Disappointment

I am in Lewisburg, PA for a couple days training for my job. Having been here in the past I remembered the lovely gardens surrounding the place & was so looking foreward to some quality photography time with some of my favorite subjects. Wellll...won't you know the wind just won't stop. I was able to catch a few shots just after arrival last evening, but the wind blew enough to mess with my focus. This evening was even worse! Tomarrow finishes my training, then 2 1/2 hours home. Glad to return home, but sure disappointed in my picture opportunities.

This rose wasn't too awfully bad, so I softened it up for a bit of romance.

A stream wanders around the garden, lots of lovely shades of green line the edges.

Youth Field Day, Trinity, & Mady

Today turned out to be much busier than anticipated. My plans were to spend some time catching up on image editing, but that didn't happen. Decided to post a few quick shots from YFD 2009. If the participant seem familiar & is in all the pictures it's because Trinity was old enough to participate this year. Hard to turn the camera on another child when my grand kids are present!

Image #1 shows DWCO Bob Strait "suiting Trinity up" for some .22 practice. Little did he know she has a pink .22 & is already a pro.

Some black powder action.

Big gun, little kid. One shot with the shotgun was enough. It kicked!! Trinity is prepared to take part in youth hunts this fall. Don't tell the local PGC officers, but she says she can fill her tag & her Dad's too! The florescent orange vest was her door prize that day.

Mady attended too. Never to young to watch. At the archery station, every time bows were laid down to gather shot arrows she had to pet that deer.

Mady is modeling safe hunting apparel & holding a retriever training bird.

Autumn Color

From time to time my work takes me to the local hospital/nursing home combination to complete assessments. About 2 years ago a new building was built to house both facilities. The construction took place in a donated field near town. When landscaping was completed unpaved ground was put into meadow restoration instead of the usual formal setting. A controversial move, to say the least, many don't like it. I, for one love it! This is something I would like to do in my backyard (front too, but between my husband & father-in-law it ain't gonna happen). I have enjoyed the various wildflowers blooming at the medical center all summer, of course the Rebel was usually with me but I never had time for a shot. Now, autumn displays are taking over. Beautiful! It was time to do some images. The trees are lovely - Japanese Maples, I believe. Bright spots of reds & oranges surround the parking lot. The lovely flowers add spots of happiness in a meadow browning up, preparing for cold & snow.

Youth Field Day, Bright Sun, & Man's Best Friend

The Annual Youth Field Day was held this past Saturday at the Fulton County Pistol & Rifle Club. As I explained last year various stations dealing with outdoor activities are set up, many of the stations include hands on training. Two new stations were added this year. Pine Creek Kennels demonstrated retrievers. Local wildlife photographers & bloggers "County Captures" & "Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer" shared skills on how to get a good shot without the use of a firearm.

Weather-wise it was the perfect day. Comfortable temps, brilliant blue skies, bright sunshine. For my photography, not so good. The shadows were quite dark & the brights were very bright. I used a neutral density 4x filter, but have read the circular polarizer may have done a better job. I did end up with many nice images which I will share another day. Looking at the images in this post you can see some of the problems.

The weimaraner, in my opinion, is an absolutely gorgeous animal. This one is quite young and still learning the perfect point. As you see in the second image she has the retrieving down pretty well. The black lab is a favorite retriever & happily shared his skills. The final shot is an Irish setter who, as you can see, is an old pro.

Pennsylvania Turnpike

There is a portion of the old Pennsylvania Turnpike located in Bedford & Fulton Counties that can make an interesting afternoon visit. Entrance is by foot or on bicycle. Much of the highway remains, although the center strip & sides are grown up with grasses & small trees. A wide area, located @ the eastern end of this strip, leaves no reminder of the Howard Johnson Restaurant that served hungry travelers. Two tunnels bored thru the mountains back in 1942 remain, a short distance apart & open for passage. As I looked around I tried to imagine the many trips to my Grandmom's house on the turnpike. The roadway appears to be so narrow, the tunnels scare the daylight out of me just thinking we had to have passed tractor trailers in the confined areas (of course, I don't like the modern, well lit tunnels with 2 lanes in each direction). The current trip through the old tunnels can be cold & certainly dark, especially in the longer of the 2. If memory serves me correctly, they were poorly lit back in the day. It saddened me that the tunnels, inside & out, are decorated with graffiti. It was interesting to come upon a young photographer friend using the graffiti & ruin of the tunnels as a back drop for his models. Not my kind of photography, but his shots are excellent & the area serves as an appropriate background for his work.

