Day 224 - Broken Fence - 12.31.11

I know it isn't very New Years Eve-y. I'm not really one to do much in the way of parties and celebrating on New Years Eve. I did however walk over to 31 Flavors with my daughter this afternoon. Next to our house on the way to the ice cream shop is this fence around some apartments. It got broke a while back. I think it was during a storm or some windy weather. At first it was just leaning slightly into the sidewalk, but as you can see it has become ridiculous. Is is now leaning over almost the entire sidewalk. I wish the land lord would fix it. So that was something I saw today.

Day 223 - Chili John's Chili - 12.30.11

This is at least the third time I've photographed the outside of Chili John's, but the first time it has made the blog. It was something I saw today.

Day 222 - Nativity - 12.29.11

Busy day working on my Nutcracker book. Didn't really leave the house so I took this picture of a Nativity near our front door. It was something I saw today.

Day 221 - The Flying J - 12.28.11

Travel day today. We always stop at this Flying J in Ehrenberg, AZ when traveling to and from Arizona. So before heading back onto the road I snapped this photo of the Flying J sign. It was something I saw today.

Day 220 - Little Pilot - 12.27.11

Visited Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ today. It was a beautiful day as you can see from the clear blue sky. There is a hanger full of vintage restored aircraft. There is another hanger where they are actually working on aircraft restoring them and then just outside there were people taking planes out to show off or fly. We happened to be very lucky to be there when the only two remaining operational F2G Corsairs were there. The two that were there were two of only fifteen that were ever made. This is a link to site with some history on the planes. There are some nice photos of the 2 planes I saw. One is blue and one is red. The docent told us they were worth 8-10 million dollars each. One owner keeps one there during the winter and the other one is kept at another nearby airport. You can kind of see them in the background of this photo. This site has some cool history on the blue plane and its restoration.

There was also this little peddle plane that kids could truck around in. This little boy was taking it for a spin. It was something I saw today.

Day 219 - Everybody Loves Flowers - 12.26.11

Visited Frost a gelato Shoppe here in Glibert, AZ. I really liked the interior design of the place. Very clean lines. Very modern. On the counter was this flower in a vase. I assume the card is a business card for the place that provided the flower. I'm not positive on that, though. I took several photos in the place. A runner up was of a rack of mini ice cream cones, but this won out as something I saw today.

Day 218 - Christmas Balls - 12.25.11 (Christmas Day)

Merry Christmas everyone. We had a nice lazy Christmas and I actually got to take a nap today. I haven't done that it quite a while. These past few months have been crazy busy. Toward the end of the day I took some photos of decorations around my mother's house. This is a basket of Christmas balls. I decided to put this up because it was kind of a way for me to make a cameo on the blog. You can see me reflected in all these many balls. It was something I saw today.

Day 217 - Little Photo Reviewer - 12.24.11 (Christmas Eve)

It was Christmas eve tonight. My mother's house was packed with family and friends. There were plenty of little ones running around and when Santa came to visit the cameras came out. This is my niece and her daughter. Her daughter was fascinated by the images on her mother's camera's screen. Perhaps she is a photographer in the making. This was something I saw today.

Day 216 - Cabazon T-Rex - 12.23.11

Drove to Arizona today. On the drive we pass through Cabazon, CA every time. Cabazon's one claim to fame are a couple of Dinosaurs. One it this T-rex and the other is a Brontosaurus with a gift shop inside. This T-Rex is featured in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. We stop there almost everytime we pass. I have many pictures of my kids in front of this Dino as they've grown up. I shot one of my daughter again today. Another interesting thing is that this stop if right near a huge wind farm. It is usually always gusting through this area. You can see the force of the winds on the palm trees. So this was something I saw today.

Day 215 - Gal Holiday - 12.22.11

Went to Viva Cantina tonight with my daughter and caught Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue for their first set. They were great. Gal sang her heart out. They had a guest guitarist Rick Shea who was great as well. The man on the standup bass was really fantastic. He slapped a fine solo during "Folsom Prison Blues" which I loved. I took a photos. It was hard to get exposure because they didn't really turn on the stage lights. This one came out okay. It was something I saw today.

