Captured Here

Broken

2009-09-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

Broken
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

A good picture is equivalent to a good deed.
~Vincent Van Gogh

Here's Lookin' at You Kid!

2009-09-23T15:45:00.001-07:00

Here's Lookin' at You Kid!
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I finally got around to developing my first roll of film through an Ultronic Panoramic (a junk store cheap camera).
I had wanted to send it off to be developed so I could actually have color, but....something happened at the end of the 12 exposure roll. It kept winding and winding....as if it were an endless roll of film!
Since I figured I must have ruined all or at least part of the roll clicking away like a mad woman, I decided it would be best to just throw it in a batch of diafine (for b&w film) and was shocked to have images after all!
Most of the images look like they are rather dark and contrasty. I have no idea if it's the film, the camera or what.
I may, or may not, post more from this batch later.

This is one of my kids being cute because he knows I'm shooting him AGAIN!

I had good news this week! Some of my photos sold over at Your Ky Photos! That's a start in the right direction.

Macro World

2009-09-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

entangled
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I went camping with our boy scout troop this past weekend. Saturday morning we woke up to a dew covered world. We camped right next to a small lake, the kind that doesn't see many campers or fishermen, so there were lots of grasses, wildflowers and cattails growing near the water's edge. A perfect place to wonder around with a camera and macro filters in the early morning's light. I haven't visited the macro world as much lately, and I thoroughly enjoyed the mini vacation of exploring the things that lay just within reach and sight if we just slow down, sit down, and look closer.
You have to learn to look slowly, and watch where you put your feet, your hands and your lens, you can find so many things in what seems like a small space to us.
I found spiders and their webs, woolly worms, frogs, and water drops on everything! Oh how the water drops glisten like jewels in the first warm rays of light!
In my home world I would never imagine going on such a grand adventure before my first cup of coffee of the day. But when on an adventure, rules are meant to be broken!

Chevy Truck

2009-09-10T09:04:00.001-07:00

Chevy Truck
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I'm getting back to finding new ways to look at my images. Photographing cars and trucks at car shows can be such a challenge, because it's so hard to isolate what I want to be in the shot. There is always a bright colored car parked next to light colored ones, which reflects in the one I'm shooting, plus I try not to capture people who probably don't realize they may be in the shot. I don't always have time to wait for them to move, but I don't want to make them hurry up just for me. Most of the cars and trucks at the shows can only be truly appreciated when you slow down to look at the details inside and out. The owners often put much time and money in these rolling works of art, they enjoy seeing people take pleasure looking at them, and hear what they think about it. Stopping to talk to the owners, even for a minute can be so rewarding. You find out so much more about the car that way. When you hear how much it means to them and what they've done to get it to the condition it is (or keep it the way it was), makes it that much more beautiful and special.
Unfortunately, I don't get to stop and talk to near as many owners as I would like, at any of the shows we go to. I hate it when I can only click the shutter and move on. Summer heat can make it more challenging to get out and chat with the owners. It can really sap my energy and hospitality.
I hope that going back to edit some of these shots can help bring out what is so special about some of these cars and trucks. I never get tired of looking at them! I hope you don't either!

Summer's Last Glow

2009-09-03T19:19:00.001-07:00

Summer's Last Glow
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
This year has been a year of seasons of every kind, and it's not over yet!
There are physical seasons we all see as weather, and there are spiritual seasons we each experience, often alone, sometime with others.

Physically, this year began much like many we have here in Kentucky; mild, sometimes cold, but often warm enough to grill something outside. But that normality didn't last long, and by the time the first month came to an end, winter played a cruel hand on us.

When spring finally came I looked for our dogwood trees to bloom. One usually blooms white, while the other blooms pink. This year they didn't bloom. They weren't damaged very badly by the ice storm, so I don't know why they wouldn't bloom. It was a part of spring I had looked forward to, and I missed it very much.

Summer has been mild for us this year. No drought has plagued us this year, which is a relief. But the pendulum swung far the other direction, and for many parts of the state, floods were almost the norm. In my yard, floods did not occur, but the cooler air and extra clouds has effected how the garden has grown this year. The summer mantra everywhere this year has been, "it's been a bad year for tomatoes". Even so, I have an abundant amount of cherry tomatoes being processed in my kitchen this week, as the little red bombs grow like weeds in my yard!

August has just slipped away from us, schools are in session, and the air is changing. When the wind blows, the walnut tree gets more bare, the nights are getting cooler and it feels good to sleep with windows open again. I see squirrels hunting for walnuts, and the starlings are beginning to flock.
In my spirit I feel the windows closing. The days I used to spend surrounded by my children are fading. One more has left home. He hasn't gone far, yet, but I am feeling the emptiness that eventually comes to all mothers when their children leave home to make their own way in the world. I am left to finish raising one more, and look forward to the days when they all come back again. Their voices are sorely missed here, but they will return again!
Who knows what the remaining months will bring us, here, weather wise and other wise. The signs are all around us, the seasons are changing already. There are still plenty of warm days left, but the cool ones are creeping in.
So get out and enjoy the warm days, the cool nights, and each other. For the end of a season is not the end of all things. New things, new people, and new experiences lie just ahead, around the corner where we cannot see them waiting. Take time to enjoy the changing of the seasons too!

Glowing Grill

2009-08-30T14:07:00.001-07:00

Glowing Grill
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

The other day while looking through some of my most recent photos, I noticed that I haven't been playing around with post processing very much lately. This is one area of photography that I love to play with.
I took several shots of a few cars and trucks at a cruise in the other night, but they just didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. They were images I really wanted to keep, so I decide to play, and I felt like an artist who hasn't held a brush in a long time! It was fun, even though I was feeling a little rusty!
After a few attempts at different effects I got this one that I liked best. I like how it brings out the reflections in the chrome and polished surfaces, and the contrast. To me, it just seems to bring out the character of a cool old truck!
This one, by the way, was a 1950 GMC. A model we don't see as often at the local car shows and cruise ins. This truck parked next to us, and I had to control my drool over it, I really enjoyed looking at it a lot!

Over 600 Views!

2009-08-20T11:57:00.001-07:00

Over that last few months I have been passing out little cards to direct people to this blog, and I have been getting more views. I don't get any comments, so I wonder who is taking the time to stop by and what they think of what they see.
My previous post I described my most recent trip to a local car show. I have uploaded more photos of that event to the YourKyPhotos web site.
I have links on this site directing viewers to that site just to make it easier, as I know typing in a url can be a test of patience, and even a gamble if you are prone to making typos.
That site where I sell selected photos lets me, as a contributor, see how many people are viewing my photos and albums, and I must say I'm quite impressed with the large volume of visits to my recent album. The current count is over 600 and still counting. Why am I impressed? I only passed out 3 business cards during that event, and I seriously doubt there were even half that many people at the event itself!
Now, I'm the first person to admit that math is not one of my strong suits, but that is quite an astounding number for this small town gal.
But I'm not celebrating this simple milestone. Why? Because out of all those views of an album containing only 13 photos, not one single order has been placed! I would like to think if my photos are good enough to be looked at hundreds of times, they are capturing someone's interest in some way, and the photos are also (if I do say so myself) worthy of ordering a print or two!
So if you are one of those fine folks who is taking the time to visit my blog and visit my folders in YourKyPhoto, the best way to share those photos with your friends and family is to get a print or two made! Tell everyone who took the photo, and tell them where you got it so they can get a print of their own! The best thing about photos is sharing them and the memories they capture for you!
While you are here, leave me a comment, or email me one. I would love to hear from my viewers, and I would especially love to hear from some of the folks I've met at the various events. A please don't be shy about ordering a print or two from me, I'd really appreciate and I'm sure you'd enjoy having it!
Thanks for stopping by!

Perryville Cruise In

2009-08-19T08:23:00.001-07:00

Perryville Cruise In
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

It's been a summer of car shows, and there's no sign of it dwindling yet!
Last week while reading my local newspaper, I saw that a Cruise In was planned in Perryville. Their first time giving it try, it sounded, as they are trying to raise money to fix up the down town area. Perryville is a little bitty town in western Boyle County, Kentucky, just a few minutes from where I live. It's a cute little town, fairly quiet most of the year, with the exception of one weekend in October when there is a Civil War reenactment at the Battlefield. If you enjoy seeing small town America, this is a great little place to visit, but to capture the small town charm, try to avoid Battle weekend, because the area is just swamped with tourists then, even though the battle is a real treat to visit, too.
The Chaplin River runs right through town, and history has shown it to get out of it's banks from time to time, even causing the fire department to post a truck on each side of the bridge to be able to help either side of town in case of an emergency when the flood waters would cover the bridge you see in the back ground in this photo. .
The river has been tame this year, and it provided a lovely backdrop for the car show on this hot and sticky summer day. Those of us who were able to find the shade of a big tree were very grateful.
The car show started at 4pm and was to last until 9. There wasn't a huge turn out, but it doesn't take many cool cars to draw a crowd, and have some fun. Every car show we go to we see new cars and meet new people, and this one was no exception. No two car shows are ever alike, and we always come away from one feeling like we've made new friends. I only wish I had the time to meet everyone there, as it seems every car that shows up represents a great story about how it got there or just the interesting people who own them.
We also had some entertainment at this car show. A local Elvis impersonator showed up to distract us all from the summer heat with his talent and warm personality. A true performer who obviously loves his audience!
Good bbq and a bake sale rounded out the event, as well as seeing familiar faces. For those who missed out on it this year, be looking for it again next year. Maybe we'll see you at the next car show!

Sprocket Holes!

