AbeytaPhotography wins Two Ribbons at San Diego County Fair Photography Competition

It was a Long Shot, and I had only entered one competition with my photos before, but I heard about the San Diego County Fair Photo Competition and decided to enter to see how I would fare.

The short of it is . . . I won two fourth place ribbons and 1 honorable mention.

First ribbon is Sunset on Moonlight Beach (Encinitas, California)

The second ribbon is Fall Colors in Central Park (New York City)

Honorable Mention is Spiral Stair Case Up (Kutna Hora, Czech Republic)

Needless to say, I am very excited!  Oh, here's a picture of me and my certificates!

Based on what I read on their website (http://www.sdfair.com/index.php?fuseaction=exhibits.photo) I could see the exhibition was clearly defined, organized, and spelled out the expectations of the photographer and of the exhibition.

The great thing about the SDCFPC is that it had 9 divisions and several subcategories under that in which to enter your photos.

• Division 1201: Color Scenic (landscape)
• Division 1202: Color
• Division 1203: Color Nature
• Division 1204: Cell Phone
• Division 1205: Black & White
• Division 1207: Color, Black & White or Digital Art
• Division 1208: Creative Processes
• Division 1209: Digital Art

The committee, led by Ron Ham and assisted by Gene Wild, did everything possible to support the entrants.  They responded quickly and thoroughly to emails.  They organized helpful classes for image preparation and submission.  The committee had an organized way to submit your photos for the competition.  And finally, the Artists Reception (before the fair started) was very welcoming . . . the staff had all of the images professionally hung, were helpful, and very excited to engage with the artists.

So, if you want to take part in a photo competition, my suggestion is to take part in next year's San Diego County Fair Photo Competition.

Oh, one other thing . . . The San Diego County Fair Photo committee isn't done . . . if you go to their website   (http://www.sdfair.com/index.php?fuseaction=exhibits.photo) they have lots of other things going on during the fair . . . Need photo workshops?  They've got them.  Shooting in Raw, Color Management 101, The Power of Adobe Lightroom and lots more!  And all led by photography professionals!

Custom M&Ms at MyMMs.com with Discount code

If you love M&Ms and you'd like to get some custom creations for a special event, you have to either visit one of the several M&M stores or order custom M&Ms online (mymms.com).

I've done this before but haven't had a reason to in a long time.  Well, in a couple of weeks is my son's high school graduation so I thought I'd get something special for him and our arriving guests.

First, you get to pic the colors.  Since his college colors will be blue and gold, i was lucky they had that combo!

And then you add the some customization . . . I picked a picture from his kindergarten and his senior picture.

And this is what it should look like!

Now, they are pretty expensive . . . over $2.00 for less than an ounce of individually wrapped goodies, but for a memorable gift, this isn't too bad.  But, just to make sure everyone doesn't eat them gone if two small handfuls, i'll make sure to purchase a big bag for the snacking.

Now, here's the good part . . . to save a little bit of money, you can get your personalized M&Ms by using the discount code of My10Off that came in an email.  This discount is taken at the register.  However, always looking for a better deal, I kept trying different variations of the discount code and I was able to save 15% by using the unadvertised code of My15Off.

Its Better to See Something Once Than Hear About it a Thousand Times

I read this phrase the other day as I was bouncing around Pinterest.  It struck chord with me because there so many wonderful things to see and experience in this world that everyone should be inspired to get out and LIVE and EXPLORE this world while we are in transit from one reality to another.

I've been lucky enough to travel to many fabulous destinations and I've been luckier to be able to capture some fabulous memories about those places.  I decided to take the Korean proverb "Its Better to See Something Once Than Hear About it a Thousand Times" and apply it to some of my favorite images from places i've experienced.

In the top left is the proverb.  In the bottom right is the location of where the photo was taken and what I see when I look at it.

By the way, my Pinterest page is http://pinterest.com/abeytaphoto/

The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) at dusk as the
Arno River flows beneath it in Florence Italy

Central Park in the Fall.  The rich and bold
Colors in an amazing landscape in New York City

The pier just before sunrise in Oceanside California

Two lovers on a romantic escape on the
Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic

Enjoying a warm bench on a crisp fall day
In Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  This couple
Enjoyed the view of the Prinsengracht.

Keys Creek Lavendar Farm

Not too far outside of San Diego, just north of Escondido, there is a beautiful lavender farm called Keys Creek Lavendar Farm (http://www.kclfarm.com/).  From Mission Valley, its a short 50 minute drive to this quaint little area full of various types of these purple blooms.

