Because 2009 was an odd-numbered year we headed to Californie for Thanksgiving. I love going south for Thanksgiving, because we always stay in San Francisco and always do something new, always stop at Amoeba on Haight Street and buy a wad of new music, always eat (and drink) well, and always have a grand time with Alex's truly fabulous family. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that every year we have gone, including 2009, the weather is always 70° and sunny.

This year was even better, Tille always makes our adventures something special. She is 100% game for anything and had a great time experiencing all of the new things. She is the best traveler and was excited the whole time, even on the plane (which she was sad to get off when we landed in Oakland).

We did some really cool things this time, like taking Tilia to the San Francisco Aquarium, and even stopped by the house in Oakland where the commune that Alex grew up in was located. We also spent a couple of days up in Sutter Creek at Alex's parent's house, which wasn't nearly as warm as the Bay Area but still sunny, and as peaceful and calming as it always is.

The photos are dispersed between San Francisco, San Rafael (where Alex's uncle lives) and Sutter Creek. If you have visited my site in the past you might see some familiar sights, especially my post from Christmas of 2008 in at Alex's parents, but hopefully you will enjoy these new views of familiar surroundings.

Our annual pilgrimage to Oregon was a couple of weeks back, and we had a blast! After a 5½ hour trip to Portland, which would've been a 3 hour trip if there hadn't been a nasty accident just north of Tacoma and rains south of Chehalis that gave us about 15 feet of visibility, we had a great night out on the town. Alex and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to get out even though Tillie was sleepy and not exactly in a stellar mood. But it turns out, and we had no idea, that Tilia is a natural party animal. Once we hit the lobby of our hotel she was ready to go, smiling and swaggering, and paint the town red.

The next day we ransacked Powell's and headed to the coast, which was fabulous. It was great to see Alex's parents and they were so excited to see Tillie. Even though we make this trip yearly in October the weather is always great, and this year was hardly an exception. There was high winds on the first day, and a lot of fog rolling in and out throughout our stay. But that only adds to the drama of my photos – I hope you enjoy!

On Friday the temperature reached 94° at our house. We have hit the hottest part of the summer, and I thought this was the best time to look back into the past, way back about seven months ago. Do you remember the winter from hell, cold and snows that we all thought would never end, the roads all iced over and being stranded inside our homes for days at a time?

Well, it wasn't all bad. It was actually kind-of nice. At least for a few days. Believe me, I was truly sick of the snow as winter wore on. And as spring approached and we were still getting snow flurries I wondered if we would miss summer altogether this year.

But we didn't and now we can look back fondly at those remote days and and ponder the completely abstract concepts of 'cold' and 'my car is stuck in that snow drift'. The city was an entirely different place back then, and I have the photographic evidence to prove it – have a look at this series I took along Lake Washington (generally in the Mount Baker area), Greenwood, and on my street. Enjoy.

After a long silence I am back with a new post. Fatherhood has been completely amazing, even beyond words. But it has kept me too busy to do much with my website, except for a few scattered blog meta-posts. I'm back for a quick one though, I have to get these California Christmas shots up before the season gets too late.

Alex grew up in Oakland until the age of nine. She spent the next nine years out in California's gold country, where her parents still live. They live on a few acres outside of the town Sutter Creek, and it is just beautiful there. And that's the subject of this set, all of the shots are taken in an area within about 300 yards of the house. I hope these photos can portray at least a little bit of the natural beauty that I found there.

I have noted which of the photos are infrared for those interested.

My new toy is a Hoya R72 infrared filter for my Nikon D50. It filters out nearly all light in the visible spectrum and allows light that is mostly in the infrared spectrum through to the camera's digital sensor. And it works very well – the only visible light I can see when looking through my D50's viewfinder is when I have it pointed at the sun. Even though this makes composition complete guesswork, the results are amazing.

Gibson and Ellen had their annual July birthday bash last weekend, and it gave me an excellent opportunity to test my new toy out. I am happy with the photos, and also surprised by some of the results. One of the strangest results I got was the photo of Amie and Elijah, posted below. Not only did Elijah's black Batman hat turn white, but Amie's sunglass lenses completely disappeared as if they had popped out. Have a look and the pics and enjoy!