Holiday lights take an otherwise ordinary shot into another dimension when shot with my old Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens, shot wide open. I captured this slice of holiday happy just before the family sat down to dinner yesterday at our family gathering in Bellevue. I like it so much that I’m heading to the Bellevue Botanical Garden tonight with my Glidetrack to have a go at shooting some of the over-the-top lights there, to use for who-knows what: backgrounds, abstract video compositing, whatever. Or maybe just because it’s pretty.

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I was in Portland this weekend, celebrating my birthday with my wife Lara. We spent some time discovering great little places like M Bar. I was carrying my iPhone 4 and my Canon 60D. When I had my “serious photographer” hat on, I shot with the 60D. When I was just fooling around, I shot with the iPhone. And guess what? I like a lot of the iPhone snaps better.

Here’s a couple of photos that illustrate the point. Exhibit A is a photo I took with my 60D through the window of a bar (consciously trying to make a good picture). Exhibit B is shot with iPhone, and I was just messing around (subconsciously trying to make a good picture). Which do you like better?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I like ‘em both for different reasons, but if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick B any day. There’s just a lot more going on that’s interesting to look at. A is a quick-read; B is a deep read. It’s the thinker’s pick. And when it comes to photography, I like thinking deep.

Problem is, for some reason, whenever I have a 2.8 lens on my DSLR, I think shallow. Both pictures present different challenges: A is easy to compose, but harder to get critical focus. B is a piece of cake to focus, but much harder to compose and pick just the right moment to snap the picture.

This is a reminder to me that all that camera gear is supposed to work for you, not think for you. What I hope to take away from this is a reminder that there’s a big aperture dial on all DSLRs. And it’s important to use the big numbers as often as the little ones.

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Heading home. On the tarmac at Baltra Airport, Galapagos.

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Sunset at Post Office Bay, Floreana Island, Galapagos.

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Green turtles must find deserted sandy beaches to lay their eggs. Trouble is, virtually all the open sandy beaches are colonized by sea lions. But not this one. Why? Because sharks have long used this bay for sleeping – marking it permanently off limits to sea lions. But not to turtles, who have migrated here for generations, mating in the shallow water and crawling ashore to lay their eggs at night.

The beach gets its name from the flour-like consistency of the sand. In addition to the turtle hatchlings, large numbers of young sting rays spend their childhood in the surf along this beach, before heading out to sea.

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Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the second-largest town in the Galapagos, located on the island of San Cristóbal.

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Less than a mile from the spot where Darwin first stepped foot in the Galapagos in 1835, the San Cristóbal Interpretation Center gives visitors an opportunity to reflect on Darwin’s legacy, and learn about preservation efforts made by the Ecuadorian national park service.

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A large prickly pear cactus tree blooms on colorful South Plaza Island. The orange of the Sesuvium ground vegetation indicates it’s dry season. In the background, resting at anchor, is the 103-foot yacht Treasure of the Galapagos, our home during the trip.

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At anchor off San Cristóbal, the easternmost of the Galapagos Islands. Geologically the second oldest island in the archipelago, it is the first island Darwin landed on during his 1835 Beagle voyage.

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Like much of the wildlife in the Galapagos, a Blue-footed Boobie on Española is ambivalent to humans.

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