I am sharing a few images from my day, that I felt turned out pretty well. Sorry, no pretty girls or cute drummers!

I found this tree facinating. How hard it must be holding on to life rooted on a bit of soil & rock.

The graffiti

Young Firefighters

This past Wednesday evening the local fire company burnt a house near where I live. My husband has been a member of the fire company for many years. Currently he volunteers with the fire police & assisted with traffic control for the evening. The Rebel & I went along to see what we could capture. One of it's functions was to provide hands on training for the next generation of firefighters. As I watched the young men & women (high school age) manage this fire, of course the more seasoned firefighters were near by & assisted. I was quite impressed. From start to finish they worked extremely hard. From my vantage point I could hear some of the orders shouted by the chief & noticed how quickly the youngsters acted. Too often we hear & see how much damage our young folks do, never acknowledge their strengths.

As far as the photography, I learned flames photograph beautifully. Could I do it again? Never on an unplanned structure fire. Far too many emotions ran through my mind as I watched. I knew the house was empty & had been for awhile. The owner had stripped everything he wanted....but a house was on fire! I have begun to edit the images, I have that same feeling that something horrible happened.

They Are Back

The gold finches that so brilliantly decorated my backyard are returning to the feeders. Families are raised & it's tme to prepare for cold weather. As I look at the images posted here I can't help noticing how calm & composed the females appear compared to the scruffy males who are losing those lovely, bright feathers.

Flowers of the Field

Wild flowers in any season have always caught my eye. Those above share the field with whitetail deer.

Beneath the Old Apple Tree

This is another of the deer shots I have been busy editing. For some reason I find it very appealing & thought it would be fun sharing a couple different versions thanks to the magic of Photoshop Elements. Method or filter is listed to the top of each edit. Now to pick a favorite!!


Original
Cropped, contrast
Cropped, contrast, soft flat colors

Cropped, desaturated

Cropped, contrast, ink outline

Whitetail Chuckles

The last couple evenings, I have been at my laptop editing some Labor Day whitetail deer shots. There were a few that made me chuckle, thought I share a sampling.


My biggest & best smile!

Cows do WHAT with this stuff?

What idiot parked that frame right here! (no cropping here, shot that way)

Enough already!!

WHOA BABY....can you meet me a bit later this fall.

Mom & Me

WOW!

When I grow up I want to be just like you, Dad.

Sunflowers

Just sharing a couple sunflower shots today. I have done very little post processing on these. Only messed a bit with the contrast.

Bird Bath

We purchased a birdbath in the spring & set it up outside my window where I have captured many bird images. Well....until yesterday I have seen any number of birds & animals drinking or even eating from it. When my Granddaughter helps feed the birds, she always makes sure she "accidentally" places food in the water! I happen to look outside yesterday to see a bird with some blue on it perched on the post. Popping up for a closer examination I discovered 3 bluebirds. Pretty unusual in my yard. Poor things were really scruffy looking, all blue, grey, & orange. (in molt?). Soon they all landed on the birdbath, then 1 hopped down into the water to flutter & splash. One of the 3 was chased by the bird that sat on the edge of the pottery watching until bathing was complete, then both flew away. Pictures? Of course the Rebel XT was up in a flash!

Thanksgiving Dinner ?!!!!

Earlier today a flock of wild turkeys (17 according to Andy) wandered across our backyard. We were hoping they would come a bit closer to the corn we have out to feed the critters - no such luck. But my closest chance yet.