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...

Stuck in Custom's Textures

I was finally able to find some time to play with Trey Ratcliff's textures from his Stuck in Customs web site. I had a blast playing, and can't wait to use some of his textures on some of my other photos.

Here is an example...For this photo of Kayla, I used three different textures, changed the blending mode on each, the opacity, and then masked out the textures on Kayla's skin...pretty cool, heh? The options are infinite...

The photo at the bottom is the before look...

We Got Ducks

Not often you see a basket of ducks for sale...

Lanterns in Hoi An

Hoi An is in central Vietnam near the coast, and was one of the few places not effected by the war...today it is a very quaint little fishing town with great restaurants and really old buildings...

Lets Have a Vietnam Week in Photos

Vietnam is one of my favorite places to take photos. I have had three trips to the country and have enjoyed every minute of each trip. The food, people and scenery is some of the best in Asia...a great place for photography. So, this week, along with some daily news, I will feature some of my favorite photos from Vietnam...

I got home late last night which is unusual for a Sunday night. The Java Jazz festival was this past weekend. I didn't even know it was in town until my neighbor (Who spends a lot of time with Kayla) asked me late Sunday afternoon if I wanted to go with him...he had an extra ticket. I jumped at the chance, and so happy I did. It was one of the best things I have ever done in Jakarta. The music was fantastic, and there were many famous jazz artists from all over the world playing. They had 16 stages...I stayed until 11:00, so watched jazz for a good seven hours, and could have stayed longer if I didn't have to work this morning.

I just got back from my softball game (we lost in extra innings), so I am one tired puppy tonight...

Two Dads and Two Little Girls

It was a day of rest for the Mommies...The Dads (Butch and I) took the long drive downtown to the local putt-putt golf course, gave the girls a couple of clubs and balls, and we were off to a wild adventure watching two three-year olds putt their balls around the 18-hole course. Quite the sight...

After a tough round of golf, the girls wanted to try their luck at fishing. They have little ponds around the golf course that you can fish. If you catch a fish, you must buy it...luckily, no fish were caught...but they had a good laugh trying...

The future LPGA golf champion ponders her next shot...