Photo Shoot

Yesterday, despite the blustery wind and cold temperature, the sun was in and out of the clouds and thus, it was PERFECT for a photo shoot day. I took a drive to Rocky Ford Fishing Area. I've driven by this sign about a thousand times in my 2 1/2 years in Manhattan, yet I never turned down the road to go check it out. And so, my van nosed its way to the right and I discovered a neat little place to shoot.

The ford area was once used by Indians to cross the river, as it had a lot of flat rocks. There's a dam there now, but the water generally flows freely over it. There's a long walkway, and a rock jetty out into the river. I walked all the way out to the edge of the river on this jetty. Quite beautiful, to be sure. I haven't edited all the pictures I took from there, but as I do, I'll share more.

As you turn off the main road onto the dirt road heading to Rocky Ford, there's an old stone barn. I'm assuming, of course, that it's a barn....it may have been a house, but it's got some odd square openings in the front that lead me to believe it could be something else. Further down the road, right at the Ford, there's a farm....with a great old barn and silo. Perfect for pictures, of course!

So, here are some takes on pictures I took. Different angles of the stone barn/house, and a few others I was able to edit thus far.


Looking out the walkway to the rocky jetty. The water on the right is churning because it's coming off the falls...the water on the left is much calmer.


a leaf on the shore...just stood out.


the old barn from the farm.

One angle of the stone barn. I don't think you can see the small square windows on the front. I imagine that this is gorgeous, covered with leaves in the summer!


Another angle of the barn, in black and white with some actions and filtering done.


Same shot as above, warmed up.


This angle of the barn was my favorite! In the background you can see the dirt being kicked up by a car. This is the original picture I took. I then played with it, using different filters, actions, etc. to get different effects. I would be interested in knowing your favorite(s)!!!






Above is one of my favorites!





This one is Hannah's favorite - she says it looks like a tornado is about to come. Very Wizard of Oz, don't you think?

Thematic Photgraphic - Night

I haven't been good about participating every week with Carmi's Thematic Photographic, but I thought I'd throw my hat into this ring. These were shot, and posted before, on 4th of July...but they're taken at night on a bulb exposure...I was on a tripod, but I was hand-triggering...no bulb for me....

Thematic Photographic - Grounded

Look down...that's Carmi's advice for photography this week.

While I didn't take these today, they were taken a few weeks ago. Self portraits....and we've not had enough rain to wash them away fully yet!


Hannah's self-portrait


Scotty's self-portrait

Thematic Photographic - Kids

Haven't played Carmi's Thematic Photographic in a few weeks...but I can SURELY do this topic!

Hannah modeling her tankini - she was 3 years old, had the toddler knock-knees and roly-poly everything!

Scotty, my favorite messy eater...still is, 2 years later!

Did you know...

...that you can freeze apples? I went apple picking last Thursday, courtesy of a fellow freecycler who had too many apples. I picked a huge bin (rubbermaid storage type) of apples and pears. I gave some to my friend Ali (hi Ali!), and gave some to my friend Steffi. I gave even more to my friend Lori. But I STILL had a lot. And although we have been eating apples like crazy (and pears, too, as she had a pear tree that was ripe for picking), one can only eat so many apples before their healthy effect takes over, lol!

So...what to do with those apples that were delicious, yet going to rot in the bin? Many had the apple picker marks on them (scratches from the picker, which looks like a small basket with a rake on one edge), so they were kind of icky.

I peeled them and sliced them as though I was making a pie. I put them in a bowl and coated them with orange juice and lemon juice, placed them on a cookie sheet (covered in plastic wrap first) in a single layer, then put a sheet of plastic over them. Stuck them in the freezer for about 2 hours, then took the frozen apples and placed them in a zipper bag.

Of course, one can't just EAT these, but they will be perfectly fine for apple cobbler, pie, brown betty, apple sauce, or apple bread! I'll share these recipes later!


And here's another picture for Carmi's "Nature" thematic photographic.

The kids found this bug hanging, they thought he was in a spider's web. But he was hanging on his own thread, though completely unseen. Scotty's first comment? "mommy, he's making an "S" for ME!"

Thematic Photographic - Nature

Carmi's theme this week is Nature...and I have LOT of nature shots...but I just happened to get out last night to scope an area for photographing a family...and I had some decent shots, so I'm sharing them as part of the Thematic Photographic this week:

A pretty flower out by Pillsbury Crossing

Deceptively calm waters reflecting the beginning of fall

one of the only shots I could get of the Pillsbury Crossing Falls - we had immense amounts of rain last week and the creek was HIGH - the mud line and debris on the trees was ABOVE my head. But I'm going back to see if I can't get some more shots....DRESSED for some bushwacking and getting wet, too!

Thematic Photographic - Faded

This is Carmi's theme for this week: faded, zooms in on stuff thay may be a little older, a little run down, a little broken, a little humble, a little forgotten....hmmmm....I've had dreams of going out and photographing some of the old barns and windmills around here...but haven't done that as yet. So....

I went through my photos, looking to find something that might fit the bill. Yeah, I have a lot of stuff, buildings and whatnot from Europe...but I thought this was apropos:

She's the matriarch of the Sunset Zoo chimpanzees...she's old....she's faded...maybe a little forgotten.....

