Tournament of Roses - Spanish Riders

In addition to the floats and bands, there were many riding groups. I managed to capture a nice shot of a Mexican cowboy who had a lasso twirling around his horse for what seemed forever. He had a very ornate elaborate outfit as well. He was very skilled with his rope lasso.

Tournament of Roses - Animation

Most of the floats featured some form of animation. This particular float, called Barnyard Aces, sponsored by the City of Burbank, features a biplane that raised up and down, and did barrel rolls as well. The float also has a contrail of smoke behind the plane made of flowers that shows the plane has just flown through the barn and is shooting skyward.

Tournament of Roses - Mexican Dancers

This colorful float was sponsored by Mexico and featured many colorful dancers.

Tournament of Roses - Birds and Butterflies

This float sponsored by the City of Torrance featured many beautiful birds and butterflies gathered by a fountain where the "flowing water" was made of white orchids.

Tournament of Roses - Dragons

This float sponsored by a Taiwanese organization featured a beautiful dragon and a warrior prince.

Tournament of Roses - Hot Air Balloons

This float sponsored by the state of New Mexico featured hot air balloons that is the trademark festival of Albuquerque. There were also several Warner Bros cartoon characters on the float. This post is for my mom, who lives in Albuquerque. Hi Mom!

Tournament of Roses - Confetti for All

This is the last photo for this event. This float was actually at the beginning of the parade, but was taken from a completely different angle that I thought was a nice finishing look. As the float passed on behind us, it shot confetti with a bang high into the air. I turned around to see brightly backlit confetti floating in the air all around the float, along with swirling red flags, similarly backlit by the morning sun.
This was undoubtedly the best parade I have ever seen in person. The floats, bands, and other entries were all simply amazing. The weater was beautiful, and I could not believe how fast two and a half hours passed. Simply awesome!

Happy Holidays - Lighting of Sante Fe Square

I was able to get away from work to visit my mother this Thanksgiving in New Mexico. She took me on a wonderful trip to Sante Fe over the holiday weekend. We stayed at the beautiful La Fonda hotel on the town square and it was an opportune stroke of luck that the holiday lighting ceremony was the night we were staying in town. I took my Canon 50D and tripod out as dark set in and braved the huge crowds and very cold temperatures to do some nighttime shooting. I had a lot of fun and it was a magical time to behold. The trees were full of lights, and the sidewalks and buildings decorated with lighted luminaries. I finally called it a night when my fingers would no longer work anymore due to the cold night air. Taken at F 20, 25 seconds, ISO 100, 18mm on a 12-24mm Tokina lens.

Happy Holidays - Sante Fe Holiday Lights

Another shot of the town square. The La Fonda hotel where I stayed is on the corner to the right. At the end of the street is one of Sante Fe's old mission church buildings. Taken with 50d on tripod, F 22, 20 seconds, ISO 100, 24 mm .

Happy Holidays - Southern CA Style

Pictured here is the Christmas Tree at the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach framed by stately royal palms. Rhonda and I took a quick stroll through the mall prior to heading down to the harbor to watch the annual Holiday boat parade. Taken with Canon G10, F 3.2, 1/5 second, ISO 200.

Happy Holidays - Southern CA Style

A gigantic present at the foot of the Newport Beach tree. Of course, my wife thinks it is for her! Taken with G10, F 8.0, .8 second, ISO 200.

Happy Holidays - Southern CA Style

One of the big traditions along the harbors of the Southern CA coast is the holiday boat parade. And one of the biggest parades occurs in Newport Beach. Rhonda and I enjoyed this particular parade from the deck of one of our Coast Guard patrol boats stationed in the harbor. The parade was very enjoyable, and the participants really go crazy decorating their boats. Some boats were definitely over the top, a combination of Clark Griswold from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack. I particularly liked this sailboat, which had a simple but quite pleasing arrangement of holiday lights strong from their rigging.

Happy Holidays - Union Square

Last year we took a quick trip to San Francisco in the days leading up to Christmas. We stayed serveral blocks from Union Square, which really get decked out for the Christmas season. Here are a few photos I took while we were there. This photo features the Union Square Christmas tree, which must have been at least 100 feet tall, with some of the local stores and hotels lit up behind it. At the foot of the tree, was an outdoor ice skating rink. Taken with my Canon G10, F 2.8, 1/2 second.

Happy Holidays - Wreathes of Light Suspended From the Heavens!

One of the shopping malls on Market Street in San Francisco not far from Union Square featured a very large open air atrium with an amazing display of lighted holiday wreathes suspended from the domed ceiling. I thought it made an interesting picture as well as an amazing holiday scene! Taken with the Canon G10, F 8.0, .6 seconds.

Happy Holidays - San Francisco Elegance

I don't remember which hotel featured this dining hall, but it was quite an elegant sight to behold between the marble columns, ornate arched dome roof, stately chandliers and christmas tree. Not seen in this picture is the arched doorway to the dining hall guarded by two six foot tall nutcracker figures. Taken with the G10, F 2.8, 1/6 second.

Evening Rush on the Vincent Thomas

I decided I wanted a shot of the VT Bridge lit up with lights from traffic. After searching around for a while, I found a location with the right vantage point on a hill with the help of a zoom lens to get me closer to the action. Taken with my Canon 50D on a tripod, at F 20, 30 seconds, ISO 100, 90 mm.

Sea Lions in the Port

We often have sea lions making themselves at home on our Coast Guard boat docks at Terminal Island down in the port. I decided to take their picture one day while leaving work to head home. We have a raised pier next to some floating docks. The sea lions love the floating docks, and the raised pier makes for a close vantage point without getting too close. The sea lion photos were all taken handheld with the Canon 50D and 100-400 mm Tokina Telezoom lens. This closeup of the sea lions show them all bunched together like a log jam, growling and barking at each other inccessantly. Taken at F 5.6, 1/200 second, ISO 250, 160mm.

Sea lions in Love?

Sea lions in love? You decide...

A neat photo moment captured on film. Taken at F 6.3, 1/500 second, ISO 250, 280 mm.

What are YOU looking at?

They guys have a lot of character, and are not afraid to show it...

Taken at F 5.6, 1/125 second, ISO 250, 210 mm.

Do Sea Lions Dream?

Asleep at the Flipper? This sea lion was slowly gliding by effortlessly on the surface in what appeared to be blissful slumber, nearly motionless and not having a care in the world.

Taken at F 5.6, 1/200 second, ISO 250, 90 mm.