Merica

Logan really wanted to go home and play video games but I talked him into made him take a stroll on the dyke.

Just messin' around at the gas station but I really like it.

I spent the majority of the night putting together this loft bed for Logan.

Making pizza with Gram

I went for a photo walk this afternoon and only brought my phone. If you're on Instagram check me out @matnic17.

We're into that time of year when it's still dark as I drive to work.  Today I stopped by the beverage store to get a shot of their neon sign.  I thought cropping it as Rage Store made it a little cooler.

Somehow, shooting with a phone frees me up to see things I normally wouldn't

K's Korners.

I'm not sure what I did wrong but this one exported at a smaller size.  I'm posting it full size and it's still a little smaller than normal.

I took a bunch of cell phone pictures today and I have been using Instagram and BestCamera to process them.  I have also surpassed my previous record for most days in a row taking a picture.  I think the new phone/camera is the spark I needed to keep me going through the winter months.

Taken with my iPhone 4s

I used the phone itself to take this picture of the box.

50mm @ f1.8

Rockin' the bells.

Having fun at Grandma's house which reminded me a photo from a couple years ago.  Read More to see it.

Nicole wanted a motorcycle ride so we headed over to Lock and Dam 13.  There were a bunch of turtles sunning themselves on this log but as we approached, they all jumped into the water.  I managed to get a shot of the last one before he dove.

A picture a day can get to be a grind after a while and you need a day off.  I took my day off by just snapping a shot of the TV screen as I watched 'Biggie and Tupac' a documentary about their murders.  According to Morgan Spurlock it's one of the 50 documentaries to see before you die.  I didn't think it was that great.  If your in the mood for a documentary I recommend 'Catfish'.

I had high hopes that I had something really cool today but when I got home and started editing the photos they all seemed mediocre.  Madison chose this one as the best so its the official photo of the day.  See a couple other OK shots after the Read More

I took the scenic route home from my Mom's house which led me to this turkey.  I thought it would be skittish and run away but before I knew it the bird was coming at me.  I'm not sure if he was being aggressive or thought I had food.  I didn't chance it, I got back in the car.

Standard out the window shot somewhere over the Midwest.

I went for a run in the morning and brought my camera.  I stopped along the way to take this, which I like a lot.  Unfortunately I missed what may have been a better picture later in the day because I didn't have a camera with me.  You'll just have to imagine ten 40 year old women from New Jersey making a human pyramid because I didn't get the shot.  

We spent the day at a park called Xplor.  It was ziplines, four wheelers and underground cave swimming.  All of these involved water so it wasn't a good camera day.  That evening we took a walk around the marina and I found this plant.

We spent the day shopping in Playa del Carmen.

This is at the entrance to our hotel, "Dreams" in Puerto Aventuras.  What seems to be an awkward pose for Logan is actually an accurate representation of his enthusiasm for having to stand for this kind of photo. 

In the summer of 1993 I took my girlfriend to Great America to ride roller coasters.  I had a diamond ring in pocket and wanted to ask her to marry me as we were going up the big hill on one of the coasters.  On the drive to the park I played the scene in my mind and fear of dropping the ring overcame me and I decided against the roller coaster proposal.  We ate some breakfast at the Oasis in Dekalb, IL and when we got back to the car I popped the question right there in the parking lot.  I didn't think about the fact that I would forever be the guy who asked his wife to marry him at McDonald's.  One nice thing about it is that every time we make a trip to Chicago it includes a stop at that same McDonald's and we are reminded of the day I proposed.  Today's trip is to the Best Western park and fly.  Tomorrow we will be in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico!