Carl's Blog

Leaves

2009-09-28T22:23:00.004-06:00

Click on the picture to see the larger version.

Early Fall in Big Cottonwood Canyon

2009-09-24T21:21:00.001-06:00

Golden Gate Bridge

2009-07-12T10:05:00.004-06:00

I stuck my head out the window and took this picture while cruising across the Golden Gate Bridge. (I was not driving.)

San Francisco Bay from the Golden Gate Bridge

2009-07-05T18:53:00.002-06:00

I took this from the backseat of a car while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Lots of Wind...

2009-07-01T17:11:00.001-06:00

Tanner

2009-06-05T10:15:00.005-06:00

I haven't taken many pictures of people, but I thought I should give it a try. I used my nephew Tanner as a guinea pig. He was a good sport.

Jared Graduated

2009-06-04T10:34:00.007-06:00

My little brother graduated last weekend, so I headed down to Texas for a few days. It made me feel a little old. Here are a few shots from that evening.

2009-05-24T22:52:00.003-06:00

Upper Falls

2009-05-23T14:23:00.006-06:00

I was hoping to drive the Alpine Loop this morning, but I was turned away at the booth because there was construction a few miles up the road. For anyone interested, the Loop opens on June 1st. So, on my way back to Provo I went on a short hike to Upper Falls. Though overcast, it was a nice day for it. There's never too many people on this trail, so if you're looking for solitude and a short, but steep hike, you should pay the falls a visit.

*For anyone that cares (which I doubt few of you do), I did in fact use a polarizer filter for this shot. I just happened to be on this hike in the middle of the day when polarizers don't work very well. Usually, when I see a picture like this I say, "They should have used a polarizer and it would have turned out much better." I will not be so judgmental in the future.

At the Aviary

2009-05-22T00:28:00.004-06:00

I had a little time to kill in Salt Lake City today, so I went to Tracy Aviary. It wasn't as entertaining as I hoped it would be - in fact, it was pretty lame. The people that run the place make it nearly impossible to take decent pictures of 99% of the birds there. (All of the really cool looking birds live in small cages surrounded by ultra-thick wire.) This bird below was one of the remaining 1% of the birds that could be photographed.

Ammon and the Rain Man

2009-05-13T21:45:00.005-06:00

My friend, Ammon, and I were at the library in Salt Lake City today when we spotted the actual Rain Man. Ammon asked Mr. Peek if he could tell him the day of the week that he was born. Ammon told him the date and, without missing a beat, he told him that he was born on a Wednesday. I called another friend, Daniel, and he looked it up on the internet. He confirmed that Jan. 20, 1982 was a Wednesday.

At Liberty Park in Salt Lake

2009-05-11T18:55:00.004-06:00

I was getting bored waiting for my friend, Ammon, to get off of work yesterday. So, I went across the street from his house to a park and took some pictures. Here is one of them:

Another shot from my front yard.

2009-04-21T13:34:00.004-06:00

The past few posts have all been pictures taken in my front yard. This is largely due to the fact that my car blew up, so I haven't been driving around as much as usual. Here's another I took a few days back. The composition should have been better, but whatever...

Trees Blooming

2009-04-20T23:47:00.001-06:00

And More Snow...

2009-04-15T15:27:00.005-06:00

So after a couple of days of great weather, I woke up to this...

More snow...

2009-04-01T13:58:00.004-06:00

I'm getting tired of the snow. I had to scrape my windshield this morning, which I really hate doing. Hopefully, it will be the last time this winter. I took this picture this morning though...

Saturday Morning photos

2009-03-28T12:22:00.004-06:00

Those who know me well know that I don't sleep in. I don't have any objections to others sleeping in, I just can't do it. This morning just before 7:00 am I drove to the opposite side of Utah Lake and took pictures for about an hour. Here are a few of them.

A Horse...

2009-03-26T11:55:00.002-06:00

I was taking a walk in the outskirts of South Provo and walked by a pasture. When this horse saw me passing he trotting over to the fence and let me pet him (I'm sure he was wishing I came offering treats). The other two horses there ignored me completely.

Storm over Utah Lake

2009-03-25T18:27:00.003-06:00

I took this picture a couple of days ago early in the morning. It was in the upper 30's outside and really windy. I was hoping the sun would pop out at some point, but it never did. The composition of this picture could definitely be better, but I was freezing and this was the last shot I took before I packed up my gear and cranked up the heater in my car.

Wall on Center St.

2009-03-13T11:34:00.003-06:00

I was driving down Center Street the other day and saw this wall. I came back when the lighting was better and snapped this one.

First picture with my new camera.

2009-02-07T10:39:00.003-07:00

As the title of this post suggests, here is the first picture I took with my new camera. I took the picture of my dog, Beau, when I was visiting my family in Texas in December. I'm still trying to learn all of the features on my new Nikon. It's been a long time since my last post (I apologize), but I'm hoping to get back to posting regularly.

Box Canyon

2008-09-10T18:23:00.004-06:00

I'm getting really bad at posting regularly. Here's an old one from my trip this summer to Ouray, Colorado. This is in Box Canyon just after the falls. Hopefully, more new stuff will be up in the not so distant future.

Me...

2008-08-06T17:49:00.004-06:00

A few of you suggested that I post this one, and I have nothing better to do, so I gave in... My friend Cory took this picture a while back while we were waiting (a very long time) for friends to bring back some meat to throw on the grill.

And another from Bear Lake...

2008-07-30T17:12:00.004-06:00

This picture is very similar to the one I posted a couple of days back, but I like it anyway...

Another from Bear Lake...

2008-07-29T17:17:00.004-06:00

This is just another from the eastern shore of Bear Lake...

Sunset at Bear Lake (Idaho)

2008-07-28T18:44:00.005-06:00

I took this picture at Bear Lake (located in Southeastern Idaho along the Utah border) a little while back. None of the pictures I post here will do the lake much justice... It's really, really nice there. Two or three months ago, I borrowed a high end Canon camera (1D MarkIII) from a friend, which is probably worth more than my life, and took a ton of pictures of the lake. I was really amazed how well they came out. (I shouldn't have been though...my camera costs about $300 or so, and the loaner carries a price tag around $5,000!) Unfortunately, due to some circumstances (I'm not going into details), I don't have any of the pictures anymore. So, needless to say, I'm excited to get my new camera because there is a huge difference in quality. In the meantime, I'll continue to post my mediocre ones. I have a few others from Bear Lake that fall into this category that I'll post over the next few days.

Sorry...

2008-07-21T19:26:00.003-06:00

Once again, sorry for the delay in posting any new photos. Honestly, I should be getting my new camera (Nikon D300!) fairly soon, so there should be some good ones up shortly thereafter. I have a few more from my old stuff that I may or may not put up. We'll see...

I've been busy...

2008-06-24T14:34:00.001-06:00

So, I've been really busy lately, but I'll post more stuff soon. So, stay tuned...

Picture of the Day - Road to Engineer Pass

2008-06-19T09:32:00.004-06:00

I took this right on the side of the road where the Million Dollar Highway turned off to a dirt road leading to Engineer Pass. (Once again, I wish I had 4WD.)

Picture of the Day - Walls of Box Canyon

2008-06-17T07:58:00.003-06:00

Here's another from Box Canyon in Ouray.

Picture of the Day - Cascade Falls

2008-06-14T16:10:00.005-06:00

The picture above was taken at Cascade Falls. I think the larger version is much better, so click on the picture to see it. I thought it turned out quite well, and I thought I'd share...

Picture of the Day - Quakies in Yankee Boy Basin

2008-06-13T16:44:00.003-06:00

I took this picture last weekend while driving up Yankee Boy Basin (near Ouray, CO). It's a really pretty area. I was wishing I had a 4-wheel drive so that I drive further up the road but unfortunately I did not...

Box Canyon Falls - Ouray, CO

2008-06-10T07:40:00.009-06:00

Here are some more pictures from my trip to Colorado. This is Box Canyon Falls. It is actually a really hard place to take photos due to poor lighting and weird angles, so this is as good as I could do with the equipment I had with me...

Trip to Colorado...

2008-06-09T10:23:00.010-06:00

I really needed a break from being in Utah, so I took a road trip to Colorado this past weekend. I've been trying to get up to Yellowstone the past few weeks, but it has been raining there each of the last three weekends. So, off to Colorado and the San Juan Mountains I went... I took a ton of pictures (and there were lots of keepers), so I'll post a bunch of them over the next couple of weeks. Here's a few...

I get complaints that I never put up pictures of myself, so here's one I took along the Million Dollar Highway at 11,000 feet.

The pictures above and below are of Cascade Falls (located in Ouray, CO). I have a few more that I'll post later that turned out really well and may be the best pictures I've ever taken...

Riding in a Hot Air Balloon...

2008-06-04T16:23:00.006-06:00

So I got to ride in a hot air balloon last weekend (I took the picture above) in Hobble Creek Canyon. It was actually pretty lame because there were so many people that were in line for rides that we didn't get very high before they sat us back onto the ground. Luckily it was free.(Hence, the long lines.) But it made me want to take a "real" hot air balloon ride someday. I know my friends took some pictures of me up there, so I'll try to post some soon...

Battle Creek Falls

2008-06-03T07:40:00.008-06:00

Here are a few more picture from Battle Creek Falls. I hope you like them...(Click the images for larger versions.)

Picture of the Day - Battle Creek

2008-06-02T07:29:00.002-06:00

I went up Battle Creek Canyon this weekend and took a few pictures. I'll post a few more soon, but here is one that came out fairly well. This spot is located at the top of Battle Creek Falls, right before the stream spills over the cliff.

Picture of the Day - Shadows in the Snow

2008-05-30T15:20:00.005-06:00

This picture is just okay. I've learned a few tricks since then that would have made it turn out a lot better. Oh well...
Speaking of snow...I think it's finally done snowing here for the season. We got a really late snow about a week and a half ago, so there's still snow up in the mountains. It's starting to warm up a lot, so we'll see how long it will last up there.

Picture of the Day - Trujillo Meadows

2008-05-27T07:36:00.004-06:00

Here's another from Trujillo Meadows (located in Southern Colorado).

Picture of the Day - Utah Lake

2008-05-24T10:35:00.006-06:00

I took this picture a couple of weekends ago at Lincoln Beach on the south end of Utah Lake. Click on the picture for the larger version

Picture of the Day - Provo Sunset

2008-05-23T08:44:00.004-06:00

I was at the parking lot getting ready to hike up to the "Y" about a year ago when I took this picture right before the sun went down. (I took it with my old camera, so it's not as good as some of my newer pictures.)

Picture of the Day

2008-05-22T12:38:00.003-06:00

This larger version of this picture came out pretty well, so click on it...

Picture of the Day

2008-05-21T07:57:00.002-06:00

I snapped this photo a little while ago while I was hiking to Stewart Falls. The snow finally melted off enough to make it all the way to the falls.

Picture of the Day

2008-05-20T07:28:00.004-06:00

This is picture was taken at the park next to my house. It turned out alright.

Picture of the Day - Peacock Crossing

2008-05-19T08:13:00.003-06:00

I came across a bunch of peacocks last weekend when I drove around Utah Lake. Here is a picture that I played around with using Photoshop.

Horses...

2008-05-13T13:12:00.011-06:00

These pictures were taken directly south of Utah Lake (around Lake Shore, UT) on Saturday morning. The weather was great and it was nice to get out of Provo for a while. Lots of the pictures turned out looking pretty good. Here are a few...

*There's a llama in this picture in the upper left corner.

Spring finally...

2008-05-12T07:13:00.009-06:00

The spring weather has been pretty odd this year in Utah. One day it's blazing outside and the next you're scraping snow and ice off your windshield. This morning, I looked outside my window and saw that it snowed a little bit more in the mountains. (It just rained in the valley.) Here are a few pictures I took last week. They look a ton better if you click on them.

Ducks in the Park...

2008-05-10T16:23:00.011-06:00

I took these pictures on Friday afternoon right after I got off of work. I often take walks to this park to feed the ducks. (It's conveniently located right next to my house.)

Yeah...I'm aware that the bird above is not a duck. But it looked cool so I put the picture up. If I would have paid more attention in Boy Scouts I could probably tell you what kind of bird it is. (If anyone knows, leave a comment.)

Bridal Veil Falls

2008-05-08T11:36:00.007-06:00

This is Bridal Veil Falls, located in Provo Canyon along the Provo River. I drive by this waterfall all the time whenever I head down the canyon. I took these pictures a while back. I thought I'd share...

More Colorado pictures... (click on them for large versions)

2008-05-07T20:10:00.012-06:00

A couple of days ago I found a CD that I had burned a little while back that I had totally forgotten about. (Apparently I'm not very good at organizing things.) I was surprised to find a bunch of pictures on it that I had taken in Colorado. It brought back a lot of memories and I think they turned out pretty well. Most of these were taken in the Pagosa Springs area. I took these with an old digital camera, so the quality of some of them are a little shoddy.

Above: On a hike to Piedra Falls

Above and Below: Treasure Falls

Above: Trujillo Meadows (My family visited here a couple of times when I was little. I camped here fore a night and took lots of pictures.)

Above: Cumbres Pass

Above: More quakies for Mom...

My laptop crashed...

2008-05-05T20:01:00.010-06:00

So the other day, the hard drive on my computer crashed and I realized I lost a lot of great pictures that I had stored on it. I still have a few saved in other places, but a lot of them are the smaller versions (which just isn't the same). At least my computer made it through finals so that I didn't lose any of my big papers. (That would have been much worse.) However, I did want to post a couple of pictures that I know my mom will like. The first is of some quaking aspens in Colorado (I know how she loves those), and the second is an admittedly poor picture I took of Elk Creek where we used to go camping together in Southern Colorado many years ago...

Flaming Gorge Pictures

2008-05-04T18:31:00.011-06:00

Here are a few pictures I took at Flaming Gorge (North-Eastern Utah) last fall. I drove up by myself for a couple of days to take some pictures and do some camping. It got snowed on a little that night and it got really cold unexpectedly. Fortunately I brought my heaviest coat along just in case...

This picture looks a lot better blown up. (So click on it for the big version.) It could still probably use some Photoshop though...

This was a random American flag that was out in the middle of nowhere. You can see a small deer to the right. (Once again, click on it to see a larger version.)

Sorry for the ugly colors...

2008-05-03T11:50:00.002-06:00

So, I was pretty bored this morning...I decided to play around with my blog a little and ended up messing it up a bit. I know, the colors are not good...They will be gone soon. I just ran out of time because I have to go and do a ton of homework, so I didn't have time to fix them. I'll update it soon...

Almost time to visit Colorado again...

2008-05-01T14:56:00.001-06:00

So, I'm thinking of taking a short trip to Southern Colorado sometime in the next few weekends. There's an area down there (it doesn't have a name) that I really like to visit, and I really need to get out of Provo for a little bit. I think it needs to warm up just a tad before I go camping though, so it might be a month before I can go and not freeze to death at night. (It's 35 degrees there right now around 3:00 PM.)
One cool thing that I found online is a webcam that some guy put outside of his cabin down there that stays up year round. So, I can go and look to see how much snow is on the ground, and decide how enjoyable the trip would be. Also, as most people know, I like to take pictures. So, I use his webcam to see if its a good time of the year to take pictures down by the Conejos River. Currently, it looks like it needs to green up a little more, but it won't be long...

http://www.gartholson.net/horca/conejoswebcam.php

My pooch Beau...

