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Remember number nine? The poor little guy has gone viral. Kat Sloma has featured Number Nine on her website. That's my second feature in less than a month. I swear that I have not paid her a dime. I like Kat's site because she issues challenges to her readers on a regular basis and sets up their efforts with well written tutorials on what they should be attempting and how it will improve their photography.

In the case of Number Nine, Kat assigned us the task of exploring visual contrast in our images. Here, I captured the contrasting textures and shapes between the curving brass number and the linear brick wall behind.

Participating in online challenges and contests is a fantastic way to improve your photography skills and to have your work become better known. Most online photography communities have them and I encourage you to participate. Who knows, you could become a two time champion and micro celebrity like me! Are my fifteen minutes of fame up all ready? Sorry folks, reality says I have to get back to the real world.

 

 

 

The day has been cool and wet with a soft drizzling rain. Just water enough to keep you inside but not enough to keep you from running outside for a quick shot of the water drops. The plant is called Silver Mound and it is gorgeous on its own. Throw in some water and you get sparkling diamonds of moisture.

 

 

Geese and ducks swimming at a local pond remind me of a sailing regatta that Josh and I once saw on lake Thun in Switzerland.

 

 

 

I was walking around downtown Springfield after lunch and noticed the marquee at the old State Theater. The theater has been closed for years and the last message I can remember on the marquee indicated that some Holy Tabernacle of of some kind was meeting there on Sunday mornings.

So…. Are they really showing movies there again and if so why start with an old Monty Python movie? Even more importantly, will I be able to get the Knights of Nie out of my brain now that they have entered it? What is the wind speed velocity of a laden sparrow in flight? Is Sir Robin really a coward?

I might just have to run by there tomorrow to see if it was just a mirage.

 

 

Congratulations to all of you ephemeral life readers around the world. In the first six weeks since el hit the internet with its new overhauled web site, more than 2000 individual visits have been recorded. That is an average of more than 50 per day.

I want to thank you for all of your enthusiastic support. I will continue to bring you the best images that I can capture as well as original stories and the ever popular Jodi-isms. Starting next week, I will also start to bring you photography tips and how to's. 

Keep reading and I will keep posting. Once gain, thank you all for your support and if you haven't commented yet, I encourage you to add your own comments to those being posted on the site.

Tim

 

 

 

During yesterday's hike, the star performer was the river roaring through the gorge. The tremendous rains that we have endured for the last month have caused the river to overflow its banks. We could hear the deep booming sound of the flow long before we climbed down into the gorge.

 

 

This is the highest that I have seen the river in all of the years that I have been here , though the debris lining the banks indicated that the water has recently reached further afield than what we saw.

 

 

Even the geese were reluctant to enter the water and could be seen huddling on rocks above the foam. I hope that their nests were not washed away but, the likely hood of that happening is pretty high.

 

 

Given some time and sunny weather, the river will subside and return to it's normal course. However, with the current forecasts for rain this week, I am not crossing my fingers that it will be any time soon.

 

 

 

Our cat, Betty, seems to have an instinct for when somebody is coming home. Last night, she popped into the bay window and intently watched the end of the driveway. Sure enough, a few minutes later, my wife, Jodi, came home from her belly dance practice. Either Betti knew she would be home soon or she was enjoying the beginnings of a beautiful sunset.

 

 

For a few minutes yesterday evening, the semi permanent storm clouds broke up a bit and we had some sunshine peaking through. Just enough for me to mow the yard and pretend that summer had arrived and that the spring rains were gone. Alas, tis not true. When I awoke this morning, the heavy bank of clouds had returned. The endless cold of winter has turned into the endless rain of spring. Come on May flowers!

Today is my wife's belly dance troupe's opening gig for 2011. They will be dancing at a breast cancer benefit in Tipp City, Ohio. While they dance their feet off, I will be the designated videographer. I'll try to sneak in some still shots. If I am able to snap some pictures, I will be sure to share some with you tomorrow.

 

Enjoy your weekend everybody.

 

 

 

This is the first intentionally planned image from the new Sony a55 camera. When I initially took the image and uploaded it to flickr, I was pretty pleased with the image. The plant's bloom was more subtle and not nearly as bright. You can see the original uploaded version below. 

 

 

My BPF (best photography friend) Renee offered up some constructive criticism by suggesting that I should make the flower brighter. Renee was right. I popped the image into PhotoShop and tweaked the brightness in an adjustment layer. The result? The flower really pops. What I originally thought of as subtlety turns out to have been an image that was simply too dark.

Lesson learned? When you have somebody who's opinion you implicitly trust on the matter at hand, listen to them. In this case, what did I have to loose? If I didn't like the brighter version, I could just keep the darker one and stick my tongue out at Renee and say nanny nanny boo boo (not that I would ever do that to Renee).

While we are discussing good advice, hats off to my Uncle Eddy for suggesting the a55 over the a33. I think the camera and I are going to be good friends.

Listen to your friends, you never know, they might be right. Stranger things have happened. 

 

 

 

Whenever you obtain a new camera, there is inevitably a honeymoon period when you point the camera at anything that will stand still long enough to get a focus lock. You play with the new buttons, trying to get a feel for where they are located and how the new functions work. Thanks to my generous parents, I am in the honeymoon phase. Yesterday evening, my wife and I shot our animals, flowers, house, each other, etc.

 

 

The new camera is a Sony a55. You know me, I like to be the odd man & wanted to avoid Cannon and Nikon if possible. My uncle shoots with Sony and after some web research and a call to him, I settled on the new body and kit lens to get me started.

 

 

My web research included a hunt for the best online price. I then visited my local photo shop and tried out the camera & got them to match the online price and give me half off on some accessories like a clear filter and extra battery as well as an 8Gb SD card.

 

 

Did you know that you can negotiate with your local dealer? This is a skill that I have seen my wife put to good use many times during our marriage. She will always ask for a discount or some free loot, even at the big box stores. She is a negotiator by trade and has no problem asking for the manager. I tend to pay what they ask but in this case, I decided to give it a go and get as much bang for my buck as I could. I think you could say that Jodi has been a good influence on me.