Cutting the Christmas Tree

Every year the in-laws cut down a Christmas tree in their yard. Their house is located on an old Christmas tree farm, but at this point the trees are way too tall to fit in the house (duh). So, we chop off the top and call it the Christmas tree. Some people say it is a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree, but I think it is just right. Besides, Charlie Brown's Christmas tree was short and leaning over, plus it didn't have very many needles, so ha.

This year we had the perfect Christmas tree cutting down weather. The sky was blue, the air wasn't bitter cold, the sun was shining bright. A perfect sky.

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SkyWatch: Queen Anne

Don't forget to enter my Contest in the previous post. Everyone can play.



I passed my qualifiers!!!! That means I will have a little more time to work on my photography, yay!

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Through the Leaves

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Skywatch: Ginko

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Sky Watch: I Wish I Was Here

I wish I was camping in Door County and watching the fog roll in in the morning. Instead I am studying for my qualifiers in a cold basement in Locy Hall. Four more weeks from yesterday and it will all be over, ahhhhhhh.

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SkyWatch: Fall

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Skywatch: Dusk

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I love hot air balloons. I would love to go up in one and watch the world below me. Instead, I settle for watching them float, magically, in the sky.

This was taken at the Great Geauga County Fair. Oh how I love you, fair. Not just for your yummy, fattening foods, or your pretty horses, or your hot air balloons, but for all the memories you have given me.

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Chicago Flugtag 2008: The Flying Els

So, my brother-in-law (the bald one) and his friends were accepted into the Redbull Flugtag in Chicago this year, and they got their chance at trying to fly a replica of the Chicago El off of a ramp and into Lake Michigan last weekend. Where was I, you ask. Well, you didn't ask, but I will tell you anways. I, along with my husband and sister-in-law, was sitting in our car, in traffic, trying to find a place to park. So, we missed the entire thing. Not just my brother-in-law, but ever single crazy person trying to fly. We finally made it to the Flying El hang out area just in time to see everyone leave. So, in case you missed it too, I proudly present my "dirty old man" brother-in-law and his crazy friends launching themselves off of a cliff in a homemade train.



I did get to see the entire event later on at the after party, in video format. I have to say, sorry brother-in-law, my favorite was the Mario Kart team. They were hilarious. Youtube it :)

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Sky Watch Friday

Skipping rocks in Hull, MA.

I either need more megapixels or I need to start shooting in RAW. Can you see all of those pixels?

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SkyWatch Friday: Night Skies

A night at Navy Pier, Chicago, Ill.

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That's right ladies, he's all mine :) Did I ever tell you about the time he thought it would be a good idea to swing as high as he could and then jump off. This particular swing was super tall, taller than he had thought, so when he finally jumped off he fell a lot farther than he had anticipated. Then, for the next couple of days, he complained about how his back hurt (the old man). I just laughed, told ya so. Who needs kids when you have one of these running around :)

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A big Thank You to all of my skywatch friends who commented last week. Sorry I didn't get back to everyone due to my late night escapades in Las Vegas, but I really do appreciate everything you had to say.
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SkyWatch: Kayaking

It was a beautiful day in Northeast Ohio last weekend for a kayak trip. It started as a canoe trip, but after convincing grandma that she had to try a kayak sooner or later it became a kayak trip. I think grandma loved it, she looked like she was having fun.

The trip began with a small little "discussion" between the husband and I, but all was reconciled after I told him he needed to work on his communication skills and actually told me what he wanted me to do instead of yelling at me to stop. Then fun was had by all.

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Sorry if I don't get around to commenting on your site until Tuesday, I'll be in Las Vegas until then :)
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Sky Watch: Vintage

The hubby and I took the dog for a walk yesterday, one because she needed the exercise (lazy dog), and two because I wanted to take some pictures. There is an empty field behind our development that is owned by the University of Illinois. They are doing some sort of prairie project, so it is currently filled with wild flowers. You can't go inside, but there is plenty of pretty flowers to see from the road.

In these shots I used a set of free actions I got from Mulletgod. The first one uses the vintage yellow action with the pencil sharpen action. The last two use the vintage white action with the pencil sharpen action. I created a duplicate layer for each and then toned down each action to about 75%.




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Sky Watch Friday: Cherries in the Sky

I love picking cherries. Actually I love picking strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and pretty much anything else as well :) Last weekend we went up to Door County, Wisconsin for the Cherry Festival. I had high hopes of picking loads of cherries to freeze for later use in pies and other yummy treats.

