[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“478” caption=“Abuelo Sotero enjoying the Party”] [/caption]

After our mini-vacation to Naples, we went to Hialeah, Fl for my grandfather’s 70th birthday party.  I wrote in May about wanting to capture photos of my grandfather at his birthday party.  I was definitely able to do that.

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“The Sign for Our Section of the Park”] [/caption]

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I’ve got some beef with the White House’s Policy”] [/caption]

The Whitehouse has been posting the official photographer’s photos on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse .  They each have the following written in the description:

This official White House photograph is being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way or used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

This is my new favorite photo.  It captures everything I’ve always loved in non-formal portrait photography and everything I’ve aspired to.  The emotions on display, the proper photographic technique, you just feel when you see this photo, especially with Christine’s huge laugh.  It’s also why I love non-formal portrait photography rather than the usual stand there and be photographic with a stupid, fake smile.  I’ve often seen photos that had this same vibe and felt jealous that I couldn’t capture it.  My time just hadn’t yet arrived.

Just four days ago, this photo was my 11th most interesting photo. Now it’s my second most interesting photo! Wow!  I wonder what factors contributed to this?  Surely the fact that it has risen quickly to already have 200+ views?

At the end of June I went to my grandfather’s 70th birthday party.  But, before that, we went on a small vacation to Naples, Fl.  My mom got us a very expensive hotel on the beach and we had a blast! I got another change to use the underwater housing I first used on my Hawaii Trip.

This is the view of the very expensive houses I could see from the balcony.

And now it’s time for the conclusion of my Hawaii travel photo blog. ( Started Here) The first photos are Friday EST, but still Thursday in Hawaii.

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“333” caption=“Boat Framed Between Palm Trees”] [/caption]

That night I was bored so I set up my tripod on my balcony and shot some night scenes.

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Night shots of the intersection below my balcony”] [/caption]

Saw this one day when I was in gmail (click on it to see it full-sized):

editor’s note:  I’m writing this blog in real-time on Friday, 10 July, when I got the card from B&H.  The post will appear on a later date

Today I got my Lexar 4GB UDMA 300x CompactFlash Card from B&H.  I don’t yet have a UDMA capable camera, but I decided if I am going to buy memory cards, they should have features that I can take advantage of when I finally upgrade my camera (hopefully in 1-2 years).  This is my first Lexar card; until now I’ve been exclusively in the Sandisk camp.  However, lots of people online love to rave about their Lexar cards and they had a much bigger rebate than Sandisk for similar size and speed.  The first thing I noticed is that Lexar apparently doesn’t use those really annoying plastic pakagign cases that Sandisk tends to.  You know, the ones that you need scissors to open.  However, I also quickly learn that I’m not a huge fan of the case holding the memory card.  While it probably has less of a chance of breaking than the Sandisk cases with their (Sandisk’s) latches, I find it a lot harder to open the Lexar case quickly.  I pop the card into my Rebel XTi (400D).  The camera claims 382 photos.  I was expecting a number slightly closer to 400 since my 2 GB cards get 197, but I guess the “missing GB” problem that plagues hard drives is at work here too.

After Dan joined the Amazon.com affiliate program I wondered if B&H Photo and Video had an affiliate program as well.  After all, I exclusive buy all of my photography equipment from them.  They almost always have the lowest price and their customer service rocks!  Plus, since I live in Maryland, I can choose UPS ground delivery (the cheapest option) and get my items within 3 days!  Beat that Amazon!  So I’ve joined the B&H affiliate program.  You can see the link on the left sidebar (as of my current theme) and I’ll be sprinkling links throughout future photography posts.  I thought the best policy for you, my loyal readers, was to be forthright in mentioning this new partnership.  I promise not to make it annoying.  And, if you’re going to buy something from B&H anyway after reading my review, if you do it through the affiliate link, you can help to support this blog.  Thanks!.