I want to thank Jim and Arlene again for having Lisa and I down to Arizona. It was a really special experience for me and they were very accommodating while we were their guests. All in all it was the single most memorable vacation to date!

Now back to business though. I have been playing with startrails a little more lately and have had a few chances to get away from the city lights enough to have a good show. This was taken in Northern Scottsdale on a semi clear night. The exposure for this picture was a little bit more than an hour of time creating the streaking effect. I hope to go out either tonight or tomorrow and capture some more striking compositions with the stars in them in Credit River Township south of the cities. I would be staying with Brian and Liljana, friends of the family.

Merry Christmas to all of you and remember the holiday season is not about gifts or giving. It is about forgetting and forgiving all the bad and the worse that has happened and moving forward in life with the good human nature that we try to achieve.

All right.. I know I have been really bad at updating my blog lately but with good reason. I was on vacation in the wonderful state of Arizona. Lisa and I bought tickets a few months ago to fly down and stay with her aunt and uncle for 5 days. I was so excited coming to the end of finals week that was all I could think about. I am pretty sure that this vacation was well deserved. I am going to slowly update you with pictures and stories as I sort through all of the pictures. This is one for the archives though.

This picture was taken from the top of Squaw Peak in Phoenix Arizona. After an exhausting climb with Lisa to over 2800 ft above sea level we were greeted with this beautiful vista. I feel like this picture should go with a caption like on those motivational posters. Maybe I will publish one : ) Any who if you have any suggestions for this posters caption please email me and I will update accordingly. ( You can also leave a comment here if it is easier )