Flagstaff Daily Photo

Banner Photo

2010-09-22T09:43:00.001-07:00

This photo may seem familiar to you. It is also the banner photo I have been using for the last couple months. It is one of my favorite photos I've taken this summer. It was taken on Switzer Mesa during the height of the wild sunflowers at the end of the monsoon season.

Dwarf Delphinium

2010-09-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

A macro shot of a dwarf delphinium flower growing in our front yard. Dwarf delphinium do well here in Flagstaff since they can grow at high elevation and require little water.

Round and Round and Round and Round and........

2010-09-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

Flagstaff's only roundabout (that I know of) near my home. Soak it in. So exotic! ;-)

Trail in Black and White

2010-09-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

Switzer Mesa Trail near our house. The San Fran Peaks in the background. Trying my hand at black and white photography.

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Out In Force

2010-08-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

After the July and August monsoon rains, the wild sunflowers are out in force here in Flagstaff. This photo was taken near my house and the mountains in the background are, of course, the San Francisco peaks.

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The Peaks

2010-08-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Peaks, a volcanic mountain grouping that lies north of Flagstaff, Arizona.

From the Bridge

2010-08-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

A photo taken from the car while we were on our way back to Flagstaff from Sedona on June 24th,, 2010. The Schultz wildfire had decided to flare back up and was sending huge plumes of smoke into the air.

How to Grow Ice

2010-08-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

A macro shot of the ice plant in our front garden.

Brewing

2010-08-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I have mentioned it before on this blog, but my other major hobby (besides photography) is homebrewing beer. This photo was taken after a recent bottling session when I bottled my first batch of Empty Stomach Amber Ale (hence the "ESAA" on the bottle caps).

Creeping Thyme

2010-08-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Creeping Thyme in bloom in our front garden. A beautiful purple color, a common theme in our garden.

Hanging Out

2010-08-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

The ristra hanging next to our front door.

Missed Me

2010-08-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

A photo on Kachina Trail as my Irish setter, Curry, does a fly-by. Who doesn't love a good dog butt shot!?

Mountains and Flowers

2010-07-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Peaks during the monsoon season.

Pot o' Gold

2010-07-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the pot of gold was only 5 houses down from us this whole time! :-)

An early evening rainbow in Flagstaff during the Monsoon season.

Hen and Chicks

2010-07-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

A black and white photo of the hen and chicks plant that we recently planted in our front garden. I loved the contrast of leaves and figured it would make a good b/w photo. I think I was right! :-)

April Snowfall

2010-07-19T09:23:00.001-07:00

I guess these a little late in the coming, but these photos are from a late, late April snowfall (April 29th) here in Flagstaff. Early and mid-April had been beautiful, getting into the 60's during the day. My wife had already planted her annual hanging baskets and we had put out the deck furniture, then the snow came. None of it stayed for very long, but it was still weird to see it coming down this late in the Spring.....at least at this latitude.

Torch Lily

2010-07-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

A macro shot of one of my favorite plants in our garden, the Torch Lily (aka Red Hot Poker). They bloom between the beginning of June and mid July here in Flagstaff.

Schultz Pass Fire

2010-07-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Schultz Pass Fire as seen from FMC

The biggest news around Flagstaff in the last couple of weeks is the Schultz Pass wildfire. It started on June 20th and continued to burn for about 2 weeks. By now (July 7th) it's been completely contained by the hard work of over 800 fire fighters, but it ultimately burned over 13,000 acres of some of the most beautiful and heavily utilized national forest in Northern Arizona. The above photo was taken from the back parking lot at Flagstaff Medical Center on the day the fire started. I apologize for the quality, I took the photo with my cell phone. Below is a better quality image of the smoke plume as seen from my son's bedroom in our home. My wife took it.

The Schultz Pass Fire as seen from our house

Hiatus

2010-07-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, quite the hiatus I took. But bare with me, I have a good reason.

Five days after my last post, my son, Dane Alexander, was born. This was pretty unexpected since he was not due until Feb 24th, but arrived on Feb. 14th (Yes, that's Valentine's Day!). My wife did great and the delivery went smoothly. However, we were shocked to learn only minutes after his birth, that our son Dane has Down Syndrome. We never had any genetic testing done during the pregnancy, as we were not technically "at risk" for a Downs baby, and nothing about my wife's pregnancy suggested that anything was atypical about the baby inside her.