2009-07-20T10:30:00.001-07:00

img072
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I'm finally making progress with film!
There are so many demons to battle when learning new things. It seems like every time I try to do something, the computer sees me coming, spins some sort of Wheel of Misery to decide what it won't do for me this time!
If it's not the external hard being full, then it's something new going wrong with the scanner! Then dvd software won't let me burn photos to make space or something else the scanner is doing to keep me from scanning. Yes, I have lots of scanner trouble! even after finding a 'new' one on Craig's List! It's new in the sense it had never been used before, it's just not the newest model. The family is still on a budget, ya know!

Well, battles are being won, and I'm finally pulling ahead in the scoring department in that regard, and starting to have fun with photos again! If a gal can't have fun, then why do it? Right?
We are having amazing weather lately, some days are too hot to believe, but we are also having an unseasonable cool spell. It's been like autumn in July this past week, and I haven't heard anyone complain! It made for great weather for a car show Saturday.

The car show was a great chance for me to finish up a couple rolls of film in two different cameras. I'm totally loving my Canon EOS 750, and very automatic film camera. It;'s a bit heavy, but I can swap lenses between it and my digital, and it's one camera I don't have to think about settings and exposures on. I just cross my fingers! ha ha!
I cannibalized (slightly) a Kodak duaflex so I could have at least one that functioned as an actual camera. When I bought the Duaflexes I didn't intend to use film in them, so I wasn't concerned about their funtions. But then I decided to give the sprocket hole thing a try and the best functioning Kodak needed a film winding knob. That's the extent of the cannibalizing, though! I did have to take the camera apart and clean the lenses and view finder real good. I thought my first roll of fillm run through it looked a bit soft. Soft is ok for some things, but they were dirty, and that never helps make a better image!

I also got around to replacing the light seal in the Fujica AX-3 hubby found in a pawn shop over a year ago. I found a 50mm lens for it on ebay, and our first roll of film in it showed a serious light leak. We got the replacement kit for it not long after that, but just kept putting off what seemed like a yucky chore. And a yucky chore it was! But it was worth it, breathing fumes of lighter fluid used to clean the old sticky seals off really isn't much different than breathing fumes from fingernail polish! No sooner than I had that finished and the camera cleaned up, I had a roll of 12 exposure film in it to test it, and it looks like the problem is fixed! Developing my own film is starting to have it's advantages!
I have another roll of film in the Fujica, but it's not finished yet. I'm anxious to see how it did, though. I hope I get some more photo ops soon!

The Fujica is a fun camera to shoot. It's light weight and versatile. It's the same model as the one hubby and I bought when we were first married, but foolishly sold when we starting going point & shoot and digital. It didn't take long to regret that move and I swear I'll never ever sell another camera again! You just never know!

We have been to a couple car shows over the last couple months, so there are plenty of photos of cars in my photo stream for those of you who like to drool over such things.

I also have become involved with a new online project started by the folks at my local newspaper office. I already have links to it from here, just look at the bottom of the page and you'll see YourKYPhotos. On the right sidebar is a link to their Facebook page for those of you who are on Facebook. Some of the photos I (and other area photographers) take around the area are for sale. You will find photos from many area events, not all of them this year, some are form the last couple of years, as we have some really big events happening around here from time to time. So please take the time to check that out, and buy any you would like prints of. All the photographers are regular folks like me, who love taking photos, and this is a chance for us to make a little bit of money from our hobby.
Have a great summer!

A Season for Everything

2009-06-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

There is something just magical about springtime and summer. Sure, you could say it's all about the rebirth of plants, flowers, and the stirring of hibernating animals. I share the excitement of seeing the first squirrel running about, the first flower bloom (I take photos of all these things!) and the sounds of the world awaking. It doesn't matter if it's the sound of birds singing again or children playing or dogs barking, the dead silence of winter breaking gives my spirit and creative nature new hope.
With warmer weather we look forward to all the chances to play again. I like to play in the dirt, and make my garden grow and feed my family. I look forward to each stage of the gardening season, from crocus to tomatoes! Plans to attend festivals, car shows, parades, anything we put off because the weather keeps us inside, become reality again. But the true reality is the work behind making those plans successful. For the garden to even think about holding my tomatoes and squash, the ground has to be tilled, fertilized and mulched. It's backbreaking work, but it's always worth it! This spring we had the added work of cleaning up what the ice storm ripped apart in our yard, but nature was still chugging along. These daffodils bloomed as soon as the debris uncovered them!

As a family we are experiencing all the normal things of life. In just a few short months we have seen the set backs of a job layoff, the joys of prom night and graduation, the thrill of putting a new engine in a car and hear it roar back to life, and the bitter sweetness of taking our two sailors to the airport, then see another son joining the service as well. But these things get recorded in family history as an image or just in our memories, and we keep on, moving on, because we know life is a mixed bag, and there are many great things coming, not just bad.

Car show season is going into high gear. One of our sailors is sailing the high seas, physically, but his heart is home behind the driver's wheel of his '73 Charger. We keep that spirit alive for him by taking care of his car, driving it, and taking it to car shows. The work of washing, waxing and vacuuming the car is not so fun, but just as the work in the garden has it's rewards, so does the work in the driveway! In March Eric came home for a few weeks and he wanted to work on his car. He had dreams of making it more powerful, and as a family we helped him make those dreams come true. It is a real family project, memories and work combined!

.
My calendar is filling up, and time is becoming more accounted for, which means I can't write too much this time. This weekend alone we hope to fix the transmission in an old farm truck we bought to fix up and drive, and also attend a local festival, which I'm sure will result in new images to share. The county fair starts this week, and I have things to get ready to enter for that on top of everything else.
I have been learning to develop my own black and while film, so I have some film just anxious to be exposed this weekend and throughout the summer. I have taken TTV photography an extra step and am shooting video through the viewfinder. I hope to capture the spirit and fun of the festival this weekend with that. I have other photographic experiments going on as well, and hope the results are worth sharing soon.
Here is a video I did from a car show in Somerset a couple months ago using my new ttv rig:

Enjoy Your summer....it won't last long!

Citrus

2009-03-03T10:10:00.001-08:00

Citrus
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Winter is dragging it's feet this year, everyone I know seems to be more than ready for spring to begin. We all long for warmer days so we can bask in the sun, shed some extra layers and stop shivering! Even the cats just keep looking for a warmer place to spend their days and nights!
Sometimes the only way to get through a tough season is to start thinking about things that give you warm thoughts. For me, I have starting planting seeds for my summer garden. I have tomatoes and herb seedlings coming up already, seed catalogs are starting to arrive, and more have been ordered.
A challenge in the Macro Monday group in Flickr spurred me to find something to fit the weekly theme, "From the Fridge". It's always fun to see what other people come up with for the same theme, but it seems that my fruity entry is also helping others think warm thoughts as well.
We had just been to the grocery store and I stocked up on a few citrus fruits in hopes of making a real nice pitcher of Sangria. That evening was just warm enough for hubby to throw some burgers on the grill, while I sliced fruit and took photos. The the whole combination of burgers and wine combined with a bowl of homemade salsa and chips, was nicely reminiscent of a summer day.
The saying goes that it's always darkest before the dawn. This year we are hoping that it's coldest before spring. We just don't know how many more storms and arctic cold waves we can endure!
So here is a photo to help everyone out there hold on just a little bit longer. Spring is just around the corner, and soon I'll be posting photos of crocus and daffodils again!

Our Turn

2009-02-03T11:20:00.001-08:00

Our Turn
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

FINALLY!
between 4-5 pm Saturday we got power back! What a relief!

cable guy

2009-02-03T11:15:00.001-08:00

cable guy
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

The only thing that could make our day any better than having the sun come out and shine was to see workers show up and reconnect us to the modern world. Our cable company actually got here before the power company did!
Progress!!

Icy branches

2009-02-03T11:12:00.001-08:00

Icy branches
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

against a blue sky, the sun making the ice look more like glass. Already you can see where some has melted and fallen off this tree.

Saturday the sun came out and ice began melting and falling off of everything. The new danger of going outside was staying away from anything that could drop a chunk of ice. It was falling off tree branches, power lines, and roof tops.

It was too pretty out to stay inside. Photos were the excuse to go out. The warm sun was the reason to stay out.

Here comes the sun

2009-02-03T11:04:00.001-08:00

Here comes the sun
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

The sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds for most of the morning. When it came out, it made the ice sparkle like jewels. It's so strange to think of something so destructive in such a way, but remember all the turmoil and pressure a diamond has to endure to become a priceless gem.
We hear that adversity builds character. If that's true then we will have some real characters walking in our midst around here! I know my story is not so dramatic or special, compared to that of others.
I mostly just wanted to blog this to make it easier to share with friends and family. I also hope that it might help someone realize how important is it to be prepared for emergencies. There may be some who read it who are simply curious about what it was like. That's fine. I am a curious person, and I believe curiosity leads to learning.
To be honest, I want to finish this. I want to post the photos I want to post, say the things I feel like saying and try to get this whole ordeal behind me and move on. And it was an ordeal, it was traumatic in it's own way. It made us put life on hold for a few days, it made us stop and think about things that we don't often think about.
I was glad I had the camera to not only document the event, but to capture some of the beauty in it's midst. I honestly know what to take pictures of now. That was quite a distraction from what has become ordinary and mundane.
One thing that a person must remember when going through something trying (I remember telling myself the same thing while in labor with each of my children)., "it won't last forever". Yes, it's more difficult when you don't know when it's going to end. But knowing it will end, is sometimes all the hope you get.

