Christmas Beads and others

More fun with the little Macro camera... The first one is a clear plastic tube of Christmas beads. I like the way you can see the camera reflection in every one of them.

Yet even more clouds

By unpopular demand, here are yet even more sky pictures. There was a cool cloud pattern this morning just as the sun was coming up.

Evening Clouds

Yeah, I know, more sky pics. Guess I'm looking upward all the time.

Colorful Sunset

I shot this the other day and kinda forgot about until I was going through the images on my memory card. The sky was really colorful (I think it was this past Friday) and I shot this from my car on the way home from work. One of these days maybe I'll have the time to actually stop and get out and take a photo. For a shot through the windshield, though, it didn't turn out half bad.

Ghouls and Goblins ... and a Sumo Wrestler

I know it's a bit late to be posting Halloween pics, but I thought I'd share a few of these. Our church, Gregoryville Christian Church, recently had a costume party, and I took photos of all the kids that came. I shot them against a white backdrop, but then my wife thought it would be a good idea to spruce up the backgrounds a little by dropping things in. Here are just a couple. To see all the photos from that day click here.

I just added site meter

I just added a site meter to this blog to see how little traffic I get. :-)
Maybe I'll be surprised. I would probably help if I posted more often.

More fall colors

The trees around here are really peaking right now. I really need to get out one day and get some good shots. For now, here's some shots of trees in the park that's across the street from my office. We're on the 5th floor, so the high vantage point looks pretty interesting. Guess it will have to do for now. Maybe I'll make it out some this weekend.

A walk in the park

Got a few moments today to take a walk around Central Park in Ashland which is across the street from my office building, and snapped these shots of the fall scenery. It had just rained, so all the dampness really made the colors vivid. The very last shot in the group is a photo of my office building.

Not so itsy bitsy spider

Found this guy crawling on the outside of my house the other day. I'm not sure what it is about our house and garage, but it seems to be a haven for spiders. Of course, they look much bigger when the camera is practically touching them.

Full moon at dusk

Here's a photo I took earlier this evening that actually combines two different shots into one, and is a good example of how the camera sees things differently than the human eye. The moon is tricky to shoot, because although it doesn't cast lots of light, it's really just reflected sunlight, so to get the detail from the craters, you need a pretty fast shutter speed. However, the evening sky isn't nearly as bright, so if you shoot a high shutter speed, the sky simply turns dark. I took the same photo twice, exposing once for the sky colors and a second with a faster shutter speed to get the moon detail, then used Photoshop to paste the "good" moon into the photo with the "good" sky. The end result is how the eye perceived the moon shining brightly during the sunset.

Another from today

Today was one of those days where it was cloudy and misty all day, which kept lots of moisture and rain drops on the plants in my yards. Here's a close-up shot of beads of water on some rosebuds.

Signs of Fall

Some of the trees in Northeast Kentucky are already starting to change. Fall has to be a favorite time of year for most photographers. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get out and get some better photos this year.

Morning Perch

Every morning on my way to work I see these birds perched on the cross atop the steeple of Wilson Creek Baptist Church just outside of Grayson. I always tell myself I should stop and try to get a photo of them, but I'm usually already running late. This morning, I was a little early, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The sunrise wasn't as colorful as other mornings, but it still didn't turn out half bad.

Bug-eyed

A praying mantis that was sitting in my driveway Sunday afternoon. Up close, it has a sort of scary, alien look to it, don't you think.

What's this No. 10

Here's another, and this is a pretty common item. Do you know what this is? Post your guesses in the comments section.

Crosses at Grayson

This photo was actually taken a couple of years ago with a 35mm film camera and I just happened to come across it the other day. The processing date on the back is Jan. 29, 2003. It's a set of crosses on a hill in my hometown of Grayson, Ky., that are visible from I-64. They're in a different position now, as the entire hill is being razed to make a big flat piece of land that's more attractive to businesses that might locate there. Earlier this year, the crosses were taken down at one time, and put up again a few weeks later, but the hill is probably about half the size now than it was when this photo was taken. I have some closer shots of them, but I really like the way the clouds look in this one shot with a really wide angled lens.

What's this No. 9

Can you guess what this is? It's not a real common thing, so I'm not sure how difficult this one will be. Post your guesses by clicking the comments link below.

What's this No. 8

Here's another one. This isn't a common item, so I'm guessing it will be easy if you've seen one and difficult if you haven't. Post your guesses in the comments link below.

Hello Kitty

My mother-in-law lives on a farm in Greenup County, and there's never a shortage of good stuff to photograph during a visit there. We spent some time there Sunday, and here's just one of the shots I got of a kitten hiding in a bunch of hostas, poking its head out to see if anyone was around.

Yay! ... it's Mac & Fish Day

On our daughter's school lunch calendar last week, we noticed that the Friday entreé was Mac & Fish. We really weren't sure what that meant. Was it like Mac & Cheese with fish instead of cheese? We were a little anxious to find out. Turns out, it was just fish (fried, we think) with mac & cheese for the side. I'd never heard of referred to as mac & fish before, but the phrase has become the new punchline to lots of jokes around our house now.