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.

Mady is 3!!!

Today is Mady's 3rd birthday. Hard to think she has been around that long! I'm sure big sis, Trinity feels like it though. Mady is a VERY busy little girl. She does not miss much & is a delight to all who meet her. Because of work schedules, her Dora the Explorer party isn't until Saturday. Happy Birthday Mady!!!

A big kid, just like her sister!

After she learned to wink it became her favorite pose.

This is not one of my shots, but couldn't help including it. Her Dad took it on a recent camping trip. Mady has natural curls, making each morning "a bad hair morning"!

Eye Spy

A collage of Mady & her hat.

Indigo Bunting

A bit of research identified yesterday's lovely bird as an indigo bunting. The information provided said it probably is just passing through. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that he liked it so well here he will stay!

Today's image is of Trinity & Mady decorating my sidewalk with chalk. I like the old fashioned feel provided by the black & white & the vignette. Had to tone the white dress down a bit, but I think it turned out OK.

Discovery!

Mady learned to wink. What a wonderful world these little ones live in! Each day brings a new adventure. So much to see, do, & learn.

New Camera - Digital SLR

After stating many times that I did not want a digital SLR because I was quite happy with the results of my Fuji's & SLRs are too much work, I am eating my words! A couple weeks ago I ran into a Canon XT at a very good price & made the jump. Since that time I have been learning & practicing - nothing is safe from being captured by me & my Canon! I can manage the kit lens fairly well, but missed the far reach of the 18x zoom on the Fuji. So, I found a 75-300 refurbished Canon lens I could afford. It does not have image stabilization & makes the camera a bit heavy for me to keep still, so my next move will be to use a tripod. Taking some bird feeder shots I supported it with a table top tripod & those shots are very nice. What did I do with the Fuji's? Bought a bigger camera bag so I can have everything!! Here are a few of my practice shots.

Mady bowling. I think this one will be good for blackmail in a few years!!

Gold finch guarding the feeder

Love that motor drive.

Mountains on a cloudy day. Taken from the overlook on Tuscuora mountain.

Mady & Levi

Time to get out of the ice & share a couple of my babies. Mady's shot was taken while we enjoyed big sis Trinity's Christmas program. Levi was visiting with his mom just before Christmas, so I took a few shots. I used a couple new (to me) features in PSE & overall am pretty proud of both images.

Mady Again

I worked on this shot of Mady last evening in an attempt to rescue a really bad shot. I like the softness of the final image.

Nasty Suprise

My son returned from work to the parking lot where he meets his shared riders and found that someone had rearranged the metal, actually moved the truck several feet. Mady & Trinity were here, so we all rode in town to await the state police. Thankfully the guy that hit the truck left contact information. As you see in the snaps Mady was quite busy checking the damage and Trinity, just like her granny, finds a good book always the perfect way to wait.