Day 214 - Delta Kiosk - 12.21.11

Brought my son to the airport this morning. Here he is checking in at the ticket kiosk. It was something I saw today.

Day 213 - Mushroom - 12.20.11

I hadn't been on my morning walk in a while. I brought the camera and took this picture of a mushroom pushing up from the soil. It was something I saw today.

Day 212 - The North Pole - 12.19.11

This evening the family and I drove around Burbank to see some Christmas lights. On Florence there are a few insane houses. This North pole sign is in the front yard of one of the houses.
It was something I saw today.

Day 211 - Nate Playing Zelda - 12.18.11

This is my son lounging on our couch playing the latest Zelda game this afternoon. It was something I saw today.

Day 210 - Punk Rock at Viva Cantina - 12.17.11

My son's leaving the country for a couple years later this week. Tonight was the last show he played with his band. He was one of the opening bands for The Peeks who had their EP release party show at Viva Cantina this evening. It was a great punk rock Saturday night. As I shot photos of the kids moshing this guy saw that I was photographing his way and posed for the camera. I like the direct eye contact. It feels defiant and punk rock. It was something I saw today.

Day 209 - Fair Oaks Pharmacy Soda Fountain - 12.16.11

Way back on July 16th, I first visited Fair Oaks Pharmacy and I posted a picture that day. I told a story about chocolate phosphates and my mother. Since my mother is in town this week I took her there for lunch and a chocolate phosphate. While we sat waiting for our tasty lunch I snapped this photo of a customer and a "soda jerk." It was something i saw today.

Day 208 - Corner Cottage - 12.15.11

I pass the Corner Cottage every morning on the way to work. It is actually a really popular place for breakfast, though it doesn't seem that way in this photo. If I had taken this maybe an hour later there would have been people waiting outside. With that said, I have never gone there in all the years I have lived here. I really need to correct that. Until then it will just be something I saw today.

Day 207 - Leaf in the Grass - 12.14.11

After lunch today I took my camera to a grassy part of the campus at work. Saw this leaf woven into the long wavy grass. It was something I saw today.

Day 206 - El Torito - 12.13.11

Nutcracker wrap party tonight at El Torito. This bull was on the wall near our table. It was something I saw today.

Day 205 - Holiday Pee-Wee - 12.12.11

Pee-Wee has made an appearance on the blog before. Last time for Halloween. He's now dressed up for Christmas. The has was actually a stocking my wife found. She cut off the end and sewed it up to make a hat. Cute, huh? So that was something I saw today.

Day 204 - Marzipan Makeup - 12.11.11

The Nutcracker has finally finished. Today was the the final two performances. I shot photos all day long and was exhausted by the end. I shot lots of photos of girls getting makeup put on. This is my daughter getting her Marzipan makeup on. It was something I saw today.

Day 203 - Bob Hope Airport - 12.10.11

My mom is in town for The Nutcracker. Picked her up at the airport this afternoon. After loading her bags I took a moment to snap this photo of the control tower. It was something I saw today.

Day 202 - Christmas Bear - 12.09.11

Long day at work and I didn't really find a chance to break away for a photo during the day. So when I got home I hit up the Christmas decorations stand by. This little bear statue is on a ledge near our front door. It is something i saw today.

Day 201 - Olive Avenue Bridge at Dawn - 12.08.11

Went into work early this morning and swing by the train station along the way. I took some interesting photos of the station and of the power plant, but it was this shot of Olive Avenue bridge through the trees that won the spot on the blog. I love the silhouette of the van. I also love the interesting shapes of the trees. So that is something I saw today.

Day 200 - Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal - 12.07.11

What a long day. Went in to work at 6AM to get a jump on things because I had to leave work early to go to The Nutcracker dress rehearsal. That ran until about 9:30 and then I ran home and started downloading photos from the camera. I filled two memory cards so that took a long time. I then quickly scanned the thousands of photos for something to post. This one of Jen Bosco giving notes to the cast won the prize as something I saw today.

