Prom!

Day 69/Year 2

Jay is escorting his girlfriend Amanda to her High School Prom tonight. How adorable is Amanda??? She is a sweetheart.....she's as sweet on the inside as she is on the outside.

Isn't Jay styling??? :-) Just look at the lip bling! He bought a blue lip ring to go along with Amanda's blue dress. (of course his Mother would have preferred NO lip ring, but Amanda likes it, so naturally her opinion is the only one that matters. :-)

Jay = Fashionista!

Love yah!!! xxoo

America's heros remembered today

Day 68/Year 2

"These heroes are dead.  They died for liberty - they died for us.  They are at rest.  They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines.  They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest.  Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace.  In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death.  I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead:  cheers for the living; tears for the dead."

                                                      ~Robert G. Ingersoll

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 1/800, f14, -1/3 EV

Project complete!

Day 67/Year 2

The deck is done!!! Woo-hoo!!!!! It was finished today.......just in time to kick off the summer barbecue season. This is my brother-in-law Jack. He is the guy who built the deck. I LOVE the way it came out. Isn't it awesome??????? :-) We have gated off the 2 stairways off the deck, so it is like a big giant playpen for Abby and Rudy.

 We celebrated the finishing of the deck with a Memorial Day barbecue. All American desserts were the order of the day....apple pie, watermelon, and red white and blue cupcakes. (There was also a key lime pie, a lemon crunch pie, brownies and vanilla ice cream in case anyone was wondering what was for dessert) **smile Kathleen** :-)

The Specs:

Photo one: Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/100, f9

Photo two: Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/50, f5.3

Memorials

Day 66/Year 2

As you know, I spend a fair amount of time photographing in a local cemetery. I drove through today, and was touched by the number of people who were there working on their loved one's grave sites. I have never seen so many people in the cemetery at one time as I did today. It really moved me.

I hope you all have a wonderful 3 day weekend and I hope you can find some quiet time to reflect on loved ones no longer with us.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/60, f5, flag filter using Picnik

Squabs

Day 65/Year 2

How cute are these two? OMG they are just too precious!!!! You are looking at  two baby Mourning Doves which were born in this flower box on a second floor patio at the hospital. (I got a tip that they were there so I brought the Nikon to work with me today.)

Mom and Dad were not around, and I was a bit worried that these 2 could have been abandoned. I spoke with one of the hospital workers who works in this area, and she assured me that both Mom and Dad are fine. They have recently been leaving them alone in the nest. I was also informed that they have been practicing spreading their wings, but have yet to take flight. From the size of them, I wouldn't be surprised if the 2 youngsters leave the nest soon.

This shot shows the scale of the size of the bird compared to the flower.

I have leaned so much about wildife since I have taken up this hobby! Today I learned that baby Mourning Doves are called Squabs. I hope you have learned something too! :-)

Squiggly

Day 64/Year 2

Late day shadows along a fenceline.

a church, a graveyard, and a link to some free Photoshop actions

Day 63/Year 2

Do you remember the day I shot the Red tailed hawk at the cemetery in Hanover? I wrote that I was there staking out a potential photo op. I decided to head back there tonight, now that the trees are in bloom.

Can't decide if I prefer the horizontal or the vertical.

These were taken behind the First Congregational Church on Rte 139 in Hanover

On another note, I downloaded some free "Photoshop Actions" from a blog that I visit. Here is the link if you would like to download these actions for your own use.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2010/03/actions-update-2/

In these next 2 images, I used the "Old West" filter and I was pleased with the results. Now, I know these are not everyone's "cup of tea" and the photography "pursists" certainly may not like these results. That's okay. That is one of the things that I love about this art of photography. It's all subective.

Here's the original image. It was shot as a RAW file and converted to a jpeg with no post processing.

Here's the processed image using the Old West filter:

I like the ethereal look that the filter adds to the image.

Here's a second image straight out of the camera converted to a jpeg:

Here's the version using the Old West filter:

The Specs:

All of tonights photos were taken with the Panasonic FZ8 ISO 100

Photo one: 1/250, f4.5

Photo two: 1/400, f3.2

Photo three and four:1/160, f3.3, -1EV

Photo five and six: 1/100, f4, -1 EV

Peaceful sleep

Day 62/Year 2

I guess these guys at the pond must be getting sick of me. They don't even wake up anymore when they hear the shutter of my camera.................

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/2500, f6.3, -1 EV

Pack your bags

Day 61/Year 2

We've had so much rain and damp days lately, that even the wildlife is starting to pack their bags and head out of town!

