Let's Sing Auld Lang Syne and Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff

Well it's New Year's Eve and without surprise the elected officials have not created legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff yet.  It seems that the leaders of both parties are still reeling from the fact the end of the 13th Baktun brought a 14th Baktun not the end of days.  Which to Congress and the President's defense would have rendered all the hard work and compromise required to create something that avoided the fiscal cliff mute.  Really would you want to do all that work for no reason?  Anyway with 2013 and not the end of days staring us in the face, so here is my favorite photo of December, it was taken a couple days after Christmas in Snoqualmie.  What made this sort of fun was that my son wanted to come along and take pictures too.
Enjoy and Happy New Year
Dan

November Sun

Well November brought us lots of excitement and all, with the election and the start of the holiday season.  I mean, I was excited to know that we can get high at same sex marriages, all while the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House we tell us that they have a mandate to do nothing.  Again, as a believer in ineffective government, this last part isn't all bad.  However there should be some meaningful attempt to get something done, instead of hurmphing about acting frustrated that the other two players haven't just dropped their plans and gone with yours lock, stock and barrel. 
The other excitement in November was the three or four days it didn't rain.  Sprinkle in a draw down of Chester Morse Lake and you got low water at Rattlesnake Lake and nice sun and sunsets.  So, Rattlesnake Lake will be the feature for November.
Enjoy
Dan

Two Octobers

October was really a tail of two months this year.  There was the first half or so of the month, in which it was sunny and warm and then the second half which was cool and damp.  I didn't use the camera much during the cool and damp parts.  Tonight's photos are from the warm and dry part and highlight autumn in the valley.
Enjoy
Dan

 

The Best Month of the Year

September is what makes Seattle weather all worth while.  Most years September means warm days, cool nights and dry weather. It is really a close to perfect as it can get, when September disappoints the rest of the summer, no matter how warm or dry seems to have been a bust.  This September held special significance as it marked the first month of school for Quin and it marked the re-launch of the Rustedvan Photography idea.  The photos shown here highlight both events.  The photos that are not Quin's first day were taken with an Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL 35-100mm f/2.0 lens rented from Borrow Lenses, for the Rustedvan Photography Autumn Family Photo-Extravaganza.  Wow what a lens.
Enjoy
Dan 

August On My Mind

August was the first real month of stay at home, nothing to do unemployment, it was complete with visits from Quin's grandma and head colds for all.   It also included a bunch of fun family excursions.  It was also a bit bittersweet as it marked the last month before Quin started kindergarten.
Enjoy
Dan

Now To Distract You From the Cliff...July

July was a month of vacations for us, first Mexico and then Eastern Washington and Canada.  Tonight we'll show a couple of photos of Mexico and a couple photos of our Eastern Washington road trip.
Enjoy
Dan

 

Now June, Sorry July On Christmas

Well June was a interesting month, I found that I took several photos that I enjoyed during the month.  June was also a bittersweet month as it marked end to the only job I had held since returning to Seattle from Ellensburg in 1999.  The photos I have chosen for tonight were taken shortly after returning from my final business trip.  The boy was a sight for sore eyes the light in the living room was absolutely perfect.
Enjoy
Dan

And Now May

Tonight we look at May's photos, again with alot going on there wasn't much photography for the month.  I do think that the photos from my sister and niece's combo birthday party were the highlight of the month.
Enjoy
Dan

 

April Fools

Well our retrospective of 2012 has rolled into April.  A month that started without a "good" camera and the prospects that we might move to Salt Lake City.  By the end of the month both issues were alleviated, Salt Lake would not be a destination and I had an Olympus E-5.  I didn't take too many photos in April, I had a lot of other stuff going on, but here are a couple of my favorites.
Enjoy
Dan

 

Don't Fret, 2025 Isn't That Far Off

2025 is coming up fast, so your MRE's might last, or at least your Twinkies will (assuming you bought Twinkies before that apocalypse).  So with the world safely not destroyed we'll look at photots from March.  The photos are from our Arizona vacation.
Photos one through four are from the Grand Canyon, and are as follows:  Sunset, South Rim, Sunrise South Rim, Hermit's Rest and Desert View.  Photo number five is the Wupatki National Monument.  Photo six is Two Arrows, Arizona on Route 66 and photo seven is Sedona at sunset.
Enjoy
Dan

