Paul Embley's photography and ramblings

USS North Carolina

paulembley — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:00:21 +0000

John Hornung was with us for part of the Christmas break. When we took him back home, we were able to tour the USS North Carolina. It was a gorgeous day, and amazing to see how those sailors lived. The ship has at least nine levels, so we got some good exercise, but nothing like the sailors did.

Some of the guns were still in “working” order, so the boys had a great time acting as though they were really using them. They found out that virtual reality or pushing a button attached to hydraulics is more to their generation’s liking.

The Warner Family

paulembley — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:14:01 +0000

Here are some pics of the Warner family. Which do you like the best? And I’m throwing in one of Ruby for free.

Warner Visit

paulembley — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:47:28 +0000

I’m visiting with Jess & Greg. I had a great time with Auburn at the park. I love the pic of Auburn after the face plant. And the lettuce antics are priceless.

The pictures with me in them were taken by Jessica.

More Haiti

paulembley — Sun, 29 May 2011 15:03:03 +0000

Here are more pictures of Haiti, along with some observations.

It is amazing how adaptable human beings are.
Americans aren’t really great at international travel.
Someone always is worse off than you are, and if you are American, that is the rest of the world.
There is a lot more that each of us could do to help our fellow man.

The last picture is of Rico. He is the hotel driver, so he is the one who took us everywhere we went. Our first day out, it took us two hours to get across town. There aren’t street signs, nor any kinds of markings. I don’t know how they figured out which were one way streets and which were two way, but most seemed to know. Horns are a necessary driving tool. I got the feeling that if your horn didn’t work, your vehicle wasn’t certified for the road. Rico’s car had an exhaust leak, and we found out later that first day that in a downpour that the car leaks as well. No defroster, high humidity, and bad windshield wipers makes for a great cultural experience!

On the last day on our way to the airport I asked Rico a little bit about himself. Turns out he lost his home in the earthquake, and is now living in a tent. His daughter was teaching school on that day and died in the earthquake. Just incredible stories that people have to tell.

Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace #2

More Presidential Palace

How shoes are sold

Part of the tent city

Ministry of Finance building

Supreme Court gates

Supreme Court grounds

Rico and his taxi

Haiti

paulembley — Tue, 24 May 2011 23:36:59 +0000

I’m in Haiti with Jeff Apperson (from NCSC). He has been here before, shortly after the earthquake. He said that things have improved dramatically. Wow, if they have improved, what these people have had to endure!

I apologize for the quality of the photos. I was shooting with a cell camera from a moving car. I’ll try to get a picture of the car and post that along with a description of the ride during a downpour (just a hint, there was more water in the car than outside with the windows rolled up).

The Piano Man

paulembley — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:44:52 +0000

Colin got a new hat that I absolutely love. Just a couple days after the hat acquisition was his holiday piano recital. Doesn’t he look great!

Photo Trip – Monument Valley and Capitol Reef

paulembley — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:56:53 +0000

I have wanted to go to Monument Valley for a very long time. I was able to trick Dale into going (he didn’t realize how far or that we would have to go down Moki Dugway!). Here are some pictures. Now I’m wondering what it would be like in first light.

Here are a couple of pictures of Capitol Reef as well. I didn’t find it as photogenic as Monument Valley, but I sure do love the Aspens. I’m still searching for the perfect shot of Aspens. I’m thinking that maybe Ansel Adams already has that one.

Photo Trip – Bryce

paulembley — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 15:37:18 +0000

What a great day in Bryce. The weather was perfect. The only drawback is that a couple of the trails were closed because of the recent rains. But we were still able to hike into the valley and get some great shots, and more importantly, enjoy the peace and quiet.

Photo Trip – Cedar Breaks and Zion

paulembley — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 15:09:05 +0000

I know it has been a very long time since I posted. All the usual excuses that sound hollow. I did try WordPress on the iPad, and was able to get a draft post, but could never figure out how to actually make the post. Argh!

A friend, Dale Kasperak, and I made a trip to Southern Utah/Northern Arizona to do some photography. You will see several posts with the results. This is Cedar Breaks and Zion. We had great luck finding a group of Desert Bighorn Sheep in Zion National Park. And even greater luck that they didn’t care about all the crazy people taking pictures. It started out just three of us taking pictures (Dale, myself and some guy who knew all about them and had a very impressive lens). Within 20 minutes we had people parking in the middle of the road and others cursing and speeding past. How sad!

Mother’s Day

paulembley — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:35:50 +0000

We had a wonderful walk to the neighborhood lake. Spring is here with all of the new babies. What a fantastic way to spend the day! The only thing that would have made it better was to have my own mother here, but I’m so grateful that she is doing what she is doing.