Suzie Bailey Photography

So I've started a new blog

2006-09-15T22:07:00.000-04:00

http://suzeeshutter.blogspot.com/

This I will try to keep from amking a mess !!!

Hopefully this weekend I can update too...Lots of new stuff going on with pictures.

I'm stuck in this blogger beta !!!

2006-09-11T05:33:00.000-04:00

I can't leave any messages on any ones blog and I can't convert back to the old Blog UGH !
Look like I need to find another bog or something...crazy !

San Diego

2006-09-10T15:57:00.000-04:00

So the best way to share my trip to San Diego would be with a slide show.

http://www.suziebaileyphotography.com/SD/Sandiego.html

It tales about 45 seconds to load.

:)

It's the most wonderful time of the year !!

2006-09-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

(all in my best christmas song voice.) :)
It's girls field hockey time !

My daughter players the goalie for the HS freshman team. The bottom two pictures are the Rutland HS Varsity team...went to their game last night. Got some great shots there too.

Hoping that tomorrow I will be able to post some pictures from my fabulous trip to San Diego from last weekend !!
Met and made lots of friends who are just as addicted to photography as I am !!!

What a blast:)

Thanks everyone....Can't wait til next year when we can get together again. !!

*******************************************************************************

Oh, She'll love this..I caught her getting rid of the mouth guard.

***********************Varsity***********************************************

If you know of a link

2006-09-01T06:41:00.000-04:00

that you can post for me that gives better directions on how to fix my header...
Oh how grateful I would be !

How funny is this?

2006-08-31T17:11:00.000-04:00

Playing around and trying more panning....
My son is skate boarding across the driving way...doesn't it look like he's racing the car?
The car is actually parked and blocking the driveway to help keep the wild skate boarder in the driveway.

A Fun wedding last weekend.

2006-08-31T16:09:00.000-04:00

A country western theme wedding. Loads of fun, lots of happy people.

Had a couple to share...well maybe more than a couple. :)

Mel, Mom, Gib

2006-08-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

The trio.

Try not to ignore the dogs

2006-08-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

when taking pictures...They get very jealous and must be the center of attention.

Old and odd doors

2006-08-14T18:42:00.000-04:00

When we were downtown in this one spot in the alley, all these doors, or doors no more. Tall doors, bricked up doors and doors you could never get too. I think this used to be the delivery hub for down town...It's really strange now to see this.

Exposing myself

2006-08-13T21:16:00.000-04:00

Sam and I went down town today. old alley had some cool walls and textures.
I was showing Sam how to work my camera, and she talked me into sitting in front of the lens. Very award to say the least. One of the white ones... I look so grumpy. Man that thing was bright. An old water fountain they painted BRIGHT WHITE. if you sit in it, it looks like your in a big white box.

Poor Jack

2006-08-13T10:44:00.000-04:00

He just wants to sit next to Ramsay. Ramsay just "loves" too much sometimes. Jack loves it and puts up with it. Takes whatever he can get from Ramsay.

masking and merging

2006-08-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

very intersting
3 seperate shots masked together. I have some other ideas for this. Would like to do this for some senoir portraits too. They love this fun stuff.
(The strips across the pants is the sun coming through the fence.) We were on a hill too, so the fence really does slope down like this.

The teen who loves to model...but only her way. Nothing I want to do :(

Picks for the fair

2006-08-12T07:15:00.000-04:00

I had help from others picking what to go in the fair this year. These are six that you are allowed that I'm entering. They all on metallic paper 11X14.
Always fun to be a part of the local fair. The art exhibit is my favorite part.

Agility dog show

2006-08-09T08:14:00.000-04:00

Saturday I went to Burlington, VT to an agility dog show. My Mothers dog, Melody was in it to get her fourth "leg" so that she can advance to the novice round.(Which she did and took first place) Pretty amazing stuff. A giant indoor place. You'd never know the room is full of dogs as they are so quite. What is so amazing is the silent communication between trainer and dog. Lots of hand signals. I stayed and watched the advanced jumping...which was really amazing. Lots of fun. Though shooting tho. these are at 3200 iso 500 ss F 2.8. Lots of yucky yellow. I couldn't catch any of the black dogs, the camera just couldn't focus on them fast enough. The next show in October is outside. That one will be fun to shot.

This Lab was soooo cute and nervous. He was coming over one of the ramps and looked down. He got so nervous...he couldn't make it. the trainer tried and tried to get him to walk over it. She finally went over and picked him up and got him down. Once you touch the dog your disqualified.

