More images of a Miracle

Life and especially this new has always been what I consider a miracle. I don't understand how it works but hope to someday. I grew up on a farm and saw the miracle many times in the animal world and was just as amazed by it. A new little calf standing on wobbly legs just minutes after birth has always amazed me, I must just be easy to amaze, but I respect life and enjoy photographing it and hope you enjoy life also. Here are the images I took when my beautiful Granddaughter was just approximately 13 hours old.


Here is Grandma with her.



Dad and Grandma.



A tender kiss from a brand new daddy.



The new family.





Grandpa(author of this blog) and his sixth grandchild. Just as proud of her as the rest. I love them all.

My new Granddaughter

More images later. Here is her first official photograph. (As far as Grandpa is concerned anyway.

New Granddaughter

No pictures yet since it will be tonight before we get to see her but she was born at 3:20 AM today . Look forward to pictures hopefully tonight.

Some from years ago.

I love the sky and the lights that bring each new day and then sustain us through the day. What a grand creation this is and with all of the things that change each day. Well, I have yet to live a day in 55 years that has been the same as any other day. My days are always filled with something new and different when I go outside and take the time to look. Maybe that is why I love photography so much because it is a way I can capture a little of it and help me to remember it.When my children were young and I worked a graveyard shift I often could get home in time to walk the half mile to the bus stop with them. Quite often I would take my camera and sometimes even get to see a bunch of birds flying in their V-formation. It is really something fun to do.

And only minutes later the scene would be different and yet the same.

Then there were the opportunities to go on scout camps. Wow you really see some neat things early in the morning and all during the day when you are in the mountains. Everything can change so quickly. There are times though when you can't capture it all and you only have the image in your mind. For instance. There is a camp where we used to go to do Junior Leader Training for the Boy Scouts of America. One summer I was asked to visit the camp and do an impression of Baden Powell for the Scouts. He was the founder and such a friend of nature. Anyway while I was there that night we had a small rain storm and another one threatening. As I left camp that night to drive the 50 miles home I was a little worried that my van might not make it up out of the canyon where the camp was located. I was unable to leave until nearly midnight but there was a full moon to the East and no storm so I felt a little more safe. Well as I topped the hill and could see to the west I saw the most magnificent sight that I had ever experienced. It was a moonbow. Yes it was raining to the west of camp and the full moon shining on the storm created a rainbow effect with the only , and big difference, being that there were no colors that I could see, only differing shades of white to gray but a perfect bow none the less stretching across the sky. I drove home, at times sliding back and forth in the mud as I went down the 7 mile long hill,  wishing I had been able to photograph it. I didn't have my tripod even though I had my camera and I could not of held it still nearly long enough to get a proper exposure. It was a lesson learned and a memory cherished.

What a difference can be made in the way a scene appears just by not knowing how to set the white balance in your pictures. I still like to make changes though to my images now because then I get to take part in creating something beautiful as well. I remember who creates the perfect image first and give thanks for the opportunity to behold it each time.

My daughter's class results this week

My daughter has been taking a class at Michael's Arts and Crafts store in cake decorating. The other night she brought us some leftover pineapple cake that was really good but I just had to remove the topping and take some close-up shots of the roses that she had made. They were about an inch high thus the need for the close-up lens to capture the real detail of the frosting.



They look good enough to eat , well that's what you are supposed to do but I would rather photograph them because they are not quite so sweet that way and yet look really sweet.

Invitation to a show

I have been invited to an art show in Mapleton in two weeks. I have the option of printing up several pictures and then showing a bunch on a computer screen. Below are the first ones that I think I will print up for it. It should be kind of fun.

Halloween at PC

Halloween has seemed to grow into a large production where I work. Our department has now won an award for a couple of years as a group and it is because of some pretty hard work individually by some of the team. (I'm afraid that I can't claim that honor but following are just some of the examples of those who can.)

I had heard some of the horror stories around the making of the following two costumes like an orange dryer because of the die used to make a yellow robe. Hours of work to make a red one and even the making of a couple of wooden dolls dressed in the same outfits. Now there was some pretty good effort.




Other departments also did a fantastic job as well. This employee we still claim as one of our own and until this year had not participated in the costumes. Well when she did she came through with flying colors. She even sounded like the child catcher in the Disney movie,"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

Then there are those who just have raw talent to make their own costumes and when they do they really outdo the rest of us. I really liked this dragon. It's head even moved around as though commanded by the hand of the gallant knight on it's back (Actually that was how it was done, pretty clever.)

Some even were made up the night before and had to sleep with their costumes because they still had to get to work the next day. I want to try doing a painting of this one to see how the colors will look .

I didn't take all of these pictures because I had some young women interested in photography that I wanted to see have a chance to learn from taking the bulk of them. But I had to step in on a couple of them because I wanted to do some special effects that I had been working on to get my timing just right. I only had one chance but I think it worked out pretty good, or else Darth was really doing a number in this one.

Finally here is my thanks to a couple of good assistants. The two outlaws on the outside of the threesome were the ones who took most of the images until I stepped in to take a few at the end just for them. Another young lady had done some earlier of these three and had caught some pretty good action as well. I think we all had fun that day, but I must admit I didn't get much work done.

I did go home pretty tired however.