Crews

2009-02-03T09:41:00.001-08:00

Crews
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

More signs of Hope.
I was walking the dog Saturday morning and looking at how the sun danced with the ice, when I saw several trucks roll up the street and turn up the street behind us. So Ollie and I walked up a bit to see where they were going. They were gathering behind the factory there, probably getting ready to put in another long day.

Icy Holly

2009-02-03T09:35:00.001-08:00

Icy Holly
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Saturday morning started out pretty much the same as the rest of the week. It was cold over night, the inside of the house was cooler than the night before, but we have camped in colder weather!
We still had to boil water in front of the fireplace to make coffee in the french press. At least I no longer had to grind my coffee beans in a pestle and mortar, we had bought ground coffee while at the store the other day. We were tired of cooking, so meals were consisting of coffee or cocoa and instant oatmeal for breakfast, cup ramen and pepsi for lunch. The night before it was canned chicken and noodle soup heated by the log for supper. The cats were happy with their cat food. My mother in law and her dog were able to go back home on Friday, so the animals seemed to be less edgy, but still cold.
Late Friday night, KU had stopped by the house but were not ready to turn us on yet. We fell asleep with the window blinds open hoping they would come back during the night to hook us up. Tarzan must have sensed something too, he was more restless Friday night. He kept going to the windows to look out.
By this time we could see the crews were getting closer to turning us on. A street light and a neighbor behind us were back on. It was exciting and depressing all at the same time. We had hopes of borrowing a generator for a couple hours just to get our freezer re-frozen. The food was holding up pretty well, but wasn't going to last much longer.

The forecast for the weekend was for a warm up. That was good news for the most part, but then we wondered if the garage would continue to stay cold enough for the milk, eggs a other items from the refrigerator to stay safe.
It's so hard not knowing.

Hydrant

2009-02-02T14:08:00.001-08:00

Hydrant
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Friday morning I walked around the neighborhood just a little bit for more photos. The sun was trying to come out from behind the clouds, making the ice everywhere sparkle like diamonds when it did peek out.
The weekend forecast was for much warmer temperatures which would most likely melt the ice and snow. So I wanted to get out and take a few more photos before it was all gone and before we got busy with cleaning up the mess.
I didn't take as many photos on Thursday than other days of the week. The whole ordeal was wearing me down, it was getting a bit depressing at times. Looking out of the windows on Thursday was much like looking out the window on Wednesday. We had to try to wash some dishes, make sure candles and oil lamps were ready before dark, and I tried to get a little quilting done.

Multi-purpose

2009-02-02T12:19:00.001-08:00

Multi-purpose
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Thursday came, and still no power. My mother in law's dog had been left at her house, and the nights were getting colder as the week wore on. We began making plans to go get the dog and go to the store for extra batteries, cat food and things to eat that were simple to prepare. We didn't know how long we would be without power, or how long we'd be under a boil water warning and wanted to be able to conserve butane.
We went to the garage where our camping gear is stored and found a rack we usually use over camp fires. We found that placing it beside the gas log put the water pots closer to the flame and would do a slow, yet good job of boiling the water. We were now able to heat and boil water without using up butane fuel.

The night before the storm hit, I discovered we were very low on cat food. There wasn't even enough for one more day. At the time I had hopes we'd be able to get to the store to get more the next day, but the next day proved more challenging than that.
We had plenty of dog food and figured if the cats were hungry enough, they'd eat it. I was wrong. Two of the cats were happy with canned food I kept in case of emergencies, but Tarzan was picky and wouldn't even eat that. I found some sliced turkey meat thawing in the kitchen freezer and he ate that. Another day he had some leftover hamburger that wasn't eaten at supper the night before. He likes milk, so he even had milk, which was now being stored in the garage because the garage was colder than the refrigerator.
Hubby needed a prescription filled and word on the radio was that the pharmacy was open again. He had extras in his camping gear, which got him through the week.
So we cleaned off the car and headed for Walmart. They were completely out of lamp oil, was restocking propane (which we didn't need), no sign of butane, and almost completely out of candles. It was a good thing we found a better way to heat water, and didn't really need the oil or candles.
We picked up hot cocoa mix, instant oatmeal and cup Ramen, plus a big bag of cat food, and a case of Pepsi. The water was nearly completely sold out, good thing we didn't need that either!

We saw several people we know, including someone we hadn't seen in many months! It was good to see folks and hear they were all doing well.
We finally got out of the store, and headed to Mom's house to get her dog. Her house was cold, but her freezer was still cold. So we got the dog and a sweater for mom and headed back for home. The poor little dog was scared and cold, but she was safe. Outside temperatures that night were predicted to be down to around 10 or less, not counting windchill factors. We felt much better getting her out of there.

Traffic

2009-02-02T11:25:00.001-08:00

Traffic
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I couldn't believe how much traffic there was on our street all week.
It seems the east end of our street suffered more damage than on our west end. To make matters worse, there is a trailer park on the east end. I can't imagine what it would be like living in a trailer through a storm like this.
I imagine most the traffic was people checking on others, taking some to shelters, or to the store for supplies.
During the night before I heard freight trains going through on the tracks west of town, and it didn't sound like they were even slowing down. I don't know how the storm didn't slow them down.

By Wednesday, when this photo was taken, we were making attempts to check on my mother in law.
My husband's brother lives closer to her than anyone else and he tried to get to her Tuesday night. He was not allowed on her street because of limbs and power lines down. He was told someone had been up and down her street to check on everyone and was told she was fine. Later, she told us no one had even come to her door.
She is a diabetic, living alone, and someone was trying to check on her. Why would they just lie like that?

So Wednesday, my husband tried to call officials to find out if the street had been cleared enough for him to go get her. We were pretty sure she was without power, because her phone was not being answered, (she has an cordless phone which needs power), which also meant she had no heat. He was given rude and short answers on the phone that were anything but helpful. So he called the radio station to see if someone listening who lived closer to her and could go check on her or tell him if the street was clear.
To make a long story short, he got through, people were listening and helping, and a good Samaritan picked her up and brought her to our house.
Our hometown radio station, was a life line for this community during this whole ordeal. They stopped all their regular broadcasting and turned into a communication hub. People could call in and ask for help or offer help for a wide variety of needs. Information about the water shortage, updates about the power companies, shelter information and much much more was being announced all day, every day. It was a vital tool for people in Boyle County and surrounding counties. At times they even operated by battery power, without lights, without heat, and surviving by volunteers taking them food, calling them and telling them what was going on outside their studio or trailer.
They are our home town heroes! Thanks Charlie Perry and everyone there who helped this community even though your own homes were needing power, trees cut and whatever else. I hope you know just how much you helped this community!

branch on the roof

2009-02-02T10:11:00.001-08:00

branch on the roof
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Tuesday night was terrifying!
Our power line was cut from the grid late Tuesday night as a safety precaution. If power had been restored with the damage we had, there was a chance of sparks or even fire. We thought that would help us sleep better through the night, but it was only one less worry on my mind. We went to bed between 11:30 and midnight. The neighborhood was completely dark by then. I fell asleep and slept until about 3am. After that the sounds outside kept me from sleeping any better than an occasional doze.
We had turned on our gas log fireplace a couple hours after the power went out. We let it run a few hours, then turned it off before going to bed. All of our bedrooms are upstairs and most of the heat from the fireplace goes up stairs. The boys both slept in the front bedroom, since the side bedroom was too close to the trees beside the house, and we just didn't know if a branch would come crashing through his windows during the night
Throughout the night, I could hear branches of trees all over the neighborhood crack and pop, and the sound of ice shattering off as they fell surrounded us. Some I could tell were not close, some sounded close, but it was hard to tell how close. It was a fear gripped night, not knowing if houses were being damaged.
I got up several times during the night to try to see what was happening outside. But without street lights, I couldn't see anything but ice. The night was black and gloomy. Occasionally a car would drive by, but their headlights weren't enough to see very much in the yards. One time during the night, I could barely see this branch on the garage roof. I took a battery powered lantern down to look inside the garage to make sure it didn't go through. It looked like it didn't. That was some relief!
All the cats were sleeping on our bed. At one time during the night there was a cat on either side of my feet and one on my head. I hoped the one (Tarzan) on my head would muffle the sounds outside, but he only partially muffled the sounds.
Not only could I hear tree branches snapping everywhere, but I could hear it raining, and I knew that it was more freezing rain, which would weigh the trees down even more. The night seemed to last forever.
When would this nightmare end!?

Just beyond

2009-02-02T07:52:00.001-08:00

Just beyond
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

We spent the first day of the storm looking out all the windows, watching and listening to branches fall out of the trees, holding our breath each time. Every hour that went by we wondered if the power would go out. Around noon we lost power for about a half of an hour, then a little later, it went off long enough to reset everything that was on.
We gathered candles, oil lamps and flashlights, all the time hoping we wouldn't need them.
Hope can be fleeting.

Early Glimpse

2009-02-01T08:52:00.001-08:00

our small pine tree
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

One of our earliest glimpses of the ice storm when we woke up Tuesday morning as we looked out the back door. The light of day was just beginning. Street lights are still on, and we have power. We know that may not last. And we know the storm is just beginning.
Storm warnings were issued Sunday night so people would have a chance to prepare for the storm. Many people heeded the warnings but had no idea how bad it would get before it would all be over with.

You can see that even this early in the storm the weight of the ice was already an incredible burden for the trees and power lines to bear. This tree does not normally droop at all.