The above one is my Mom's dog..melody . This below one is one of my mom's friends.

she's feeling much better

2006-08-03T07:03:00.000-04:00

everyday.
So during her recovery from surgery, she has to sit and relax alot. Perfect ! A model to sit by the window and let me practice natural lighting.

found a new cemetery

2006-07-31T14:14:00.000-04:00

this was just AMAZING ! I was walking around the cemetery and came down over a hill and found this breath taking statue. it is more than life size too...it's giant! I had goose- bumps ! I did not have a lens that went wide enough to capture the complete wing span of the angel. The detail was amazing. what an incredible piece of art work/monument. ---sorry for the shadows

elephant ears in my back yard

2006-07-29T20:36:00.000-04:00

and they are growing to be very big. they are very large leaves and sure enough they are shaped like an elephants ear.

here's the back side of them.

"there's a bug on your foot"

2006-07-26T14:01:00.000-04:00

Too cute...almost forgot about this picture...when I was photographing the twins..in their shy little voice, they kept saying "there's a butterfly on your foot"...well we were in tall grass, fields and the lawn. I didn't think much of it. Emma finally came right over to me and started touching my ankle. I totally for got I have a tatoo on my ankle of a butterfly...
Then they kept trying to take it off...too cute.

what an exciting day

2006-07-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

First..UPS showed up with my Gift Certificates I ordered from Vista Print...VERY nice cards. I'm so glad I did it. Now I've got 100 Gift certificates for sale :)

Second...my camera came back from Canon repair center. I'm so glad I sent it in. I actually get two eyes in focus now and the noise has been reduced dramaticly. They replaced some parts recalibrated it and gave it a good cleaning.
I was so excited about the difference in pictures. I couldn't decide which picture to share...so I'm sharing them all. :)

Hot and Sticky

2006-07-18T07:10:00.000-04:00

Ever sooooo thankful that our neighbors are so generous and share their pool. !!!

I love them...they are the nicest people ever. !

Summer Birthdays

2006-07-17T06:23:00.000-04:00

are the best. My kids are always jealous because their bdays are in winter months and they always have inside parties. My Neice turned 5 years old yesterday....and boy is it hot and sticky here...just like every where else too. Perfect day for a back yard- waterworld birthday party. The kids had a pinyatta...(how on earth to you spell that?)...thank goodness for the older boys there..the girls were not having much luck breaking it open. A couple babies were there too....and happy they were...

Family with twins.

2006-07-13T05:54:00.000-04:00

Here's a link to a 10 mb file that is on my web site.
I made the slide show in Pics to exe. So, It's an executable file.
Download and save. Double click and watch.

http://www.suziebaileyphotography.com/Graham.exe

Playing with typepad too...might be putting a link up to it.
Ever play with. 30 days free trial. I'll play for a couple of days.
I still can't figure out how to customize it...like a picture at the top.
Is there a forum or good place to lean codes on how to do this?

Asuka Books

2006-07-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

So you can find out more about these beautiful books...
http://asukabook.com/index.html

Thanks for stopping by Lynne and Margie

Yes, the first big book is at 50% when you sign up with them.(asuka) My concept was to have something nice and large to show customers....and maybe work it in as a sale item with portraits.
The smaller size is to carry around with me too. I'm finding alot of people I hand my card to I really don't hear much from them, it's the people I see and can show them something right there that I have been able to book a session with them faster if not on the spot. I decided to make the smaller book, as my little 4x6 album just is not nearly as nice as these books are.
Should take about 4 weeks to get my order...I'll let ya know. :)

Gift Certificate

2006-07-03T21:43:00.000-04:00

Vista Print is having a promotion...thought I'd give it a try.
100 Free Postcards...just pay the shipping. I paid a couple exta bucks for my design.
We'll see how they work out for $10 including shipping.
I'll hand write on the back what the certificate is for.

Finished my first Asuka Book

2006-07-03T21:21:00.000-04:00

I did the 20 page stitch bound hard cover book. 8X11

Can't wait for it to come now...
Was going to work on a small 5x5 pocketbook size now :)

My daughters Story board

2006-06-30T10:52:00.000-04:00

Here's my daughter...now 14 1/2 going on 25 ! WOW !
I made this with a 10X20 Canvas and fit (3) 5X7 pictures on it...
I loved the jinky frames...I printed it on metalic paper at whcc...

Love it...it's my favorite pictures of her !

Some photoshop action playing.

2006-06-30T08:23:00.000-04:00

Between the rain and heat...not a comfy day in sight... we've been spending a alot of days inside and after the sun goes down or the rain stops we run outside. What crazy weather.
Was playing with a story board action in between working on my first Asuka book...
Yes, the middle picture stayed the same. A fun blue hat Ramsay was wearing and thought it was funny to play with.

Where does the time go?

2006-06-21T07:30:00.000-04:00

Almost a month has gone by????
Between baseball games and lacrosse games the kids ending the school year and all the activities...time just flew right by...

Any who...
A funny picture and story.. our garden pond was over whelmed with stray frogs.
We tried putting them up in a bucket to take down the road to another pond...without a cover to fit the bucket it was not going to happen very easy. So we bagged them...that's not easy either...they are VERY JUMPY. And then made the trip to their new home.

