Scavenger Hunt Week 10+

Week 10's topic was Wheels - with the restriction that it couldn't be automobile related. After a visit to the MN State Fair (from which I got a few different shots) this is what I chose to submit:



As always there were extras...



and here's a quick catch up because I never got around to posting Week 9.

Week 9 - Mechanical (with the restriction of no electronic)

Model Photoshoot

In August, a photog friend of mine organized an event for a group of us to go out to a local lake and practice shooting a few volunteer models. I will readily admit that this is the weakest area in my shooting skills for whatever reason. But that means that practice opportunities like these are good for me to go out and stretch my thinking.

I am definitely nowhere near professional quality for these shots but I did end up getting some things I really liked.

Here's my favorite:


The rest of the shots I got vary in quality but they are fun for me nonetheless!



My thanks to Kinsey for setting it all up and Pauline, Josh, Teresa and Pet for being excellent models!

Scavenger Hunt Week 8

So our topic for week 8 was "Church". This is the image I chose.



It is a nearby Ukranian Orthodox Church that I was FINALLY able to capture with clear skies after nearly 2 weeks of rain every day.

This was an especially difficult week for choosing though - I had several that I really loved.

Scavenger Hunt Week 7

This week's topic was "Unusual" and I think that the broadness of the topic made it the hardest one yet. And the rules for this week really didn't seem to help narrow it down.
Rules:
1. The photograph has to make you think about what the image is.
2. Can not be manipulated in photoshop
3. It can be any object, person, place or idea.

This is the one I eventually chose:


Stuff like that is why I think God allows little brothers! As always, I had a tough time choosing once I had a good selection of things I liked. Here's the extras!

Isaac's First Nature Walk

One of the fun parts of doing daycare for my 4 yo nephew once in awhile is that I get him all day and we can do and see new things! In an effort to tire out the wiggles from the little legs, we went on a nice long nature walk to see what we could learn. We got lucky to see a LOT of bird life that day and learned some new trees too - he absorbs everything like a sponge and Mommy was very impressed.

The first thing we encountered was a gorgeous egret. Now we see a LOT of those in this area but I have never seen one this close or for this long. We sat and watched it wade in the shallows and eat for at least 20 minutes.


and by close, I mean REALLY close!


this was actually a pretty low branch but Isaac wasn't so sure about getting up in the tree until he was there - and realized that there were foot and hand holds just like his favorite climbing wall at the park. It was one of many trees he learned the name of that day (he's especially fond of the different kind of birches that line the trailway with Paper Birch as his favorite).


Another very rare sight for me - this is a Little Green Heron. I can only recall seeing one in person once before in my life and Isaac thought it was cool to see it only about 20 ft from us.


he LOVED the lily pads and the flowers.


a very pretty gold finch that flitted above our heads for awhile - Isaac can even tell you that's a boy and how to tell the difference between girl and boy.


This was actually later in the afternoon/evening. This is a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk that was the cause of a royal ruckus at my folks house between his shreaking and all the other birds complaining about him being there.


We got to see a lot of things that day but I couldn't believe how obliging the wildlife was. Here is a collection of stuff we got to see:

Willow River State Park

Back in the spring, May 10th, some folk from the photography group got together to do a trail hike at Willow River State Park in Wisconsin. We hiked about 8 miles, I think - nothing too strenuous except a brief stair climb up a cliff face. But it was worth it. Turned out to be a fun day of playing with light between sun and clouds and a few teaching moments.

It took me a long time to sort through and pick the shots I really liked since I took about 500 frames but now that I finally have, here are a few of my favorites!





















Believe it or not.. that is just the tip of the iceberg! The rest of the album is in the slideslow below.

Scavenger Hunt Week 6

The assignment for week 6 was "Fences" which really had me looking at my surroundings in a different light. I admit that I don't normally NOTICE fences around me all that much unless they are ugly. You could get very deep and philosophical about a statement like that but let's just say that I started to notice the boundaries in my environment a LOT more.

I also went a pretty different direction in my choice of photo than I usually do in my photography. I think that is the point of the hunts so I let myself be a bit more creative. Even though I took some of the standard "cluttered, cuddly" or "artistically colored" shots that I usually do, I ended up going with a Black & White with a more industrial feel:



That's actually layers of fencing from a local zoo around the lion habitat. Kind of glad for all the fencing but it was remarkable that so many layers were necessary in one place.

Here's the extras that I didn't use:

Birth Announcement!!!

with guest photographer: Phillip Thomas

yes, another one... the funny thing about having a big family is that when the next generation starts to arrive, it seems to be one of those exponentially growing things. So I have a new nephew! My brother, Phil, & his wife, Michelle, have definitely been working toward this for a long time so congrats to them both!



Caleb Riley Thomas
born: July 26th, 4:41 pm
Weight: 7 lbs 4.4 oz.
Length: 20 inches

Sadly, I haven't been able to meet him in person yet since they live in another state though it will happen soon. But here's just a few of the hundreds of pictures my besotted brother has taken.



Can't wait to come for a visit Little Monkey!

Scavenger Hunt Week 5 (plus some catch up)

I have missed a couple weeks of posting the scavenger hunt assignments - but I was taking the pictures. So I'll give you Week 5 and the extras but then catch you up with the final selections I used for Weeks 3-4.

Week 5 assignment was Color - focus on a single color in an artistic way. I chose one from the inside of a slide at a local park - I loved the light, color and shape!


Here's the ones I debated and didn't use:




and the quick catch up on the previous weeks:


Week 4 - People at Work





Week 3 - Isolated

Toddler Photoshoot

The process of getting some fun, unique and portrait quality shots of a two-year-old can be traumatic for everyone involved sometimes. So, when my sister-in-law wanted to get some shots of my nephew, Matthew, we decided to find some environments that he would find fun and be encouraged to act more naturally despite having a camera pointed at him all the time.