Getting Iced

2009-02-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

Getting Iced
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Well... we survived the ice storm of January 2009. We were without power for about 4 days. This storm was no picnic to ride out, to say the least. I will try to make several entries with photos and stories, but that will take awhile. My camera held up just fine, and gave me something to do and a reason/excuse to go outside for more than just walking the dog. I only used about half my memory space, and was about half way through my available battery power. Through photos I was pretty much able to document the storm from my corner of the street.
Right now we are in recovery mode. The fridge has been cleaned out, relatives have been called, the insurance adjuster has been here but we have debris to remove and no chain saw to do it. We will have to get some professionals to remove a couple trees that I have greatly enjoyed. It really is hard to come to terms with their loss. They provided shade, privacy from our busy corner, and were a sound barrier as well as something to focus my camera lens on countless times.
Many photos have already been added to my flickr stream, but as of this writing, all but one of those were taken and loaded on Tuesday during the storm, and before we lost power. I will have to organize my photos, thoughts and stories before really starting the blog entries.

It was a bit traumatic, but we found out we were much more prepared than we may have realized. That will be another topic of my blog. People really really really need to be prepared for emergencies!

Still Life with Dried Roses

2009-01-14T10:30:00.001-08:00

Still Life with Dried Roses
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I think I have found an inspiration for better photos.
I have always enjoyed a good still life, but really have not explored them very much. I have learned a few techniques with Photo Shop this past year, and it is nice to be able to use them in a way that is pleasing to me.
The weather outside is bitterly cold, and about to get colder. There is nothing new outside to take pictures of anyway, so it is a good time to dust off my vintage pottery and look around the house for all these nick knacks I've collected over the years, and give them purpose.

Back in the days when I only had one child I actually tried a few still lifes in pastels. They aren't too bad, I just never got around to framing them, so they sit in the sketch book and rarely get looked at. By now the corners are getting bent from being moved about from shelf to shelf.
These photographic versions are much more realistic!

Jan 9 Queen of the Quilts

2009-01-09T19:54:00.001-08:00

Jan 9 Queen of the Quilts
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Not exactly a resolution...but maybe more like guided self-motivation....
I started the year by joining in some 365 groups on Flickr. They are groups dedicated to taking and posting a photo every day through the entire year.
I can be quite lazy sometimes, so thought it would serve as some sort of motivation to keep looking for photos all around me. I've started off quite slowly, but the idea of posting boring photos everyday will soon get me looking for something more worthy of sharing. Kinda like living in a cluttered house...it eats at ya until you do something about it!

The holidays here were nice. We had one sailor come home to visit, but the other one couldn't. Being in Japan makes it much harder. We sent him a care package and he sent cool gifts from Japan that made everyone say WoW! I told him don't worry about not coming home, enjoy being in another culture! Life is an adventure!
Our oldest son will soon be joining him in Japan. He will be assigned to a destroyer in the same fleet and strike group.
Being a mom of sailors isn't easy, but it makes me very proud.

Happy Year to everyone....I hope to post here more often too!

Ginger Snaps

2008-12-15T10:55:00.001-08:00

Ginger Snaps
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Combining two loves: Food and photography!

Dropping in after a long time away.... I've been playing and learning and being lazy too.

Sharing a yummy cookie recipe for the holiday.
Merry Christmas!

Gingersnaps

1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/4 c sugar (divided)
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, beat oil with 1 cup sugar. Whisk in egg and molasses. Add flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until dough is moist. Using 1 teaspoon per cookie (I used a small cookie scoop), shape dough into a ball. Roll in remaining sugar. Bake on lightly greased baking sheets (I used air-bake sheets, un greased) at 375 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.
Yield: 3 Dozen

Spring Finaly!!

2008-04-06T15:31:00.001-07:00

Rhododendron 2
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Now that things in the yard are blooming, the birds are singing, the air is warmer, I feel like not only can I breathe again, but feel more alive!
The grass is getting it's first cutting today, though we lag behind some of the neighbors. I also was able to wear a sleeveless top finally (without getting goosebumps) and got my hands dirty and my shoes muddy. I straightened a rose bush that had been leaning and cleaned up and fixed up the area around my water faucet so it's not such a mess. The weeds love growing there!
Seedlings are growing in the basement under florescent light, so far I have tomatoes, green peppers, banana peppers, basil and dill coming up. I wish I had planted more things, but space was limited, and spring is still early. I hope my herbs do better this year, last year's drought made everything difficult. I need lots of tomatoes this year, my supply of jarred tomatoes is running low. I've been wanting to try pickled peppers, so I hope the banana peppers do well. I also hope the dill does well, I'd like to make more dilled green beans to preserve again. It's been a few years since I've made them. As much as I don't need to I should grow more cucumbers again this year and try to make more sliced pickles. I sure don't need more relish!

We've had plenty of spring rains, and we are looking for good ways to collect rain water, if we can't get some blue barrels, we will just get some garbage cans. It cost too much to water the garden with city water!

Photography here continues, I'm playing more with Through The Viewfinder shots and I got some macro filters for trying another way to get macro photos as the flowers start to bloom. The photo here was taken with my big 75-300mm lens though. I took it yesterday while wondering around the yard looking for new subjects and hoping to get good pictures of the yard birds.
Time to go throw some brats on the grill....Happy Spring everyone!

Painted Yellow Rose

2008-02-27T10:33:00.001-08:00

Painted Yellow Rose
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

So I'm learning more tricks and techniques with photoshop!
What do you think? I really like this technique, it is so much like painting, which real painting, I'm not very good at. Mostly because I haven't really tried it very much.
This technique was inspired by works I saw done by another flickr member, Scott Crouse. His first photo I saw that made me say "wow!" was The Barrel Maker. But he has done much more than just that, and I really enjoy all of his work. I checked out his blog, Scott Crouse Photography , and exchanged a little flickr mail with him. I really wanted to give the technique a try, myself, but I was not about to plunk down the money needed to use some of the software he uses to get the effect. After a small amount of googling, I found a tutorial that explained how to get a similar effect. Although the tutorial was much more basic than what I was wanting, it still provided the steps I needed and I quickly learned to give it my own touch. After all the "painting" or dodging and burning, I apply a very basic Orton effect to soften it all. And there she is!
I used this technique on a few other photos, but I must say I think it lends itself much better (in my hands, anyway) to the flower photos I recently captured after a beautiful bouquet showed up on my doorstep on Valentine's Day! After seeing what I did to make these, now dead roses, live much longer, hubby has vowed to buy me flowers more often! He is possibly my biggest fan, that I know of...even though one look at this photo generated a gasping "WOW MOM!" from my 13 year old son. He is an aspiring photographer too, remember?
I have many flower photos in my 'archives' to practice this technique more. I really need to print some out to see how they translate to print. We have high hopes of maybe framing these....
It is a dose a springtime that is difficult to find this time of year, but now I'm even more excited about new flowers blooming in my yard soon!
Here is the other rose photo I transformed using the same technique.

country barn

2008-02-15T09:29:00.001-08:00

country barn
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

Mornings are usually when I get my best inspirations and ideas. Lately, other things tend to compete for my attention that time of day. But this morning a tid bit broke through the early fog in my mind, and I decided to go with it.
The irony of it all, is that I'm not a morning person, by nature. And this morning, though I may be happy with the results of how the print was transformed into an art photo, which I personally like, I have suffered the raw reality that I'm still a beginner, and forgot to do something crucial.
The original print of this photo had the dreaded power line running straight across it. I hate power lines! So I put some new found editing skills to work, and was quite proud of what I had done. I could not tell, when I was finished, that power lines were ever there. I wish I could show you...but here is where I learned a lesson I actually already knew. I forgot to save the work before I continued working! Even worse, I closed the project out, so I could not even go back through the history box to where it could have been saved.
I could name several reasons to take the blame for my oversight, but having people around me distracting me, and not finishing my cup of coffee, really are pathetic excuses.
So....I may wind up re-opening the original photo, with the power lines still in it, and re-edit them out. But I think I need to sit back an enjoy this photo a bit before I do so. I really do like it!

Going low tech

2008-02-13T08:16:00.001-08:00

Canon 750-3
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

In the midst of the craze of digital photography, there is still quite a strong current flowing in the film realm.
I tried film years ago, and was very intimidated by it. I have always been nearsighted and never very sure that eyeglasses fully correct my vision, so I have always felt my ability to get a camera to focus was not very good.
As our kids were growing, the desire to capture their speedy growth spurts and fun activities grew stronger, and my ability to capture them sharply continued to be questionable. The popularity of the Point and Shoot cameras had instant appeal to me. Back then, we called them Idiot Proof, and I was just the 'idiot' to put that to the test. (I'm not putting myself down here...back a few years ago when trying to learn some HTML codes, I checked out an Idiot's book and a Dummies book, and discovered Idiots must be smarter than Dummies, because the Idiot books were better written, and had more useful information. Just my opinion, though, and continues to be a little joke of mine). Needless to mention, the first time I went to use that "idiot-proof" camera, I didn't slide the lens cover open far enough to actually turn it on, and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working! It was almost embarrassing! Later, on a trip to Gatlinburg, my husband and I took the same camera to the Ripley's Aquarium that had just opened down there. I took tons of pictures in there that day, to bring back and show the kids. Only to discover later 'why I was getting so many pictures from that roll of film'! I forgot to put the film in the camera!!! The kids had to settle for a post card from the gift shop. Sorry, guys!