Day 199 - Roof Top - 12.06.11

This is the view of a roof at DreamWorks from the top of the parking garage. It was something I saw today.

Day 198 - Christmas Tree - 12.05.11

This one doesn't need much explanation. This is our Christmas tree for the year. It was something I saw today.

Day 197 - Russian Nesting Doll - 12.04.11

It's Christmas time which means I've got my house full of decorations which is great when you need to find something new and interesting to photograph. Just point the camera anywhere and there is something special. So this morning I knocked this one out knowing the the day was going to get crazy busy with Nutcracker rehearsals. So besides many, many dancers this Nesting Doll was something I saw today.

Day 196 - Morning Sign Shadows - 12.03.11

As the sun was coming up this morning I thought I'd knock out a picture before I got too busy with everything else I had to do today. Walked a couple blocks over to the 99 cents store and saw these interesting shadows on the wall. It was something I saw today.

Day 195 - Burbank Library Head Sculpture - 12.02.11

One of the branches of the Burbank library is just around the corner from my house. Just within the last week or so two sculpture of heads were unveiled. Not seen here is another identical head, but it is red. It faces this one. You can see the set up if you follow this link. So I saw that they were unveiled just a couple days ago when driving back from dropping my daughter off at school. The vibrant colors really caught my eye and I thought I have to take a picture. Well, I didn't that morning, but today I stopped, jumped out of the car and ran over to take a couple photographs. This close up I thought was interesting because it captured some of the interesting lines and rhythm that of the piece. It was something I saw today.

Day 194 - Happy Holidays Downtown Burbank - 12.01.11

Burbank is really sizing up to be the big theme of the week. Tonight was the annual tree lighting ceremony which Mickey and Minnie Mouse show up for and actually do. Then after that the downtown area is shut down so people can walk around. There are performers and stores and organizations have booths. It is a really nice night. Just off the main strip of San Fernando the Happy Holiday message was projected on the side of a building. It was something I saw today.

Day 193 - Safari Inn - 11.30.11

Continuing with my string of photos of signs is today's entry of the Safari Inn sign on Olive in Burbank. I've had this in the back of my mind as something to photograph for a long time. So today on my way home from work when I was tired and it was cold outside and I hadn't photographed anything today it was nice to just swing by the Safari Inn on my way home. You gotta love the vintage nature of this sign. Every once in awhile you will see this on a TV show. It was something I saw today.

Day 192 - Ribs USA & Village Market - 11.29.11

Walked over to a printer on Olive Avenue this morning to see what it will cost to print up some photo books for the Nutcracker. One the way home I walked a block out of my way over to Ribs USA to take this photo. I love Ribs USA. I went for this angle which is really just the sign and not really the restaurant because I wanted to capture the giant hot dog on the roof of Village Market next door. It was something I saw today.

Day 191 - Harry's Family Restaurant - 11.28.11

Had lunch with an old friend today over at Harry's diner or as the sign says, "Family Restaurant." Harry's has been in operation in Burbank for many many years. They do a great breakfast. I had a fantastic bowl of chili today. Before leaving I snapped this photo to document that his was something I saw today.

Day 190 - Burbank Christmas Tree - 11.27.11

It is Christmas time in downtown Burbank. I swung by downtown just for this photo. I made a mental note of this the other night when I was walking around with my family. I told myself I had to return one evening for a photo. Well, tonight was the night. It was something I saw today.

Day 189 - Refreshing Coca-Cola - 11.26.11

Went out to eat with some friends this evening. It was one of those 50's style places and it served Cokes. This straw holder was on our table. It was something I saw today.

Day 188 - Miss Donuts - 11.25.11

Ventured to the West Side this morning to The Dance Store so my daughter could get some dance shoes. Across the street was Miss Donuts. The vibrant colors of the store attracted me and really looked great against the blue sky. This was something I saw today.

