
I was in California in 2011 to collect family stories on a digital recorder. One of my stops was my cousin Sue and her family. Our mothers are sisters. Sue has a remarkable memory and I recorded her stories of family events.

I was in California in 2011 to collect family stories on a digital recorder. One of my stops was my cousin Sue and her family. Our mothers are sisters. Sue has a remarkable memory and I recorded her stories of family events.

This is a special edition of my favorite photos by date series. In 2011 I set out across the country on a family history excursion. My mission for the California part of my trip was to visit several relatives and record their stories.

I was at Whitefish Point in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is a favorite place for birds to migrate across Lake Michigan in the spring and fall so it is also a favorite place for bird watchers.

Doris is my mother-in-law. We spent the day with her sharing family stories and I recorded them all on a digital recorder. Those stories are a family treasure. Recording her memories was one of the primary reasons for the trip to California. After sharing stories we went out in her back yard where she has a nice little arbor. The light was perfect for portraits. This is my favorite photo for April 26 and one of my all time favorite images.

It got up bright and early and looked outside. It snowed overnight. I was thrilled. Following some excellent advice from a photographer who has spent a lot of time at Bryce Canyon, I went to Sunset Point, not Sunrise Point. This is one of my favorite photos for this date and one of my all time favorite photos.

This article is going to feel at lot like a travelogue – because it is.

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived in Moab Utah, and even later when I drove in to Arches National Park. I just kept saying “Oh, Wow!” and and driving around taking pictures.

Big Bend National Park is one of my favorite places on the planet. That was a big surprise to me since I prefer mountains, pine scented air, trout streams and high mountain lakes. Deserts are not my thing. But I fell in love with Big Bend on my first visit.

I left the Rio Grande Valley in the southern tip of Texas and I was headed for Big Bend National Park. Somewhere between Laredo and Del Rio I spotted these Prickly Pear blooms.

It was Easter Sunday morning and this young woman was one of the people taking up the offering. The expression on her face and the bunny ears make the photo. She was new at this job, taking it very seriously, and determined not to accidentally drop the offering plate. This is my favorite photo for April 20.

This alligator is memorable to me because it decided I would make a tasty lunch. Good for the gator. Not so good for me.

I have two, related, favorite photos for this date and this is one of them. It is an unusual choice.

I practice my wildlife photography skills at a variety of excellent zoos near the places I have lived. This fine eagle was at the zoo in Oklahoma City. This is my favorite photo for April 17.

Another photo from my week in Haiti. I lined the sun up so it was right behind the heart of the palm tree. This is my favorite photo for April 16.

Out for a walk with our dog Sunny. We are in his favorite park. I let him choose our route and most days he chose to walk to this park. This is my favorite photo for April 15.

In 1985 it was my extraordinary privilege to spend a week in Haiti. The people I met were wonderful in their passion, kindness, and devotion. The hillsides that had not yet been stripped bare (to make charcoal) were beautiful. The poverty was staggering. (Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.) It was a life changing week.

You’ve seen this young lady before. I have been photographing Ava and her sisters for over 15 years. This is one of our first impromptu photo sessions. This is my favorite image for April 13.

If you have been following this series, you might have guessed this is another conference photo, but in a different building.

This is one of my favorite rooms on the planet. Ever since I was a small boy I have been intrigued by the large, roundish, room with a dome for a ceiling and a mini-dome at the top. This is my favorite photo for April 11.
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I have two favorite photos for this date, one from a conference, and the other from an art exhibit and auction.

On our way home from our niece’s wedding in North Carolina, we stopped at several places in central lllinois as part of a family history search. One of those places was the public library in Beecher City (population 500). To my surprise, the library had several file folders, several inches thick, with a lot of information on a bunch of Dotys that lived in the Beecher City area. Quite a few Dotys are buried in a cemetery a few miles outside of town.

If you have been following this series, it will not surprise you to known that I was again out at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. But this was a rainy day. There were no wading birds to be seen. It was a gloomy day

We were in California for our usual spring trip to visit family. I found the calla lily in my mother-in-law’s back yard. This is my favorite photo for April 7.

It was a wedding on the beach. It had rained the night before and the sand was cold and wet. It was also chilly and windy. None of that mattered. It was a great day. I wanted a happy photo of my niece’s face. This is my favorite image for April 6.

I know what you are thinking. This is not an impressive photo. You are right. It isn’t. But this is one of the two favorite photos I found for April 5 in my “favorite photos” folder. But this is a special photo.

We were flying home from Fremont California. Our second flight from Las Vegas to Columbus usually take us north of the Grand Canyon so I get a window seat on the right side of the plane. Usually I see the Grand Canyon off in the distance, but this trip our flight path took us right over the Grand Canyon. This is one of two first place favorite images for April 4.

Not only is this my favorite photo for April 3, it is one of my all time favorite flower images.

My niece, Bridget, is a dancer. I captured this moment during a worship service at a Community of Christ World Conference in “The Auditorium”, Independence Missouri. This is my favorite photo for April 2.
You will see Bridget again later this month.

Almost every year in the spring we go to California to visit family in the Bay Area, and some years our visit coincides with the bloom of California Golden Poppies.