Today is Google+'s first birthday and it has caused me to look back at my experience there. It's pretty safe to say that Google+ has changed my life. There are zero barriers to entry and anyone can be someone there. It's first a network of ideas with communities that have built up around them. So whatever you're into, you can jump right in around your favorite topic and instantly start building relationships with other like-minded people. In places like Twitter or Flickr, I would just follow people. There was this barrier between you and the person you shared interests with. With the photography community on Google+, you can rub elbows with all of your heroes as equals. You can join a hangout taking leaps towards getting to know who someone is. There are numerous photowalks happening where I've created real lasting relationships. I could list of 100 names of people I've met and now consider my friends.

These friends are a tremendous recourse too. If I need advice on places to visit when I'm traveling somewhere, boom there is someone who lives there and can offer some advice. If you're considering a gear upgrade, you can get feedback from real people who already own that gear. If you're in a creative down-turn, there always seems to be someone there to pick you up and encourage you.

What are you waiting for? Get your profile filled out and get out there. You won't find a better place to invest your time!

So I've been busy away from the internet shooting and camping and it's time to catch up. Last night I tried to catch sunset at the Lavender Farms in Shasta Valley north of of Mount Shasta. It was closed, so it was evident I hadn't done my homework. Switching to plan B, I went down to Lake Siskiyou. The mountain was engulfed in clouds all day so I was kind of skeptical. The hour leading upto sunset, they burned off leaving me with a clean view. It would have been nice to have some higher clouds, but I'll take it. It gives me yet another reason to come back.

Click on the image to get this printed.