Thank You Very Much!

As promised a few days ago I intend to post a Christmas photo a day until the actual day arrives. Since I did not take one today I thought that I would post one from the archives. About five years ago I took a southern trip in mid December. Part of that excursion was to visit Graceland. I took this picture of the King’s front room at the beginning of the tour. Somehow I would come up with a way to mix Christmas, Elvis, and a contest all in one post. I like my overall idea with this picture, but I wish that I had another shot at it. I have learned a little in the last five years that would have made this picture better. I still like it though, and I immediately thought of it when I needed one for today.

Another reason for the extra post today is to thank everyone who has been coming to the site. I have reached 2,000 visitors since starting this little venture. It is not a large following, but from the comments it appears to be a loyal one. Thanks for the support, and I hope that I can give you something good to look at over the course of this photo venture.

The final reason for the post is to say that this blog was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award from A Traveler’s Tale. I received an email shortly after I got off of work today, and was happy to see that I made the cut as one of Leanne Cole’s top 15 blogs. Part of the acceptance is to perform 3 simple tasks. The first of those is to nominate the fifteen blogs that I love to read. That seems easy, but I think that narrowing it down to 50 might be hard. Here are my top fifteen in no particular order:

1. Experiments in Experience – I love seeing what Verena comes up with everyday. A very good blog that lets me see some of the world that I would not see otherwise.
2. Leanne Cole’s Blog – Of course since Leanne nominated me you would expect that I should nominate her. That is part of the reason, but I really enjoy reading her blog. The header image alone should suck you in.
3. Images By Joseph – A local photographer Joseph really seems to know how to capture a scene that I like. I love to see what he will come up with next.
4. Little Lady Photography – I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding with the Little Lady in early September. I enjoyed her photo 365 project with her iPhone, and would love to see it run it’s course.
5. Michigan in Pictures – This is a great site that showcases a great picture from our state to the north everyday. Maybe when I head to the Little Caesar’s Bowl I can make it onto the site.
6. My Pixelized View – My first real follower on this site. Almost since day one he has commented on my pictures, and even given me some tips to help make me better. Thanks for everything!
7. Rob Slaven Photography – I just recently found this site, but some of the pics are great. He has some great pictures of Lafayette on his site as well as others from around the state.
8. Ian Spagnolo Photography – Another recent find, but a good one. His work with drop shots is amazing!
9. The Camera Diary – Another good blog to read. She also gets bonus points for having the lamp from a Christmas Story in her window. Read about it here.
10. Spur and Prod – Of course I think I have said that all the blogs are a good read so far. I feel like I am repeating myself, but I wouldn’t put them on here if they weren’t.
11. Silly Monkey Photography – I just found this site within the last couple of days, but have spent a lot of time looking at his HDR images. It makes me want to try and get at least as good as he is.
12. Art is My Sanity – Here is someone who likes sunsets almost as much as I do. Here is a link to a post where several of them are shown at once.
13. Lightbox 3d – Another great HDR site that pushes me to get much, much better. His shots are simply amazing.
14. Jumbo Heroes – Not a photography site, but a great site that focuses on Purdue Athletics. It is blogs like this that made me realize that I should stop writing a sports blog and leave it up to people who can do it better.
15. White Sox Cards – Steve is one of the first bloggers that I really noticed. It is because of his site that I have done some of the things that I have done on the internet. No list would be complete without this White Sox fan on it.

Another of the tasks is to list seven things about myself. Here are the first seven that come to mind:

1. I love photography (I know shock right?)
2. I have lived in two states both of which start with an I (Indiana and Iowa)
3. I enjoy sporting events way too much. I have attended over 100 sporting events in a year many times.
4. This is the second time in my life that I have lived in West Lafayette
5. I love comedies (Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and anything Adam Sandler will do just fine)
6. I share the same name as my father, and therefore carry the title Junior
7. I collect Canadian quarters, I have six of them (Sorry for the bad Deuce Bigalow reference)

Well I have accomplished all three tasks without much trouble. I love that I was nominated, but most of the blogs that I listed would make much better candidates. I have to go now since I am behind in reading most of them!