Thematic Photgraphic - Water

Carmi's theme this week is water. I have a LOT of water shots...I'll start with these two...taken in Kansas City in May, when I was in the middle of my photography class. They are pretty much identical, except that in the 2nd shot, I set a higher f-stop, so I was able to blur the motion of the water. I think I'll add more water shots as I go this week!

Thematic Photographic - Colorful

Today's Thematic Photgraphic is colorful. I could think of little so colorful (and refreshing) as fruit...especially when it's in such a lovely presentation!!

Thematic Photographic - Poignant

Huh...I was just editing photos last night, and this is Carmi's theme today....

Thought this photo fit perfectly.

At seven and a half (she is quick to let you know she's NOT just seven) she is caught somewhere between woman and child...

Wordless Wednesday - Critters from my past

We tend to attract strays....here are a few we've had hanging with us:


Fluffy


Tiger


Sweetie


Scooby


Shaggy


BB (short for Bread and Butter; Butter was the name we gave BB's dad)


Shelly (she was a tortoiseshell cat)


Unnamed long haired cat who randomly walked into our house all the time.

Thematic Photographic - Animals

On my previous post, I shared the bison and turkey from the Konza Prairie. Seems like I'm always a bit ahead of Carmi's theme! This week, it's all about animals...so...

Here are some of my favorite visitors to my home:

One of the many blue jays that come and take the bread we put out.

Mr. Squirrel - we had several hanging out, but lately, only one returns for the peanut butter crusts!

We thought he was a stray (and a HE) and named him Otis.
Turns out, he's a SHE and SHE belongs to the neighbors. And her name is
Katan - but we still call her Otis. She comes in and speaks loudly,
but she doesn't like to be touched. Fickle feline.

Thematic Photographic - Light

Yesterday's post of "Fire in the Sky" sort of falls into the light category.

Like Carmi said, photography is all about mastering light. One of the things I was anxious to do was master fireworks. After my spring class, I was excited about the 4th of July, and as you can see, I didn't do too badly. One thing that my instructor had mentioned was "painting" with light.

He showed us an effect where he set a long exposure on a windmill at night...and used a flashlight fitted with a red filter...and "painted" the windmill while the camera shutter was open. The result was a red windmill sitting on a darkened background. Quite cool.

For me, I just let the kids play with sparklers. Scott even took one in hand and did some "painting" for me. I did have to reverse the image (he can't write backwards, lol). Click on the pictures to enlarge and get a full effect.

Hannah's squiggle

Scotty's "light tornado"

Scott's light painting

Thematic Photographic - look up

Carmi's challenge this week is to LOOK UP....

Here are two shots from a recent outing - I look up...and around and all I see is this:
(as Carmi says, "click to embiggen")

Remember...I said RECENT outing...as one or two weekends past. That stuff in the sky? It is NOT snow. It's "cotton" from the cottonwood trees. Cottonwood trees are very common here in Kansas...they grow tall and beautiful. But what I can not understand is the whole moulting of "cotton". This is the third summer I've spent here in Oz...granted, the 1st summer was half-way done when we got here, but still. I've NEVER seen this phenomena. On some days, it's utterly ridiculous. The edges of driveways and roadways look like they are lined with dandelion fluff on steriods...or a thin layer of snow. This stuff blows in EVERYWHERE. My garage looks like it's wearing day old scruff on the floor...so snowy and fluffy!

I'm wondering if this only occurs every few years....and one would have thought that with the immense winds we'd had with the tornado, that the cottonwoods would be done shedding...but nope, there's still big fluffy stuff everywhere....sigh.

Thematic Photographic - Redux

In the previous post, I stated that I was in the image. And many of you tried to guess where I was. A few were right, but for those who couldn't guess, here is the answer!

I was not quite centered on the flame...which surprised me when I saw the picture, because it DOES look fairly centered...but I knew that taking the picture dead on would ruin the reflection. I even figured I would be in the shot, but I was also surprised at how hard it was to actually find myself!

Inside the building was a life-sized statue of Truman, and that is what you see dead center...

Thematic Photographic

At Carmi's this week, his theme for photographs is GLASS...here is my contribution:


I took this picture at the Truman Museum/Library in Independence, MO. There is a beautiful garden, and this is an "eternal flame" burning for Harry S. Truman. I took pictures of the flame from the inside, through the glass, but I really liked the composition with the rest of the museum reflected in the glass...see if you can actually find ME in the shot!

Thematic Photographic - Automotive

Carmi at Written, Inc. is starting a new weekly feature called Thematic Photographic. This week's theme is Automotive...anything automotive-themed (cars, trucks or with wheels and motors). So, here is my entry:

I'm sure most of you know that Scotty is a total Cars™ addict. He adores the movie, has a good many toys that are Cars™ related. He knows most by name, and if not, *I* know them, lol. Hannah is well-versed in them as well. Last Friday, we went to a local racetrack, called Whiskey Lake Raceway. The 1st Infantry Division band was playing and I thought it would be cool to take Scotty and Hannah to a REAL race, even if it was dirt track and Funny cars. When we got there, Scotty was enthralled by this car. He knew immediately it was "Doc"...a Hudson Hornet! We went to it and the gentleman who owned it was gracious and allowed the kids to get in the car and even honk the horn. Here are Hannah and Scotty posing in front of "Doc":

Here is Scotty "driving" the Hudson Hornet. He would have spent all day in the car had we not told him to let other kids in!