Technology has changed my life so much, as it has for many people. My brain can barely comprehend all the technical things we have to learn to survive these days. When the internet first came out, I wanted nothing to do with it. But when I realized it was more like a library, and learning how to print things instead of writing things down, I dove in like a kid in a candy store. I found recipes, crafts (did you know I'm the most obsessive crafter around? Sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting, you name it. If I haven't mastered it, I've at least tried it!) For me, the best thing about the internet is how much people share things. Sharing recipes, sharing patterns, and just making friends in chat rooms and forums with people with common interests, is just what I needed in my shy little world.
I clearly remember our first digital camera. My husband and I were just laughing about it the other day, remembering and looking back at how far I've (we've) come. I used to be the most low-tech person you could find! Now look at me!
That first digital camera (does anyone else remember this one?) was a Jam Cam. I just HAD to have it! It was only $20 on sale at Wal Mart. It came with Microsoft Picture It! software that was too much fun to play with. We could take a picture of a kid, put it on the computer and morph him into looking like some freakish monster, and laugh until we cried because it was so funny.
It didn't take long for me to realize the flaws that camera had. The photos would often be dark, grainy, and out of alignment. My husband even took it apart one time to try to get the lens aligned better. But it didn't help, and the novelty wore off.
Our next digital camera was the Olympus D-460 zoom. It was an amazing camera in comparison. It still amazes me today. Though I have graduated from the 1.3 megapixels of the Olympus, to 6 megapixels on the Konica Minolta Dimage Z6 we got a few years ago, and now have what is becoming one of the most popular digital cameras to date with 10 megapixels, I have had to go backwards a bit and learn some basics of photography, before moving forward any further. In doing so, I had to reconsider the merit of the film cameras that got us to this point. So, I did what everyone does in this modern age, I went to ebay. First I found a range finder like my dad owns, a very basic camera and very manual, but I kept looking. I kept looking at other film cameras. I really had to go 'backward' to the film world, before I could proceed in the digital world. It look lots of visits to a site that kept coming up when I'd google various models,
( http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/ ) before I realized, the smartest thing to do would be to find a good price on an EOS film camera so I could interchange the lenses, instead of getting a camera that had a different mount type and would require a separate set of lenses. Elementary isn't it?
I've always believed that when things get too complicated, it's time to simplify. I prefer life when things are simple. But I tell ya, shooting that first roll of film in the Canon EOS 750 really has complicated things for me. I can see now, why the books I read, and other "purists" insist that film is better than digital. All this time I have been frustrated with my new fancy digital with not-so-fancy lenses, I have been blaming the lenses (and secretly, and not so secretly, been wondering if my aging eyes have anything to do with things) for the many, not-so-great photos I do not share on the blog and Flickr. Seeing these photos just taken with the film camera, but with the same lenses I thought were basically 'junk', really has me scratching my head, saying "wow" and truly rethinking the whole world of photography. My first reaction was, "maybe it's not the lenses, it's just me", "maybe it's not the lenses, it's the digital" and maybe it's all just part of the learning process. To save myself another trip to that familiar place I call Crazy, I'm gonna resolve it's just part of the learning process. I'm gonna play with the film cameras more and just try to have fun with it. I have more than enough toys to play with for awhile, but we did splurge and buy a couple more lenses with much better reputations than the ones I have, and I sit on pins and needles waiting for them to be delivered! I can only wonder how much better photos from either camera will be, and how fun it will be looking for more photos to capture!
I leave you to look at this one photo taken with the Canon EOS 750 film camera, and a link to my Flickr set of photos just from film cameras, for anyone curious enough to see a few more. The set does include a few photos taken with the Argus.
Let me end this with saying....
Just because digital has become so popular, big and seemingly important, it has not and will not replace film. Film photography is not dead, will not die, it is not obsolete, too low tech to be worth messing with and will never be completely replaced by the digital world. As long as there are people on this planet with a brain that can think, and eyes than can see, and a mind open enough to see truth when it is present and obvious, digital photography will not completely replace film. There is too much of a difference between the two.
Just as the keyboard will not replace the pen, the film camera will still have a place in my home.

And while I'm on my soap box, long live the muscle car, and down with the i-car! (no...Apple hasn't come out with a car yet, that I know of....but, by watching the commercials from the auto industry lately, it's just a matter of time!) I do not want a car that listens, or talks to me or sends me email or heats and cools my beverage. I do not want a car with a computer in it. I want a car that, simply, goes. A car does not have to be intelligent to 'turn me on', it just needs rumble my seat a little bit!

It's Really Not Spring!

2008-02-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

Ha!! Now I'm so not laughing about what I said in the previous post! Remember the bit about critters thinking it's spring and crawling out of their shelters? Well.....would someone please tell the local skunk population it's really not spring yet? Before the sun even came up this morning, I was awake. You know those sleepy moments of early morning, when the brain starts to awaken, but the body still wants to sleep, so you drift back and forth between sleeping and waking? Well...I had a hard time doing that this morning, once I was awake enough to identify what I was smelling, I simply could not go back to sleep! I even tried smearing some lovely Peony scented lotion on my hands and sleeping with my hands near my face! But it was simply not enough! I had to get up, go light a candle and start some coffee. Driving home from an Expo last night, I think there was a dead skunk either on the side of the road or the middle of the road every mile or so...almost like mile markers I tell ya! Pew! We had a bad outbreak of severe weather the night I started the last entry. This morning the weatherman said it was the worst outbreak of tornadoes in state history, So far, they have confirmed 18 touchdowns that night, (at least one registering in at EF3! ) in the wee hours of February 6th. It was a rough ride for many. We came through without even a downed branch or overturned yard item, but many folks were not so lucky.
Here is a very bad image of our tv screen just as the storm was passing over.
There are many reasons the image is so bad. First, the station was not coming in well at all, sometimes it even went off; second, we were watching off the rabbit ears and not cable or anything; third, I was trying to hold the dog on the leash while taking the photo, just in case we had to go to the basement in a hurry (yes...I would have taken the camera bag too!). It was nearly 1:30 am, and the kids were looking at me like I'm nuts to be taking a picture of the tv under such conditions. They also seemed a bit annoyed that we had to wake them up. But the disaster sirens were blowing, and the police scanner had a report of someone calling in saying the back of their house had blown off! We really didn't want them sleeping upstairs until things cleared up!

The sun is up now, and winter is trying to return (but with little success, so far) with some lower temperatures. We spotted some birds in the tree near our homemade bird feeder this morning, but so far haven't actually seen a bird eating from it. I know they are visiting it, though...I can see the shells on the ground below it. Can you see the cardinal hiding in this picture??? There was a pair of mourning doves out there too, but I couldn't get a good shot of them.

Waiting For Spring

2008-02-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

One thing I like about this time of year, is we often get what I have always called an "Indian Summer". Different people have different ideas about what that really is, but to me, it's a time during winter when the weather breaks from it's frigid terror, and the sun comes out and teases us into thinking it's spring. I think that makes it an Indian Summer, because, if it were ages ago, it would be a time for, not just the Native Americans, but also the wildlife, to crawl out of their cramped winter shelters and get out and find food and exercise, and hope for spring time.
Well, we are having a modern day Indian Summer right now. Though the clouds and rain deter most of us from crawling out of our cramped quarters, the temperatures here right now are very warm. We know it won't last for long, so we must enjoy it while we can.
This past weekend my husband, youngest son and I crawled out of our 'shelter' and made a trek to a local park. Not just any park, but a State Park/Historic site. Perryville Battlefield was the site of the bloodiest battle of the civil war. It was not a planned meeting between the forces, but a happen-chance kind of meeting. I am not a historian, but I do know the battle was over water. The troops on both sides were thirsty, and the water seemed worth fighting over, I suppose. In a sad way, I would imagine some died of thirst that day. Something we can hardly imagine doing now days.
The park is being nicely kept, and new property gets added now and then . A reenactment is held on the grounds every October, which is worth attending for anyone so inclined. You can read more about it at this site: http://www.perryville.net/ .
What I'm here today for is to simply share with you a few of the photos we took on our visit to the park Sunday.

The drive out is only a few miles for us, we live in the same county as the park. We really wanted to get out away from town for awhile, but wanted to go somewhere we haven't visited in awhile. It's been over a year since we've been to the Battlefield, and the park holds many fond memories of family picnics and boy scout camp outs for us.
We weren't the only folks out for a stroll that day, but the park wasn't exactly crowded either. The sky was overcast, so the air wasn't quite as warm as it was the day before, but still warm enough for just a jacket. Our secondary purpose for going out there was to take photos with my new digital camera, and to run a roll of film through my new, 35mm cameras. With my Argus C3 Range finder, and my Canon EOS 750, and all my digital cameras, we had a blast taking shots of monuments, memorials, cannons, and even a little wildlife! My son likes that I have a new camera, so he can take pictures with the older ones.

Any trip to a state park, seems to require stopping by man made structures, to check out what men consider note-worthy. The flags were flying, sometimes, only when the wind picked them up. And the wind seemed to pick them up when I was interested in shooting them. I'm drawn to flags lately, I can't explain it. It probably has something to do with being patriotic, serving with the military, and seeing my sons join the military too. They are a silent reminder of strong wills, strong minds and strong people who made this country what it is today, and what it will be in years to come.
Here is a flag most folks don't see everyday....the Stars and Bars. I have a lot to learn about the civil war and the south. No, I'm not from around here. The marker near the flag said it is the flag that flew during the battle. I used to wonder why people fly flags that are no longer the symbol of our country, as we know it today. But now I know, it's part of remembering the past, and honoring those who flew it, and fought for it.

I have many more photos from that afternoon on my flickr. You can view the entire set HERE.
I still haven't uploaded the photos my son took that day. He has a flickr account now too, he's really doing a great job taking photos. When I get his photos posted, I'll add a link so you can see how my little apprentice is doing! He got some great photos of a hawk I really want to share!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-09T11:05:00.001-08:00

cozy kitty
Originally uploaded by surfinsandy23

I'm still doing photos, I just haven't been to my blog in a long time!
I got a new camera from Christmas! My loving hubby and two older boys all pitched in together and got me the one I've been wanting. I'm shocked, but glad, they actually did it! This truly is the gift that keeps on giving! I can only imagine how many priceless memories will be captured here through my new view of the world!
Already I have snapped up some fun photos of the kids playing and goofing around, even all four of them when they were all here for Christmas! Tim and his girlfriend, Jessica, posed for me so I could practice real portrait photography, and, with the help of Photoshop, have been rewarded with results we all love!
I've posted tons of new photos in my flickr account since my last posting. You can access those photos through the links and photos on the right side of the page.
I need to get back into the swing of posting here, and might, now I've discovered the Blog This button in flickr!