Did you really think today was the day you got to see a bag of frogs?

And this here is the new home of seven orphan frogs.

Little Aidan

2006-05-24T06:09:00.000-04:00

So I tried my first newborn shoot...
He was very tired and hungry...not up for pictures in any way.
We got a couple out of hiim tho.

Lovin' the season's colors

2006-05-08T08:36:00.000-04:00

This is Paco...he loves his new shirt...

Silly humans...making him wear a shirt..

The luckiest kid in the world

2006-05-07T07:59:00.000-04:00

Went for a walk to a little pond down the road. Ramsay was playing in the water and got all muddy trying really hard to reach the "cool thing" he found on the edge.
WOW what a prize...a ribbon with another funny looking string with a broken golf ball on the end of it.
Played with that for a while. Tossing it in and out of the water.
On the way home, as he's dragging the new treasure behind him he was saying
"I'm the luckiest kid in the world...I get to be all muddy and find cool treasures that my Mom lets me bring home...this is great"

On the technical side...I'm working on a new monitor...so that's why I have a couple pictures with different tones and color....Still can't decide if I like these flat panel monitors...I might have to take it back and go back to the old flat glass monitor. They just seem off...even with the calibration.

A wedding,maternity shoot, softball games

2006-05-01T06:24:00.000-04:00

WOW...I've hardly been home the past two weekends...
But I have been having alot of fun. The weather this past weekend was SOOOO GOOOD !!!
Perfect sunny days...both days.
The wedding went fine. The place they got married was the same place they had the reception. I got to ride with the bride from her getting place to the wedding. My daughter came with to help out. She used her P&S and took some fun pictures too.
The agility dogs are amazing ! They are so smart! This shot is of Melody...She placed four ribbons in her first show...Big news in the doggie world.
The softball pictures are just for fun. Some parents came over to me to give me their email address so they could be notified when the pictures are ready.
I've got more up in the gallery and proof section of my web site.
www.suziebaileyphotography.com
The materninty shoot was great. I traveled to NY for that. I can't believe she had the baby three days after we did this...talk about cutting that one close.

And then my son...hardly saw him this weekend...but did get a fun shot of him.

Finally some color

2006-04-17T06:03:00.000-04:00

Some colors are starting to bloom !!

What a strange winter and spring we're having...at least the flowers are still able to bloom and grow !

Got to doggy-sit this weekend. My Mother has two Shelties...the female got to go to her first agility show....(which she won FOUR ribbons for...placing 2nd in three and 3rd in another.)
This is Gib who was a bit depressed cause he got left behind at home...
So, I tried to cheer him up..no good. Wasn't interested in playing with any of his toys. Just wanted to sit on my lap the entire time I was there. He was finally calm...he's normally pretty hyper... and I was able to get a couple of pictures of him...
He's a funny character that's for sure. But, he's also Mr. Lovey too...

Wedding is two weeks away

2006-04-10T06:04:00.000-04:00

I am not too terribly nervous about photographing it now. I went with the Brides friend to check out the location. It'll all be done in one location. So for my first wedding...(and maybe my last)Shouldn't be too bad. Light shouldn't be too much of an issue. My daughter is coming with me. She's going to be my little helper. She's excited too... she was going to bring her camera. I'm just glad she wants to go and do something with me... finally. She's never been to a wedding either. I'll be fun.
The bride came over last weekend to do Bridal Portraits. So that was a first too.

Favorite little faces

2006-03-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

Alot of little faces at my house this weekend.
More coming over this weekend along with a bride looking to have some portraits done.
Should be fun.

Some pictures tell a story

2006-03-28T05:55:00.000-05:00

A couple of families with kids came over this weekend. Trying to coordinate everyone was tough...and a ton of pictures later...
I liked the sinple story boards.

The word cookie...

2006-03-24T06:18:00.000-05:00

can make Jack look like he's going to twist his little head right around in a circle like an owl. And he will do this for a long time too. When he's had enough of you whispering the cookie...he'll give up and bark at you. Too funny.

The Spy from Spy University

2006-03-23T22:01:00.000-05:00

The new spy kit arrived !! How exciting. A jammed packed kit with special tools for reading, a field guide book filled with all kinds of spy tricks....life is just so good at 7...almost 8. You just can't go wrong with a spy kit !

The gift of Music

2006-03-23T06:27:00.000-05:00

My daughter Samantha hears things most of us really have to concentrate on to hear. She reads music sheets and books almost better than a regular book. She's had an instrument in her hand since she was 6. Why is this talent so easy for some. It's amazing actually. It truely is a gift. She hardly has to work on this talent...it's as natural to her as walking and breathing is to us non-musical people. Some days we take for granted these little tid bits about people. Maybe because I hear the music everyday...sometimes all day, that I never really noticed, I mean really noticed this amazing taletened young lady she's becoming.
She herself is a gift...her added talents just add to the beauty of her.