We were reeling after his birth. We knew little to nothing about Down Syndrome and didn't know what it meant for the future of our son or our family. To make matters worse, about 12 hrs after he was born, he was admitted to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). With my wife and I both working in healthcare, we knew the gravity of what that meant. Dane was having trouble keeping his blood oxygen level up and refused to feed from my wife or a bottle. We found out later that this was caused by a number of things, most of which were not related to the DS and could happen to any baby born at 7000 ft above sea level. Over the next several days, Dane displayed problems eating, most of which were a result of his low blood O2, which made him extremely fatigued and too weak to eat the amount of calories he needed.

Without going into too many details of his condition while in the NICU, he was neither the healthiest nor the least healthy baby in the unit. After about 10 days he promptly "turned a corner", decided he wanted to eat and most of the problems keeping him in the NICU disappeared and we were able to bring him home 17 days after we was born. He was still on oxygen for a couple weeks after that, but each day he got stronger and more active.

The above photo is one of my favorites of him. My wife took it, so I can't take credit, but I wanted to share it with you. He is now about 4.5 months old and doing GREAT! He is small for his age, but when measured on an adjusted DS growth chart, he is doing well.

So this is why it's been so long since I have posted a photo. I hope to get back to posting regularly again. It is summer in Flagstaff right now, and the land is beautiful. I may not post every day as the title of the blog suggests, but I will do my best to post as frequently as I can. I realize I have probably lost most of the my regular visitors, but for those of you who find your way back here (or arrive for the first time), I hope you will be patient and check back from time to time to see how my blog is going. Thanks so much and I hope everyone is having a great summer.

Texture

2010-02-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

I had to include this macro shot of a blanket I crocheted for our soon-to-arrive bundle of joy. I like the texture and variety of color in the photo.

I think it came out pretty well considering it's the first thing I've tried crocheting in 5 years. The wife liked it, anyway. :-)

Flagstaff's Snowpocalypse

2010-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Flagstaff got socked by a massive, 6-day snow storm. The second biggest in its history. We got approximately 55 inches of snow from Monday to Saturday. I heard the Snowbowl ski area got from 6-8 feet. For several of the days, most of the town just had to shut down (except the hospital, of course, so guess who still got to go to work!). Anyway, since I was at work once the sun finally came out, these photos were taken by my wife, Becky.

2010-01-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

This is our Irish Setter, Curry. She has the weirdest hair I've ever seen on a dog. I had to share this photo even though it's not exactly "of Flagstaff".

Backyard Startrails

2010-01-10T06:49:00.001-08:00

Backyard Startrails, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

Another attempt at startrails. This photo was taken from my backyard. I really want to try to get out of town and into The Dark to get some good, clear startrails. Maybe when it gets warmer. :-)

8 Month Mark

2010-01-04T15:59:00.001-08:00

8 Month Mark, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

My wife, Becky, is at about 8 months pregnant and, after a recent snowfall, I figured the snowy backyard would make for a good background for a silhouette photo. She is due February 24th...THAT'S NEXT MONTH!! I can't believe it! It's gone so fast.

Hot Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T07:10:00.000-08:00

"There's nothing like a cold beer on a hot Christmas morning." -Home Simpson

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Mount Elden At Sunset

2009-12-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

Mount Elden (right) and some of the San Francisco Peaks (left) as seen from our front bedroom after a storm that dumped 2 ft of snow on Flagstaff.

As is probably pretty obvious, it is the new header for the photoblog, too.

Curry By The Tree

2009-12-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

Our Irish Setter, Curry, sleeping near the Christmas tree. She's grown since last year....check out this photo:

Curry Last Year

She must have been really deep in sleep since this photo is a 30 sec exposure and she didn't move at all during it!

Curry watching birds

2009-12-20T16:51:00.001-08:00

Curry watching birds 6909, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

Our Irish Setter, Curry, watching the birds at the feeder during an early winter snowstorm

Courtesy of the Little Woman

2009-11-24T07:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone. Even though I didn't take this photo, I had to post it. My wife took it a few weeks ago from our backyard. One of Arizona's famous sunsets. Unfortunately, I was at work at the time and missed the whole thing. Thankfully, she snapped several photos to share with me later.