2008-04-28T11:21:00.000-06:00

So, this is my dog Beau. He is a puggle (cross between a pug and a beagle). Most people who know me have heard about, or met, Beau at some point, but these are the first pictures I've put up. He's currently living down in Texas in my parents' back yard (Thanks Mom and Dad), but I am planning on picking him up sometime in the next couple of months or so. I'm excited to get him back and I'm sure my family is ready to get rid of him. (My mom calls him the "crazy dog.")

I guess I'm still a Texan after all...

2008-04-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

You are 90% REAL Texan!!

High five, you're a complete Texan. People from other states should tremble in your presence because they're simply not worthy. Let them bow before you and convey their undying adoration to you while they announce their true desire to be Texan.

How Texan Are You?

Yeah Kara, I totally whipped you and I haven't even lived in the state since '01 (I still carry a Texas Driver's Licence though). I would have done better, but I got docked because I haven't gotten drunk on 6th Street and I'm sure I missed some of the other Austin related questions... Oh well, not too bad for Utahn...

I'm really tired...

2008-04-15T17:46:00.000-06:00

So, the past few nights, I've been tackling a seemingly never ending amount of school work. I got about two and a half hours last night and about three the night before. I think it has finally caught up with me. This morning at around 8:30 I went into the library to finish a paper I wrote on economic growth in Finland. I got done right around 5:00 this afternoon and the sun was already going down for the day (how depressing), and for some weird reason it decided to snow. I'm off to a review session right now, then it's off to finish my last bit of homework. Then I think I'm gonna sleep...for a long time...

Upper Falls Hike

2008-03-24T12:36:00.002-06:00

So, I went on a short hike to a place called Upper Falls (located in Provo Canyon just around the mountain from Bridal Veil Falls). I went wearing shorts because the weather was really nice in town, but it was actually still pretty chilly in the canyon due to high winds and quite a bit of snow still on the ground. In the picture above, you can see a tiny waterfall in the middle. That's where I went.

More snow...

2008-03-15T14:12:00.001-06:00

So I just got off the phone with my Mom a few minutes ago... Apparently it's 95 degrees back home in south Texas today. This whole week I was looking forward to doing a bit of hiking whenever the weekend came. Unfortunately, the Weather Channel gave me this news (see image), when I checked the forecast. So, it looks like no hiking for me this time around. But, honestly, it is starting to get nice lately, so hiking weather is not too far away. When spring is here it will be worth it. (I'll try to post some pictures.) So, you Texans can keep your 95 degrees. It's gonna be blazing there before you know it...

Stewart Falls Pictures

2008-02-21T11:30:00.004-07:00

Here's a couple of old pictures I took at Stewart Falls. It's a place that I've hiked or jogged to more times than I can count. I'll be glad when the snow melts off a little bit so that I can get back there again.

Game Theory is not fun...

2008-02-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

If you've ever seen the movie "A Beautiful Mind" (starring Russell Crow), you'll recall a economic mathematician named John Nash developed a Nobel prize winning theory (Game Theory) that mathematically describes behavior in strategic situations. It's some pretty deep stuff and fairly interesting. Unfortunately, I've been sick lately and missed the first day my professor introduced the theory in class. So, for the past hour or so, I've been staring at the two above equations trying to get them to make some sense. About 5 minutes ago, I think I finally got the meaning...

Moral of the story: Watch the movie (which is good), don't try to study the material (which is not good).

Sunset Picture - November 2007

2008-02-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

Here's a couple of pictures I took when I was on visiting my hometown in Texas a few months back. Not too bad for a really old digital camera...