Another new light

2006-03-23T05:50:00.000-05:00

So I decided I really liked 'lights' and decided to upgrade to a Alien Bee 800 with the giant soft box. WOW...I'm in love with it. - And boy is this thing a GIANT soft box.
Once I got the box opened and figured out how to put it together...A little help from Ann - and I was up and running in no time. ( Thanks Ann ! )
Can't wait till tonight when I get to play with it more. Hopefully some new subjects will come over and want to play.
My kids and the dogs are bored and don't want to do it anymore.

Motherhood... Simply Beautiful

2006-03-15T06:37:00.000-05:00

First maternity shoot

2006-03-13T05:52:00.000-05:00

Went so well !!
http://www.pbase.com/suzee/jesse

I've got a few of the images up. I ended up with so many good ones...I'm not really sure if I just get them all ready or just stop at a certain amount of them. I more than likely will keep editing...not like the photoshoping will do me any harm. Learn learn and learn some more.
So, another busy sunday for me. Wednesay, my friend is coming over with her three kids. We'll see what we can get for pictures of them.
PS- Feed back is a great thing...
Got an idea on how to do something better....Let me know. :)

Some new goodies....

2006-03-09T06:06:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I did not order these sooner ! I love the paper back drops. And I got a real back drop holder. Instead of the PVC pipes and hangers in the ceiling....

I got three colors...Bone, Grey and Lilac. Love them alot. So easy to change. No wrinkles to deal with....Great stuff. And so much cheaper than the big back drops.
I like that I can change the tempreture of the image and just about get a background that looks competley different.

Your 's to decide

2006-03-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

Ooops...the type's a little small

"The way you live your life, the Perspective you select, is a choice you make every single day when you wake up. It's yours to decide."

Been so busy lately

2006-03-05T16:46:00.000-05:00

it's amazing. Finally a Sunday afternoon to catch up on a few things.

Lets see...I did a shot for the cheerleading competition at the local high school...never been to one. That was fun. A little too much cheering for me...three hours of happiness....
The indoor men's lacrosse play-offs was alot of fun.
I got my first wedding photo in April.
I got the basics of my web site up last weekend. It was easier to show the bride my pictures this was. So, I figured I'd fine tune in the next couple of weeks. No one really knows of it yet....so, I feel like I have some time to putter around with it.
www.suziebaileyphotography.com ( any feed back is a great thing)
Plus, my little logo...still trying to figure one out that I really like.

This afternoon, we finally had a decent afternoon and went sliding down Church HIll.

I'm dying for Spring....
I found some flowers at Michael's last weekend and decided to make some happy pictures for my self.

Indoor Men's Lacrosse

2006-02-14T05:58:00.000-05:00

WOW, this was intersting to say the least. Beautiful place. It's about 1.5 hours north of me and I've never heard of this place. I need to get out more.

They have two indoor courts for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey and whatever else they can play.
The spectators are supposed to be up above in this netted in cage. They can look down onto the court to watch the game. Well, I got center field...with a bodyguard ! I had to be inside the net because the netting was messing up the pictures. And I just do not have the 'big boy' lens.

4 times my friend Keith had to block these kids coming head on- right into me. ( And keith is a big guy too, Thank god) One time I has changing cards, so I definatley wasn't paying attention !
So, I learned alot and have a long ways to go. I enjoyed it alot and am going back this weekend for their tourny. The itch now for me is getting the bigger lens for low light. I might have my tax refund spent already. I'd really like to upgrade to a 20D....maybe the prices on those will come down at the end of Feb so that I can get both.
I am looking at the Sigma 2.8 70-200 mm lens.

Link test

2006-02-07T06:57:00.000-05:00

Let me know what you think.
Still trying to find the best place to simply put these so you can see them better.
http://www.pbase.com/suzee/galleries

The fastest photo taking ever.....

2006-01-31T06:14:00.000-05:00

Wowzers ! Two little girls, age 5 all sugared up from movie candy !!
Sounds like fun huh? I've never done any picture taking so fast in my life. Totally unplanned.
By the time we were done the palm of my hand was sweaty from gripping the camera so tight. But, I do love my new lens. Quick and fast. The focusing was easier. I'm still using the auto focus alot because I hate taking pictures with my glasses on.I totally depend on the auto focus. And yes, I have contacts. But I hate those too. They are just not for me.

The wings....Oh a fight breaks out over who's going to wear them first.
Can you tell who got the most upset?

First shoot with Agility dog and trainer.

2006-01-29T09:25:00.000-05:00

These dogs are smart as a whip. Her name is Mel. She actually is a pretty serious dog.
Or "aloof" as they call it.Easy to work with as far as posing but was really tough to get her attention where I wanted it. I guess that's good. They want them totally focused on the trainer during competitions. The school where she goes to, asked me to come and take pictures during training. When the dogs are at the big competitions, there are photographers and flashes going off all day. They said they need to be exposed to that and alot of distracting noises. That way all this stuff is just second nature.