:-)

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/2000, f5.6

Bleeding Hearts

Day 60/Year 2

The hearts were a-bleeding out in my backyard this afternoon. I always look forward to seeing these bloom. I think they're so pretty.........I hope you do too!

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/160, f2.5, macro mode

Meet the Goslings

Day 59/Year 2

I waited until after 6 pm to take today's photo. I figured if the world was going to end, there would be nobody to look at the blog anyways.

The sun came out this afternoon with lots of beautiful blue sky. It's been sooooo long since we have seen that. But, seeing as though I waited to go out until after I found out the world was not ending, the dark clouds and fog came rolling in, just as I was leaving the house. Figures. I guess I should have taken my chances and gone out sooner.

The geese and goslings at the cemetery were happy that the world didn't end. They didn't even mind the change in weather. The temperature dropped 20 degrees.

Again. Weather in New England. It's crazy.

What the fog?

Day 58/Year 2

My goodness. Just wait a minute around here and the weather will change. Honestly, I don't remember ever having a week such as this. Today was mostly cloudy and damp. We got a few glimpses of sun which then heated up the clouds and produced some thunder and lightning. Then the sky kind of cleared so I went off to Scituate this evening to meet 2 members of camera club for a sunset/night shoot. There was some blue sky when I left my house around 6:30 pm. As I got closer to the coast, the fog rolled in. Scituate was totally socked in. I stopped here along the Driftway for a few photos before I met the guys.

This one I converted to black and white:

So then I arrived to Scituate Light to meet the guys. This is what we were dealing with:

Luckily, I like fog. :-)

It rolled out for I swear 2 minutes and I caught this shot. Immediately after I shot this, you could no longer see the jetty.

New England weather. You gotta love it!

Oh what a tangled web

Day 57/Year 2

It's still damp and murky and rainy so I didn't get out to take any pictures today. Instead, I am posting an image that I took out in my nephew's backyard a few weeks ago.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 2320, 1/400, f5.6, -1/3 ev

Living in the green

Day 56/Year 2

Trying to find the positive out of the wet, rainy, foggy, chilly week we are having. Have you noticed how green the outside world is? Mr. S mowed the lawn this afternoon, in between rain drops, and I can't remember the last time that it looked so healthy.

See? So the rain isn't so bad afterall! :-)

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 320, 1/50, f2.3

Camera Club Banquet

Day 55/Year 2

I had so much fun tonight at the end of the year camera club banquet. The food was delicious, the slideshow entertainment by President Larry Fay was amazing as always, and the company couldn't have been any better. Special thanks to Nancy Santry for the ice cream with strawberries for dessert. *wink wink*

Thanks to all of the members of the club for such a great year. I know a lot of members read my blog.....come on.....you know who you are :-)  .............Hope to see some of you over the summer. I am always up for a photo outing.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/8, f2

Purple

Day 54/Year 2

These wildflowers are from the other day when I went to Webb Park in North Weymouth. The pretty purple color caught my eye.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/200, f5.6, -1/3 ev

Take a second look!

Day 53/Year 2

I was revisiting some of the photos I have recently taken. I remember my friend Andy wrote a blog about going back to "take a second look" at your images. http://lightcentric.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/second-looks/s. 

 Sometimes we can overlook a photograph that has potential of being a keeper, but when taking a second look, we decide that we really like the shot afterall. That's what happened to me today. I was reviewing some photos when I came across this one that was taken on that foggy morning a few weeks ago in Middleboro while I was out shooting with Diane and Greg.

I actually love this photograph. As soon as it came up on my screen today, my heart skipped a beat. How did I overlook this the first time? I don't know. Perhaps it was because I had hundreds of images to go through and this one just got lost in the mass of photographs.

I didn't do much to this. I slightly cropped the original, and I softened the overall image, but otherwise, this is what came out of the camera. The lighting that morning was such a gift. Just beautiful.

I hope you like this one as much as I do!

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/100, f14

Happy Birthday Paul

Day 52/Year 2

When Mr. S was 18 years old, he went to work for a towing Company in Milton MA. This is where he met Paul M, who is tonight's birthday boy. They have been friends for almost 35 years. Not only is he still friends with Paul, but there is a group of guys, 6 of them altogether, who all worked together and have remained close friends ever since.

It was great to get together with them all at tonight's b-day party for Paul. We had a lot of laughs and as always, whenever these guys get together, they go "into the wayback machine" as I like to call it, and reminise about the past. The things these guys did back then........yikes! :-)

The party was held at the Ocean Deck Restaurant in Green Harbor.

