Author Archives: untouchedtcphotos

On the Road in Fall Foliage Country

22 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Canadian Fall Foliage, Fall Foliage, Ontario Fall Foliage, Ontario in the Fall, Trans-Canada Hwy

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Welcome to the Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario, Canada. It was exciting to see the Fall Colors in the hills when I traveled there in 2014.

We visited my wife’s relatives in Sault Ste. Marie. This was our second experience to see this panorama of color. We never saw such a beautiful site at home. Fall foliage does not happen in California with these variety of colors.

My wife’s cousins were the perfect hosts to take us around this area, so we could see the diversity of colors. I was driven to shoot lots of pictures to capture the different scenes. Our cousins encouraged me to do “something” as a photographer.

This trip was a turning point for me. I returned home, and my wife found a coffee shop to show my photographs. I also remembered I had a collection of photographs of Candlestick Park which were in storage. I realized those photographs could be valuable since Candlestick Park was demolished. I also started this blog to show my photos.

As we travel on our life highway, there are multiple turning points to lead us to our future destiny. Can we be flexible to take the quick turns or the high hills to follow where we are led? I am not sure where my journey is going to. But I am learning it is important to try and seek new steps to continue my journey.

Just make sure to enjoy the pretty scenery traveling down the road of life.

 

Have you experienced Fall Foliage at Chocorua Lake in New Hampshire?

20 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Chocorua Lake, Fall Foliage, New England Fall Foliage, New Hampshire, New Hampshire Fall Foliage

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I am a California guy where our fall foliage is not as extensive. I am always anxious to travel to some place where saturated multi-colored fall foliage is an annual event.

A couple of years ago, I traveled to visit a good friend back east. We took a day trip to New Hampshire.

This tree trunk almost looks endless as it ascends up into the sky. I am curious how many colors could be in this multi-colored natural painting. The array of colors, shapes and patterns is a wonderful natural art.

I could have laid on the ground and kept staring at this natural display.

Often times we are racing thru our day doing work, taking care of responsibilities and the daily necessities of life.

Can we at least once a week take time to look up and around to see the natural art in our environment? Fall foliage is coming. Don’t miss out on this natural art which is always unique.

Sunset with Lake Cochichewick in the background

19 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by in Massachusetts, North Andover, Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center

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Welcome to the beautiful Rolling Ridge retreat and Conference Center in North Andover, MA.

Here is the link to Rolling Ridge

Fall Foliage is right around the corner. Anticipating the color changes in the leaves gets me very excited. I love seeing the transformation of leave colors and capturing the different patterns. Every fall leaf is unique in the array of colors.

I traveled to Lake Cochichewick in the fall a couple of years ago. As seen in my photograph, my timing to see the changed colors in the leaves was off.

But I do love the tall trees with the shadow projections on the ground. The green trees have their own glow in front of the lake. At the time of this photograph, the trees will be changing colors later.

Reflecting on this photograph reminds us how life is full of changes. No matter how much we want life to remain the same, life continues to evolve for better or worse. But as these trees stand tall and beautiful with their shadows, so we should learn to stand in the same way even when change is inevitable.

Let’s learn a lesson from the trees at Lake Cochichewick in Massachusetts to stand strong to face life changes to become our best.

 

What We Learned at Lake Tahoe

15 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe, sunset

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Family Rituals are important. They help mode our character and perspective.

I grew up going to Lake Tahoe for our annual trip with my immediate family, aunts, uncles and cousins. The aunties would prepare our meals in our rental house. The kids would camp out in the backyard together. We would play softball and compete against each other.

We are still continuing this ritual with some of the children of the 2nd generation. The children are from elementary school age to young adults. The young adults even started a new tradition to cook one of the dinners during our stay.

We changed our activities to shopping, paddle boarding and board games as we matured over the years.

We are continuing our tradition by building our relationships even with the younger generation. We enjoyed a fun time playing the board game of “Sequence”. The younger children did not want to go back to their condo to go to bed, since they had so much fun.