I have also added a couple 'vintage' cameras to my arsenal. I decided to splurge on an Argus Rangefinder, like the one my dad owns. I found a nice specimen on Ebay, and have ran one roll of film through it so far. Then I discovered a great way to use the ole' double reflex (is that the right term?) cameras. So I bought an Argus Seventy Five to try my hand at that.
Since I was getting a small collection of film cameras, I went for a more modern version and picked up a Canon EOS 750 off Ebay as well. I have my first roll of film in it now, and only snapped one photo so far.
So the new year should bring many new photos!
Here's hoping you have a great new year as well!

Saying Goodbye

2007-10-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

A sailor should get used to saying goodbye to loved ones....but I doubt that they really do.

I am grateful to live in modern times, when I don't have to wait for the postman to deliver the long awaited letters from my sailor son. Now, he calls me on his cell phone while he stands in the hangerbay as they pull into port. While at sea, he sends an occasional email, his lifeline to the rest of the world. The only thing that hasn't changed in a sailor's life over the decades is the lonliness of being out to sea, and the boredom of nothing to do in what little spare time he has while out there. Already he is loosing touch with his friends from home. Even with email and cell phones, lives of one-time good friends begin to drift apart as they go their seperate ways. A hard lesson for any young soul to endure.

Once our bags were packed and stowed away, we drove away from our temporary beach front home, found something for breakfast and headed back to base. Eric had stayed the night with us in the motel, allowing him time to goof off with his brothers and feel like a part of a family, again.

We stood there in the parking lot, looking at the monsterous ships in full daylight for the first time from that perspective. Wow!

We were all silently dreading actually saying goodbye and parting again, already. So we just stood a little longer, watching as runners went by in a 9k Fleet Week run, and said very little.

We had a long drive ahead of us, again, and we didn't want to be getting back too late. So soon the brave hugs came, and the tearless goodbyes. We watched our son, once a boy, now a man, head back to the ship that will one day take him half way around the world. The ship that will take him to places my eyes will never see, and make him more strong and more brave than even I could have.

It was so good to be with him again, to see how much he's changed, and also how little! It was music to my soul to hear him laugh again with his brothers, to hear his voice, to wrap my arms around his neck one more time and tell him I love him and how proud I am of him.

I was now glad, for another reason, that I had gotten up so early that morning and spent so much time in the fresh air. I was tired...and I was ready to sleep, and not just sit for 600 miles staring out the window and think about leaving our son behind.

Driving out of Norfolk was easier than driving in. The traffic was much better and we were out of there in no time. We went back through the tunnel and over the bridges, only this time, it wasn't as exciting.

I think I was asleep before we were even out of town. I woke up a couple hours later and I saw mountains, again, through the windshield. I didn't take many photos on the way home. I slept most the way. I got just a couple, not so good photos, near a little gas station where we stopped for a rest and a few snacks.

The mood driving home wasn't as festive either. We now knew it could be after Christmas before we would see Eric again. That seemed like forever!

Watching the Sunrise

2007-10-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Norfolk came quickly. We knew it would be a quick trip. But we knew it would be worth everything we had to do to get there. Seeing Eric and his friend was great, and fun. Being on the aircraft carrier out on the sea was more than we imagined. But there was one more thing I wanted to do before we left. See the sunrise on the beach!

I was dog tired come Sunday morning! We'd been living on very little sleep and just a bit of adrenaline for a full week. (Ah! I didn't tell about everything we had to do before going on this trip did I? Well, some of my readers already know.) So when I woke up at 5:30 in the morning I began debating in my mind if I really wanted to get up and go to the beach for photos. I knew I'd be going alone. It would have been nice to have someone come along, but alone was better than not at all. I did decide that 5:30 was too early to get up. So I dozed back off and awoke again around 6. I was sooo tired, I still, really wanted to just sleep! But something inside of me reminded myself, I could sleep all I wanted to on the way home. This would be my last chance to see the ocean for who-knows-how-long! It'd already been nearly 10 years since the last time I saw it (not counting the day before!). So I dragged my weary body quietly out of bed, got dressed as quietly as I could so I wouldn't wake the others (difficult in a tiny motel room!). I got the camera and made my way outside. By the time I got to the beach side of the balcony I realized I was underdressed. So I stopped by the van and grabbed one of the fleece blankets the boys left in there, and used it for a wrap. It was breezy and quite cool out there. But listening to the sound of the waves, I knew I'd made the right choice!

It was really dark out there, it was hard to see where I was walking and where the buttons were on the camera. I walked up and down the beach a little, listening and looking, even got my feet wet (brrr!).

The sun wasn't up yet, and I realized it would be at least an hour before I actually would see the sun. But there was already color in the sky, and I was so happy just to be there and not have anyone rushing me to go back, yet.

I saw very quickly, a bright shiny star (planet!) near the horizon. It's been too long since I read up on any astronomy, so I'll have to guess it's either Venus or Mars, most likely Venus(?). My first few shots I was moving too much and the star came out more like a streak, so I got out my mini tripod and got this one!

I even tried a couple shots with the self timer on the camera, since there was no one there to take a picture of me at the ocean.

It was almost too dark for any real good photos.
But I couldn't resist...

I watched the seagulls, ducks and even ships out on the horizon A helicopter flew over, and I remembered the ones that escorted us out to open sea the day before.

Soon, the sky grew lighter and I tried many attempts at capturing shots of the gulls as they flew around or walked along the water's edge.

I could now get a better view of the bridge we drove in on Friday when we came out of the tunnel.

By now I was sitting on a dune, just soaking it all in and getting carried away watching the birds (and took way too many photos of them!), and playing in the sand.

I was so caught up in watching the birds, I nearly missed the moment that brought me here! I looked to my right......and there it was! Day Break! AHHH! HOW BEAUTIFUL!

And every moment it grew more beautiful!

Even the gulls seemed to enjoy watching the surf and the sunrise!

I stayed on the beach at least another hour. It was just too good to leave so soon. The sound of the surf, the feel of the air, and the realization that a lonely beach was anything but boring! I wished I could stay forever!

The new light of the day allowed me to see things I didn't see when I first came out.

The birds continued to play, occasionally a jogger would pass by, even another shutterbug strolled by for a few snaps and we chatted for a moment.

Soon my camera card was full. I hadn't brought another one to the beach with me either. I didn't know how long I had been there, but could guess it must be time to head back to the room.

I headed back to the fence that separated the parking lot from the beach, and as I came around the end of the fence, there was my husband at the van. Everyone was awake and most the things were packed already.

The part of the trip that I dreaded had come. Saying goodbye to the ocean, and even more dreaded...saying goodbye to our son.

The room seemed hot after being out in that ocean air so early. I unrolled my pants cuffs, and laughed quietly as I watched a small pile of sand fall out of each of them. Why did I laugh? One of my grandpa's nicknames for me when I was a little girl was.....Sandy Pants!

It had been a beautifully peaceful morning, one like I could only dream about before now. I was glad I decided to get up and take photos and spend time alone on the beach. These photos, and a few rocks to hold down the letters from my sailors on my desk at home, were my souvenirs of a fantastic weekend.

An Awsome Beginning to an Awsome Day!

2007-10-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

NOTE: All photos in this blog can be enlarged simply by clicking on them. Just hit the Back button on your browser to return to the place you left off. Most of these photos are better viewed Large!

Our adventure began when the alarm went off at 4 am! We made sure everything was ready to go the night before, so all we had to do in the morning was get dressed and get to the ship by 5:45 am. Getting to base was easy, the traffic was almost non-existent. We arrived to a full parking lot, however, but everything was orderly and efficient. I have found that military crowds are the some of the most tolerable crowds to be in.

In no time at all we were in the hanger bay with Eric and his buddy, Briard. Breakfast was being served, and there was a sleepy, festive atmosphere on the ship.

Eric had to report for duty at 6:30 until 10:30, but we did get to have breakfast with him, and his buddy escorted us around for a little while after that.
We all wanted to be on the flight deck by 7 when the ship was to get 'underway'. So up we went, the same way we went the night before.

Here is Briard and the boys looking at the skyline

from the flight deck->

Looking out over the pier and parking lot from the flight deck, just before sunrise:

The sun was just starting to come up as we pulled out of port:

The sky grew light quickly, and gradually photography became easier and more inspiring.

At one time the sun even appeared to be rising over the flight deck of the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)

As we moved out through the bay, there were many things to capture our attention and focus the camera on. Here is the Cape Henry Lighthouse, located near Virginia Beach:

We actually passed over two tunnels (the captain joked that may not be a good place to drop the anchors!). Here is the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Everyone asks why the flag was half-mast, but I never heard an answer. I imagine it had something to do with the war.

We were escorted out of the bay by police boats and Blackhawk helicopters. They kept other boats a comfortable distance from the ship.They also captivated most of us for quite awhile

The ship's 50 cals were ready, just in case anyone got past the boats and helicopters:

We spent as much time as we could just looking out to sea, as we passed quickly through the bay, watching the boats, helicopters, birds, the shoreline and the sunrise change at every moment. I tried to absorb every possible moment and take in all that my senses could.

