Thursday, January 21, 2010

Hey, Patrina! ... It's Still Raining In LA!



Here is a photo taken this afternoon during my drive from Los Angeles down to San Diego. Jealous? Well, perhaps you have wondered why most of the photos shown on NikonSniper are from clear weather days when you know the weather is lousy where I am.

The answer is simple. I shoot like crazy (2000-3000 on a weekend) when the weather is good and I post many of these shots throughout the week when it's pouring outside.

I just wanted you all to know that the sun doesn't always shine on my path.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

And The Winner IS ...



Contest In Celebration Of 2000 Followers of NikonSniper

The winner of the Western Digital 200GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive is Shelley of New Brunswick, Canada. You can visit her blogs at Shutterbug and Ink Scrawls.

Thank you to the 156 of you that entered the drawing! We will do this again in the future when we reach another milestone ... so stay in touch.

As always, I am really thankful for your kinds words and comments while I'm at home and on the road and I just wanted to say thanks with this giveaway. Thanks to all of you. I hope you continue to enjoy your time here. God bless!

NikonSniper Steve

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

So, What Is "Getting Tagged"?

OK, so I got tagged if that means anything to you. It seems that Concord Carpenter (a favorite of mine because he decided to get a new camera and take some classes) decided that I needed to go through the same exercise that he recently endured. This is called "getting tagged".

So, I had to call my daughter who is somewhere warm on a cruise ship (probably reading this near the pool) to find out what "getting tagged" meant. She assured me that it did not mean I had to stand in the batter's box while Yankees lefty CC Sabathia pelted me with baseballs. (Like WOW ... NikonSniper just got tagged in the head again!) Well, anyway, I learned that "getting tagged" (aka. "you're it") meant that I had to answer these questions and pick others for the same torture exercise after I finished. Well, I normally don't do this because I really don't have access to all those computer savvy skills and I lack the full command of the English language. BUT, I have decide to endure this now, once per year. So, this is it for this type of thingy for 2010.

Here's more than you want to know about NikonSniper Steve!

8 TV shows I watch on ocassions
Many of you already know that I do not own a television (I own cameras instead). So, … I see TV other ways if I have to or want to watch something.
1. my favorite show BY FAR is the NFL football season. I watch games at Braff Zackton's house (when he let's me in the door).
2. I also watch a bit of baseball at Braff's in October IF, and only IF a certain team from the Bronx is still in action. Sorry.

By accessing the world-wide (it's everywhere now) internet I have often enjoyed:
3. various News broadcasts that are not NBC
4. The Office
5. House
6. Friday Night Lights (Riggins is nearly my all-time favorite high school student).
7. Scrubs (though this show is nose-diving fast for me, I guess I prefer the early Dr. Cox).
8. Mercy

8 favorite places to eat and drink
1. home (especially Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day)
2. sometimes Olive Garden
3. sometimes Outback
4. sometimes Red Lobster
5. sometimes Dennys
6. sometimes Three Brothers (Woodstock, IL)
7. sometimes Angelo's (Woodstock, IL)
8. is it too late to get thrown out of an Applebee's

8 things I look forward to
1. heaven
2. being home
3. finally learning from my mistakes instead of repeating them
4. balancing life on my meds
5. spring
6. summer
7. real senior citizen discounts, not these cheesey pretend ones you get when you turn 50
8. acting like a complete nutball at all public events as soon as I'm 71 ... just to embarrass my whole family (I know they will pull the plug on me when it's time FOR SURE, I won't be getting an extra 10 minutes)

8 things I love about winter
1. my pills to help me deal with winter. Mmmmm, pills.
2. not having to go back to bed because I never left.
3. the sound of the doorbell or phone or Ky shoveling.
4. no mosquitoes (for sure Concord Carpenter).
5. photographing fresh snow as opposed to those gray-black salty pilars that sit in front of the house till the Cubs have lost 20 games.
6. sliding out of control through traffic lights. weeeeee!
7. going out for breakfast at 4pm.
8. not having to worry about skin cancer because the sun is gone so long. is it coming back?

8 things on my wish list
1. that my entire family knows Christ and His saving power.
2. that all of my remaining days are spent living fearless.
3. that I can bring attention to God via photography.
4. that I could lose weight by eating cashews.
5. that I could take the lifelong illness of my daughter from her and bear it upon my shoulders.
6. that I could have more nights with my wife on our patio.
7. that I could teach people how to improve their photography in places I have been.
8. that I could play the pipes!

8 things I am passionate about (not always in this order)
1. Wife & Family (excluding animals)
2. Friends
3. Photography
4. Football
5. Jazz
6. Travel
7. God (is kinda in everything)
8. Cher

8 things I have learned from the past
1. power tools require some level of skill
2. put your car into park before exiting the vehicle
3. don't assume you can still do what you did when you were eighteen
4. time never heals old hurts
5. fifty keys on a ring can break into anything with proper instruction
6. ... and so can a well-placed brick
7. you can joke all you want about scaring guys off from dating your daughters … but you're not in control, you never were
8. choose your battles, don't blow up over everything, unless Braff Zackton did it

8 things I want/need
1. family protection
2. laughter
3. three hots and a cot
4. nikonsniper tattoo
5. to stay crazy to the very end
6. australian retirement during winter months in usa
7. more Nikon lenses
8. jet skis

8 people I want to tag (I could pick about, hmmm, 2000 of you)
Don & Krise at Olympia Daily Photo
Elaine of Arctic View
Janine of Sniffles and Smiles
Bush Babe of the Crazy Wacko Land Down Under
Helen of Madcobug - My Everyday Life
Vivian at Snapshots
Gerry at Gerry's Place
Scott at World's Best Photography Blog

Sorry about that. It's kinda like jury duty. Have fun and let me know when your answers are blogged.

NikonSniper Steve