Cookies!

It's the annual cookie decoration day at my inlaws today.  The young grand and great grand kids are having a blast!

Pretty as a picture

Back in May, My wife and I went to my cousin's wedding in Norman.  We decided to stay for the weekend.  While there, we went to the Myriad Botanical Garden in Oklahoma City.  It was a great place!  I got my wife to pose for this picture.  I don't take many portraits of people, but it'something I want to work on, and how better to do it than with a beautiful woman?

Picture Details

Focal length 70 mm

exposure 1/500

F/5.6

ISO 400

First Day of 7th Grade!

Well, it's that time of year again... School Time! But this time, it's 7th grade!  Starting the middle grade of  Middle School!

He's not nervous at all this year.  He's a pro now!  Not expecting any problems this year, just hope he stay's healthy this year.

As usual, you can click on the pictures to make them larger!

7th Grade

6th Grade

5th Grade

4th Grade

3rd Grade

2nd Grade

1st Grade



Kindergarden


Pre-K

A rose by any other name

Today, while I was at my grandparents doing some yard work, I noticed this beautiful rose along their fence line.  It was awesome!  To top it off, it stood out so much in the shade surrounded by different shades of green and brown.

This week, I've also been taking photo's for a project at a site I've been following called Digital Photography School.  Their assignment this week was to shoot pictures with a Wide Open Apertures.  I took a couple other pictures that I've posted to my flickr page.  But today, while mowing, I decided to try some more shots.  And personally, I'm glad I did, I think this came out wonderful.

The last few pictures, I've been trying to post details of my photo, so here you go

Picture Details
Focal length 18 mm
Exposure 1/160
F/3.5
ISO 200

Smiles

On Easter, my wife and I had our grandson over, and he went to church with us.  After church, there was a big Easter egg hunt out front right after the service, so, of course, we took him.  There were lot's of people there and the green ground was covered by colored eggs (or as he called them, balls).  But he wasn't sure what he thought of all the people, so he was holding onto Mimi.  I happened to catch this great shot of my bride, and my grandson.  I love shots like there were there weren't any poses, just a completely natural shot.

As my wife can tell you, I'm not much of a portrait taker.  I love landscapes, but I've been working on my portraits as well as that is what she really enjoys.
Picture Details
Focal length 105 mm
exposure 1/160
F/7.1
ISO 100

Flower Photography

Last week I came home from work, and took a walk by all our flower beds, and I took several photo's of them.  It was getting late in the day, but not too late.  It was overcaste, so that helped with the lighting of my photos.  Of all the photo's I took, this was one of my favorite.

There was something about this yellow rose next to the brick wall that I found very nice.  There was something about the composition that really caught my eye, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Picture Details
Focal length 105 mm
exposure 1/160
F/5.6
ISO 200

Playtime

My daughter and her son came over today, and my grandson was able to play out in the yard.  He loves the outside, and loves balls, and he got to enjoy the best of both worlds.  Of course, I got the chance to get my camera out, and snap some shots.

I really like this picture.  The grass filling the frame which really highlights my grandson and his soccer ball.

After the Storm

We've had several days of storms, and they've finally mostly moved out. Still some minor chances of more rain but the sun is shining and my how everything has greened up!

I really enjoyed the reflection in the pooled water and the budding and blooming trees. I wish it would have been possible to catch the cool breeze and the smells of Spring.

I tried dividing the picture with a third of it water, a third land, and a third sky. I'm not sure I really got that, but I enjoy it.

Springtime!

It is definatly Spring in Oklahoma. My wife got these flowers the the other day and she got them planted in the front flowerbed. The new and extra color was really nice. I worked on my shot and took several pictures. I liked the way this one came out. The only editing I performed on this picture was to crop it some.

Overall, I'm pleased with it. I personally like the depth I was able to achieve.

Bradford Pear

It's feeling like spring here in Oklahoma. Flowers and trees are blooming and for the last few days anyway, it's been warm. Today's picture is brought to you by a beautiful, if not stinky tree, the Bradford Pear. I love how these trees look during the spring. I'm just glad I don't have any by my house, because they stink. I have to walk by them to and from work everyday, and I don't look forward to it.

The sun was just coming over the horizon this morning as I was walking into work, and the sunlight was shining on the white blooms. So I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures. I like the depth I was able to get in this picture. How the front flowers stand out against those in the background, and all of them offset with the blue sky.

Personally, I think you should click on the picture to see a larger image of it. I think it looks even better that way.

Snake in the leaves

It was a nice sunny Sunday afternoon. So I grabbed my camera, and decided to take a walk out long the fence line out back and see what I might see. While walking to the back of the yard where the trees, rocks and tall grass is located, I saw something orange out of the corner of my eye. I was shocked to see this snake. Seeing snakes isn't unusual. That's one of the nice things I like about living in the country. I get to see all sorts of different wildlife. What caught my attention was the color. I'd never seen a snake like this in the wild before. So, I kept my distance and took several pictures of it.

Later, when I got in and got the pictures off the camera I was able to zoom in and get a better look at the snake. And after doing some research, I'm pretty sure it's a scarlet king snake. Non-poisonous, but very cool.

Getting back to the picture, the top picture is the original. I was leaning over the fence and zoomed in as far as possible. I might could have been able to get closer, but until I knew exactly what kind of snake it was, I wanted to keep my distance. I'm all for good pictures, but another trip to the emergency room is not what I had in mind. So, I went ahead and cropped the photo to get a much better look at the snake.

Bird House in the Woods

On February 10 and 11th, I went with our Boy Scout Troop camping at Camp McClintock. While there, I had some time, and went out to take some pictures as well as taking the camera along when we went on a hike. While there, I found this bird house hung on a tree out in the woods. It was about 15 yards or so from one of the paths.

Snow Moon

Tonight's almost full moon gave me a chance to go out and play with some of the settings on my camera. I had a couple shots without the moon in it, and was able to see several more starts in the shot than what's in this one. I had the shutter open for 30 seconds, which is probably too much, and perhaps I'll mess with that some tomorrow. Also, if I can figure out how to get the flash to go off, it might make for a better picture of the tree in the foreground and then have the moon and the star(s) in the background.

Silent Watcher

I liked the way this picture turned out. I liked the shadows, the textures, the colors, and the contrasts. I've been working on framing my pictures too. Taking the time to try different framings, and then taking the time to go through my pictures and delete the ones I don't like. So what I'm left with is the ones I really like. So that's what I've been trying to do.