26 Things - Neglected and Underneath

Somewhere under the snow and untended grass is my front walk.

And under a foot of snow, a dwarf spruce.

Snowed like a son of a gun today. The traction control was on every turn to work and back. The snowplow didn't make it to my street until almost 6 pm. I cleared the driveway, just a little wider than the Honda. Working outside felt great - I haven't ridden in two weeks, or been outdoors for more than a few minutes. Northeastern Ohio cabin fever!

CVPS Photo Walk on Saturday - I'm looking foward to some outdoor shooting, hiking, and learning to capture better shots.

26 Things - All One Color

A gift from one of my riding buddies - blends in with the browns of the half bath.

January 26, 2009 - I Work in This Mess

Nikon D60, shutter 1/30, f3.8, ISO 1000, no flash. The layout below was done for the 2Peas weekly digital challenge - a color scheme of pale blue, light grey, and red. The rest of my house is reasonably well organized and tidy, but every desk is piled high with who knows what, and I work in a tiny clearing in the wreckage. Some of it's tools, notes, and work in process, but a lot is irrelevant flotsam and jetsom drifted up around the edges.

January 25, 2009 Gale's Garden Center in Willoughby, Ohio

I stopped in, looking for some hope of spring and a whiff of growing plants. Found lots of promise in brightly colored packets. Nikon S550, corrected levels and boosted the saturation a bit.

January 24, 2009 Bird Feeders

In my front yard. Just getting sparrows right now, and a young bunny who lives under my shed. Shutter 1/1000, f4.5, ISO 400.

Project 365 is working - I am much more comfortable with my camera on manual. Still so much to learn though - when will I beable to consistently shoot people well? Or at all, really.

January 23, 2009, for 26 Things at 2Peas

Chuck's cat, Twilight, with a feather from one of her toys. She's quite a cutie, soft, round, and silver grey. Used the Nikon 550S with flash. Font is Hurricane.

January 22, 2009 - Dick LaChance

Chuck's father died January 22, 2009, after a brief illness. He was a good guy, a friend to everyone. He always had a bunch of animals around, dogs, chickens, stray cats, if they showed up at Dick's he'd feed them and give them a place to stay. He'll be missed. We don't know when this photo was taken - it shows Dick winning a race at the Barberton (Ohio) Speedway is a 1932 Ford Model B.

Rest in peace, Dick.

January 21, 2009

On top of my kitchen cabinet: An ancient wicker basket that belonged to my Grandmother Wilk; A blue pot made by American Indians somewhere along the Natchez Trace, purchased while my folks were living in Mississippi; A replica of a large ceramic horse, found in China and on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

January 20, 2009

Chocolate chunk, walnut and dried cherry brownies - mmmmm!

3S shutter, f8,ISO 200, no flash. Used "hard light" to bring up the color.

January 19, 2009 - 26 Things: Repetition

For the 2Peas 26 Things Photography Challenge. Two paper lanterns at New Awakenings Salon in Stow, Ohio. Taken with my Canon S3IS. Font is Book Antiqua. It's in black, and blended into the photo using "soft light".

January 18, 2009

For the 2Peas 12 Weeks to Better Photography course.

Top shutter speed 1/3s, bottom 1 second. Both f4.2, ISO 100. The example used in the course in a running water faucet. As cold as it's been here, the fire was a little more appealing.

26 Things for the 2Peas Photo Gallery and POTD for 1/15 and 16/09

The underlying theme for the first two is "through winter-dirtied windows", LOL. The chair was shot through the window at Stadbucks in Hudson, Ohio. Chuck and I stopped there for a mocha and a hot cocoa after a Jim Roetzel bird photography presentation at CVPS. Font is Palatino Linotype. The deer were trying to get crabapples from a tree across the road. The photo was taken through the window of my office on the third floor. Temp was about -5F, bitterly cold for Ohio. Font is Adler.

Nikon D60, Sigma 17-70mm, SS1/10s, f3.8, ISO 1600

Canon S3IS auto

The basket is for the Texture challenge at 2Peas.

Starbucks again. Nikon D60, Sigma 17 - 70mm, SS 1/10, f4.5, ISO 1600

Chattering Monkey Mind

That's the one piece of yoga equipment I never forget - and the one I'd most like to leave behind.

End of the Season

Well, sure, it ended over a week ago. But, may as well savor taking down the decorations as well as putting them up. Desaturated this - the green and red storage boxes looked strident against my butter-yellow walls. Nikon D60, 12 - 70mm; Ss 1 sec; F3.5; ISO 100; no flash.

January 12, 2009 - Caught up!

Finally! Took this one out riding past the back pastures. Very cold. Even with two pairs of socks, my feet were blocks of ice. Larry was happy to be out, though - and happy for the apples after.

January 11, 2009

We made our plane - and so did our luggage. I got back after midnight Saturday - to a foot or so of snow. Shovel enough of the drive to get the Honda off the street. This is what it looked like Sunday morning.

January 10, 2009

Young ring billed beggar keeping a watchful eye out from dropped crumbs. Disney Coronado Springs resorts.

January 9, 2009

Full moon reflected in the lagoon at the Coronado Springs resort.

January 8, 2009

A collegue and I had the good fortune to work a tradeshow at Disney's Coronado Spring Resort last week. The resort is in Lake Buena Vista, FL, and the weather was perfect. We spent far too much time indoors, but it was nice to get away from the the snow and cold for a short time. This photo is of a 20' chandelier in Rix Lounge at the resort - it was amazing. Luminioous organge is one of my favorite colors and this had it in several shades and textures as well as white and deep red. The armature was black iron (at least it looked like iron - you never know what's real at Disney), and the ceiling was painted black - the colors just glowed in contrast.

For 26 Things at 2 Peas

Does anything say comfort more that a snoozing cat in your lap?



Shutter 1/2 sec, F4, ISO 400.
I like the nice golden cast to this one.

Big yawn, whiskers going everywhere.

Shutter 1/60, F4, ISO 400

His name's Sootie and he's pretty sure he owns the place.

Both photos were taken with my Nikon D60, hand held.

Waiting, Tuesday January 6, 2009

Waiting t have X-rays taken at Summa Hudson. Nikon S550 point&shoot.

Aperature

Two Peas is doing a series called "12 Weeks to Better Photography". The week one lesson and assignment is aperature. Both photos were taken in room light.

Above: Shutter 1 sec; F8; ISO 100.

Above: Shutter, 1/3 sec; F4.5; ISO 100.

The F8 looks better to me - the African Violet's leaves come out of the center of the plant and are deeply textured. For these shot, F8 conveys the depth a little more effectively.

Project 365 Template

This is a one week template for Project 365. If you're interested, download here.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

This began as an attempt to show Sunday's perfectly miserable weather - gloomy drizzle and fog. It somehow morphed into a fairly cheerful picture of the wreath on the back deck.

D60 manual, F3.5, shutter speed 4 seconds, ISO 100, Sigma 17 - 70 mm lens.

Withered crabapples against the bright blue January sky. They look a little bit different than in October, below.

The top photo was taken with my Canon S3IS, while riding Larry around the back pastures at Promise Land Farm. The October photo was takne with my Nikon D60.

The Christmas decorations went up late this year - too much other stuff going on. The house looks so festive now, I hate to take them down. But down they will come this weekend. And the house will return to its normally serene state.

Along the Ohio and Erie Canal 1/1/09

This is the Mustill Store at the Ohio and Erie Canal trailhead just north of Akron. The shrubs were an amazing shade of bright red-brown. Chilly, quiet, no other hikers on the Towpath today.