I loved this view as I came up from “swimming” in my final Great Lake. It’s taken 42 years, but I couldn’t have picked a better spot. Though I will admit my swimming has been a bit more of an endeavor at other Great Lakes, the view typically hasn’t been as good.
Captured with the Panasonic LX3, RAW file converted in Photoshop CS4 and then imported into Aperture and finished of in Nik Silver Efex
I have changed my rules somewhat. This was taken yesterday evening, but I have adjusted my photo of the day “rules” to include the 24 hour period after the last picture. It makes it a little simpler on me and since I am contest judge as well as the only contestant a rules change is pretty simple.
I converted this RAW file from the D700 in Aperture and added just a little color increase to the sky with Nik Color Efex 3.0.
I had a very fun day dodgtin raindrops and looking for a spot to take family picture. With so many old barns and historic spots to choose from, I really liked the weathered boards of this barn.
Panasonic LX3, coverted in Photosshop CS4. A trial version by the way. Nik Color Efex to finish it of
Travelling with two children can always be a challenge. If you get out of the car to eat you will have at least 30 minutes. If you don’t and opt to make up some time on the expressway you will have crumbs all over your vehicle or worse.
On our Spring Break trip today travelling to New York we opted for the former. The car itself was already messy enough. Along I-90 just to the east of Cleveland we stopped at the RedHawk Grille. We couldn’t have enjoyed our meal more.
The restaurant is located right next to the Quail Hallow Resort. I was under the delusion of the golf course located there and in the process we discovered next to it this gem of a restaurant. The food was very good and the service was excellent. There was a full bar made of wood, which would have been nice to sit at and watch the basketball games on the numerous wide-screen TV’s. There also was a dining room in back that could easily hold 100 people. Every important there was also free-wifi. That seemed to be a little slow, but I suspect it might have been because of the party in the back.
Oh did I mention the service? Punkin ordered a small pizza which the brought out when the rest of the meals arrived. The waitress told us that the cook had accidently burnt the edges and that she had broken off the edges and sent it out, but that another was in the oven and would be out shortly. Many places might try to just let the meal fly and see if the person complained. Not here.
The pizza arrived and the cook was out to deliver it. She apologized in person and quickly let us know that both Buddy and Punkin would be given Ice Cream if it was OK with their parents. After the meal was over a very nice Sunday was delivered with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top in a to-go container.
To further distinguish them from others. The cook chatted with us for a while as bathroom runs were made. The cook called another guy over and was telling them to win my daughter a free teddy bear out of the crane drop. This is the game where you move a motorized crane around amongst a large group of stuffed animals and other things.
When you get above the item that you want and believe it is in the correct place you drop the crane to pick up the item and pray at the same time. The guy obviously had some trick with working this out, because in his first pass he dropped the crane, got the chosen bear and gave it to my daughter.
For a good meal and a good time if you’re in the area, choose RedHawk Grille.
Leaders are Readers
Today was Leaders are Readers day at school. When this was first announced I asked my daughter Punkin if she would like me to read. She was very excited, though I have been to school often for her it is always an event. Not truly being a “leader” but in the broadest of definitions I contacted her teacher to see if I qualified. She was more than happy to have me come in. For the school this is a big event so I did my best to also make it an event.
I received multiple numbers of handouts with the company that I worked for to help. We even had some Teacher notes on each of the handouts to help her plan to use it in a lesson plan. I received samples from multiple customers and I prepared what I thought would be an interesting speech to help explain how I use reading every day in my job. All of this would culminate with my story of choice, The Little Engine that Could.
This book was one of my favorites growing up. Something about that little blue engine pulling those cars up the mountain just appealed to me. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. That was truly the whole story to me back then. Even today I get misty eyed just thinking about that little engine pulling those cars up the mountain all with the power of believe.
Both of my children struggle with reading. Buddy may never be able to read a full sentence without visual clues. With the pictures he does an excellent job of reading about 5 words. It has taken a lot of effort in his 8 years to get him this far. Punkin has had a bit of a struggle to. As a parent I know trying to get buddy from one milestone to the next has been a constant challenge, I just assumed with Punkin it would just happen. Well it doesn’t.
So she has been challenged at each corner and me I love to read always have. It’s one of my great losses since I have had children is my lack of reading time. Just isn’t enough time, Punkin has inherited my love of reading and she has the time, but her comprehension of reading is far better than her ability to read. Because of this what she likes to read are multi-chapter stories and what she is able to read are simpler stories.
