Electrical Storm…

Last night I decided to go to bed early, so about 10:40 pm, I got up and started doing my things to get ready for some sleep. I went back in the living room for something (no idea what, and never did get it), and I saw a flash outside the back door window. Naturally, I was curious, and went outside to see what it was… Well…

I walked out back to find an AMAZING light show. There was lightning EVERYWHERE! In front of me, behind me, beside me, and directly over me! Mainly, it was the kind of lightning that is SUPER bright, and only flashes in the clouds, with no cloud-ground connection. While beautiful, that type of lightning isn’t great for pictures. Every once in a while though, I would catch a solid cloud<->ground strike in the distance. I decided to grab the camera and see if I could catch any of it.

I didn’t get too lucky, seeing as the good strikes were unpredictable, and minutes apart, but I did catch a few. These were all taken from my back porch, looking across a field at a school. One is a WAY overdone HDR, just for fun. The others are meant to be dark and contrasty for effect…

Tools:
Canon 30D/gripped
Canon 18-55/IS
Remote Shutter Release (cabled)
Tripod ghetto mounted on a BBQ Grill

On to the pics…

Shining Through

Just a quick shot from last night. This is the house across the street from mine…

Parisa & Carolyn

I thought I would share 2 pictures that I took last week of coworkers. In Order, these are of Parisa and Carolyn. Both were taken in horrible conditions (a copy room and office respectively), with my 30D and 85/1.8, with a dedicated flash bounced above…

Personal & Professional Growth…

I haven’t posted in a while, and this is not photography related, but I though it was worth posting…

So…

I have been in my current department (work) for somewhere in the range of 6+ years. I have gone from being the new guy, to the 2nd most senior, and one of the top dogs for what we do. I handle multiple projects for my team, while performing my normal job duties. I am a SME (Subject Matter Expert) in numerous/most areas within the scope of our support, specializing in modems/internet/routing/networking/fiber/ect. Within this department, I have gone from being a Commercial Tech Support Rep, to a Sr. Tech, to Tech Level 3, and now to Fiber Specialist (actually, my current title includes all of those somehow lol). In January of 08, we transitioned into a regional department that supports all of Texas. Before that, we were 7 guys who supported Austin and Waco, so it was a big change. We (our group) have brought this team from 7 people, to well over 40, and we have had a HUGE hand in forming processes (even for other departments across the region), procedures, a large knowledge base, and a very intricate communication structure. Basically, our role in the scope of our regional operations, is very important, and that not only feels nice (w00t!), but makes for incredible job security. My point in all that babble, is that I am in an unique position that I have worked very hard to reach, and leaving that position would be very hard. Well, I am.

Tuesday afternoon, I excepted a position with our Regional Corporate I.T. Team. It’s a big change, and I’ll be the new guy at the bottom of the pile again, but sometimes that’s just what you need. I had a nice, long talk with my boss before he gave his recommendation (which he said took an hour and a half), and we are in agreement. While I don’t want to leave at all, I am very comfortable where I am, and that does NOT promote personal or professional growth. To push myself, I need to step outside of my comfort zone, and that is exactly what I am doing. To say the least, I am excited!

My last day in my current roll is August 20th, and that will be a very happy/sad day…