A local park in June provided a fantastic background for Stage 1 - we still have some ideas for an indoor shoot that we haven't done yet.

Out of all the shots, I think this one was my favorite:


But here is a collection of all the good ones - in my opinion at least.

Summer Scavenger Hunt Week 2

This week's theme was Round Things. The fact that it included the 4th of July meant that there were some fun opportunities.

Here's what I went with:


And like last week, I had some extras that I liked but did not choose:

Summer Scavenger Hunt Week 1

I'm in a local photography group that is aimed at just having fun taking pictures and occasionally learning something new or practicing a particular skill. We are a bit scattered around now so we can't all get together for the outtings we plan.

In order to involve some of those who can't regularly participate, one person suggested a photography scavenger hunt. We loved the idea so we get a new subject each week and take a picture to submit to the group. We just completed Week 1: A Lake.

This is the picture I took on Saturday evening at a local lake just before a rain storm and the one I chose to submit.


and just for the heck of it, these are the extra shots I liked but didn't pick.

Cecropia Silkmoths live in Minnesota - who knew?

A friend of mine has a somewhat unusual hobby - he raises moths and butterflies. He's been doing this for a number of years and just a few days ago, I got to see one of the most unusual members of his winged progeny. He found the caterpillar in a marsh area near our homes actually - which was a surprise to me since I have never seen a moth or butterfly of this size just flying around here.

What makes this particular moth unusual is not where it was found or even its type, but how long ago he found it. This beautiful creature spent 21 months in the cacoon before it finally emerged. I was very glad I got a chance to see her since she only has a life span of about 2 weeks once she comes out - which she did a couple weeks too early to find a boy moth in this area.

But regardless, she is incredibly beautiful and I hope you like some of these pictures!

BASEBALL SEASON OPENER!!!!

Hard to believe this isn't something I mention more often but I'm a baseball nut.... I gotta tell ya, the combination of being a photography addict and a baseball fan makes for a LOOOOOOT of baseball pictures sitting on my harddrive.

In honor of the MLB Season Opener (WIN TWINS!), I have decided to post some of my favorite pictures from games over the last few years. First note: I had to sort through literally THOUSANDS of pictures (and took the time to delete similar shots and organize them) to figure out what to post. Second note: amongst it's many other failings, the HHH Metrodome is actually a VERY difficult place to get good action shots due to the lighting. I have spent a lot of time playing with different settings on various days to get them as good as I can. That is something I will continue to learn about but I bet it's a ton easier to get spectacular shots when we are outdoors in Target Field!

To start things off, here are a couple of my favorite "action shots":
1) Brendan Harris, MI, getting hit by a pitch.


2) Alexi Casilla, 2B, doing what he does best - seemingly running without ever touching the ground.


3) Nick Blackburn, P, warming up in the bullpen - can't wait to see him start tomorrow's game!


Here's a slideshow of a collection of more of my favorite pictures in general:


4) Jason Kubel, DH, in a moment of bat meeting ball action.


here's another slideshow of my best "ball at the plate" moments, including contact, strikes, and fouls:


I would also like to take a moment to thank a couple friends for providing me with a few shots that I love and would like to share with you.

This is my first baseball love, Doug Mientkiewicz. Picture by Kristie Strum


This is one of my current loves - yes, there is more than one - Joe Nathan. Picture by Corey Sauer


Well - it took me too long to raid friends pictures for a Spring Training picture of Crede in a Twins uniform because I just didn't have it in me to post one of him batting in a Chicago jersey. (and I couldn't find my Liriano pictures *sob) That being said, the lineup I was predicting is VERY near what has been posted at the Strib except that I had the order a tiny bit differently - not that you would know but you might have to trust me on this one. Anyway, here is the 2009 Twins Starting Lineup in photos!



And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BERT!!

Newborn Potvin Portraits

I had a wonderful opportunity to do some newborn portraits for a couple friends of mine for their St. Patrick's Day baby. She really was very easy to photograph and I think I might have to do some more in a month or two when she's a bit more active and see what we get.

Introducing Kiera Ann Potvin:








Kiera Ann Potvin
March 17, 2009
8 lbs 8.5 oz, 20.5 inches

2 New Polls!

YOU CAN STILL VOTE!

Since my house is soon to be under some fairly major renovations, I have begun pondering some decorating ideas to spruce up the places that AREN'T being updated as much. I have decided to take advantage of the horde of pictures on my computer to do some lovely floral groupings in my two bathrooms. But I have SO MANY that I have taken over the years in various places that I want you to help me decide. There are two different bathrooms so two different polls - please vote or there really isn't much point it going to all the code work to put them up!

GUEST BATHROOM
My guest bathroom is decorated in lavender and black with brushed nickel accents. I need you to choose three pictures to go in black frames. Here's your choices:

1)

2)

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10)

Which three should be grouped together for the guest bathroom?
Hydrangea closeup
Hydrangea & Viola
Hydrangea & Hybiscus
Single Freesia
Freesia group
Pansy group
Single Pansy
Hydrangea budding
Allium
Water Lily
See Results

"MASTER BATHROOM"
I joke about the "master" part since this bathroom is only about half the size of the guest bathroom. It's decorated in deep green and yellow with beige accents. Again, I'm going to be grouping three shots together in natural birchwood frames. Here's your choices:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

Which three should be grouped together for the master bathroom?
Fern
Primrose
Yellow Pansy
Pitcher Plant
Orchid
Old Garden Rose
Hostas
Dandelion
Tea Rose
Fallen Leaves
See Results

Thanks so much for your help!!