We took an early drive this morning to make our first visit . . . and now I wonder why it took us so long to get there.  The staff is friendly, they have acres of land to walk through and explore, and a great selection of lavender based products . . . who would have thought of Lavender Body Mist?  Well, I guess people who grow lavender.

If you check out there website, they have lots to share . . . even recipes you can make with lavender . . . like their herb goat cheese tart!

Anyway, being the shutter bug, i wanted to share with you these beautiful flowers . . . I am not even sure i did them justice.  If not, take your own ride up north and see for yourself.  There are lots of other places to visit like Rincon Casino, Lawerence Welk Village, or, take the long route home and go west towards the coast and drive south on 101 through Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solano Beach, etc.  You won't be disappointed.

Oh, go earlier rather than later . . . although it was a nice 72 degrees this morning, it was getting warmer.

Fort Collins Brewery Crawl

I spent a wonderful spring afternoon with my brother, his friend, and step dad doing a brewery crawl in Fort Collins, Colorado.  We visited 4 breweries and each of the four breweries had their own unique character.

Funkwerks - www.funkwerks.com/‎

A small and friendly brewery.  They had Munichesque picnic tables out side set up for everyone to enjoy the pleasant weather and the brew.  Their sampler had 5 brews and was reasonably priced.  I love 2 of them, like 1, and two of them were passable if mixed (like a cheap wine).

 

New Belgium Brewery - www.newbelgium.com/

A BIG brewery (and from what I understand, it keeps growing).  Although the bar itself was big, it wasn't big enough for the crowds.  There was a really cool self guided tour that was worth checking out . . . it even showcased their solar powered enhancements to be more green.  I had a pale ale and it was pretty refereshing.

 

 

 

 

Odells Brewing- odellbrewing.com

A brightly lit brewery which was not too crowded . . . and a live band to boot.  We sat, drank our delicious brew and played some poker.   I enjoyed the double pilsner immensly but sampled the Lugene Chocolate - that was flavorful but not something i'd drink on a regular basis.

 

Fort Collins Brewery - www.fortcollinsbrewery.com

By the last stop, i was a bit buzzed and quite hungry.  I had a sampler but by this time, had the barkeep select the  version because i was in no shape to pick.  However, what i did choose to eat was the bacon wrapped pretzel served with stone ground mustard . . . a perfect Bavarian style treat.

If you get the chance, take a brew crawl.  Be responsible and have a designated driver, but gather a few friends and prepare yourself for some laughs and a memorable afternoon.

 

Sunset Market in Oceanside, CA

If you like farmer's markets and you are ever in the North San Diego County (Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, San Clemente, etc), then you need to spend some time and visit Oceanside's Sunset Market on Thursday evenings (http://www.sunsetmarketoceanside.com/).  Sunset Market on Google Maps

It started out as a small gathering of vendors several years ago, and as all successful things do, has grown into quite the event.  I honestly haven't there in two years, but yesterday the weather was wonderful and I wanted to get some fresh produce so we headed out.

The market has grown from just 1/2 a block to four full blocks of local artists, food vendors, and musicians.

This particular night, there were three bands playing by 6pm.  Lightning Train was on the main stage throwing  out older classic country songs

This particular night, my son had some delicious meat pies that reminded me of my grandma's chicken pot pies.  My wife had a delicious Thai rice / chicken / coconut milk dish from the Thai Chef.  Me?  I had a delicious Gyro from Arsalan's Greek.

I purchased a few GIGANTIC lemons from one of the produce vendors at 3 for a $1.  One of these lemons is twice the size of those found in my local grocery store and 60% of the cost.  Good Value!  They also had ripe avocados, fresh cucumbers, and lots of great looking asparagus.

If you are interested in selling your own art, food, or product, check this place out. http://www.sunsetmarketoceanside.com/VENDORS/VENDORS.html

We left before the sun had gone down but the streets were getting busy.  What a nice way to end the day after a hard day's work.  My suggestion is just get out, support our local talent, enjoy a great mix of delicious food and spend some time with friends and family.

My recent trip to Denver had me visiting all kinds of delicious restaurants. Read the reviews on Yelp!

Recent reviews by L A.

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Denver City and County Building Left 201301

Denver City and County Building Left 201301, originally uploaded by les abeyta.

On this cold January night, the Christmas lights of Denver's City and County Building lit up this beautiful building.

Visit beautiful art at Fine Art America. Artisans from all over the world! abeytaphotography.com canvas prints