February Challenge

I signed up the February challenge. Go ahead and sign up here.


Snow! and more snow! I am so tired of shoveling and cleaning the cars and the driveway. To think that when I was younger I thought nothing of getting in the car and driving to a ski resort, or just driving, and taking photos with my Canon film camera. Then I purchased a Canon AE-1, which was and still is an excellent camera, although I have not used it in a awhile. It took many really nice shots of sunsets, snow, ice, people, etc. My favorite film was Kodachrome or Ectachrome, usually 200 or 400 ASA.

Ashley (http://www.ashleysisk.com/) had commented on my blog back in October that she wanted to see my fall colors, so I'll be posting them very soon (perhaps Wednesday since we are OFF AGAIN!! another snow day! One of the benefits of working in a school district). I also will post some of my winter shots. My only problem is trying to make the photos perfect for posting.

Scrabble fun

I have not posted in awhile, but my daughter Amy said I should do this challenge. I thought I would. I feel bad that I have neglected posting, but also that I have not made any comments to others sharing my passion for photography. Maybe this post will spark me to get back into posting,

I was meaning to post some fall shots and some cloud shots some weeks back, but time ran away from me. I think I will post some.

The Scrabble challenge is run by Ambrosia Clark (click here to see more. )


Here is my first submission for the Scrabble challenge...



Here is another one. I was really getting into the ideas of words with the subject matter.



A lot of my inspiration for blogging comes from Amy, and my interest in editing and photographing comes from many bloggers (Ashley, CoffeeShop Blog, and others)and my own fascination with taking photos and manipulating them. I use many programs on Win7 and Linux. One of my favorites is GIMP. But I found a new program that rivals LightRoom.

It is time for another Black and White Wednesday, run by Lisa at The Long Road to China. She has a new baby daughter, and another daughter, and a son. They are beautiful children, but the photos are outstanding! Please go check them out, and while you are there, check on the submissions from others. From what I have seen, everyone who submits does a great job on their photos. We all have fun doing this, and we get ideas from others.



I have not submitted any photos to any challenges since last week. I am falling behind, and must get caught up. My Black and White is a photo from the Dutchess County fair in August. There is a building in which many gardeners display their ideas. Many wonderful designs and setups. This particular one made for some great water shots. All I did was take the original color shot, do a contrast adjust, revert to BW, then do an HDR. I am attaching the original below just for looks.

Black and White Wednesday

Welcome to another Black and White wednesday at The Long Road to China. Again, I have not felt very motivated lately...knowing that soon we are facing months of gray dismal skies, lack or color outside, no flowers, and snow. About the only motivation I have is looking at my fall shots from the pond on my road. I have to admit, they are fantastic. If I knew that I could post them for all to see, I would! The lighting was dead on, the colors were outstanding, and it makes me glad to have the Nikon. There is one shot I need to get, and that is a waterfall with an 'inn' behind it. In the afternoon the sun is shining perfectly. Trouble is, the location is right by a busy intersection. I will get it this week I hope.



See...I was rambling on about fall and colors and not the matter at hand, which is Black and White Wed. I took this shot earlier in the year, of a mirror dog in front of my house. I like the affect of the circular reflection. My son Matthew is standing there next to me. We just found out today, although I knew this, that he will not be able to get another year of high school in 2011. He will turn 21 in August, and in New York, (maybe other states) he cannot be in school past the age of 21. Matt thought he could have another year, but I told him that he will be 21, and will not be allowed to go another year. So this year is really his senior year. Matt can be a good model for Amy and I, and both of us try out various actions and photographic tricks on him. I wanted to post a photo of them here but it is on my other PC.