Amature photographer in training

The title of this post may appear to be redundant, but it is absolutely true in every way. I am such a rookie photographer whose only help guide is a photography book for dummies. Yup, I've put myself in the dummy category. But I am certainly learning a whole lot and I am so excited with the progress that I have seen in my photography.

My latest photography adventure happened just yesterday. The weather called for scattered thunderstorms throughout the day and over the next few days. I was on my way home from work yesterday and felt the call of the vibrant colors that express themselves so completely on an overcast day and take some pictures. I turned off of the main drag going to my home and drove to the hills. I drove around looking for the perfect spot to get out and take pictures, and to my delight I found the perfect spot. I went completely photo crazy. I was on the side of a super steep hill with a tiny trail. I was terrified of sliding down the whole hill and first of all breaking my beloved new camera and secondly soaking myself on all the wet foliage. However, my fears were all in vain because everything went just fine. There were a few tense moments when I reached out and grabbed a soaked sagebrush for balance and in so doing caused a huge amount of water to splash my way. I also tripped over an exposed root and on the way down from the hill I made a poor judgment call on walking through some foliage as a shortcut. I arrived at my home soaked through to the bone and half frozen, but absolutely pleased with the results of my little side trip. I was equally pleased that I had taken time to somewhat literally "smell the roses" and appreciate the beauties of nature.

Without further ado, here are a few of the highlights of my trek though the rain-covered foliage on the small-ish cliff on the south side of Pocatello Idaho.

This one could very well be my favorite