The Drawing Board

Carousel

2009-01-16T08:42:00.003-07:00

Carousel
Originally uploaded by tyler.photo

We took the kids to the PHX Zoo for ZooLights. Heather took them on the carousel...I took pictures.

PAUL-E

2008-12-12T09:50:00.006-07:00

PAUL-E
Originally uploaded by tyler.photo

This is Product Development's Christmas gift to the custodian here at work. We're giving him the WALL-E DVD with this cover and we also printed a 12x18 movie poster for him. I had a lot of fun putting this one together and I think he'll really get a kick out of it! Merry Christmas Paul!

San Francisco

2008-12-03T07:08:00.004-07:00

Golden Gate Bridge
Originally uploaded by tyler.photo

We spent the Thanksgiving weekend in the bay area and went into the city on Friday. A few words come to mind...congested, busy, dirty, diverse, and completely fascinating. There's a creative energy in this city that's unexplainable. I didn't think I'd like San Francisco very much as I can't stand big crowds, congested traffic, narrow and winding roads, people looking for handouts, etc...but, this city has so much history and character, I couldn't help but be intrigued. Needless to say, I shot a few pictures...not as many as I would have liked, but I got a few. They can be found by clicking on the Flickr badge to the right.

Superstition Sunrise

2008-08-06T08:21:00.002-07:00

Superstition Sunrise 2
Originally uploaded by tyler.photo

This morning's sunrise was absolutely beautiful. The color in the sky was much more vibrant just a few minutes before I took this picture, but I wanted to capture what was left anyway. As I watched the sunrise, I couldn't help but praise God and thank Him for His goodness, grace, and mercy.

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3

July 4th Weekend

2008-07-10T07:20:00.005-07:00

We spent the 4th of July in Show Low this year...it was beautiful! I took several pictures including the drive and the fireworks display. You can view them by clicking on the picture or by using the Flickr badge I added to the sidebar. This will automatically update when I upload new photos. Enjoy!

Wonder

2008-07-15T10:03:00.002-07:00

Wonder 3
Originally uploaded by tyler.photo

Saturday night, we went to Organ Stop Pizza for a couple of July birthdays. As the walls shook with the sounds of Phantom of the Opera, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, and many other selections, Gavin took it all in with the most sincere expression of wonder and amazement on his face. I had to capture it.

Memory Lane (a.k.a. Pecos Road)

2008-06-30T23:15:00.003-07:00

This photo was taken shortly after our engagement in 2000.

Back then, Pecos Road was just a quiet country road, on which you might see an occasional car drive by. This is also the road in front of my childhood home, so I have great memories of driving my ’55 Chevy back and forth on this very stretch…

Anyway, we thought it might be fun to document the changes that have taken place, both to this patch of ground and to our family, by taking a series of pictures in exactly the same spot. The pavement we were walking on has been torn up and the road rerouted. Instead of alfalfa fields in the background, there are now power poles, street lights, and a freeway. Heather and I have been married for nearly 8 years and we’ve added a couple of little people to the picture, too!

It's amazing how quickly time flies and things change. For me, this is just a little piece of nostalgia.

Photo Notes is on facebook!

2008-05-06T12:55:00.004-07:00

Hello everyone! For the past few months, I've been working with my friend Dave, to develop a fun photo sharing application called Photo Notes. You can upload your own image or use one of our assorted photos, choose a frame to display it in, and choose a font and color for your note. The public site, www.photo-notes.net has been up for several weeks and today, we launched it on facebook! This is the first version, so there will be more features added in later phases.

Have fun sharing your photos through Photo Notes!

Expelled

2008-04-17T10:45:00.005-07:00

This looks like an excellent documentary...once you see the trailers you'll understand why. It opens in theaters tomorrow. Go see it!

Phoenix Zoo

2008-03-24T10:43:00.004-07:00

We went to the Phoenix Zoo on Friday. Here are some of the better shots from the day. At some point this year, I'd like to get something worthy of entering into a competition.

Valentines Dinner

2008-02-25T22:19:00.006-07:00

Yes, yes, I know. It's been a week and a half since Valentines Day, but my biggest artistic endeavor in recent weeks was making dinner for Heather. I enjoy cooking and baking on occasion...particularly special occasions. So, I made Chicken Piccata with steamed asparagus and for dessert, I decided to attempt a recipe for Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake (Heather's favorite). I think it came out very well and I will definitely make it again...since I am now addicted to lemon cream cake.

Oh, and I got new running shoes. They look pretty fast...we'll see.

Snow in the Desert

2008-02-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here's what the Superstitions usually look like...

Here's what they looked like today. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some pictures. It's freezing out here...at least for us thin blooded desert people!

Very Superstitious...

Dirt Road

2008-01-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, my dad and I went out south of Florence to try to shoot the Horsehead and Flame nebulae (whoa, the words shoot, horsehead, and flame all in one sentence). Anyway, some high clouds rolled through, so it wasn't a great night for astrophotography, but I did get an interesting exposure of a saguaro at about 9:30. I shot this with my 50mm prime lens at f/1.8 for 161 seconds.

Oh, and the best part of the night...we found the Dirt Road.

Daybreak at Mercy Gilbert

2008-01-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

I stopped to shoot this picture of Mercy Gilbert Hospital yesterday on my way to work. It was just before sunrise so the sky was just starting to glow. Nothing spectacular about this picture but I thought the lighting and colors were kind of cool...and it's the coolest looking hospital I've ever seen.

Rausch Christmas Card

2007-12-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

I got our Christmas card designed this weekend. I was really going for an "old-time" Christmas kind of look. I had a friend take some pictures of the family and used 2 of those pictures for the card. I filled the background layer with red and then overlayed the larger black and white photo, reducing the opacity to 40%. Then I imported the smaller photo and added a white border and a drop shadow. After that, it was just a matter of finding the right fonts. Merry Christmas!

Tim Tebow

2007-12-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Props to Tim Tebow...Heisman trophy winner and fellow Christian homeschooler! story

An Eagle and An Eye...

2007-12-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned previously, I have again taken up pencil and paper. Here are two sketches I've done over the last few weeks. I used 2 different pencils: a 2b and a 6b extra soft. I really haven't drawn anything since I was 17 (wow, that was 12 years ago!), so when I sat down to draw these, I wasn't sure what I'd wind up with. What say you?

All things creative...

2007-12-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, I've been talking about creating an area where I can post some of my projects for all to see and even critique...and now I've finally done it.

For those who don't know, I have a passion for creating beautiful photographs, digital graphics, and I've even picked up my pencils again. I've been sketching since I could hold a pencil but never really took it seriously...until now. I have taken a renewed interest in all things creative and am pushing myself to produce superior results with whatever medium I happen to be using, whether it be my camera (Canon 350D), pencil and paper, Photoshop, videography, or a combination of the above.

So, I'll begin posting things shortly. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions! Enjoy!

Christmas Card Design

2007-12-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

I threw this together around midnight, last night. I had done a portrait session for some friends and they wanted to use this one for their Christmas card. I picked a mid-range blue from the stripes on David's shirt for the background color and overlaid a snowy field that I shot last year in Tennessee. I reduced the opacity on the snow scene to 60%.

Now, I just have to get around to making one for my own crew...

Outer Space

2007-12-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

I shot these through my dad's Celestron C11 telescope back in October. I've adjusted the levels in Photoshop on all three, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

The Great Nebula (Orion)

The Horse Head Nebula (Orion)

The Veil Nebula