It was a bit chilly on the flight deck, and quite windy. Here is Travis and I at the Bow, feeling the full force of the wind. He is leaning into it, I'm hoping my ponytail doesn't fly away!

We could not feel the ship moving hardly at all. Most of the time the only way we knew it was moving was by looking down at the water or at the horizon and passing scenery, or watch the police boats try as they might to stay caught up with the mighty aircraft carrier and all it's crew and guests!

The sky was as beautiful as the sea! I took loads of photos of the sun breaking through the clouds with many rays of glory.

As we were going out, we passed the Iwo Jima as it was coming in. (for those of you who are curious about ships, it's the LHD-7, a Wasp Class Amphibious Assault Ship. Eric says the Marines use it. It also docks very near the GW.)

As the Iwo Jima was passing, we saw dolphins playing between the ships!

The crew was to called to order as it passed as well.

The day had barely begun, but already we had experienced so many things we had never experienced before! What an adventure already!

Preview of the George Washington

2007-10-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

After Eric and his buddy met us at the motel and after we made acquaintances, we headed over to the base, so we'd know how to get there quickly in the morning. I was thinking we'd just drive through and see how to get to the pier. But the guys took us on up to the ship and in it!!!

It was very dark, and good photos outside the ship were impossible from the pier.

Once inside we got a brief tour of some of Eric's common places.

This is a long row of open hatches. Looks cool like that. I have no idea how many there are there!

We started in the hanger bay, then went up some stairs. Almost all the stairs on this ship are like this! This is Travis going up!

He showed us his berthing area (where he sleeps, and his locker). They have very small areas. Eric has top bunk there.

And he showed us the area where he works.

<--- an idea where we are on the ship

<---on the door of his shop

<--- standing around chatting in the shop

<--- here Eric is showing his buddy some new equipment they use.

Standing by an elevator-->

After looking around inside, they took us up to the flight deck. It was really dark, and hard to see where to put our feet, but the view of the pier was awesome up there! After messing up a bunch of pictures, I finally figured out how to get some pretty decent shots. (remember, you can click any photo for a larger view!)

<---what a view!

Here's me!-->

The CVN 69 Dwight D. Eisenhower (another aircraft carrier) was on one side of the GW, and the LHD-7 Iwo Jima (a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship) was on the other side. Many other ships were in port, I couldn't tell you which.

<---a shot of the Ike from the flight deck of the GW.

After the tour, we got something to eat, headed back to the motel for some much needed sleep. We needed to get up very early the next morning!

Getting There is Half the Battle

2007-10-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

We are back from our quick, yet exciting, trip to Norfolk. For those who don't know, we drove to Norfolk Naval Base this past Friday to go out on a Family Cruise on the U.S.S. George Washington, which our son is assigned to. The cruise was all day Saturday, and we came back home Sunday.

Here are the photos everyone has been waiting for....... Sorry I didn't post them sooner like I had promised, but we were sooo tired! We didn't get to bed until midnight Thursday night, woke up at 6 and was on the road by 7 (barely!). The 10 hour drive was pretty nice. It was very cloudy, almost too cloudy to get good photos as we drove.

We saw lots of scenery similar to this in Eastern Kentucky:

There was a little construction near Cattletsburg, near the Ky/WVa border. I-64 was down to 2 lanes! We were glad the traffic was light.

The mountains in West Virginia and Virginia were really pretty! It rained a little in West Virginia, just enough to make us realize we are going to need new windshield wiper blades soon!

This is a road shot of Virginia. We really enjoyed the wonderful views!

There was a couple places to pull off the side for scenic overlooks in Virginia east of Waynesboro. Here are a couple shots from there, including one with Jeff and Travis

I even got a drive-by shot of the State capital in Charleston, West Virginia!

Traffic was great...until we got close to Williamsburg and Norfolk. We got there in time for the beginning of the Friday evening rush hour. Traffic crawled! It took us 30 minutes to go 8 miles!

Here is our first glimpse of the Aircraft Carriers before going through the tunnel

This is the inside of the Hampton Roads Bay Bridge Tunnel we had to pass through to get to our destination:

And here you can see how close the motel was to the beach

And what the view looked like from the balcony.

We arrived just as the sun was setting, so we took a few minutes to play on the beach while waiting for Eric and his buddy to meet us there.

This shot is looking toward the bridge to the tunnel we went through.

Making things better

2007-09-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today's entry not only gives you a small glimpse into my day, it also shows you what a little Lightroom can do to a picture. Here you can see how it can take a good photo (or an okay photo)and..... make it better.
Today we went to help my mother-in-law move some things to her new home. It's not actually moving day yet, but we got a few things moved to get boxes out of her way at the 'old' house. It's was a cool, sunny, autumn day, the kind of day that inspires curiosity. A little creek nearby was the main focus of curiosity for the little ones. Travis jumped down to the water below to attempt catching minnows with his bare hands. His little cousin, Abby, wanted to go down there too, but she is too little to jump down, and walking down would get her into poison ivy. She could barely contain her sence of adventure, she just squirmed with excitement and anticipation. She keep telling Travis, "I want to pet one!". The changes to this first photo were subtle, but needed.

but the changes to this photo were more dramatic.

I stopped in front of the house and caught my reflection. I've been experimenting with reflections and self-portraits a bit more lately. Lightroom really helped that photo ALOT!

Moving to the new house will make things better for mom, too.

New Tricks for an Old Dog

2007-09-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

Were you expecting this to be about dogs? One of these days, folks...in this case I'm talking about myself. Last week I discovered that Flickr has groups, or Pools they call them, where folks with similar photo interests share their work. You can comment on each other's photos, and have message boards in there, which is great fun if you like taking pictures!

Why am I telling you this? Because that's where this old dog is learning new tricks!! This short post (did I hear someone say "Whew!" ?) is simply for sharing my very first attempt at trying HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography. I used settings in Photoshop to make the three small photos here

into the one larger photo here

The photos are taken using a special setting on the camera, which allows the camera to take several shots of the same subject at different exposures. The photos are then layered in photoshop to make a more, well, dynamic photo. There are some amazing examples in Flickr, if anyone wants to venture over and browse around. I decided to post this to mark my entrance into this experiment, hopefully you'll see how I 'develope' (sorry about the pun!) my skills in this area.

Reinactment

2007-09-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Every October there is a civil war reinactment here in Boyle County, Kentucky. I've lived here for 16 years now, and last year was my first time going to see it. As scouts, we went to help with crowd control so we got a front row view of the shootings. Well, at least until the fight moved to the other side of the hill!

This entry is not meant to document the battle or the reenactment, but to share some of my favorite photos I took that weekend. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

The sun must like it out there, it always seems to dress in it's best for us!

As we walked through the camps we were surprised to see how they seemed to just sleep anywhere.

Does anyone still camp like that
anymore?

We stopped a few times to chat with the rein actors. And they seemed to like the company.

This nice fellow and his mule were quite the attraction. He carefully warned the kids to be gentle with the animal, it was a bit skittish from abuse by prior owners. She seemed to enjoy the kids as much as they did, her!

And the kids like hanging around the props.

An earlier battle was staged for the press that was there, and I got to warm up the camera a bit...

We got to check out some of the main campsites before the battle began. These folks try to keep EVERYTHING true to the period! Most people can't even imagine what it must have been like to live in those days, much less fight!

I caught these two gals going down the hill, when we were going up the hill. I needed a good excuse to rest anyway. Aren't they cute?

This will give you a small idea how many reinactors come for this event.

This is just part on ONE camp!

Here are some of my favorites from the battle itself.

Does this look like a surrender?

Most of my favorites from the whole weekend was taken after the battle.

Does he have a cellphone!? Well, so much for authenticity! Lol! He probably wasn't expecting me to be zooming in on him either!

Here is a link about the battle

And a link about the Reinactment

I recommend attending this event to anyone who is even slightly interested in history, or the civil war, or just learning more about our country's history. Kids really enjoy it, and learn so much more when they experience it (me too!). It's more than just a battle!

My Idea of Fun

2007-09-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Just in case some of you think all I do is sit around taking pictures of flowers and raindrops, I decided to share some photos from a scout outing this summer.

Kentucky is famous for it's vast number of caves. But not just anyone can go exploring them. An Eagle Scout from another troop is a member of a local grotto, and they invite us to go caving with them at least once a year now. I gotta tell you...I LOVE GOING CAVING!!! I may come out sore and muddy, but it's way too much fun to let that get in the way.

When we go, we usually drive out to the preserve in Rockcastle County on a Friday night, and set up camp. This is what the preserve looks like in daylight and and it's not raining! Camp was way down the road there!

This year it was pouring rain (and dark) when we got there, and we had to set up tents in that mess! Our tent (a larger tent we jokingly call the Taj Mahal) has a screen top, then is covered with a dew flap after setting up the tent. Imagine what a problem that is in the pouring rain! Yes...we had puddles in the tent! Big ones! Some folks opted to sleep in their vehicles, not a bad idea! Sorry, no photos of the wet stuff...all that wet stuff is bad for the camera.

After setting up camp, we got a guided tour of the Great Salt Petre Cave. For you movie fans who have seen Fire Down Below with Jean-Claude Van Damm, the mine scene near the end of the movie where things start going Boom...was filmed in the Great Salt Petre Cave. A few props are still there too. Apparently, they didn't think the cave had enough real rocks!

Here are some of the boys posing for the camera before the tour. Far right is my Jeff, and far left is my Travis. Cute eh?

And here we are about to enter the cave (see how wet we are?)

