Art Show Fun

This weekend I participated in an Art Show in Mapleton. There were 25 contributing artist and sculptures. I was first invited last year and surprised at how much free time I had during the day on friday and this year was about the same. It was very relaxing and a great break from the 10 plus hours I spend at work each day. I got there early an Friday to find the doors still locked so I went on a photo walk for a few minutes. It had snowed during the wee morning hours and was a bit cold but I went anyway and then went back home and got some winter boots and warmer socks. It was very beautiful on that walk however and the snow on things gave a whole different perspective from what we had last year when the weather was a very warm fall day.

A little later in the morning I decided to go out behind the barn where the event was taking place to a pond and do a little more photographing. (I find that to be extremely relaxing.) Anyway as I was there I saw two Canadian Geese and went to photograph them. The pictures here are backwards from the actual sequence of photographing. They first had been on the grass as I walked toward them and so they slid into the pond but when I seemed intent on taking their pictures they decided to fly away. So the first pictures here are where they are circling around above me before leaving. I felt pretty lucky to get a couple fairly good shots before they left.

Around noon I had a friend come over who wanted to learn more about photography. He just bought a new camera and was there to learn to use it so we went for another photo walk. It was really fun being with someone who was so anxious to learn and who also appears to have a great eye for it as well. We took around 200 images and had a lot of fun. It was much warmer so it was easy to stay out a little longer and look for a lot of things that I hadn't had the chance to look at that morning.

I found a rock with some crystal formation so I had to try using my 6 point star filter. I got a little bit of a star from it. You have to look closely.

My Granddaughters pix that even mom and dad ...

have not had a chance to see. I took these just before we left for church so since we left there before they were out of church I didn't get to leave these with them.

So this is especially for them.

A Tree

Every year our department at work picks a theme for Halloween. This year it was "Lord of the Rings". I had not seen the movies for so long that I could hardly remember the characters. However the scene with the trees really stuck out in my mind so I decided I would be a tree. Well 30 to 40 days of daily thinking finally came around thanks to a friend that suggested that we glue bark to some clothes. Well I didn't glue it to clothes but I did use bark and thanks to Marie the following is what came from it.

Brittany had to help me get in and out ot the costume.

This is our group. It took two pictures to get us all in to it. Actually we have taken the the second group and photoshopped them into the other group at the appropriate size.

A Carving night not at the movies

Yes with the ones who could come we asked for costumes and we got costumes. And I thought Scott was already tall enough. Look what happens when he ducks inside the cape.

Sam was having a hard time wanting to keep on the mask so I had to snap fast.

Look at those eyelashes. They didn't stay on very long though.

Look closely at the hands and you would wonder if the beheading had just been done.

Our hippies and pirates were also here.

Now on to the carving images where I bumped up the ISO on the camera and holding it as still as possible took pictures with the candles inside so that you can see the carving as they are meant.

And now this one, Wait it isn't a carving just a picture using a flashlight just as I did in the pumpkins. Makes me wonder though if something like that could be carved. Either way you

just gotta love those smiling faces.

A weekend with family in Colorado

It seems as though time is even moving faster now. I can't believe that it has been since the 4th that I last blogged but it has and now i must be behind. Anyway last weekend we went to Colorado to see our son's family. While there our granddaughter's had a lot of things planned for us to do. We had soup day at preschool, a play at the Junior High, a soccer game, a church primary program, pictures to take for the family and friends as well as the preschool and a visit with the girl scouts to a pumpkin farm.And that is where the pictures are going to come from today.

So here we are at the May Farms pumpkin farm in Colorado. According to the lady who owns the farm with her husband they are one of the very few true pumpkin farms in Colorado. Not that there are not a bunch that profess to be, they really aren't because they have them all hauled in and then put them out in a field to sell. They had a really bad freeze though last week so even though it looks like there are a lot of pumpkins a good number of them are soft due to the freeze and thus no good to sell.

Our granddaughter's were very excited to visit the farm and to go through the corn maze. Here they are before we started the activities.

There were animals on the farm as all good farms would have. There were ducks and geese and goats and lambs and chickens and donkeys.

This is only a few of the images from those animals.

Then one of my favorite parts of the entire visit was all of the other things to photograph. I love flags, windmills and sunsets and there were all there. Plus , of course, tractors for giving hay rides into the sunset.

Toward the end of the evening, after a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin for each girl, we were starting to get tired. But it was a lot of fun and the sing near the door as we were leaving the barn said to ring the bell if we had a good time so we did.

Now if you are wondering about the corn maze. Well, there wasn't one, there was a patch of grass like plants that were really tall and waved in the wind and slapped us in the face and left us itching all over and, well, it didn't end up being their favorite part but maybe soon I will post a few pictures from inside the maze. I must admit it was different and very unusual. I think it was sorghum or something like that.

So, What else is happening?

In the last few years with the advancements of technology things that were once not done have become daily activities. Most people couldn't take a picture and now everybody does. That has been one of the things that digital photography has done even when Brownie instamatic cameras and others like it only started to get it done. I remember when I use to photograph weddings and be the only one with a camera and now it seems I am the only one with a backup camera and everyone else has one (two if you count the one in their phone) and is taking pictures as fast (almost) as I am. Their pictures look great too and I am often glad there are a few more around just in case mine doesn't work. Of course there is always a difference between theirs and mine only because I am usually the one setting up the shot and they are having to take it at a little different angle. However now that there are always so many different cameras around I like to sometimes step back and capture a look at "What else is happening".

Below are four pictures that I took of the family sightseeing at Cedar Breaks National Monument near Cedar City, Utah. My wife and I had decided to travel up there while we had some extra time between photographing recipients of the scouting award known as the Silver Beaver award. We had pulled off on one of the side areas and were just enjoying the view. I had photographed a couple of wild animals that we could see and of course had set my camera up on a tripod and took our own pictures. We were almost back to the car when several cars pulled up and one person hopped out and seeing my camera with the telephoto lens on figured I knew how to take pictures and asked if we could do a family group shot for them. I gladly accepted and for the next 20 minutes or so not only did pictures with their camera but also with mine and then later sent them a cd with my shots on just for the fun of it. However being a non-member of the family gave me an opportunity to just sort of stand back and watch what was happening. I didn't stop taking pictures though and the following shots show that when there are pictures being taken of the group there are also some shots that can be taken showing how the rest of the group is getting into the same shot only from behind the camera and thus that memory is soon forgotten.
So here is what the family was shooting and below is what some of the others were actually doing while it was taken. (and by the way how many cameras do you see. I see 5 people and I am pretty sure there are 5 cameras.)

And of course this one on top is what else was happening while the picture below is the memory they took home in their cameras. (Here you can see that even the younger ones of the group have a camera.)
So next time you are having family pictures and you are not taking them for the family and you can stand back and watch don't stop there but record a few of the actions that will show what else was happening. (My thanks go to the Bodily Family for a chance to help them record a few family treasures.)