By they way...This is my Mom. So many of these came out good, hard to decide on which ones to post.

This one actually has a funny story with it.

She has two dogs. Mel and Gibson.
Gibson is the male. He is just like a child with ADHD. He's did not work out too good for the agility. So he has to stay home when Mom is trying to do stuff with Mel. Including getting picture taken. He has the funniest personally ever. He's just like the class clown we all had in school. My Mother was using the leaf blower one day and discovered that Gib loves to be blown with cool air from the leaf blower. He makes hysterical noises and faces....So, I took pictures of that one day. Last night we decided since he couldn't be there, this is how we would incorporate him into the scene.

Some pictures with the panel.

2006-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

I was able to have the kids stand or lying down with out too much moving the lights around.
I did notice I am going to have to move or adjust the light a bit more for lying down.
When I took a picture of the screen, I can see the bottom still had a darker spot.

They are not 100% yet...first try at it. At least it's something to start working with.

Angie.....

2006-01-28T08:48:00.000-05:00

Here's here's some picture's of the shoot-through panel I made last night.
Cheap, cheap to make I love it because the kids can move around alot and play a bit and I don't have to keep moving lights around to keep the light on them.
It fills the area they are in nicely.
The black panel is because that's where I am and I didn't want light the hit the side of the lens.
Worked out pretty good. Today I have a family coming over to have pictures done. We'll see how it works for them.

Anyone know how to make the top bar your own pic?

2006-01-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

Lynne:
I think I saw your blog had a picture across the top...
I can't find the spot that lets me load my own into the top bar...
Do you remember where that was.?

I'm trying to do something like this....

Growing up too fast

2006-01-26T05:36:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night we had the sign up/orientation for HIGH SCHOOL !
Sam was a nervous wreck. I thought it was kind of exciting. I wish they had as many course offerings when I went to school.
On a silly sad note tho about touring the school...
Of course it has been years...OK many years since I've been inside the school.
One of the rooms we wentt to was the old Graphics art room. That was the room I spent two years from 7:45 - 12:55 Monday through Friday. We had the big old plate press machines and the dark room. ALL of it gone. ! The dark room was riped out and all replaced with computers for what's now the the digital design room. That room was recarpeted because of the chemical spills and big divits on the floor the press machines had left.
Very strange.

It's late ....just getting these doggie pics on here

2006-01-25T21:58:00.000-05:00

So what have I learned so far???

2006-01-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

Well, right off the bat I can say I have learned that I do not like to take indoor sports pictures....basketball to be exact.
ONe time I get the focus right but not the light, then the lighting but not the focus. I just flat out do not have the right flash or lens for this.

Anyways, on a better note. I've decided to finally get my act together and start cleaning out my office/gym. I've boxed and packaged up ALL my paper scrapbook stuff. Man I've got some STUFF. I found a couple of people that might want to buy it ALL. I'm not piecing it out. It's a lot of it, and it's all going. 10 years of collecting this stuff. The kids don't want to play with it anymore, and I've lost interest in it years ago. Who knows, maybe I can make a couple of bucks and get something for photography instead.
I'd rather be playing with the lights and camera any ways.

Playing with the color of Sam's eye's in PS. Came out cool.

And my best buddy Terri. She's been pretty patient with me and being my practice model. She's good too.

And Terri and her daughter, Colleen

From Saturday nights little practice

2006-01-17T00:16:00.000-05:00

My best friend and her daughter.

Jack

2006-01-13T22:59:00.000-05:00

He's learning to pose pretty good.

My lights are here !

2006-01-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

And the kids are not happy.
and not showered and ready for pictures....oh well.

To bribe for a model just isn't right

2006-01-01T08:54:00.000-05:00

Even more so when they can't even put their shirt on right?

He will actually count how many pictures I've taken and let me know when I've gone over my limit.
Like he only has a certain amount a day that is allowed.

He thinks he's royalty

2006-01-01T08:49:00.000-05:00

I guess most Lhasa's do.
No other model to practice on last night, so he was it.

And because it's too funny.

Like he's trying to put a trance on you and you will be over come with the desire to go get him the cookie jar.....

Your favorite memory of 2005

2005-12-30T07:06:00.000-05:00

This year my Mom is trying something new. We are going to have a family New Years day lunch. The fun part is that it's going to be like a show and tell. Everyone is supposed to bring something to show or tell that is their favorite or biggest accomplishment of 2005. My kids are stumpped as to what to bring or do.
I came up with a couple of picture ideas. Something the kids can take and explain.
My attempt at the picture within a picture.
Here's my son. The frame he is holding is blank with a green cloth screen. I put this P&S picture of the big catch he made at his first Mighty Mites game.
He practiced all spring and was not having any luck at catching. What a surprise when he finally caught the ball and it was during a game.
This picture is the picture that actually prompted me to get the Rebel. I was sick of the quality of the P&S and I really wished I had a better camera to capture this moment.
I never really could do much with this picture because of the quality, but maybe this will work for it.