Watching

2009-11-23T11:14:00.001-08:00

Our Irish Setter, Curry, scoping out the backyard from the newly constructed steps on our deck. My wife watches in the background.

Sunflower

2009-09-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks. Just had to include a shot of the ubiquitous wild sunflower. Enjoy.

Hops

2009-08-28T20:14:00.001-07:00

As some of you may know I brew my own beer. And since store-bought hops are so expensive, I thought I would try my hand at growing my own. This photo is of my hops plant. The small, green cones are the hops flowers and are what are added to beer to give it it's bitter taste and floral aroma. My hops plant is of the Cascade variety.

View

2009-08-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken during a hike on Humphreys Peak Trail. We were taking a break in this open area where you could practically see the Grand Canyon. I believe the peak in the distance is Kendrick Peak. The red blob next to my wife is our dog Curry, an Irish Setter.

Good Measure

2009-08-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

OK, so here is one more macro wildflower shot, just for good measure. I'm about 95% sure it is a California Poppy, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

My Equipment

2009-08-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Just for those other photographers who may be curious, all of these macro shots were shot with my Canon Digital Rebel XTi with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 prime lens and a Canon Extension Tube EF12 II. I love the lens, it makes extremely clear photos and the extension tube really allows me to get close up.

Black & Yellow

2009-08-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here's another wildflower from my yard. The contrast of the black center and yellow petals really caught my eye.

Wildflower

2009-08-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the flood of macro photos of flowers lately, but it is "wildflower season" in Northern Arizona right now, so I'm gettin' out while the gettin's good. Here's another wildflower macro that I took in my yard. I'm not sure what kind it is, so if anyone knows please let me know. Thanks and Happy Summer to everyone!

EDIT: I was searching the website for a local nursery (Flagstaff Native Plants and Seeds) and I just happened upon the name of this flower.I'm pretty sure it's called a Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella).

New Mexican Vervain

2009-08-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

I went backpacking recently and found this little guy on my way down the trail. Not sure the kind of flower, but the purple really caught my eye.

EDIT: I was searching the website for a local nursery (Flagstaff Native Plants and Seeds) and I just happened upon the name of this flower. It's called New Mexican Vervain.

Beautiful Weed

2009-08-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted last. Sorry about that, everyone. It's been a busy summer, but that's no excuse. Here's a macro shot I took recently of a thistle in our backyard. Weeds can be beautiful at times.

Give Me a Hug

2009-06-23T09:30:00.001-07:00

Backyard Prickly Pear6127a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

A macro shot of a prickly pear cactus in our backyard.

Ice plant 6109a

2009-06-20T19:23:00.001-07:00

Ice plant 6109a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

The blooming pink flowers from our Ice Plant in our front garden.

Red Hot Poker 6087a

2009-06-18T13:31:00.001-07:00

Red Hot Poker 6087a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

A newly planted Red Hot Poker plant (a.k.a. Torch Lilly) from our garden

Hunt n' Peck

2009-06-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

A bee hunts for pollen on a lupine flower near Veit Springs Trail.

Just Starting

2009-06-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

A fern stem just starting to unfurl. Photo taken on Veit Springs Trail near Flagstaff, AZ.

On The Trail

2009-06-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

My Irish Setter, Curry, on Veit Springs Trail near Flagstaff.

Elements of Life

2009-06-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Some elements of a relaxing evening in Flagstaff. ;-)

FYI: the beer in the background is the superb Fat Tire Amber Ale produced by the New Belgium Brewing Company.

Ice Plant

2009-05-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

I love how this macro shot turned out. It is a close-up of an Ice Plant, which we transplanted from a friend's house. They fell in love with this little, unassuming plant during a trip to Mexico.

It is a succulent that thrives in hot, dry areas and works well in landscaping as a groundncover. Ours is starting to bloom with small, magenta colored flowers. I love the texture of the "leaves" in this photo, as well as the swirl of the flower bud just starting to grow.