Photographing this cave is very difficult because it has some electric lights. Not enough to be able to keep the flash off, but enough that using the flash is also a problem. So I was thrilled that any pictures from there turned out good. (especially since last year I took the camera but left the batteries in the charger!)

Here is my favorite photo taken in that cave:

Somewhere along the tour, our guide stops us, asks us to look down the passage to see if we see the Abe Lincoln formation.

It's not actually a formation in the true sence of the term, but the way the light plays with the shape of the passageway...well...you can see his famous profile!

Here is not as good of a shot, but it shows some of our group to give you an idea of the size.

Someone had a real sense of humor......

The next morning we crawled out of our wet tents fairly early, grabbed a quick breakfast and split up into two groups to go into two seperate caves. Large groups just aren't a great idea in these caves. I chose to go in the cave called Arthur Singleton's Cave. It is known for prettier formations than some of the others and that's all I need to hear (besides that it was a fairly easy cave to explore!). I had already fitted the water tight box we got for canoeing, with foam and my camera fit in perfectly, protecting it from puddles and scrapes. We geared up, and drove to the entrance. Here you see me tying my shoes, and Tim doing...(?)

Before ducking into the cave, we decided we needed a before and after shot, knowing we'd emerge muddy messes. So I balanced the camera on my back pack and the camera case, set the timer and kneeled down a bit so I wouldn't hide the others. We went in right behind the guy on the far right. And that's my oldest son, Tim, on my left.

As soon as we entered the cave we had to do some crawling. When we got to a place to stand and take out the camera I took some shots of the guys exploring a passage way and some formations. This is Tim coming back through the passageway

and a formation overhead.

As you can see, photographing these caves are much more satisfactory. Everywhere you turn in there, you say ""eeeewwww" or aaaaahhh". Simply amazing!

There were many tight places in this cave, requiring us to become more flexible than us older folks knew we could be. This photo was taken after such a place, where we not only had to wiggle thru some places, but also had to slide down one-by-one. That's our scout master closest to the camera.

Right behind where I'm standing in the photo above was this underground stream.

The water looked so clear, and babbled like any above ground stream.

We followed along the side of it for a better place to take a break and have a snack,

while looking down on the stream below the rocks.

There is a room in the cave that the cavers call The Mud Room. Some of us arthritic folks didn't think that sounded worth crawling into, but we were assured that it would be worth it. We tend to trust our cave guide, so we went, and yes...it was worth it! I took lots of photos of cave art in there! Here is just a couple of my favorites... a caver dude...

and Mario!

There's even a marriage proposal! (look, it says "YES" underneath!)

click the photo to enlarge then look near the cave cricket, the thing that looks like a spider

And here is Tim adding his bit.....

funny guy, huh?

Another area us old timers were reluctant to climb up to was the Imperial Room. It looked like a difficult climb for our weary limbs, but again, we were assured it would be worth it. And, again, it certainly was! Here's a glimpse...

After all that excitement it was time to crawl back out. My arms were so sore after all that, our scout master busted up one of his knee pads, we were all muddy, but totally excited about our adventure. Once back out of the cave, we tried posing for the after shot. After being in the cool cave and with all the moisture in the air I was having some major lens fog! But I managed to prop the camera back up on the backpack and waterbox again, set the timer (finally!) and RUN! MOST of us stood in the same place as before, but I guess a couple guys missed the memo on that!

If you ever get an opportunity to go caving, especially wild caving....DO IT! It's awesome fun you'll never forget!

A little dirt won't hurt ya!

this is my backpack and my shoes after we got out. There was so much mud on my backpack I could no longer zip the zipper.....time to go home and do some laundry!

And for those who have been wondering this whole time....yes we saw bats! In the rafters of the picnic shelter, nesting between sheets of plywood, and flying around us. We even saw one or two flying around in Arthur Singleton's Cave! We also saw cave crickets, and a salamander!

Seen in a new light

2007-09-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

While waiting for metal to melt last night, the sun was setting and I wanted to see if I could capture something else. I didn't stray far, the setting sun was shinning between buildings casting all kinds of shadows, forcing me use the flash at times, and messing up the focus other times. Live and learn.

The first target was a rusty metal panel next to some electric meters. I opted for something a little off center. The dials were spinning!

On the back of the same building was this huge window...waaaayy up there. I had no choice but to get this angle, but I liked it. Dreams of playing with this one dance in my head.

Then on the south side of the same building were these wooden steps. New, but already weathered. I like the texture and the shadows in this. Maybe I should have tried a few more angles though?

And again...not far away was a small fenced in area with this latch on it. I had to use the flash for this, the pictures were too blurry without it. I thought it was kinda interesting looking. This may get altered as well.

Now...the sky was not actually this orange when I took this picture. One day I'll get a photo using Auto, and one using the sunset setting, so you can compare. It really makes a difference is absorbing the light and color from the sky. That's the top of our county court house jutting up in the distance. I just hate how power lines get in these shots!

Glad to see not everything is coming from China! I was hoping this would come out better, just a bit too fuzzy for me. But I can try again next week. It could be fun to play with as well.

The evening was topped off by awarding two scouts their Star Patch. Though not as well recognized by the world as the Eagle Patch, it has to be earned before becoming an Eagle. There is one more patch they must earn before moving on to Eagle and that's the Life Patch. Both boys are quite young for accomplishing this already, one is only 12! (I think?) This photo is the candle log we burn at every Court of Honor Ceremony. This particular log we brought back a few years ago from camp in Canada (Tamaracouda near Montreal). They had tornadoes or high winds just a couple weeks before we got there, and alot of trees fell. We brought back one small piece as a momento.
I took this photo from about half way across the room, during the ceremony. If you look closely, you can see the heat coming off the flames. I also like the reflection on the table.

Making things old

2007-09-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered a program called Adobe Lightroom and have been experimenting with photos with it. It's not like Photoshop, it's quite different than that. I've had a lot of fun with it in just the few days I've had playing with it. Here are a few examples of photos I've altered using the program. Each set shows the before and after.

First is a photo taken on a canoe trip with the scouts. It was our second trip down the Kentucky River this summer. This particular day we paddled about 5-6 miles from Ft. Boonesborough to Clays Ferry. We stopped part way for lunch and this was taken there. You can get a glimpse of how scenic the river is. My goal with this photo was to make it look old, with just a touch of quirkiness. I wanted the focus on the canoe without sacrificing the textures of the water and grass, or the background. I love how the program can take an okay photo and make it much better!

The cherry tomatoes here volunteer every year somewhere in my yard and I let them grow because everyone says they are so good. I don't eat them raw (I know, I'm wierd). I get so many of them, but this year I learned to preserve them as tomato juice. There was no goal for this picture except to make the tomatoes look funky while still being able to recognize what they are. The hint of yellow that was still on them provided enough contrast to get things grooving.

This shot of my youngest son was taken near Lake Michigan in Chicago. We were up there in March to see one of his big brothers graduate from Navy Basic Training. The day after the graduation we all went into Chicago to Millinium Park, watched the St. Patty's Day Parade (see the beads around his neck from the parade?), grabbed lunch at Portillo's (yum!) and decided to take a more scenic drive back to base via Lakeshore Drive (did I remember the name of the road correctly?) Near the north end of the beach was a dogpark, and that's where we'd gotten out, for a chilly quick view of the lake. It was so beautiful, but the cold wind was too sharp and we ran back to the warmth of our vehicle very quickly. Travis ducked into this structure on the way back to the van, and I got a speedy shot of him hamming it up. I was really trying to keep this mostly grey tones while keeping the red color his his cap. I tried to keep the color out of the beads, but decided I liked the coloring showing a bit.

This is a portrait of Travis in August. We were on an outing with the scouts. Every year the troop goes to Cumberland Gap near Middlesboro Kentucky where the adventurous boys go on a historic 21 mile hike on Cumberland Mountain. The not so adventurous stay at 'base camp' and find other adventures. This year we decided to check out a museum about Abraham Lincoln. Flash Photography was not allowed in the museum because it can quickly aid the decay of the items on display. But there in the middle of the little museum was a small canvas tent, civil war style, with a few items to touch and costumes to put on. It was easy to see it was for kids to 'touch history'. A sign was posted nearby advising visitors that flash photography was indeed allowed only inside the tent. My son seized the oppertunity and this is my favorite result. My intent with this photo was to try to make it appear to be from the civil war era.
I love how this turned out! He does too.

And, finally, my last example for this post. I was out in the yard the other day after a rain shower looking for raindrops for macro photography. I spotted a bird's nest under the holly tree. I'm not a bird watcher except in the most common way. My guess is this is a cardinals nest because the cardinals love the holly tree. With this photo I let myself go wild with the colors, since it was so plain to start with. The kids were looking over my shoulder now and then as I played with the settings on this, and one comment came up that it was starting to look like Easter grass! Hmm....not a bad idea! It's fun to get funky!

I'm sure I'll be doing many more photos with this program. I have other programs to play with as well, each with their own advantages. I can even begin to imagine what can be done using multiple programs. Stay tuned to see if I create monsters or masterpieces!

Casting Metal

2007-09-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

Here are shots I got of metal being casted for hat pins for the scouts. The boys wear the pins on the berets they wear with their uniform. There is a story behind the design, I just don't remember it.

The pewter comes in one pound nuggets like this

it is then placed over the fire in the ladle. Only enough is melted for a single casting at a time.

the metal is allowed to heat up to a good flowable temperature. If it's not hot enough, it might not flow into the mold correctly

here it is being quickly poured into the mold, then it is aggitated back and forth to help it flow into all the cavities of the mold

This is what they look like when taken from the mold. They are allowed to cool, then the extra metal will be removed and pins glued on for them to be attached to the boys' berets.