My Daughter has been teaching herself guitar and earned herself an electric guitar by bringing and F in English up to a A+ in one marking period. That was a big accomplishment !

Happy New Years !

Christmas favorites

2005-12-27T06:54:00.000-05:00

Havn't really had alot of time to play with pictures.
Just trying to get over this flu like thing I caught a week ago !

So, far this one came to be the favorite of the season.
My littest niece.

The overlooked and forgotten

2005-12-17T06:55:00.000-05:00

My Mom wanted some pictures of the kids.
As I searched through my hard drives, I'm finding all kinds of stuff. Who downloaded those?? Well, I guess I did.
How come I didn't notice them before.I wonder if pictures just look better some days because of the mood I'm in or I was being to critical and judgemental of everything about that days pictures. I passed it over and never gave it a second thought.
Very strange.
Some of them actually look just as good in color as BW. I liked this one as I can see the texture of Ramsay's shirt. I might lose that in the downsize conversion.

The waiting

2005-12-16T05:53:00.000-05:00

and waiting and waiting is the hardest part when your seven. Days and nights just drag by, but you wait and wait......and dream and dream of what will be.

For all those in the warmer areas....

2005-12-15T06:16:00.000-05:00

or in case you forgot what's like to wake up to 22 BELOW zero.....
and some more snow on the way, thought I'd share a small little view from my bedroom window. If this just makes you jump out of bed with excitement, then something is deeply wrong with you. :)
My car barely started on this morning-forgot to put enough gas in the car to compensate for this frigid weather. Kids missed the bus....my work day was just getting stupid by the minute.
In times like these the only way to make it through is the vision of flying off to Florida in March. I'm already counting down the days.

Playing in PS with a picture

2005-12-15T06:13:00.000-05:00

of Shrewsbury Mountain. I like this action. Very long to run, but fun.
How do I get rid of the white edges and make it transparent?

The sound of money

2005-12-15T06:08:00.000-05:00

As some in the office call it.

The other day the guys were loading up the machines to head north. Yesterday the one hour tour opened. It's so cold outside, I will be surprised if we did alot of tours.
I don't know if I am going to be able to take pictures of people on their tours. I was shaking like a leaf when I was out the other day......These cold temps are too much. My hands freeze almost instantly.

Chilly nights in the Park

2005-12-10T07:46:00.000-05:00

Brrrrrr.
Taking pictures outside at night. A very quick walk around town to see the xmas lights.
No one had any good lights on. Stopped at the park to see what was on.
Waiting for the slower shutter on the tree picture turned out pretty neat as a car was pulling into the parking lot, the lights shined on the tree right before the shutter closed.

Some willing participants

2005-12-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

and a little photo shoot that finally went well from beginging to end.(very little I had to do in PS- Which is a great feeling)
A bit much on posting the pictures, but I have to admit am excited about these coming out the way I wanted them to.

Architecture

2005-11-28T16:28:00.000-05:00

Some times it's really hard to find interesting things around Vermont. I think it's because I see it all the time and don't appreciate what's right in front of me.
These are pictures of a bridge that was built over a main road that goes by one of the ski areas that I work at. The parking lot is on the other side of the road. So to keep the busy skiers safe they built this walk way arc that goes across the road and right to the gondola. I've been driving by this thing for years and never stopped to check it out, until now. It's OK. I didn't LOVE it.

2005-11-27T15:54:00.000-05:00

Awakenings

A time comes in your life when you finally get it...
When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you
stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside
your head cries out - ENOUGH! Enough fighting and
crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child
quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin
to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink
back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you
begin to look at the world through new eyes. This is
your awakening.

You realize that it's time to stop hoping and waiting
for something to change or for happiness, safety and
security to come galloping over the next horizon. You
come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince Charming
and you are not Cinderella and that in the real world
there aren't always fairytale endings (or beginnings for
that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after"
must begin with you and in the process a sense of serenity
is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that
not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of
who or what you are... and that's OK. (They are entitled
to their own views and opinions.) And you learn the
importance of loving and championing yourself and in the
process a sense of new found confidence is born of
self-approval.