Landscaping

2009-05-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have made it our mission to do some major landscaping this summer. One of our smaller projects is putting in a "border" along the side of the driveway. We wanted plants that were low maintenance, required little water once established, and could handle having 4+ feet of snow piled on them during the winter. And it sounds like these three types of plants fit the bill perfectly.

From bottom to top they are: bronze carpet stonecrop, variegated stonecrop and Elijah Blue grass.

A Rose By Any Other Name.......

2009-05-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

A macro shot of a pink rose.

Little One

2009-04-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

An HDR image of a little cactus I found when we pulled over off of Schnebly Hill Road.

Over the Hill

2009-04-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Peaks seen from Schnebly Hill Road, south of Flagstaff.

April's Arizona Theme Day

2009-04-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

The 15th of every month is Arizona Theme Day, and this month's theme is "Doors". So this is my contribution. I guess technically it's not a door, per se, but rather where a door used to be, but I think it will work. It was taken in an alley in historic downtown Flagstaff. I upped the contrast on this one to get the texture from the rock. I hope you all like it and happy theme day.

Check out the photography of the other Arizona photobloggers who take part in theme day:

Julie (Scottsdale) - http://www.scottsdaledailyphoto.com/
Pat (Chandler) - http://chandlerarizonausa.blogspot.com/
Angie (Tempe) – http://tempearizonadailyphoto.blogspot.com/
Sharon (Phoenix) – http://phxdp.blogspot.com/
Melinda (Chandler) – http://chandlerdailyphoto.blogspot.com/
Judy (Prescott) - http://prescottareadailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Just When You Think......

2009-04-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Just when you think that Winter is over and Summer is quickly approaching, you get 2 inches of the white stuff. D'oh!! This was the view out of master bedroom on the morning of April 3rd.

The temperatures had been pretty consistently warm for the last few weeks and then BAM! Mother Nature gets in one last uppercut. Gee, thanks.

Oh well, it had all melted by the end of the day.

Lag Time

2009-04-02T16:34:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry for the recent lack of posts here. I've been pretty busy with outside projects, homebrewing beer and having a nasty head cold (right now). But just to make everyone feel that their life isn't really that bad, here is a photo of what I woke up to this morning:

a whole roll of paper towels

the jade plant is no more.

It took our puppy, Curry, no more than 45 minutes to do that, from the time my wife left for work to the time I got up. Very efficient animal...I just wish she would be efficient at NOT destroying my house for a change.

Pink Sunset

2009-03-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

I love Arizona sunsets. I may be a little biased, but I think they are some of the most beautiful in the world. We are lucky enough to have a backyard that faces almost due west, which makes for some great sunset viewing. I captured this photo a few days ago, which the sky had a great pink hue to it. The silhouette of the tree on the right helped to balance the photo's composition.

Growing Up

2009-03-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

Our Irish Setter puppy named Curry, while hiking on the trail with me. She just had her 6 month birthday and she is on the way to saying goodbye to her "puppyhood".

Here's what she looked like the day we got her at 11 weeks old.

Wupatki Ruins with Moon

2009-03-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

This months theme for Arizona Daily Photo is "Old Arizona", so I thought this photo of a reconstructed wall at Wupatki National Monument would be a good example.

Once consisting of about 100 rooms, Wupatki Pueblo was probably home to 85-100 people, one of the largest settlements in the area. Today evidence of ball courts and ceremonial structures can still be found here.

Photographically speaking, I really like the composition and the angle of light, but I think I went a little crazy with the color saturation in trying to bring out the red of the rock and the blue of the sky. I still like it thought. Check out the photos by these other Arizona Blogger who take part in theme day with me:

Julie(Scottsdale) - http://www.scottsdaledailyphoto.com/
Pat(Chandler) - http://chandlerarizonausa.blogspot.com/
Angie(Tempe) – http://tempearizonadailyphoto.blogspot.com/
Sharon(Phoenix) – http://phxdp.blogspot.com/
Melinda(Chandler) – http://chandlerdailyphoto.blogspot.com/
Judy(Prescott) - http://prescottareadailyphoto.blogspot.com/
Stephanie(Scottsdale) - http://seeingscottsdale.blogspot.com/

Out of Rock

2009-03-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

During a hike on McMillan Mesa the other day, I found this cactus growing out of the rock. Although a couple kinds of cactus do grow in Flagstaff, they usually don't do very well. However, this little guy seems to be thriving.

