Julia's Second Nose Work Trial

Over the weekend I received more videos from the National Association of Canine Scent Work vaults. This was Julia’s second trial at 2 years old. The trial took place on January 29, 2012, in Los Alamitos, California. Her total time was 9:08.75, zero faults for a score of 100 which earned Julia her NW2 title.

We didn’t set any speed records but it’s great seeing these old videos. NW2 at that time consisted of 2 interior searches (which only one video was found) and one search of Container, Exterior & Vehicles. There were 1 or 2 hides per search area and the number of hides was known. A long time ago.

Julia's First Nose Work Trial

These are old videos that I just obtained from the National Association of Canine Scent Work of Julia’s first-ever trial. The trial was held on August 21, 2011, in San Pedro, California. Julia was not even 2 years old yet.

For our first trial, we did pretty well. We got hung up on the exterior but we eventually got it. Her total time was 5:37.31, zero faults for a score of 100 which earned Julia her first title.

Julia & Scott 2011.jpeg

Intentional Camera Movement Photography - Revisited

Back in 2016, I started experimenting with intentional camera movement photography or ICM. You can read the original post here. I wanted to briefly revisit the subject and share a few of my favorite new images.

As I mentioned in my first blog post, the idea of intentional camera movement photography is to introduce blur into the photograph using a slow shutter speed. Shutter speed should be somewhere between 1/4 of a second up to a few seconds while moving the camera vertically or horizontally. This technique can create some wonderful abstract photos.

Tip - When pressing the shutter button, move the camera slow for a shot and then try it faster. Results vary tremendously, so experiment, try different shutter speeds, and move the camera at a slower or quicker motion. This is a total trial and error process. Have fun!

Now more than ever, I find intentional camera movement photography a super-fun way to try new things with no rules. Most times, multiple images are required to achieve “the shot” that I’m looking for, but it’s all worth it.

California Pacific Ocean Abstract - 2.4 seconds at F10

Florida Seascape Abstract - 0.5 seconds at F36

California Excursion

After nearly 3 years living in Florida, I was finally able to make it back for a quick excursion to California. A place I called home for 26 years and found that I still miss it like crazy. It's such a melting pot of people, excellent food, cool places, and scenic landscapes. The journey was way overdue and it was great to see old friends too.

California's Highway 1 - Central Coast

California's Highway 1 - Central Coast

I visited several familiar places in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Cambria, San Simeon and Big Sur.  I also checked out a few places that I had either wanted to see or haven't even heard of.

While in San Simeon I've always wanted to see Piedras Blancas Light Station up close and never had the chance. Tours are available on certain days. I also went to the amazing Montana De Oro State Park. Go, both are totally worth it! My only regret is that I wasn't able to visit either at sunrise or sunset. Plans just didn't pan out.

Below are just a few of the photos during my trek. I'll be visiting again sooner than later and it won't be 3 years this time. Hope you enjoy. 

More products and better selection at the Fine Art Photography & Ocean Art Print Store

Until now, I was only offering a handful of images as canvases, prints, and metal prints through my shop. I was getting requests that were challenging for me to self-fulfill plus the time it took to input things manually got to be a little too time-consuming. I thought I'd try something different...

I recently integrated the Fine Art America shopping experience with my online Fine Art Photography & Ocean Art Print Store.  Available now is a larger selection of photos and a wider variety of products to choose from such as framed prints, acrylic prints, wood prints, posters and greeting cards.

Sort by products, size, shape or check out the galleries. When you place an order, I'd like to know how your shopping experience was; how was check out, did the item arrive promptly, was it everything you had hoped for? Like I said I am trialing this and want to ensure my customers are happy. Go to the store.

Shop with confidence - If you're not happy with a purchase that you make for any reason, you can return it to us within 30 days of the order date less shipping charges.