Cupertino, California - I was leaving the auto dealership today after getting the oil changed in my car. I stopped at a stoplight, at the end of a long line of cars. Since I am easily distracted, I was fiddling with the radio and looking at what stores or restaurants were on the street. As I glanced out the passenger window to my right, and this scene presented itself to me.

In early January I joined an online group whose members each create one photo a week on a selected theme to share on their website and to get critiqued. Called 52frames.com, I've been enjoying the weekly experience. I'm currently in my ninth consecutive week, and I believe I can keep this thing going. I’ve learned that it doesn't matter what my subject matter is, and it doesn't matter whether I wind up with a good photo or not. it’s the process that keeps me thinking creatively, and I have fun with it.

Today my wife and I had a wonderful walk in the Santa Cruz Mountains foothills in Cupertino. The place is called the Fremont Older Preserve, and it's beautiful. We drove up a narrow, winding road, passing some amazingly large mansions. The higher we went, the bigger the mansions got

Liz and I went shopping for fruit the other day, and not in the way you're thinking. Did we go to the supermarket and load up on fruit? No way! This is California, baby! Instead, we drove around town, stopped at people's homes and picked the fruit from their trees.

Today was tough because I'm a bit homesick. I miss the familiar sights and sounds that, unknowingly, have kept me comfortable for the past few decades. We are such creatures of habit that once we are out of our comfort zones we look for something to take its place. But I found solace and comfort in an unexpected place. It was in the most important photo ever created.

Great news! After months of house preparation in Massachusetts we sold our home of 24 years and headed west. It was a hell of a process, but we did it. Thankfully, Liz is an incredible organizer and ran the whole project (and me) the way she runs her consulting work—like a boss!

I’ve been so busy lately that shooting pictures and having fun hasn’t been a big focus. However, I had an amazing time at a photoshoot today.  I joined up with a great non-profit called Wish for Wheels  (based out of Denver, CO). Wish for Wheels’ mission is to get a new bicycle into the hands of second graders everywhere for families that can’t afford a bike.

I joined them for the giveaway day of the bikes at a Section 1 school in the Boston Public Schools system.

This may sound weird, but I love finding abandoned umbrellas in the city after a big storm. Especially if they are clustered in trash cans or lying prone on the street. I’ve wanted to get a certain kind of photo of an umbrella after a storm for a couple of years, but either I’m not in the city when a storm comes, or the timing is not good and the umbrellas are cleaned up before I can get to them. But while I had missed numerous opportunities, I kept thinking about the image I wanted. Then it happened.

I spent the end of last year and the beginning of this year working hard on getting my photos out for people to see. My efforts paid off. I was in a gallery last summer, had a big showing in a beer taproom this fall, and now I have one image in an exhibition on Plymouth, and one coming up with three images. All of this is great, and I’m blessed to have these opportunities to display my work. But there’s a problem.

While my photos were showing at the Woodman/Shimko Gallery in Provincetown, MA this summer, I connected with the representative from Untold Brewing, a craft brewery near my home in Massachusetts. Untold has a taproom in Hingham, MA, and while sipping a double IPA there with my wife Liz last spring I noticed that they have a massive wall that begged to be filled with images. Since Untold Brewing has a bit of a seafaring/maritime angle due to its location, I thought my images would fit in well with the vibe.