So she sits and she struggles and about every 5th or 6th word she has to ask for what this means or that means. She doesn’t seem to mind so neither does Kate or myself. We feed her the word or ask her to sound it out and the story continues.
I don’t feel like much of a leader in reading, one child struggles because I thought it was all going to be Ok. The other may not be able to look at anything other than picture books. They both try though and they keep moving forward.
For those that don’t know the story it starts with a train that is off the tracks and needs help getting over the hill. Two other engines turn the boys and girls and a clown rather rudely and one proclaims itself too old to hall the little train over the mountain. Finally a train that is used as a switching engine answers the call and hooks itself up to the little train and chugs it’s way up the hill. All the way up the hill the train says, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”
As you might expect, this is a children’s book and not a greek tragedy, the little blue engine finds it’s way up the hill and all the dolls and toys are very happy. The little boys and girls on the other side of the hill get all the toys and food. We the reader get a lesson. You have to try and you have to believe and you just might accomplish.
That truly is the crux of this story. Believe you can and you just might, have too much pride or believe you are too old and the little children on the other side of the mountain don’t get there dolls and toys. Simple story and a simple lesson, one that still resonates with me even today, maybe even more so.
Later that same day I stroll into my son’s classroom. I repeat the same speech except simpler, everything is simpler there. I look out at my audience. In Punkin’s class I had rapt attention to each topic. As I walked around the classroom I had each students attention.
Buddy’s class however is a bit different. As I enter I put an FM microphone around my head so one girl can hear me. Most of the children barely pay attention. Still another has to listen to something. One can’t get her picture taken. My son sit’s plopped on my lap just happy to have Dad there. I love my son’s classroom. They are the epitome of the story I read to them.
Each day they walk in and go through the same motion with just a little progress being made, but each day they try. I can’t help but get lost in the story as I read it to them. Maybe one of them is paying attention, but when I end they all clap, they all cheer, they pat me on the back and some ask when I will be back to read to them. I always say soon.
I look amongst my son’s class and think they aren’t the dolls and toys on the train, they aren’t the clown nor are they the boys and girls on the other side of the hill, each of them in their own way is that little blue engine, chugging the car up the track and each says every day. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”
I was talking to friend the other day who loves to do macros with his older prosumer lens. He was mentioning how I have fallen for this selective focus type stuff that just doesn’t grab his attention. As most that follow this blog know I have bought into selective focus big time. I love my lensbaby and I am also thinking of a tilt/shift lens to add to my collection.
For him though he just doesn’t like the look. Until this conversation I had forgotten about taking macros with my LX3. The smaller sensor gives quite a bit of depth of field even at F/4. This is different than a DSLR would. I can also close focus this camera a few cm from the subject.
With those thoughts in my mind I set about capturing the Photo of the Day. I hope you enjoy it.
Captured with the Panasonic LX3 and converted in Photoshop CS3 from the RAW file.
As I stopped for lunch in Fennimore, WI I saw this train alongside the road and it looked like it could use a little bit of love. As I looked around the area I discovered that it was known as a “Dinky” train. This would be a 3-foot gauge train line that operated in Wisconsin from 1878 – 1926. The train sits behnd a fence, but you are able to go up into the train to look around. There is a museum and a mural right next to this spot. It looks as if at one point there was a children’s train ride that went around the train itself. This ride is either only during the summer months or long since closed down.
Captured with my Panasonic LX3 and touched up in Capture NX2
This would be a picture from the World’s Largest Truck Stop! It has to be because there was 3 full-sized semi’s in it’s showroom. Of course the don’t sell semi’s so they are just for show. This one tells you about the Iowan’s spirit. This is the Cornstalk Cadillac. Only in Iowa is this so.
Planted in the Panasonic LX3. Fertilized and shucked with Capture NX2.
Raid today. I spotted this photo while driving back from running some errands this morning. I really like the contrast between the leaves and the reflection of the tree in the puddle. Most of the post was done to emphasize this.
Picture taken with Panasonic LX3 with Post processing done in Capture NX2 with Nik Color Efex 3 filters.
This was suppose to be a picture of a bird. I went out to the local rookery in hopes of finding some birds that were up close enough for me to take some photos. Well as you can see the only thing I got was a Gull. Got quite a few Gulls. For birders that is a good day. For a photographer, that’s practice.
Thankfully I have started picking up flower pictures as my backup. I love macros and this one is just a tad different enough.
This was taken with my Zeiss 25 f/2.8 and my Nikon D300. It was converted in Photoshop CS3 and then sent to onOne’s Photoframe for the finishing touches.
