Sometimes, while traveling, on vacation, or out shopping, I'll find myself on a bench with a camera and nothing to do. Too lazy to move around, I'll pull out my camera and take some pictures of whatever interests me at the moment. Unfortunately, when I get home later and look through the photos, I'll wonder why I bothered taking the picture at all. This is one picture where I thought, "well, that's not uninteresting"…

Handheld, 1/4000 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Tina and I used to own Roborovski Hamsters. These little guys are only about 1-1/2 inches long, are incredibly cute, and if ever let loose run at just below the speed of sound.

Handheld, 1/90 sec at f/3.8 on ISO 3200, 105mm f/2.8 macro lens

Wulfenite is a pretty cool looking mineral. It forms tetragonal crystals (often in sheets) that are often yellow or orange. This particular piece was found in Sonora, Mexico and on display at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

I took this picture at the old Planet Granite Climbing Gym in Santa Clara. Before they moved locations to the newer, larger, and better location in Sunnyvale, they allowed night climbing (with the lights off) around Halloween each year. (The new location isn't allowed to do that due to liability reasons.) I ascended about 15-20 feet and braced against a few holds for this shot.

Handheld, 1.0 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

A couple days ago, I posted a new recipe to Cooking For Engineers for dulce de leche. When fully cooked and slightly cooled, the candy is solid and slightly tacky like caramel candy - which is essentially what it is. The usual methods for making this candy takes anywhere from 2 to 9 hours depending on the technique. I made the dulce de leche in about fifteen minutes with the fastest way I know how - a microwave oven.

Handheld, 1/60 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 200, 50mm f/1.8 lens with SB-28DX Speedlight

I took this photo at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. On the roof of the Getty Center is a cactus garden featuring several varieties of cacti. I'm not sure what variety of cactus these are, but it looks like barrel cacti (or ball cacti if that exists).

Handheld, 1/320 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

When we think of bald eagles, we think of them majestically perched in tree tops. This isn't an inaccurate view, but I've also seen then sitting on large rocks by the water (like seagulls) and, in this case, rooting through the mud looking for food. This shot was taken next to the Turnagain Arm in Alaska.

Handheld, 1/1250 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens with 2x teleconverter

The primary museum in Fort Bragg, California is the Guest House Museum on Main Street. The structure itself, built as a private residence for a partner of the Fort Bragg Redwood Company, is beautiful and interesting, but the contents (plans, photos, and artifacts from the lumber days) are fascinating (if you're into that sort of thing).

Tripod, unrecorded exposure on Velvia 50, 28mm f/1.8 lens

Of the three or four waterfalls in Big Sur, McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park may be the most picturesque. Just a brief (couple minutes) walk from the highway, this elegant waterfall drops onto a secluded beach right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Looking at this photo makes me want to go back to Big Sur. It also reminds me of one of the most unusual places to find excellently prepared calamari steak. The dining room of the Big Sur Lodge in the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (not the same park as "Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park" and not the same lodge as the "Big Sur River Lodge") served a remarkable calamari that was breaded in panko and flash fried to perfection. The executive chef isn't there anymore and, looking at the menu, they no longer serve the calamari.

Tripod, unrecorded exposure on Velvia 50

When prepared properly (like all foods), squab is delicious. Presentation is very important - an unappetizing dish doesn't mentally prepare you to eat something delicious, saliva doesn't flow, and sometimes food can taste bland simply because it looks bland. Sometimes it looks so unappetizing you don't even want to try the food. The squab in this picture was unattractive but not so much that I didn't eat one (or two).

Handheld, 1/40 sec at f/3.2 on ISO 800, 105mm f/2.8 macro lens