Unfortunately, the cherry crop this year was bad. When I say bad I mean really bad. Bad as in, there are at east half as many cherries this year than last year. This meant no cherry pickin' for us this year, you-pick was canceled for the season. It did leave plenty of time to take lots of pictures of cherries, though.

The low crop for the year was caused by a three year drought followed by a harsh winter, late spring, and a warm day in February. The good news is, the rain is back so next years crop should be booming. Looks like I can have red fingers from picking cherries next summer.

**I thought I should mention my post processing when I post, in case anyone is curious. If you have any more questions please ask. I did a soft light layer, then flattened, a light effect (I can talk about this in more detail in a separate post if anyone is interested), then I ran an aging action on it (I can also talk about actions later), and finally ended with an unsharp mask.**

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Skywatch Friday: Brooklyn Bridge

I know, I know, it isn't Friday yet, but I need to keep up with my fellow Skywatch friends :)

When we were in New York, a friend of a friend's cousin's mother's uncle we met (not really but I don't feel like explaining it :)) had an apartment with a rooftop deck that had an amazing view of part of the Brooklyn Bridge. Of course I didn't bring my tripod that night, so my camera was perched precariously on the edge of a very tall building. I have several really bad pictures, but I got two decent ones. I love the curve of the road under the bridge and the flag nicely placed on top of the bridge that is in this particular photo.

The next day we actually tried to walk across the bridge. We got to that point where the flag is, read all the historical information, and then decided that was good enough and turned back. We didn't really need the exercise anyways (tell that to the tire of fat forming in the general vicinity of my belly).

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Sky Watch Friday: Fireworks

Since last weekend was the Fourth of July here in the states I thought I would share my attempts at taking fireworks pictures as well as share how I took them.

The first set of photos didn't turn out very well. It may have had something to do with it being a windy day and me standing on a deck with people walking on it. So, rule number one: when taking fireworks pictures don't stand on a moving deck.

Fireworks over Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio). Notice the blur?





The day after the fourth there were some pretty fireworks over the back bay. This time it wasn't windy and I could set up my tripod on solid ground. These came out much better. Notice, no blur?









Now, how did I get these shots?

1. I use a tripod, but you can set your camera on any solid surface that has a good view of the fireworks.

2. Next, set your camera to manual. It sounds scary, but don't worry, it's not too bad.

3. Change your f-stop to around 16 or above to achieve a large depth of field. (On my camera I have to hold down the f-stop button and move the dial to change the f-stop.)

4. If you have a camera remote set your shutter speed to bulb (I just move the dial to the left until it says bulb.)

5. If you don't have a remote then start with your shutter speed really slow and adjust after the first set of fireworks go off. It may take a couple of shots to get it right, but don't worry, you can do it.

6. Focus on the fireworks (or somewhere near then before they go off).

7. If you are on bulb mode: press the button before the firework goes off, or when you see it shoot off from the ground. Then press the button again when the firework is over.

edit 8. (Thank you John for this tip) If your camera has the function mirror lock-up, use it on shutter speed between 1/30 sec. and bulb.
That allows the reflex mirror to be locked in the up position before a shot. This function eliminates the camera vibration caused by mirror slap, helping the photographer produce sharper photos.

I liked to let the camera capture a couple fireworks at once, so the shutter stayed open a long time. Play around with it a bit and you will find that it is really fun and you can get some cool shots.

For more Skywatch photos, or to add your own, head on over to Wigger's World.

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Sky Watch Friday

I thought I would be all early this week, but it appears as if 53 other people were early too. I just can't keep up with you guys :) Since I will be in an area where there is no internet for the weekend, this is my last post until Monday, sorry about that. Hope everyone has a happy 4th of July. I know most of you aren't from the US so have a happy weekend.

We decided to drive from New York City to Nantasket, Ma at 11pm having heard that it only takes 3 hours to get from point A to point B. Five and a half hours later we finally made it to Nantasket just in time to watch the sun rise. Did I ever mention how much I love my tripod, I couldn't have gotten these pictures without it.









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Sky Watch Friday

While at the Great Sand Dunes last summer we noticed a storm rolling in. A friend and I decided to hike a ways up the mountain to get a better view, and it was well worth the hike. The colors of the sun peaking out from the clouds, the dark heavy clouds over the dunes, the green trees and the bright dunes all made for a beautiful scene.

The storm didn't make it to our camp until much later in the night. It just so happens that that night a bunch of people decided that it would be a good idea to sleep outside. They missed the memo about the storm coming in. We woke up the next morning to find wet sleeping bags and people sleeping in the vans. It was nice being warm and dry :)

For more Sky Watch photos, or to add one of your own, head over to Wiggers World. Have a wonderful Friday!