Day 187 - Green Wall - 11.24.11 (Thanksgiving)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Instead of a picture of our meal or some other holiday related image I chose a picture I took during a family walk after our big feast. We ate pretty early, which was great by the way, and then went on a walk through the neighborhood to work off some of those calories. Just off Magnolia on Avon there is this side of a building with a cool green paint job. It was something I saw today.

Day 186 - Raggedy Andy - 11.23.11

This Raggedy Andy doll is one of my earliest toys. Recently he's been living on a shelf in my record room. I brought him into our front room for this photo since the light was better. It was something I saw today.

Day 185 - Doughn-t Hut - 11.22.11

Yet another in my series of photos of Burbank businesses. This morning I swung by the Doughn-t Hut for some photos. It was a busy morning at the old Hut as you can see. This was one of the first sort of landmark's I became acquainted with in Burbank before I even moved here. The summer before moving here my wife and I drove around Burbank. We didn't really know where we were, but the Doughn-t Hut was a landmark we used to know where we were. We drove in and around the neighborhoods and when we would come across this place we knew we had circled back to where we had been. The funny thing is that 14 years later and I still haven't gone here for doughnuts. Sorry Doughn-t Hut. Anyway this was something I saw today.

Day 184 - Burbank Power Plant In The Morning - 11.21.11

It was a cod morning here in Burbank which meant that the local power plant was kicking out a bunch of steam. The plume of steam could be seen from my house and so I thought I'd drive over and take a photo. it was something I saw today.

Day 183 - Umbrella - 11.20.11

Gloriously rainy day here in Burbank today. Not one of those drizzly days, but a full on rainy day. Rainy enough that I used an umbrella. This umbrella to be exact. It was something I saw today.

Day 182 - The Snug - 11.19.11

This Irish bar/pub is just across the street from my daughter's dance studio. I've photographed it before both day and night and never been happy with what I got. Today I went for something very simple and was happy enough to make it the photo for the day. It was something I saw today.

Day 181 - Welcome To Burbank - 11.18.11

This morning I did make it over to the "welcome to Burbank" sign on Burbank Blvd. It was something I saw today.

Day 180 - Blue Ribbon Laundry - 11.17.11

Ventured just over the Burbank border into North Hollywood today to Blue Ribbon Laundry. It wasn't because I had laundry to do. I was actually going to go find the "Welcome to Burbank" sign on Burbank Blvd. for a picture, but saw this on the way down Victory. I stopped, took some photos and decided the welcome sign could wait for another day because I was happy with this. I framed the humungous "Homeland" billboard to help freeze this in a certain time and date. I also love the show so it is my chance to plug the show to anyone who isn't already watching. So this was something I saw today.

Day 179 - Chicken Legs - 11.16.11

Spent most of my day designing the cover for my Christmas Mix CD. I'm not really a graphic designer so I go really slow with the designing. It doesn't help that I really don't have proper illustrating software. So before I knew it the sun was down and I needed a subject to photograph. Well, dinner was in the oven and seemed like just as good of a thing as anything else. So now you know that these chicken legs that we had for dinner were something I saw today.

Day 178 - Lowes Cart - 11.15.11

Took my camera with me to a visit to the local shopping center. Saw this abandoned cart and decided it was worth a photo. It was something I saw today.

Day 177 - Living Room Lamp - 11.14.11

It's been a crazy day. Had a sleepless night and then spent the day with my sick daughter at home. Also worked on processing photos from the weekend. I had so many good photos that I had a lot of work to do. I only got through Saturday's dance photos and still have Friday night's concert photos, Saturday's Disneyland visit and Sunday's Nutcracker rehearsals. So when it came time to thinking about an interesting photo I didn't think too hard. This lamp sits 15 feet from my computer so that tells you how far I went to snap this picture of something I saw today.

Day 176 - Arabian - 11.13.11

This is one of the dancers in the "Arabian' dance number stretching between run throughs. It was something I saw today.

Day 175 - Spanish - 11.12.11

My day was spent in the lobby of a photo studio taking photos of the Nutcracker dancers as the waited to take their studio photos for the show. This is the back of one of the "Spanish" dancers. It was something I saw today.