This is a photo of a real life oasis.  I took this photo with my Minolta Dimage 5 just outside of Twentynine Palms, California off of 29 Palms Highway.  The oasis is called Fortynine Palms Oasis.  I first seen this place back in 1998 when our Platoon went on a run from the highway to it.  When I first seen it it was amazing.  It had a lot of running water.  My family and I hiked over to it back in 2002 and it seemed like the water had diminished.  It didnt seem as beautiful as it did before.  I plan to go back again someday and take my son to see it. 

Lately, you have probably heard about the crisis in the San Joaquin Valley with its shortage of water.  It is true.  Farmers are not able to irrigate their crops due to a large shortage of water in the valley.  With the approval of the "Speed Train" I am almost certain that funds that provide water to our valley farmers will get cut even more.  But hey, that is okay right!  As long as the people in San Francisco can catch a train to Los Angeles and get there a couple of hours faster than it takes to drive.  Well, if you are someone who is going to be effected by this crisis (which is almost everyone, because without water for these crops there is no food or produce for the rest of the United States.)  then be sure to give your congressman a shout and let them know how you feel.  I took this picture just off the Interstate 5 and Highway 33 turnoff.  I took it with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT and my Canon 28-135mm lens.  We had just came back from Hearst Castle and we pulled over to take this beautiful picture.

This photo was taken with my Minolta Dimage 5 at Yosemite National Park in California. This is a photo of Vernal Falls. You can see how the tree seems to have grown directly from the rock. Amazing!

This is another example of proper lighting, aperture speed, and a steady hand.  I took this photo with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT and my Canon 28-135mm lens.  I took this photo at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the Jellyfish exhibit.

This photo was taken with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT using the Sigma 70-300mm lens.  I took this photo while on mission in Honduras.  We went up to Guatemala and took a ride on the “Rio Dulce”.  This is a very beautiful place and full of life.