September 19 -23

September 17 and 18

She was pretending to drive, but it looks like she is ready to fight . ..



An attempt at an abstract macro. Or a purple shot.

September 16

September 10 - 15

The Shufords go to the beach. :)

September 5 - 9

I have the pictures, I just don't have time to PP and get them posted. So, when I get them done, I'll edit this post and add them.




We are leaving for the beach tomorrow!! WooHoooooo! So, be watching sometime later in the week. Hopefully, I'll have a bunch of new beach pictures to add!

The pics -- (mostly shots from the NC Mountain State Fair)

September 4

Happy Labo(u)r Day!!

**********************

Warning!

Challenge Entry Ahead


************************










I was going to use this subject for my *experiment* where I shoot with my point and shoot AND my rebel and then post them to see fi there is really any discernable difference. BUT, I was tired and didn't feel like doing that. Soooooooo, I shot this and decided to put it in the "simple pleasures" challenge at dpc.

September 3

This was a thought for the pastel challenge at dpc. BUT, I hate pictures of toys and trinkets, so I usually try to avoid entering them, myself. :)

It was shot with a shutter speed around 15, handheld, so I had intended to do a "soft focus" kind of thing on it. It was sharper than I thought, so I did a high contrast bw with it. Yes, the highlights are blown. yes, that is on purpose.





Then, just because I want to learn how, I did it using a soft focus technique. I duplicated a layer, then applied gaussian blur at a radius of 5.95. Then, I reduced the opacity to around 50 or so. viola. Definitely something I am going to play with some more.

September 2

Run, McKinley, run! This is one of my students (I provide "supplemental educational experiences" for homeschoolers). He had just broken through the line (qb sneak) and was running about 35 yards for a touchdown. I had been shooting pictures all day, and it started raining. I hated to put the cameras up, so I climbed up in the bleachers and shot while M's mom and grandmom "protected" me with their umbrellas. While I like my "field" shots from yesterday a lot better, I'm glad I was in the stands for this one -- I was able to get four or fives shots in the sequence.

Young Photog -- September 1

This shot was actually taken last week, but I am trying to get back in the habit of posting every day. Bear with me.

I was shooting for a local little league football game, and my son wanted to shoot, too. So, I gave him my sister's boyfriend's camera (thx Martin!) and let him shoot. I really need to look at her pictures and figure out which ones are his. :)

Travis, age 4 years 7 months with "his" first dslr. :)

August 31 -- A Repost

Today is the memorial service for my friend Connie. While I normally wouldn't repost something, I just wanted to let her *shine* one more time.







My hero

My hero, Connie Lister.

Connie was one of my supervisors at the community college where I work. The woman was a walking stand up show. Wherever she went, we laughed.

Several months ago, Connie went to the doctor. She had been coughing and feeling "puny" for some time, and thought that she had bronchitis that just would not go away.

:(

Can we say lung cancer, boys and girls? crap. Not what we wanted to hear, and definitely not what Connie wanted.

She started her chemo, and it was a good report then a bad one, then a good one, then a bad one. Up and down, up and down. Finally, it simply got to where she could not work.

This picture was made on August 11, 2006 at a "Celebration of Life" party her children had for her at the Basic Skills Building where we work. She is a huge Jimmy Buffett fan (she intended on leaving hospice one night to make his local concert -- 2 hours away), so it was a tropical theme going.

Education was a very important thing to Connie. She loved the students and would always encourage them. As a result, it was announced at her party that a scholarship had been created in her name and would provide at least one (maybe two) annual scholarships to Haywood Community College, for a Basic Skills Graduate (Adult High School or GED), in Connie's name. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. The children also announced that any money from Connie's estate would go to the scholarship instead of them.

Connie, You are and will always be an inspiration to me. I loved the time I wasted (on the clock, no less) while we swapped family stories and laughed until we cried. Your outlook on life always cheered me up, and your sense of humor is one that will never be matched or even rivaled. I could always count on you to be honest about what I was doing, in life and in the classroom. And thanks for all the "pregnant advice" you offered and for all the times you kept me calm when I thought I was approaching a crisis.

I love you.

August 30

Okay, a big ole glitch in the whole photo a day habit. I got out and just couldn't get back in. I guess you could say I have taken a few weeks off of photography in general, though I have shot some here and there.

That being said, September is a NEW month and I will be back. muhahahhahahahaha

August 17

Untitled

I thought it was cute. :)

August 16

This may hiccup and this picture post three times. Not sure what is happening. This young lady goes to my church and is just as sweet and down to earth as any teenage girl can be. Since I'm just learning to do portraiture, hopefully, I can shoot her again in the future when I know a bit more.

