Doug Lhotka

Technical Storyteller

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Doug Lhotka.
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Photo Friday (on Thursday) – Remember Pearl Harbor

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Photo Friday is a day early this week, to remember and honor those who fought and gave their lives at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.

We visited there in 2006, just as I was starting to get into photography.  Like many folks, I took my camera with me, but didn’t think I’d use it much.  Memorials like the Arizona are somber places, and I feel a great debt to those who have served and defended our country so that the rest of us may live in peace and safety.

After visiting the memorial, we were walking back to the boat, when I saw this image.  It’s right next to the part of the battleship that is out of the water at low tide, and is the fuel that still leaks from her hold.  Someone had added two orchids in remembrance of that terrible day, and I was struck by how the colors of the flower matched those in the water.

So this Christmas season, let me thank those families who are without their loved ones, both those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and those still serving today.  Thank you for letting the rest of us borrow them for a while – we appreciate both their, and your, sacrifice on our behalf.

Why I live in Colorado

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There’s a lot of reasons I live in Colorado – the mountains, wilderness, snow, sun, and fresh air (though not football at the moment).  This is another one – shot last week out in my back yard – we’ve had these almost every night for couple of weeks.  Truly amazing, though the image doesn’t do it justice.  My new Nikon 24-70 lens appears to be defective out of the box, and they’re backordered, so this one’s shot on a 70-300.  Telephoto is pretty much the worse lens for a scene like this, but any shot is better than no shot!

Denali on a ‘clear’ day

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Visiting Denali national park is always spectacular, and no matter the weather, there’s always good shooting.  If it’s rainy or overcast the critters come out, and if the sun’s shining, you might be one of the 30% of visitors who get to see the peak itself.  This was on our last day of the trip, leaving the park.  Not a bad sendoff at all.