august theme day: post card worthy/#20 - the san gabriel mountains

this is a special theme day for me.  on the first of every month, city daily photographers from around the world post an image on the same theme.  but this is my last theme day (by the way, you can see every theme day i've participated in here).


august will be the last month of the sky is big in pasadena.  

i have accepted a position at salford mennonite church in harleysville, pennsylvania.  we will be moving in september, so august will be my farewell month to the city of pasadena.  when we moved here from virginia i posted a list of the ten things i would miss most about harrisonburg.  i figured that would be a good way to end our time here, so each day i will be doing one final rundown of life in this great city.  i have prepared two lists - ten things i won't be sad to leave behind, and twenty of my absolute favorite things about pasadena.  i am going to start with ten positives and ten negatives, alternating back and forth each day.  concluding with my top ten things about life in pasadena.

today kicks things off with...

#20 - the san gabriel mountains

backdrop to many of my photos throughout the four years of this blog, it is hard to argue with their inclusion on my list of favorite things about pasadena.  we enjoyed hiking in these mountains, we enjoyed biking in these mountains, and we enjoyed simply having them in the background of our lives here.


as i mentioned before, people from all over the blogosphere are working with today's theme.  click here to view thumbnails for all participants

july theme day: the color green

this month the city daily bloggers are focusing on the color green.  i hope you like my choice!

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and.....

HAPPY CANADA DAY to all my canadian friends and family.  i'm heading out of town for a little while, so this blog will be on autopilot.  if i take a while to respond to comments - that is why!

june theme day: under construction

when the first of the month rolls around, hundreds of daily photoblogs from around the world focus their attention on a single theme.  this month the theme is "under construction".  this seems especially fitting for pasadenians as the square in front of our beloved city hall is under construction (hence, today's image).

are you interested in seeing hundreds of other takes on today's theme from around the world?

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may theme day: mailbox

who forgot about city daily photo theme day until last night then ran down to the building mailbox and snapped off this mediocre photo to share with you all??

me!  that's who. 

my favorite part about our mailboxes is that although this is that although these were just installed a few months ago, many of the numbers have already fallen off.  it is going to be tough to be our mailman if this trend continues!

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ps - stay tuned for some doo dah parade photos tomorrow!

april theme day: edges

on the first day of each month, daily photo bloggers from around the world pick one theme and share their images of that particular subject.  today, on april fools day, we get to play around with the edges.

i recently spotted this tiny blue gnome balancing on the edge of the laemmle theater in town...  promotion for this film, or a practial joke?  either way i figured it was appropriate for today's theme.  additionally, this photo also qualifies as a skywatch friday image.

whew!  busy day.

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march theme day: your favorite part of town

this may seem like an odd choice for the theme of "your favorite part of town". 

but the more i thought about it, the more i realized that i'm too much of an adventurer to pick just one thing.  i like to explore new things.  just as an example, it is rare that i go back to a restaurant when there are other options i haven't tried.

so when it all boiled down, the one place in pasadena that i love the most is my home.  and my home is wonderful because of the two people i share it with - my wife and baby girl.

i snapped this photo of them playing the piano together, and i gotta say, i love it.  other city daily photo bloggers have attempted this theme in their own unique ways.

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february theme day: fountains

can you see the otters playing in the water? 

hundreds of other daily photo bloggers are working with today's fountain theme.  fountains from all over the world.  check them out!

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january theme day: photo of the year 2010

while looking back through 2010, the birth of my daughter stands alone as the moment that means the most to me.  this photo was taken the morning after her birth.  she is being held by her amazing mother, and a rainbow appears in the sky.  this photo never appeared on the blog, but i think it is a fitting choice for today's theme.

this may not be my most perfectly composed shot, nor my most artistic, but it is certainly my photo of the year.

happy new year!

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december theme day: time

one of old town pasadena's newest sugar destinations is rocket fizz - a small chain of stores specializing in an incredible variety of soft drinks and candy.  like a kid in a candy store, i felt trapped in time as i browsed isles of nostalgic treats of my sugary childhood.

do you want to travel back to a simpler and sweeter time?  check them out on green street in old town.  as usual, the first of the month is theme day - many other members of the city daily photo family are working with the theme of time today.

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november theme day: public transportation

 los angeles county isn't exactly known for its public transportation system, but it is getting better.  pasadena is linked in by several bus lines and the metro gold line, pictured above, a light rail system that runs to union station.  plans are in motion to run the line further east - eventually all the way to azusa.

as usual, on the first of the month, hundreds of bloggers from the city daily photo world are working with this theme.

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october theme day: graffiti

not really graffiti - but street art none-the-less.  this image is from pasadena's incredible annual chalk festival.  i think this piece was done by an artist during the 2009 festival.  i like it, and thought it would be great to share with you all today.  i hope you enjoy.  happy theme day!

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september theme day: open air market

a glimpse of one of pasadena's many farmers markets - this one is the villa park market which is held on tuesday mornings.  we also get a chance to get fresh produce at the wednesday south lake market, the thursday south pasadena market, friday market at robinson park, and the saturday morning market at pasadena high school.

as usual, this theme is being explored by hundreds of other daily photobloggers, in cities across the globe.

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august theme day: bright colours AND cd sunday: u2's how to dismantle an atomic bomb

a lot going on today, so i hope you can keep up.  for starters, today is the first of the month which means that today is theme day.  today's theme of bright colours is captured perfectly by the massive 360 stage from u2's rose bowl concert from last year.

