotel, and he snapped this photo of Kayla and I...

This is my view from my pool chair...

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!

Since I got home at 3:00 in the morning this morning, we didn't do much today for Easter except catch up on some much needed sleep. We did go out to the house (see post below), but other than that, it was a laze around the house kind of day.

I did get to play around some more with the textures from Trey with a couple of photos I took of Kayla today...

See ya when we get back from Bali...

End of March House Update

Looks like we might possibly be moving into the house at the end of April. Things are progressing nicely. The privacy wall is being constructed below, the wood in the house continues to be finished, and more work was done on the master bath...

Looking good...

We do have some windows....all teak.

We are off to Bali in the morning...will be back on Friday...

Templer Park in Kuala Lumpur

Here are a couple of photos I took Friday morning of the golf course we played in Malaysia. The course is called, Templer Park, and it was really spectacular. The big rock you see below was seen from every hole, and it was really cool to see different views of the rock from each hole. What a great day of golf!!

Today, the King of Malaysia was playing the course when we arrived. Obviously, no-one else was allowed to play when the King was playing. When he finished, we were able to start the second day's matches. However, about 6 holes into the day, the rain came down in buckets, so the tournament came to a halt. Today's rounds did not count as kids were hitting off from both the 1st and 10th tees. The JIS boys won the tournament based on yesterday's scores. Our best kid shot a 76. Wow! Don't ask what I shot...I don't think I could tell you anyway....too many shots to keep count of...but, I still had a great day on this course!

...and here is a toast to Scott Muir from ISKL who organized the golf tournament!! He did an outstanding job, and all of us had a really great time!!

ISKL Invitational Golf

It was a great weekend of golf in Kuala Lumpur. The weather today was perfect, and we got an early morning start (got to the course when it was still dark). The course was spectacular to say the least, and the tournament was very well run and organized by our hosts, ISKL.

Here is the JIS team...

Here is our group...from left to right are Will (JIS), Mark (ISM), me, and Bob (ISB). We had a great time. Bob Connor, from Bangkok, was the only one of us that played well, but he did manage to pass on some pointers to us that helped our game. Thanks, Bob.

That's me hitting a pretty decent drive after trying one of Bob's teaching tips...

...Dad, this one is for you...

There are King Cobras on this course (and I am not talking about the clubs). Luckily, we didn't run into one, but I am sure they were lurking in the bushes...gotta be careful when hunting for a lost ball...

That is Scott Muir, who organized the tournament. He also took the photos above. ISKL was a wonderful host, and the golf and the tournament as a whole was just great.

At night, we cruised downtown for our team dinner. I sure wish I had brought my tri-pod, as the Petronas Towers were just amazing. There was a real low cloud cover, and the lights from the towers shined on the clouds above...it really was spectacular, but I couldn't get any photos as it was too dark to hand hold my camera....oh well, next time.

Krabi

One of the coolest things about Krabi, Thailand are all of the limestone cliffs that poke out from nowhere all over the place. I would be interested in knowing what formed these strange peaks....but they sure make for an interesting landscape...

I am off to Kuala Lumpur today...I will return on Saturday night, and will be sure to share some photos from the golf tournament...

Koh Samui

My attempt at glamour photography with Tika. You think I could be the next Sports Illustrated Swimsuit addition photographer? Now THAT would be the job!!

Both these photos were taken at the beach of Koh Samui...a great little island to vacation at in Thailand...Kayla was conceived here...maybe that was a bit more information than you really wanted, but hey, it's true...

I am off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. I have to be up and ready to go at 0515 in the morning...yuck! But, it will be a fun couple of days there playing golf. I will try to keep the blog updated while there. I already have my photos picked out for the next two days, and will bring them with me to KL, so that all I have to do is get to an internet cafe to upload.

Koh Phi Phi

Actually, the photo on top is from Phuket...the tide got so low, you could almost walk to that island across the bay...

The bottom photo is of Kho Phi Phi. Both Phuket and Kho Phi Phi were hit hard during the Tsunami of 2004. I heard a story of some divers that were underwater when the Tsunami hit, and all they felt was the surge of the wave....when they surfaced, they found Koh Phi Phi totally devastated. One of the safest places to be during a Tsunami is either out to sea, under the sea scuba diving, or of course, up on high land...

Thailand Week

Believe it or not, it is getting close to vacation time again. I only have to work three days this week, and then I am off to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days for some golf, and then back here in Jakarta on Saturday night. Then next Monday, off to Bali for 5 days with the family...

Not sure if I will be able to get to a computer to update the blog while in Malaysia, so will update when I return...and then there will be a 5-day dry spell while in Bali, but be rest assured, I will have plenty of photos to share when I get back from Bali.

The photo below is of Koh Phi Phi...one of my favorite places in Asia...check out that water...that is what it really looked like...unreal, yea?

Happy Birthday Meagan!!

Happy birthday to Meagan, who is the oldest of my two nieces. My sisters have a flock of boys, and only one girl each. Meagan is a lucky charm born on Saint Patrick's Day!! So Happy Saint Patrick's Day too!!

Thanks, Dad, for the photo....what a great shot!!

Focus 2008

After Brunch at the Shangri La, we were close to the Jakarta Convention Center, so we stopped in to see one of my photos displayed in The Light magazine's photo exhibition. Pretty cool. Untung, in charge of the exhibition, told us that another photographer had said that my photo and one other (behind the wall) was his favorite photo in the exhibition...

Always a nice thing to hear... I had trouble exiting the building as my head was to large...

Brunch Downtown

One of Tika's group of "Indonesian JIS Mom's" had a birthday today, and we were all invited downtown for a nice brunch at the Shangri La Hotel. Wow, what a spread, and what a brunch!! It was a very nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon gorging ourselves with great food...

Here is a shot of the Jakarta Sky Line as we exited Senayan...usually the skies are not blue in Jakarta, but it was a gorgeous day today in Jakarta...I took this shot through the front window of my car as I was driving...

Tika and I eating our first round of appetizers...we made many trips to the buffet line...

Here is Tika's wild group of Mom's...

...and this was our table of wild people...

The birthday girl is standing next to tika...

Last Day of Vietnam Week

So, here are three more photos from Vietnam. The top one is from the famous Halong Bay, the middle one is a little girl in Sapa, and the bottom one is a floating village in Halong Bay...

It rained most of the day today, and is still raining as I write this entry. I played golf early this morning, and started with a par. After I sunk the putt, I said, "getting a par on the first hole is always a bad sign"...sure enough, I followed that hole with three doubles, and my round just got worse from there. I guess that is what I deserve when I only play twice in two months...gotta get back into the game...

After golf, we took Kayla to see the movie, Horton Hears a Who which was one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books growing up...I think she liked it, but it may have been a bit over her head...

Sapa Kids

I got so wrapped up playing with the textures, I forgot to include a photo from Vietnam to continue with my "Vietnam Week"...so here is one from Sapa in Northern Vietnam (close to the China border). I also used a couple of textures on this photo. I am not too sure on this one though...I think the original actually looks better...

This is the original...