You stop bitching and blaming other people for the things
they did to you (or didn't do for you) and you learn that
the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.
You learn that people don't always say what they mean or
mean what they say and that not everyone will always be
there for you and that it's not always about you. So, you
learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself
and in the process a sense of safety & security is born
of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to
accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings
and human frailties and in the process a sense of peace and
contentment is born of forgiveness. You realize that much
of the way you view yourself, and the world around you, is
as a result of all the messages and opinions that have been
ingrained into your psyche. And you begin to sift through
all the crap you've been fed about how you should behave,
how you should look and how much you should weigh and what
you should wear and where you should shop and what you should
drive how and where you should live and what you should do
for a living who you should sleep, with who you should marry
and what you should expect of a marriage, the importance of
having and raising children or what you owe your parents.
You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of
view. And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are
what you really stand for. You learn the difference between
wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines
and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought into
to begin with and in the process you learn to go with your
instincts. You learn that it is truly in giving that we
receive. And that there is power and glory in creating and
contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely
as a "consumer" looking for your next fix. You learn that
principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated
ideals of a by gone era but the mortar that holds together
the foundation upon which you must build a life. You learn
that you don't know everything, it's not your job to save
the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn
to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the
importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO.
You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose
to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. Romantic love and familial love.
How to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving
and when to walk away. You learn not to project your needs
or your feelings onto a relationship. You learn that you
will not be, more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable
or important because of the man on your arm or the child
that bears your name. You learn to look at relationships as
they really are and not as you would have them be. You stop
trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn
that just as people grow and change so it is with love....
and you learn that you don't have the right to demand love
on your terms... just to make you happy. And, you learn that
alone does not mean lonely... And you look in the mirror and
come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5
or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with the
image inside your head and agonizing over how you "stack up."
You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside,
smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that
feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK....and that it is
your right to want things and to ask for the things that
you want...and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands.
You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated
with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect and you won't
settle for less. And, you allow only the hands of a lover
who cherishes you to glorify you with his touch... and in
the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect.
And you learn that your body really is your temple. And you
begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin
eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and taking more
time to exercise. You learn that fatigue diminishes the
spirit and can create doubt and fear. So you take more time
to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels
our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.
You learn, that for the most part, in life you get what you
believe you deserve... and that much of life truly is a
self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth
achieving is worth working for and that wishing for
something to happen is different than working toward
making it happen.
More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success
you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also
learn that no one can do it all alone and that it's OK to
risk asking for help.

You learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the
great robber baron of all time. FEAR itself. You learn to
step right into and through your fears because you know that
whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear
is to give away the right to live life on your terms. And
you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it
living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that
life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think
you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to
unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not
to personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing
you or failing to answer your prayers. It's just life
happening.

And you learn to deal with evil in its most primal state -
the ego. You learn that negative feelings such as anger,
envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or
they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the
universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when you
are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.
You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of
the simple things we take for granted, things that millions
of people upon the earth can only dream about; a full
refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long
hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by
yourself and you to make yourself a promise to never betray
yourself and to never ever to settle for less than your
heart's desire. And you hang a wind chime outside your
window so you can listen to the wind. And you make it a
point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open
to every wonderful possibility. Finally, with courage in
your heart and with God by your side you take a stand, you
take a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want
to live as best as you can.

** I did not write this, nor do I know who did. This just struck me really hard today.**

2005-11-26T20:43:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving.

A day of being Thankful. Thankful for healthy small people in our family.

2005-11-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

The Black whites I like are better. Tell me what you think.

2005-11-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Another Mystery.....

Trying to make vivd saturated or colors that 'pop'...how do they do it ???

I'd tried it on a couple of pictures of my nieces I got today.
The one with the yellow, seemed to have spilled over too much on her face.
When I tried to mask it out, it leaves this black that I can still see???

Anyways, the girls get to enjoy the hot tub....not so sure the adult are getting much time in.

2005-11-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

Black and White Digital Conversions

UGH. Digitally this is harder than I wanted it be. Between the monitor calibration, printer calibration, slow RAM ( and I have 1 Gig,,,what's up with that) PSCS2 learning.....Lights out, enlarger on some dodge and burning, back in the developer pan....Lights on. Soooo much simpler.
I don't know, somedays the old days seemed to be more fun. Trying to get all the computer stuff to match gets old.
Speaking of old....Last week I dug out my real SLR. Hard to believe that It's only been 7 months since I've played with it. Now that I have the Rebel.... WOW, I don't love my SLR any more. I NEVER thought I'd say that. (I do love the lens tho) It was Klunky and seemed very strange to hold.
So, I robbed it of the lens cover because that fits my 1.8 50mm. Shot a roll of film and put it back.
I complain about the learning curve of the Rebel, the computer, the printer.......but yet here I sit desperate to get the major part of the learning over with.

2005-11-15T09:12:00.000-05:00

Sara-Zilla
She may be small and only 18 months old, but she is a handful!
My middle neice. I thought that was funny when I heard they nick-named her Sara-Zilla, until I really saw what the family meant. Man, her feet and hands don't stop. All day. She likes to destroy rather than play, and she thinks its funny. Oh- boy does my sister have her hands full. !! The new baby is only 7 weeks old, and it's Sara that is making her exhausted !

