San Francisco California

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

After spending a delightful morning and afternoon at the Dickens Fair my friend Alex and I headed up to the city to photograph the skyline all lit up for Christmas. It’s a bit hard to tell here, but the Trans America (Pyramid Bldg) has a red light on top for Christmas. Also, in this photo are the towers of Embarcardero Center, the Ferry Building, and way over to the right is Nob Hill. I was freezing! It dipped to the mid-30’s while we were photographing here.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 24-70G @ 24mm| f/8| 4 seconds| ISO200| Manual Priority| Matrix Metering| Tripod

 

“(i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)” ~ E.E. Cummings

While I have my stand with umbrella out I thought I’d compose a couple of still life scenes with a Valentine’s theme.

"(i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only

I purchased a kit of CTO gels for my Speedlight, and have been playing with those too. I hope to create something good enough to share in the future.

I bought the Rogue Universal Filter Kit.
The gels go on easily, and seem to be of good quality. This is my first gel kit, so we’ll see.
I bought my kit at a  local camera store, but Amazon has it too.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 50mm @ f/8| 1/200s| ISO 160| SB600 @ 1/4 pwr camera left| Hand-held

Christmas Dinner

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

We had a lovely Christmas. We slept til 8:00 AM which was so nice. When the kids were little they were up well before dawn poking around. This year my daughter, son-in-law, and new Grandson spent the night with my son-in-law’s  parents so they arrived at our house mid-morning. We opened presents, had breakfast and spent the rest of the morning/afternoon being slugs.

I was off the hook for dinner this year. We were invited to my son-in-law’s parents for dinner. I only needed to take dessert. Easy! I took a pumpkin pie, and apple pie. They were a nice end to Marilyn’s fabulously delicious Italian dinner…I should say feast.

When we arrived Marilyn had the table laid; it was festive, and reminded me of my Mother’s Christmas table setting.

Marilyn's Christmas Table

There were before dinner hors d’oeuvres. My favorite was a Corn dip. I don’t know what besides corn is in it, but it’s really good. I need to get the recipe. We ate it with tortilla chips:

Corn Dip

Little Jaxon made the rounds meeting some relatives for the first time since coming home. Here is he with his Great Uncle Don, and Great Aunt Steph.  Jaxon is in for a lot of good times and laughs when Uncle Don is around. He’s funny!

The Greatest Aunt Steph and Uncle Don

Aunt Rhianna, Uncle Ben, and cousin Maci were there too:

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Jaxon eventually made it back to his Mommy, and his Daddy was nearby.

John Allie and Jaxon Christmas 2012

The aromas emanating from Marilyn’s kitchen were making my stomach rumble.  There’s nothing like a home filled with the great aromas of a home cooked meal about to be served. On the menu were:

Lamb Osso bucco, Chicken cacciatore, a spinach salad with pecans, and pomegranate, all tossed with a light dressing,  fresh steamed broccoli on the side, and no Italian meal is complete without pasta. It was paired nicely with a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Moscato wine.  Oh, and Mother’s milk for Jaxon.

Both the chicken and the lamb were so tender; they fell off the bone at the slightest touch of a fork tine.

Marilyn's Chicken Cacciatore

Lamb Osso Bucco, Chicken and Pasta

Our lovely Hostess Marilyn:

Marilyn_0829Thank you so much for a wonderful meal, great conversation, and your warm hospitality! I’ll be dieting the rest of the week.

Marilyn, I’m serious, come for New Year’s Dinner and share our family tradition with us!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and were blessed to spend it with those you love.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 50mm AF-D| SB600 Speedlight

Bistro Gallery Updated w/New Photos!

Visit The Bistro Gallery to see more photographs from the talented members of the Bistro.

Like this fabulous photo titled “Our National Symbol” by Steve Abatzidis.

Photograph by Steve Abatzidis ( Used with Permission)

To see all the 2011 Bistro Galleries go here then scroll down to the Galleries.

 

Happy 4th of July!