Morning

2009-03-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Matthew Dutile, a fellow photographer that I have as a contact on Flickr.com, has gotten me interested in doing HDR photography again. This is one of my recent ones. It's a little subtle and not so tonemapped as this example, but I like it. It definitely represents a very important part of my life......coffee! :-) Yum!!

Here's a link to some of my other HDR photography.

Favorite

2009-03-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

I found this olive oil at World Market the other day and it is great on a salad with a little bit of salt. They have 2 other kinds, one from Greece and one from Italy. I plan on doing a little side-by-side taste test to see which I like best. My friend Cesar, from Spain, would be happy I chose this one to try first.

Better Days

2009-03-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

I think this prickly pear cactus has seen better days. I found it on Oldham Trail, just off of Buffalo Park. Hopefully, a little water and a little summer heat will bring it back to life.

Trotting

2009-03-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

Our Irish Setter, Curry, on Oldham Trail near Buffalo Park in Flagstaff. Though the snow hadn't completely melted, the trail was mostly clear, and good enough to get a nice hike in. Mount Elden
can be seen in the background.

Spring

2009-03-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Spring is in the air.....and coming out of the ground! It's been in the high 60's the last week or so, and I have been enjoying every second of it. Did some yard work and began the first steps of building a veggie garden. I see vegetable macros in my future.

Ubiquitous

2009-02-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

I know I have posted photos of the San Francisco Peaks about a million times, but I just never get tire of their beauty. Besides they are pretty much synonymous with Flagstaff! I hope you enjoy this simple photo I took from the end of our driveway last week after a heavy winter snowstorm.

Arizona Theme Day - Feb 15th Arizona Sunsets

2009-02-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

So I've gotten together with some of the other folks who have Arizona daily photoblogs and we have decided that we will all post a themed photo each month on the 15th. I was lucky enough to be chosen to decide what the first theme would be and I chose Arizona Sunsets. I would wager that Arizona has some of the most beautiful sunsets anywhere in the world, so I figured it might be a nice theme to kick this project off.

Anyway, above is my contribution. It was taken from my backyard here in Flagstaff. The sun sets almost directly behind my house and most nights we are treated to a beautifully colorful sky as the sun goes to bed. Please take a moment and visit the other Arizona daily photoblogs participating in this project. They are all very skill photographers in their own right.

Julie(Scottsdale) - http://www.scottsdaledailyphoto.com/

Pat(Chandler) - http://chandlerarizonausa.blogspot.com/

Angie(Tempe) – http://tempearizonadailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Sharon(Phoenix) – http://phxdp.blogspot.com/

Melinda(Chandler) – http://chandlerdailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Judy(Prescott) - http://prescottareadailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Stephanie(Scottsdale) - http://seeingscottsdale.blogspot.com/

Wind's Work

2009-02-13T07:42:00.000-08:00

We are new to our house, so we are still getting to know its little quirks. Something that seems to happen everyone time we get a heavy snow fall is that a huge snow drift forms over one of the front bedrooms. The wind whips over the house from the backyard to the front and blows the snow over the front edge of the house forming the drift. Here is a picture of the phenomenon after the last storm.

Mount Elden

2009-02-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

This is a view of Mount Elden from one of the front bedrooms in our house after a snowstorm that dropped over 20 inches of snow on us. I think the mountains around here are the most beautiful when covered in snow.

Sculpted.....kinda.

2009-02-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

Over the last three to four days we received somewhere around 20 inches of snow. Today the sun is out and some of the snow is melting off our roof and forming icicles. Notice how they are slightly bent to the left......that is from the wind that perpetually blows along that side of the house.

From the Bridge

2009-02-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

A view of the San Francisco Peaks and I-17 from a bridge south of Flagstaff.

San Fran Peaks

2009-02-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

I took this photo near the Museum of Northern Arizona last year. Unfortunately, they have since developed the open area in the foreground of this photo.