I also spent time photographing my cousin’s family since their daughters came from Socal to spend time with everyone. It was a fun time to shoot their family along different sites around Lake Tahoe. We went after dinner. We were fortunately to catch the best sunset I ever witnessed at Lake Tahoe.

What lesson did I learn? Take advantage of togetherness time! Relationships are precious, and we need to make efforts to spend time together. Capture these moments with pictures. I photographed a bunch of family pictures of the big group.

But if I had not photographed my cousin’s family, we all would have missed out on the fantastic sunset. This sunset was a special blessing and symbolizes what we received from out short vacation at Lake Tahoe.

 

What’s Great about the Left Field Bleacher Section at Oracle Park?

04 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by in Bleachers, Oracle Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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I took this photograph from the upper deck beyond Left Field on 5/24/19. The SF Giants played the Arizona D-Backs and the D-Backs were taking batting practice. The fans in this section were waiting for batting practice home run balls.

Coming earlier to a SF Giants and going to Left Field is a fun experience during batting practice.

Back on October 5, 2000 and when Oracle Park was Pac Bell Park, I headed to these Left Field bleachers during batting practice when the Giants faced the New York Mets in game 2 of the National League Divisional Series. This is the place to be to see if you can catch a fly ball. This is the goal of many baseball fans. Going earlier beats out the competition during a normal game time.

I was so excited when I caught the baseball during this visit as the Mets were taking batting practice. I had my mitt ready in hand and saw the ball coming. It came high and hard. It came so hard that it was my stomach and mitt which helped me catch the ball. The other fans congratulated and were happy for my victory.

So if you want to have your own baseball victory, come early to Oracle Park and hang out during batting practice. Make sure you bring your mitt and be ready to catch your baseball.

Bruce Bochy Embracing Pablo Sandoval

02 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in Bruce Bochy, Opening Day, Oracle Park, Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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Bruce Bochy is close to his players and is very popular among them. He has their respect, and they really want to make a run at the post season for his last year managing the SF Giants.

This photograph was taken at the SF Giants Home Opener. Bruce Bochy had the honor to throw out the first pitch of the game. Pablo Sandoval caught the pitch. After Pablo caught the pitch, he and Bruce gave each other a good hug.

A good team requires an effective leader who knows his players. Bruce Bochy knows his players – their weaknesses and their strengths. He knows how to coach the players to overcome their weaknesses. He knows how to create an atmosphere where the SF Giants can work together to win!

We all are a part of at least one team. Our team could be our family or our work group. A team could be a particular group of friends. At the very least, we are a part of the planet earth team. We need to learn how to connect with others on a personal level. Social media – i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram provide a level of interaction. But it cannot substitute with one on one interaction where we actually see a someone face to face. How well do we know people on “our team”.  Do we make people we encounter comfortable or uncomfortable due to the vibes we give out? Are you a resource where people will come to you for comfort and help?

Can we learn how to connect with others to help them become better? Can we learn to be a coach like Bruce Bochy to help someone reach their potential?

SF Giants Team Rallying Support for Manager Bruce Bochy in 2019

28 Sunday Jul 2019

Posted by in Bruce Bochy, Home Opener, Oracle Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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I was fortunate to be at this game in April 2019 where Bruce Bochy was honored surrounded by the SF Giants players.

Bruce Bochy is the best. I appreciate his leadership these past years. He truly will be missed. He earned the respect of his team! We will miss his leadership and baseball experience.

Why do I love Bruce Bochy? He has led the SF Giants to 3 World Series Championships with his wisdom and experience. He has 41 years of experience in professional baseball. He learned how to bring out the best in his players as a manager. In his younger days, he hit .239 with 26 home runs. He continued to build on his talents and knowledge during the years.

After he ended his baseball career, he started managing in the minor leagues before moving to manage the San Diego Padres. He worked hard to become the manager he is today. He is direct and knows how to push the players to achieve results.

Bruce Bochy’s career teaches us how each of us needs to continue to work and evolve in whatever career and passions we have.

We all have unique talents. Do we see a pattern in our life where we are achieving small goals to reach our next big goal? If we are not achieving small goals, can we evaluate why we may be failing? Can we adjust and change our game plan?

