PEACE ON EARTH

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas holiday and a prosperous New Year!  Whatever your faith or feelings about religion are, I hope you can agree that one thing Christmas brings each year is the hope that mankind will enjoy Peace On Earth and Goodwill toward men.  In other words, let us once again try to get along with one another!  If we could, life on Earth could be like heaven.  Watch a moving slide show with music performed by The Casting Crowns.    Click : PEACE ON EARTH

ANDREA BOCELLI/THE LORD'S PRAYER

I have always tried to provide visitors to this blog a variety of musical selections that I feel are the best examples of every genre. This one is no exception. I'm a fan of Andrea Bocelli, one of the world's great tenors.  Watch and listen as he sings the Lord's Prayer with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Click HERE

MY BEAUTIFUL AMERICA

Here's a wonderful slide show with patriotic music that was sent to me recently.  With the 10th anniversary of 911, I guess love of our country is foremost in our minds these days. Please IGNORE all of the personal ads that might still be attached to this video.  Unfortunately, the creator of it didn't know when to leave a good thing alone and let it stand by itself.  However, the video does help us appreciate, in spite of all the disasters, politics and down economy issues, how lucky we are to be Americans. Click link:

RAFAEL MENDEZ-GREATEST TRUMPET PLAYER IN THE WORLD

For anyone who lived in the late fifties and sixties, watched the Ed Sullivan Show on tv or was fortunate as I to meet this musician and actually perform with him on stage, the name Rafael Mendez will not be new.  He was described many times as the greatest trumpet player in the world.  When I was in high school, I played the clarinet in the band and our band director played a record album of Mr. Mendez for us.  We were amazed that anyone could play as dramatically as he. His music was famous for its long, staccato-like runs and for notes held forever.   He was truly a virtuoso, a master.

As a kid, I was enthralled.  I knew I would have to go buy his records!  But our band director, Gus Jackson, had more in store for us.  He arranged for Mendez to perform with our band in concert before the general public one evening.  He explained that Rafael, a world-class concert performer, enjoyed traveling across the country performing with school bands to give them a taste of what it was like to perform in front of large audiences with well-known celebrity musicians.  Mr. Mendez never asked for payment.  We practiced long hours learning to play several songs and then again in rehearsals with Mr. Mendez.

The one thing I remember about the rehearsals is that the songs we had to learn were played at a very fast tempo, requiring band members to perform at a much higher level of skill than they could imagine. We were amazed that we were able to pull it off, however. I think Mr. Mendez had discovered a long time ago that young people only needed to be inspired and they can become capable of exceeding their expectations.  After the concert, we celebrated at a local restaurant called Michelle's (recently closed its doors)  famous for its ice cream sundaes and candy.  Rafael Mendez, of course, was there signing autographs.  I ran across some music videos of Mendez in various concerts, but I selected this one because I think it demonstrates Rafael's incredible ability.  The song is "La Virgen De La Macarena".   Click Link.

And while you're at it, you might as well listen to "Czardas" HERE TOO. A live concert!

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

The Recession is Having an Impact on Everyone ------------------------- My neighbor got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. CEO's are now playing miniature golf. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced. I saw a Mormon with only one wife. If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them. McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names. My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her! A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico . A picture is now only worth 200 words. When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room. The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

AUGUST VACATION PHOTOS

I just got back from a camping trip to the Ouray, Colorado area.  The weather was perfect-maybe too perfect!  How so, you ask?  Well, I went there to visit Yankee Boy Basin, Mineral Basin, and Molas Lake in Silverton to shoot some landscapes with my Nikon D5100.  For the most part, I was very pleased with the images I obtained, but was hoping for at least some clouds at sunset to color up after sundown.  Unfortunately, there were no clouds!

I did manage to get some good shots at Molas Lake regardless, such as this one with just the Grenadier Mountains lit up in the background and wildflowers in the foreground that I flashed.

While in the Silverton area, I visited Maggie Gulch northeast of town and took some photos of a waterfall cascading off a mountain. Here's a closeup I took of the lower falls. (I liked the colors in the rock):

One of my goals this trip was to experiment with starscape photography.  I've never tried this before and learned a lot about the procedure.  Of course, this requires a tripod and a long exposure.  I took the following image pointing the camera skyward between some pine trees and used my flash to light the tree branches to add some light and depth to the image.  I set the ISO to 1000 and exposed on bulb for about 45 seconds. I also set my camera to noise reduction for high ISO.  (Click on all images for a larger view)

CAYLEE ANTHONY SONG - "SHE'S GOING PLACES"

I was browsing for music on the web this morning and ran across this new song dedicated to Caylee Anthony, the little girl whose mother has been in the news because of the circumstances surrounding Caylee's untimely death. I must warn you, the song is a tear-jerker.  I hope the proceeds from the song will somehow benefit a charity in her memory, but I don't know.  I've provided a link to the song, so you can hear it and get all the details HERE.

PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB VIDEO

You’re in the driver’s seat from start to finish, letting up on the gas only when there's a sharp turn and gearing down. Keep in mind that whenever the road straightens out a bit, Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima accelerates to about 130 mph! He is now the new record holder at 9 minutes 51.278 seconds in winning the Unlimited division of the 89th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.  