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you might be wondering why i would post a photo that is several months old - well, for starters, this week u2 begins the second leg of their 360 tour - a stretch of shows that was originally canceled after some emergency back surgery.  which is exciting news for those of us in southern california who have tickets to the anaheim shows which were originally scheduled for early this summer.

second, today is a sunday which means that i am continuing my top 20 favorite album countdown.  today's album happens to be u2's how to dismantle an atomic bomb.  this album is one of my favorites for a variety of reasons.  for starters, i think it captures both the political and entertainment personalities of the band quite well.

while i struggled to connect with the somewhat predictable lead single, "vertigo", i do think it is an amazing song for a live stadium concert.  the rest of the album is filled with songs that i believe will stand as examples of u2's brilliance.  songs with deep spiritual and emotional meaning like "miracle drug", "crumbs from your table", and "yahweh", set the depth of the album.  but by far my favorite track is the beautiful "city of blinding lights" - which is quite possibly my favorite u2 song.

i know with u2 you either love 'em or hate 'em.  bono is certainly in the same polarizing category.  and their self-proclaimed title of the biggest band in the world certainly causes some to run the other way.  for whatever reason, this has been a band that i've loved for a long time.

1. u2 - the joshua tree
2. dave matthews band - crash
3. cake - comfort eagle
4. blue rodeo - five days in july
5. the beach boys - pet sounds
6. coldplay - viva la vida
7. weezer - pinkerton
8. mates of state - re-arrange us
9. radiohead - ok computer 
10. nickel creek - this side

july theme day: reflections

i snapped this photo off last november while riding my bicycle in the l.a. tweed and mustache ride.  i don't think i noticed the reflection of the grafitti in the water until i was skimming through my photos to find something for this month's theme day.

and i gotta say, i like it.  something about this image really popped once i noticed the color reflected in the "beautiful" los angeles river.

i'm not alone in today's blogger theme.  photographers all over the world are posting images on the theme of reflections.

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and of course, happy canada day!

june theme day: funny signs

i must admit - this sign is not located in pasadena. in fact, very far from here. it is actually located somewhere beside the sea of galilee in israel/palestine. but when the theme of the day is funny signs, i think you can all agree - this one deserves its day in the spotlight, regardless of where it is located.

i took a picture of this sign back in 2007 when we visited toured israel/palestine.

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may theme day: statues

may's theme day coincides with the final installment of my project documenting pasadena's mosaic park signs. this is one of my favorite parks because it is the setting of pasadena's free summer concert series. fortunately, memorial park includes a statue - thus fitting in with this month's city daily photo theme!

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i hope you have enjoyed this lengthy series. if you haven't been following, please scroll down to find the links to pasadena's 19 other public city parks with mosaic park signs. thanks for following along!

from the city website:

"Memorial Park is located at 85 East Holly Street. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 5.3 acres. One of the older parks in the City, this site is situated near Old Pasadena. The park is characterized by extensive shrubbery, landscaping, large trees and monuments. Other facilities include: band shell and seating capacity of 400: picnic facilities; benches; large open grass area; exercise walk; restrooms; and drinking fountains. Located in the park is the Pasadena Senior Center operated for and by Pasadena’s senior citizen population. The Center’s program of activities is planned, organized, and carried out by its own membership."



and the final run-down of pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park
15. eaton blanche park
16. eaton sunnyslope park
17. gwinn park
18. vina veja park
19. hamilton park

april theme day: red

it is the first of the month, but you're no fool - you knew that already. i thought this image from 2009's rose parade was perfect for today's city daily photo theme. of course i'm not alone in this quest for red. hundreds of other daily photo bloggers are working with today's theme.

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march theme day: passageway

i promised to spend this week showing a few pictures from my first experience seeing a concert at beckman auditorium. this image is the passageway into the building with its massive stairways.

as usual on the first of every month, today's theme day is being explored by bloggers around the world.

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one more thing today,

my home and native land is still celebrating from this moment... oh, canada!

february theme day: wood

i recently discovered that the city daily photo february theme day was going to coincide with the bloggers unite for haiti event. i was wracking my brain for how to connect these two things when a friend showed me this gallery of photos taken by my friend, benjamin myers - someone i went to college with who has been in haiti taking photos in the aftermath of the earthquake. his images are real and present and incredibly powerful. this image that i "borrowed" for today's blog post does contain a great amount of building resources - including wood, the subject of today's city daily photo theme. please go check out the rest of his photos - they pass on an incredible story.

and if you haven't done so, please donate to the relief efforts to help rebuild haiti. if you are looking for a trustworthy place to donate your money or your time, please check out mennonite central committee's website.

you may also want to visit itunes to download the hope for haiti now concert - the first album to ever reach #1 on billboard without having a hard copy available in stores. 20 songs for $8, and all the funds go to haiti.


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january theme day #2: best photo from 2009

city daily photo (of which i'm a proud member) typically has theme days on the first of the month. this month is a little different, as they are asking members to use the 15th of january to re-post their favorite photo from this past year.

as i looked back through my year in photos, i had several choices. some were photos of meaningful experiences or significant sporting events, others were photos of significant pasadena moments, while others i just liked the artistic value. the one i chose combines all of these things - good times with friends, in a pasadena setting, with a picturesque artistic value. it is a fun picture, and i really like it. and thus, is my best photo from 2009. for those who are curious, it was posted all the way back on january 28th.

you can also check out what all of the other bloggers selected.
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