2012: Bring It On!!

I went to the grocery store today and spent more money than I had intended – even though I stuck (for the most part) to my shopping list.  I walked along the alcohol aisle and spotted a bottle of Barefoot Champagne.  I like the Barefoot brand, but have never tried their bubbly, so I bought the bottle, brought it home, and stuck it in the fridge.

Then, as my photographic imagination conjured up a plethora of photo ops, I kept taking the bottle out of the fridge to use as a prop.  All of the photos below are HDR images, created from the use of 3-5 images of the same scene but with different shutter speeds.  I’m posting everything now because I want to, and because I know I will not be up to toast in the New Year.  I am an early riser (4AM during the workweek and 6AM on days off), hence I go to bed early.  I rarely reach the midnight hour unless I am totally focused on photo editing or I am watching something really good on television.  In point of fact, I’ve already opened the champagne (surely it’s New Year’s Eve somewhere on this planet), had a glass (quite tasty), put the rest back in the fridge (I’m a lightweight in my old age), and am going to go to sleep after publishing this post.

Looking back, it’s been a good year for me photographically (workwise, it’s been odd, but photographically, it’s been wonderful).  I’ve traveled to Colorado, London, and all over Ireland this 2011; started my photography website and my Facebook Photography Page (feel free to “Like” me, and thanks!); created photo books on Blurb, and have my very own blog on WordPress.

Here’s to a good 2012 to all of you readers, to WordPress, and to my friends and family!

May 2012 be successful and happy for us all, with more good times than bad times, and when the bad times occur, may they pass out of our lives quickly.

Salud, Slainte, Cheers, Prost, Skaal, Iechye da, Mabuhay, L’Chaim, Kassutta, À votre santé, Bottoms Up!