This was the sign on the door as we entered:

******smile****** Just one of the hazards of coastal living. :-)

Tonights photos were all taken with the Panasonic LX3

Upside Down

Day 51/Year 2

I love reflections. This reflection caught my eye this evening just before sunset. This photograph was rotated 180 degress. What you think is the sky in this photo is actually the bottom of the original shot, which is the sky reflected in the water. Cool beans, huh? :-)

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/60, f4.5

The Orion

Day 50/Year 2

I remember last year when I reached Day 50 on the blog. It was such a big milestone for me. Now here we are one year later. Geezum Crow.......time really flies, huh?

This is a pretty tug boat, isn't it? I wasn't quite sure what kind of boat it was when I first saw it approaching from a distance. At first I thought it was a fishing boat until it got closer to me. I showed this photo to Mr. S and he said it's one of the new tug boats. ( Mr. S loves tug boats.) This was taken over by Wesagussett Beach in North Weymouth.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/500, f11, -1/3 ev

The Blossoms are a-bloomin'

Day 49/Year 2

The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom at Webb Memorial State Park in Weymouth MA.

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/webb.htm

It's one of my favorite places to walk in the area. It is especially pretty this time of year.

The Specs:

Photo one: Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/250, f11, -1/3 ev

Photo two: Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/400, f10, -1/3 ev 

Pay It Forward

Day 48/Year 2 

I can say without a doubt, that I have been very lucky to have some wonderful photography friends who have been more than willing to share their knowledge with me. I learned the Photoshop basics via email from my friend Andy who lives in Michigan, and also by a few phone calls from my friend Al who lives in Minnesota. I also learend a few things "in person" from my friend Patrick. I have found that most photographers are very passionate about their hobby and are more than happy to help out "the newbies". I see this in Camera Club on a daily basis. When someone has a technical question, they put it out there on our email group, and within minutes someone throws out a lifeline and comes up with an answer or explanation.

At a recent camera club meeting, I was approached by a member who had taken a trip........came home with hundreds of images.........and had no idea what to do with them. He had no "post processing" or Photoshop experience and he had no idea where to begin and asked for my help. This is "fun stuff" to me, and I have been very happy to help him over the past few weeks. We had another session today and I am having a great time working with him. It's great how this has gone full circle for me, and I am now able to help others, as I have been helped myself.

Now, I still have a long way to go, and certainly don't "know it all"....far from it! But, it's great to be able to "Pay it forward" and share what I know with others.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/30, f4.2

Mother's Day Part 2

Day 47/Year 2

As you may remember, Miss J is a PreK Teacher. :-) How awesome is this Mother's Day Card she made for me?????

Just look at the picture of me and my tripod and camera!!!!!! OMG...........I LOVE it!!!!!! I also look kinda cute in the picture too, don't I?????? :-)

Hmmm...........am I predictable or what?........................

******smile******

Now, here's the OMG I can't stand it you are making me cry part of the card that means the world to me.......

Please pass the kleenex..............

:-)

Yup, I'm a lucky Mom and Miss J is the best daughter and the best teacher EVER! :-)

I love you Miss J!!!!!!!!!

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 100, 1/30, f2

Happy Mother's Day!

Day 46/Year 2

Mother's Day Blessings. It doesn't get any better than this............

My wonderful Mom with her Great-grandaughter, Rowan.

Love............Look at the love in my mother's eyes. She is such a loving woman and I am so blessed to have her in my life............

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 28-80 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/60, f5 (Photo two is f4.5)

Ashton

Day 45/Year 2

The other day I visited with Rowan, and yesterday I got to visit with her cousin, Ashton. Ashton is my great-nephew, the son of my nephew Christopher and his wife Nikki. He is sooooooo much fun!!!!! And he is soooooooo full of energy. Just look at him go!!! :-)

Yes siree........he's a very busy boy! :-)

I just love that little face!!!!!!!

xxoo

Can I just brag for a minute? I am soooooo proud of my nephews!!!! They are such good Dad's and husbands and seeing them with their babies just warms my heart. Love you guys!!!!!!! :-)

Beautiful Spring Day

Day 44/Year 2

Today was a a fun day that I spent with my sister Nancy.

This was my first sygnet sighting of the season. We went to the Jenny Grist Mill in Plymouth , on a tip that there was a nesting swan there. When I arrived, I was so surprised to see that the sygnets were already born. How cute are they?

Here's the proud Papa........

It was such a beautiful day and the wildlife was a-plenty. Here's a few shots of a duck in flight...

Finally, a goose feeding near a fully blossomed Cherry Tree......

What a perfect Spring day. It was one of those days that just makes you smile!