Now That the 14th Buktan Has Arrived

Well, to the surprise of some, the world still exists.  For those of you that have spend the majority of your income to stockpile your Winnebago with MRE's and assault weapons, sorry, but really you aren't very smart.  However it appears that if the NRA has its way you can use the assault weapon for guarding kiddies at school.  The Winnebago?  Mobile command center. 
*sigh*
Anyway its nice to see that both sides of this particular debate are focused on the symptoms and not the actual cause.  But weapons bans are going to easier and cheaper to run through Congress than mental health reform.  All of this chatter is besides the point, tonight we look at February, a month in which I dropped and broke my Olympus e-520.  Before that I did get a nice set of photos from the Public Market.

 

Well Guess What

It's nearing the end of the year again and that usually means that there will be a bunch of best of posts.  Well I have decided to do something different this time and highlight a photo or two from each month of the year.  So without furhter adue here is January.  They highlight snow and rain.
Enjoy
Dan

Santa Teaches Bullying and Discrimination

We just watched Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer and it strikes me, that it is the source of all the world's bullying.  Rudolph and Hermie are bullied by everyone, including Santa.  The open mockery of anyone that is different is by 21st century standards uncomfortable and deplorable.  I suppose the positive message of the story is that Hermie and Rudolph don't give in to that bullying Santa and his crony Comet.  They keep it real and stay true to themselves.  So in an age where the bullied run amok too often, I guess the bullied folk should do like Rudolph and Hermie and just prove the bullies wrong by being strong and being great.  Also, Santa, the reindeer and the Elves need some diversity training ASAP.

The Fairfax Bridge

Today is the 91st birthday of the Fairfax Bridge in Pierce County.  Today it's main function is to connect the Carbon River Ranger Station at Mt. Rainer with the outside world.  Back in 1921, it connected Fairfax with the outside world.  Prior to 1921, Fairfax was only accessible via the Northern Pacific Railway.  That may sound terrible but Fairfax was company town, owned by a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific. 
The bridge is the highest in the state at 250 feet above the Carbon River and cost $500,000 to construct.  Fairfax didn't seem to prosper from the creation of the bridge, by 1941 the mines had shutdown and in 1943 the post office had closed.  Today little remains.

The Elephant In the Room

It would be remiss and or insensitive to not mention the event in Connecticut today.  It is really difficult to get you head around what happened and I am not even going to try here.  What I will say is that it is too bad that episodes like this are what get people talking about what is wrong with America.  It is important to remember that there have been mass killings at schools throughout our history, in fact this was not even the worse ever, Andrew Kehoe blew up the Bath Consolidated School, in Bath, Michigan in 1927, over school taxes. He killed 45 people, including 38 kids and injured 58 more. Kehoe was the school district treasurer at the time.  With that in mind, it is therefore too bad that people tend toward over simplifying the issue, it is not just gun violence.  The gun violence is the result of whatever happened in this kid's life up today.  It is also too bad that when events such this happen, we hear calls to ban all guns and gun owners fretting having their guns taken from them.  It is not the place or time to consider this, or to promote your agenda.  Right now isn't about gun control or not taking guns from people, those that are promoting that right now are selfish and insensitive.  Right now is about 20 families in Connecticut that will not have kids at their dinner table tonight.  Later, once the numbness, grieve and anger subside, it is time to decide whether finally to draw a line in the sand and say no more, to come together to create a positive lasting legacy to give meaning to these deaths. 

12.12.12

Today is the last time in my lifetime I will be able to the right the date, month and year as the same number.  Of course eight hundred years ago it was a bigger deal, since it was 12.12.1212, although I would guess most the serfs and peasants didn't notice that day or even care.  Anyway, today was a nice way to forget about the fiscal cliff or North Korean satellites, Come tomorrow it is just another day and now we can get on with the end of the world Mayan-style.  Time to watch the skies.

A Santa To Remember

Today's photo is the same Santa as yesterday's photo.  Why you ask?  It's Christmas, that's why.