Believe me, this video has NOT been speeded up.  Check out the official timing report yourself with Google and then time the video.  And while you're watching, check out the sheer cliffs on the road's edge that surely make this one of the most dangerous races in the world.  Click here>>>  MONSTER

LINK TO MY WEBSITE GALLERY

As promised, I now have another website where anyone can view my photos in one place and select and order prints if they like!  You can link to it by clicking on "Michael Bluhm Photography" in the top right area of this page.  Of course, you can always come back to the blog, as there also is a link under "Pages" to this blog from there also.  It's set up so that when you go to the Images section, you can select a gallery by category and each photo will come up in a slide show that you can adjust the speed to.  The "Pages" icon will give you choices to select to travel around the site.  Hope you can visit the site soon!

NEW TOY

Hello again!  I'm excited about a new website I've been developing to sell prints of my images.  After working a long time with a purchased program that was difficult to use and had little or no support, I got fed up and started shopping around for a new company.  I found it! It's called Ifp3. You can learn more about it HERE.


Soon, you will be able to order prints after following a link from this site.  I still need to choose a shipping company, but I hope to have that in place as well as PayPal in about two weeks.  You'll be able to make comments and view slide shows of my galleries in near full-page view, listen to music while you do so, and even store favorite images in your own Light Box.  There also is a link back to this blog. I'll keep you posted!

I also purchased a new camera.  I had to wait about six weeks to get it in the mail, but I assume that was because it's a brand new camera from Nikon and is manufactured in Japan.  The combination of the earthquake, tsunami, and huge demand for the Nikon 
D5100 CMOS DSLR must have been the reason for the delay.  Besides having a high resolution sensor of 16.2 MP, it also has some features that are built in to the camera that provide some cool photos.  One of them is called Selective Color.  It can isolate one to three colors and leave everything else in black and white! I've uploaded a couple of examples here.











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NEW IMAGE LOGO!

I have just changed the image logo at the top of the page to one that is larger and more colorful.  It's the same subject: Molas Lake near Silverton, Colorado but taken later that day at sunset.  Yes, the sky was that pinkish color!  Let me know if you like it.

GLEEFULL

Did you watch Glee last night?  It was a repeat story about a temporary change in  leadership. Jane Lynch's character, Sue, temporarily takes over as McKinley's school principal and all hell breaks out! Gwyneth Palthrow plays Holly Holliday substituting for Mathew Morrison's character, Mr. Schuester as Glee Club Director of the New Directions when he got sick.  Palthrow displays true singing talent in her rendition of Forget You.  Listen to it here.

NEED YOU NOW/LADY ANTEBELLUM

I just had to upload the following music video!  I never get tired of listening to Lady Antebellum and their huge hit, Need You Now.  It's HERE.

WILL KYSELKA

                                          The Hokule'a


During my vacation to Hawaii, I was fortunate to visit the home of a well-known and respected non-native  Hawaiian.  He is Will Kyselka, 89, a trained geologist and retired associate professor from the University of Hawaii Curriculum Research and Development Group.  Will is also the author of several books on Hawaii and an expert in ocean navigation. He was instrumental in researching the possible non-instrument navigation methods of the ancient Polynesians in traveling from Tahiti to the Hawaiian Islands in large canoes.  


Mr. Kyselka and his wife Lee live in a lovely home in the hills above Honolulu.  Lee Kyselka is the long-time best friend of my sister in law Beverly's mother, Lois.  Will was gracious in gifting and signing a copy of his book, Ocean In Mind to Beverly, my brother Bob, and myself.  I'm anxious to read the book.


Mr. Kyselka's collaboration with Nainoa Thompson led to the round trip voyage of the Hokule'a to Tahiti from Hawaii and back in 1980, of which Will participated with his wife in an escort ship. Will Kyselka has also authored  Maui: How It Came To Be, The  Hawaiian  Sky, and North Star to Southern Cross.  If you would like to learn more, follow this link: http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/index/founder_and_teachers/will_kyselka.html

HAWAII 2011

Aloha!  I'm back from Oahu, Hawaii and have pretty much settled in to Colorado winter life again.  It has been a hard transition!  The 80+ degree weather was a welcome respite from the sub-freezing temperatures experienced in Colorado Springs just prior to my departure.  Now that I'm back, well, I guess Spring is is not too far off!

I promised to upload some photos, so here are a few.  Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline are close to the resort where I stayed. I caught some surfers on some beautiful waves but the biggest waves are in November through January. The sudsy creamy turquoise water was wonderful to behold. There were many dreamy sunsets.  I love the reflection they make off the water!  The first photo is from the Turtle Bay Resort; the second  is a surfer at Sunset Beach; and the third is a cropped photo of a couple enjoying Waimea Falls.

PERSONAL UPDATE: HAWAII

Greetings!  I just wanted to provide a personal note here.  I'll  be leaving for a 9-day vacation to Oahu, Hawaii starting this Saturday, the 12th.  This won't be the first time I've been there, but then again, the last time was for only 2 hours when our flight from Vietnam had to detour there from our destination of Tacoma, Washington. The west coast was fogged in and we had a short layover at Honolulu.  This was in 1969. Needless to say, it was great to be heading home after my tour was over.  That was a long time ago.


This time, I'll be joined by my brother Bob and his wife Beverly and we'll stay at the Turtle Bay Resort. I work at a resort in Colorado Springs so the rates are real good for employees. Turtle Bay is on the North Shore of Oahu where the giant waves of the Banzai Pipeline are created and where some of the world's best surfers go.  I'll do the usual tourist thing and see the sights worth seeing and will also try to come back with many photos of the area.  If I get any good ones, I'll post them here.