2005-11-15T09:06:00.000-05:00

The new to me Flash

So I win a flash on ebay. Just a sigma, nothing too exciting. That was all the budget allowed.
So far, it seems to be exciting. I can't figure out the metering tho??? Very strange. Pictures are saying that I am very under exposed. But they seem to come out fine. So, I started playing. I found some Xmas decorations in the closet. Set them up on a silver like "white board" that the kids were no longer writing on, and practiced away.

I liked it.

2005-10-30T19:33:00.000-05:00

Weekends that fly right by.....that's what this weekend was.

What up with that? Can hardly believe we only have one more month in the year.
I can hardly believe Sam is going to be 14 in another month!!!!

2005-10-29T01:57:00.000-04:00

The Halloween Dance

OK, So I have to admit that these pictures were just a bit exciting when I downloaded them. Besides sizing and the frame they are ROOTC. The lighting came out just how I wanted it too.
Of course they are much "crisper" when seen in the larger format. Finally...something came out right for me !! :)

Well, the dance was fun for the girls. I think getting ready and having pictures taken ended up being the best part of the dance. The girls didn't sound too excited when they got in the car anyways.

2005-10-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

This years Pumpkin carving party went very well.
We turn my sister's garage into a workable art room and carve up some serious pumpkins.
Lots of yummy food and hot cider. The kids, young and old all have a blast. Each year it's getting bigger and bigger. It's fun to meet the new people who come every year. Seem's to be turning into an event. Even tho my sisters new (3rd) baby is only 3 weeks old, she still managed to pull this party together.....she just amazes me. Where on earth does anyone get this kind of energy?

2005-10-27T09:23:00.000-04:00

Indoor Lighting....
Well, I've been playing with indoor lighting. Try to figure it out and get it right all with Home Depot lights and the flash that came with the camera. UGH.
No money to invest in any 'real' lighting, so I need to play and learn with what I have.
What I wish.... that I had taken the time to do White balance adjusting. Maybe that would have improved it. Hard to do all the adjustments sometimes. The kids are only going to co-operate for a few seconds and it's always when I'm not ready !!
I'll get it someday.......soon I hope.

2005-10-27T05:41:00.000-04:00

It's OCTOBER not December......
What's going on with this wacky weather????

It's gone from 88 degrees to 37 degrees in a matter of 8 days ! The first snow came 2 days ago and I am not ready for this.
Of course my 7 year old was up extra early to be the first one out in the snow.
The oddest weather of all is in Vermont !!

2005-10-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

The best part about being in Vermont is the foliage. The air is crsip and cool and colors just pop out. Unfotunatley, this year we had about 7 nice days and hardly any color. The rains came for 3.5 weeks. We then had two nice days and bang-o, we're right back into the misery. Actaully snowed yesterday. WAY to early. they say it's from the hurricane Wilma and the mixture of winds and air. It's just yucky here now.

2005-10-26T09:19:00.000-04:00

Some of the best sky lines are in the Fall at the peak of foliage.
During one of Sam's hockey games, this is what was painted across the sky. You can almost invision to cool crisp air just by looking at this.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

2005-10-26T06:31:00.000-04:00

Was trying to spend a few minutes today catching up on posting some of my other favorite pictures. Still having a lot to learn about my camera and photography in general. Why does this seem harder than it did years ago?
It's a new experience to be taking a class-on line anyways along with all DSLR. It was easier before years ago. We all go out with a camera, we all go the dark room. We watch the instructor. We repeat what he does. You just can't beat the hands on.

2005-08-10T06:02:00.000-04:00

A walk through the local cememetry the other night and I captured this photo.
I liked the "spooky" ness of it.
Some of best pictures captured are the least expected ones.

2005-07-24T17:31:00.000-04:00

My baby sister holding her baby daughter, pregnant for her third child at her oldest daughters 4th Birthday party.
She's a proud Mom and we are all very proud of her. She's doing such a wonderful job at being a Mom.....will she be able to hold up like this with three little ones?
She'll be fine.
I got some great pictures of the kids at the little party. This pictures of Sara was so sweet. She had been hamming it up for the cameras earlier. I guess she just needed a break from the festivities and a hug from Mommy was the prefect thing to do.

It was a hot day for this party, so the water toys made it perfect.

2005-07-20T09:37:00.000-04:00

WOW what an incredible sunrise this morning ! I was out the door at 5 AM to see this. The air is crisp and cool ( finally after this crazy sticky heat wave). It's been a awhile for me to actually be out the door this early in the morning.
Its a great way to start the day.

2005-07-19T21:16:00.000-04:00

Little Sara

She's a little touch of heaven
Sent down from above.
She's filled our lives with happiness
and our hearts full of love.
-DR Clark

I thought this little poem was appropriate for this little picture of my neice.

Getting a Drink

2005-07-08T08:38:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite pictures from the Fourth of July weekend.