Scheurman Mnt Trail 5342a

2009-02-01T06:56:00.001-08:00

Scheurman Mnt Trail 5342a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

Here's another shot from our hike on Scheurman Mnt Trail in Sedona. The cactus in the foreground is a prickly pear cactus which produces a red fruit that can be made into preserves or a sweet syrup. My wife likes the Prickley Pear Martini from a local restaurant called Buster's.

Northface Nut Brown hops 5402

2009-01-28T09:57:00.001-08:00

A new hobby of mine is homebrewing beer. This photo is of the hop pellets I used to flavor my second batch of homebrew called Northface Nutbrown.

Mailbox 5407a

2009-01-27T12:12:00.001-08:00

Mailbox 5407a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

We got a couple of inches of snow last night here in Flagstaff. When I went to put our netflix movie in the mailbox there was still a small layer of snow on the box. Happy Winter!

Scheurman Mnt Trail 5331a

2009-01-26T09:55:00.001-08:00

Scheurman Mnt Trail 5331a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

Just a 40-minute drive from Flagstaff is a town called Sedona. Since it is almost 3,000 feet lower than Flagstaff, the environment is very different as you can see from this photo. It is a high desert landscape with drought-resistant, succulent plants with a gorgeous red sandstone background. On the right is the ubiquitous prickly pear cactus; on the left is a fibrous yucca plant; and just peaking around the corner in the upper left side is a juniper tree.

This photo was taken at the top of Scheurman Mountain on Scheurman Mountain Trail.

Over the Town

2009-01-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken from Mars Hill Road on the way up to the Lowell Observatory. The city of Flagstaff can be seen on the right and Mount Elden on the left.

Little Sugarloaf Trail

2009-01-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken in Sedona, Arizona from Little Sugarloaf Trail. Even though it was around 65 degrees that day, there was still a thin layer of snow in the shadowy areas.

History Being Made

2009-01-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

Whether you agree with his politics or not, you have to admit today was an historic day for our nation. Personally, I look forward to the next four years of hope and eloquence.

Waiting

2009-01-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

This ponderosa pine tree, just one of millions surround Flagstaff, has stood for decades on McMillan Mesa in the center of town, just waiting for me to come along and capture it as the moon rose behind it.

Action Shot

2009-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

My wife and I (and our dog) love taking walks on one of Flagstaff's urban trails on McMillan Mesa. It has beautiful views of the San Francisco Peaks and, although it's right in the middle of town, you can't see any buildings or houses from the mesa, so you feel like you are in the wilderness. While on the walk, I caught this photo of my wife "exercising" our Irish setter puppy Curry.

Annual Pine Cone Drop

2009-01-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

Every New Years Eve, in Flagstaff, there is the Annual Pine Cone Drop that occurs in the downtown area of Flagstaff. For several weeks before December 31st, a large stylized pine cone hangs from the Weatherford Hotel over the intersection of Aspen and Leroux. Like the ball in Times Square, the giant pine cone drops to street level during the countdown to Midnight. Although we missed the countdown this year, the pine cone was still hanging when we took a stroll downtown several days after the ringing in of the New Year. A jet happened to be passing the background when I took this photo, and I think it helped balance the composition and made the image more interesting. What do you think?

One Car Width Only

2009-01-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

We got another 8 inches of snow here in Flagstaff over the last 2 days. The piles of snow on either side of our driveway are now about 6 feet tall. And to save my back I've only shoveled an area just wider than our car width, so we can get out.

Melt then Freeze

2008-12-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

Flagstaff is one of those places where, in the winter, it can be very cold at night (around 10 degrees) and then very warm during the day (even in the 50s). And this makes for a lot of melting and refreezing of snow and ice. The grill on our deck is situated under the overhang of our roof and as the snow on the roof melts it flows down on top of the grill and then freezes in the evening, making some interesting icicle formations.

From the Mesa

2008-12-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

The snow covered San Francisco Peaks as seen from McMillan Mesa after a recent snowstorm. My wife, Becky, gets credit for this photo. Unfortunately, I was at work during this beautifully clear day. Oh well.

Icicles on Icicles

2008-12-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

These large icicles formed on our icicle Christmas lights outside our front door.