Bruce Bochy constantly works on adjusting the SF Giants game plan to seek wins.

How can we adjust our game plan for success? Persistence in gaining skills and wisdom is a continual practice.

Learn from Bruce Bochy and keep building to achieve more knowledge and experience.

Experiencing a Quiet and Peaceful Hike in Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon

24 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Kanab Utah, Mystical Slot Canyon, Peek A Boo Slot Canyon, slot canyon, Utah

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When was the last time you went hiking? My wife asked me when was the last time that we went hiking. Unfortunately, it has been a long time since we went hiking.
Reflecting on our hike at Peek-A-Boo canyon reminds me what we are missing.

Our hike at Peek-A-Boo Canyon was a wonderful time we spent with our family.
My parents worked hard to plan the details of our hikes and the itinerary for our road trip.

We were amazed at the colors of the canyon. There were only a few groups of hikers. Being alone in canyon allowed us to appreciate its beauty. We did not need to be worried about being in a crowd of tourists, which was our experience visiting Antelope Canyon. In a quiet atmosphere, we could focus on the pretty view in front of us.

This quiet time provided peace and calmness. Our hike allowed us to enjoy the coral colors and to appreciate the canyon’s variations of patterns.

As mentioned in our previous post, our tour guide tossed up the sand dust to give the ghostly image with the sunlight in the canyon.

Our world is complicated with work, family and social activities. Stress exists with our country’s politics as well as natural catastrophes – i.e. tornadoes or hurricanes. Hiking and enjoying nature’s art calms us in the midst of turmoil.

Creating a nature oasis at home is also a way to create calm and peace. Put up photographs of nature to divert our attention to real colors and pretty scenery.

Nature gives peace!

How to enhance light at Mystical Slot Canyon?

20 Saturday Jul 2019

Posted by in Kanab Utah, Mystical Slot Canyon, Peek A Boo Slot Canyon, slot canyon

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This photograph is a piece of artwork created by natural sand dust and sunlight. Our tour guide tossed the sand up into the air. The sunlight streamed through the slot canyon and illuminated the sand and dust to create this remarkable image. The sand and light create a smoky and almost ghostly image against the canyon’s golden colors. I quickly shot multiple images to capture the different images as the sand fell to the ground.

The hike was fantastic, and the temperature was not too hot in the middle of June.  Most of our walk was in the shade of the slot canyon. Our tour guide was great as he provided us with a interesting facts and history of this slot canyon. It was really nice as it was not crowded at all during this tour. We saw two other groups of people as we were finishing up our tour. I would highly recommend taking this tour if you are in the Kanab Utah area.

So next time you are in a location with interesting colors and light, try throwing some sand up in the air. Shoot a few photos and to see the interaction between natural colors, light, and sand.

 

What’s in the Area 51 Alien Center?

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Alien, Area 51, Area 51 Alien Center

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Our family went on a road trip 2 years ago and saw the sign to go to the Area 51 Alien Center. We had to stop. My brother and I enjoy a fascination about Area 51. This Alien Center is close to the freeway. So it was not a big detour as other Alien 51 attractions.

We went inside to explore. This was a fun store to see the various alien souvenirs to purchase. As usual, I can usually find something interesting to buy. I bought an Area 51 Security baseball cap. I also found a poster warning about the restrictions to stay out of Area 51.

Currently, anonymous users behind a Facebook page proposed a group invasion of Area 51. The Urban legend about Area 51 makes us all curious whether the Nevada US Air Force Facility is the location of extraterrestrial studies. Supposedly there are 1.4 million people who RSVP’d to invade Area 51. The invasion is scheduled on September 20.

I did not RSVP for this event.

Why such fascination with Area 51? We all want to believe there are other life forms outside our planet. We spend large amounts of time watching sci-fi movies. Disney has just opened the Star Wars land, and I admit I am excited to go.

I think we are fed up with all our earthly problems and want to find a place to run and escape. So we want to believe that Area 51 has the answers.

Maybe we need to look at ourselves to see how we could contribute to help solve our planet’s problems as well as our individual difficulties.