August 15

Flowers

I like the colors and the position of the big rock.

August 14

the Queen

I know, I know. The picture is not good. Again, I'm still trying to get back in the habit. I think I'm about to get caught up. (Confession -- not all the pictures in the past few days were taken on the date assigned, but I am trying to get that worked out too. :) ).

Anyway, I know the picture is lacking in quality in many areas. BUT, this bee was so cute that I just had to buy it when I saw it at the Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas. This was Kristi's "Mommy's home" present. For real, I bought it for her. ;)

August 13

Camera Family Portrait

How lame can I go?

Two canons = sony? Adoption of course. :)

I started to call it -- "Adoption, a Wonderful Option" or "Same Sex Marriage"

BUT

while I don't mind sharing my opinion, and even arguing when necessary, I really don't want to stir up trouble unnecessarily.

Yea, that's my story.

(The stickers -- yes, we left them on. I have found that when you take the stickers off, it leaves a residue. If you don't clean it properly (and I won't) it looks gunky in a few weeks. I'd rather have the color.)

August 12

tower

Inspired by a shot I saw on dpc the other day (don't remember the original photog or even what thread it was in or where it was at). That shot was much much better than this one. It's probably a good thing that I don't remember the orginator. This one would be a major insult . ..

August 11

My hero

My hero, Connie Lister.

Connie was one of my supervisors at the community college where I work. The woman was a walking stand up show. Wherever she went, we laughed.

Several months ago, Connie went to the doctor. She had been coughing and feeling "puny" for some time, and thought that she had bronchitis that just would not go away.

:(

Can we say lung cancer, boys and girls? crap. Not what we wanted to hear, and definitely not what Connie wanted.

She started her chemo, and it was a good report then a bad one, then a good one, then a bad one. Up and down, up and down. Finally, it simply got to where she could not work.

This picture was made on August 11, 2006 at a "Celebration of Life" party her children had for her at the Basic Skills Building where we work. She is a huge Jimmy Buffett fan (she intended on leaving hospice one night to make his local concert -- 2 hours away), so it was a tropical theme going.

Education was a very important thing to Connie. She loved the students and would always encourage them. As a result, it was announced at her party that a scholarship had been created in her name and would provide at least one (maybe two) annual scholarships to Haywood Community College, for a Basic Skills Graduate (Adult High School or GED), in Connie's name. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. The children also announced that any money from Connie's estate would go to the scholarship instead of them.

Connie, You are and will always be an inspiration to me. I loved the time I wasted (on the clock, no less) while we swapped family stories and laughed until we cried. Your outlook on life always cheered me up, and your sense of humor is one that will never be matched or even rivaled. I could always count on you to be honest about what I was doing, in life and in the classroom. And thanks for all the "pregnant advice" you offered and for all the times you kept me calm when I thought I was approaching a crisis.

I love you.

August 10

another Kristi

I think it is fun to see how she changed since I started blogging. She is just reaching that age where she likes to "pose" for the camera.

Kristi

YaHoooWooy

GREAT NEWS!!! Steve Davidson has been found -- alive and healthy.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts; I'm sure the family appreciated it!

August 9

Just trying to get back in the habit. :(

Shot with my little sony.

A Special Request

A member at dpchallenge.com, stdavidson, has gone missing. Will you please look at the myspace page and memorize his face, tag, etc. The more people looking, maybe the better the chances of finding him . . .

Steve is Missing

July30 thru Aug 4

Okay my captions kept getting all screwed up. The hotelly looking pictures are where I stayed in Dallas -- The Anatole Hilton. The predominantly pink pictures are from "Awards Night" and the others are just airplanes and stuff.

Ya'll can figure out which is which.

One that I want to point out (I think I uploaded it) is the blond woman. Her name is Rean Tarbet and she is seriously amazing. She has been battling cancer for 31 years. She has had 75 rounds of radiation and countless chemo treatments. The last I heard, only a very small percentage of her heart was functional (due to the chemo and radiation). STILL, she was the number 3 national sales director at the seminar and earned (I think) 8 MILLION dollars in commissions last year. She is more persistent than the energizer bunny. From now on, when I have an obstacle that almost stops me, I just look at it through my Rena filter, and woohoo, it disappears.

If you need a hero, I strongly recommend her!

August 4

I am home from Dallas! What a trip. I have close to 300 pictures to go through, so it may be this weekend before they get up. Instead of doing "one a day" I'm going to just post a bunch for several days. :)

Laters!