Overhang

2008-12-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

About 4 feet of snow was hanging off the roof over our front door after a snowstorm last week. Even though it looked cool, it presented a bit of hazard for our mailman who delivers mail and packages to our front door from time to time, so I had to hang out the upstairs window and knock the snow off.

I hope everyone had a very happy and safe holiday season this year.

A Dusting 4777a

2008-12-24T10:06:00.001-08:00

A Dusting 4777a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

We received about 23 inches of snow over 3 days here in Flagstaff, last week. And now that we have just dug ourselves out, the weather channel says we are due for another 12". Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Lady, Are You Crazy?

2008-12-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

We got at least 15" of new snow yesterday in Flagstaff. I had the pleasure of shoveling our driveway for the first time. Ah, the joys of home ownership. Although I took this photo before the bulk of the snow had come down, Curry still didn't want to leave the deck to do her "business" with just an inch or two on the ground. Can you blame her though?!

'Tis the Season

2008-12-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

My wife is an avid baker, especially during the Holiday season. This is one of her first batches of the season, a delicious cookie called Caramel Cocoa Delights; they have a layer of caramel in the center of the cookie. Don't ask me how she got it in there, I just assume it's some kind of baking magic.

Squinty

2008-12-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Our Irish setter puppy, Curry, soaking up the morning sun; although from the look on her face and squinting of the eyes it may be a little too bright. :-)

Again, my wife, Becky, gets credit for this photo.

Cosmic

2008-12-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Another shot of the moon, Jupiter and Venus from last Monday night. A contrail from a jet can been seen in the upper right hand corner, reflecting the rays of the setting sun.

Watch Cat

2008-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our cat, Imara, keeping an eye on our Irish setter puppy, Curry, while she takes a nap.

My wife took this photo.

Brefkist

2008-12-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

A macro shot of the beginnings of my breakfast the other day: scrambled eggs with onion, green pepper, shredded cheddar cheese and green tomatillo salsa. Yummmmmm!!!!!

The Stars Align......kinda

2008-12-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

On Monday night, a unique cosmic event occurred. Venus and Jupiter, two of the brightest planets seen from Earth, appeared very close to the crescent moon in the night sky. In this photo, taken just after sunset, Venus can be seen below and to the right of the moon. Jupiter is the slightly less bright star above and to the right of Venus. I took this from my backyard facing southwest.

Long Exposure Twins

2008-12-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. Sorry for that. With the new puppy and the holidays coming, I haven't had a lot of extra time.

However, since it gets dark so early now, it has given me more time to experiment with long exposure photography. I took this photo a few days ago in our bedroom. For those shutterbugs out there, the EXIF info is as follows: exposure time=30 sec, aperture= 3.5, and ISO=400. I stood behind the chair for about 7 sec and sat in the chair for about 11 sec of the 30 sec exposure. I am working on reading about how to do startrail photography next, so if I get a good one I will share it. Enjoy the holidays!

Curry in Flagstaff

2008-11-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

OK, so I guess this photo isn't really Flagstaff-related, but I had to post it. Last week, my wife and I got our first dog, an Irish setter puppy named Curry, from a breeder in Denver. This photo was taken during her first full day living in Flagstaff, so I'll use that as my justification for posting it here. :-) She's a lot of responsibility, but totally and completely worth it. Here are some more photos of her if you are interested....

Shadow

2008-11-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

The sunset behind me caused my shadow to stretch out over this field of Autumn grass near Snowbowl Ski Area. The peak in the background is Humphreys Peak, the highest point in the state of Arizona.

Windy, Wild Hair

2008-11-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

On a windy hike a few weeks ago, I captured this shot of my wife with some wild, wind-blown hair. I like how the bokeh turned out on this one, in that her eye is in focus, but her ear is blurred out.

Sunset over Volcanos

2008-11-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

Another shot of the extinct volcanic field northwest of Flagstaff.

Into the Hills

2008-11-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

A trail near the Snowbowl Ski Area in Flagstaff. The hills and peaks in the background are actually an extinct volcanic field.

In the Grass

2008-11-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

My wife and I took a hike around sunset a few weeks ago on an unnamed trail near Snowbowl Ski Area. The light was just perfect to catch this shot of my wife walking through some Autumn grass.