Karen Matt Mirror - Happy New Year
I pulled an old one out and made it new.
This is one of the first photos from our son’s 21st birthday gift from us, his Canon Digital Rebel SLR camera. I took it in shooting into the mirror by our front door. A bit out of focus, but I love the smiles we both have.
Happy New Year to you all. I pray for Peace, Justice, and Friendship for all.
It’s been a great year, with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, conflict and harmony. I hope for the best for each of us this coming 2007.
Take Care!
Monroe Street Sunset
When I came out of the County Market this evening, I saw the start of another delicious sunset. My photographer’s brain immediately started thinking, can I get my groceries in the car and set up in time to capture it?
To save time trying to find a better position, I just drove to the bottom of the sloping parking lot and found an opening, next to the gas station, for my shot. Quickly mounted camera to platform on my window and started composing and shooting. I thought that a multiple exposure with bracketed f-stops might give me some interesting HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos to work with.
I believe I was right!
This is one busy street.
It’s one of the main four-lane roads from the middle of town to the far West. It feeds into Route 4 which is a major North-South State road from one side of Springfield, IL to the other.
Lots of traffic here. You see the ghostly cars in this 3 shot composite.
Lots of telephone and cable lines as well as street lamps.
Over it all, is that magnificent sky, with the sun beaming it’s day’s-ending rays to tint the clouds this lovely pink-orange.
I’m a sucker for a good sunset.
Cutting the Cake
Tonight we gathered at a local restaurant and celebrated my Father-in-law Tom’s 80th birthday.
This captures my bride, Karen, cutting the cake. It says “Happy 80th Birthday Tom, Dad, Grandpa.” All but one of his four children were there and half of his grandchildren. and one future Grandaughter-in-law.
We took up a table for 11.
I love family events. Any occasion is sufficient for gathering and keeping the ties that bind close. We replenish the love which began our families and fuels our care and concern for each other.
I hope you have family in your life that nourishes your soul like mine does.
Lines Everywhere
It wasn’t paradise but they did pave it and put up a parking lot.
Next door to my work, it’s been interesting to see how much work goes into tearing down buildings, and putting a parking lot in it’s place. Unbelievable amounts of work. I believe the underground wiring has been marked at least a dozen times over this project’s life.
Today, two guys came to start putting up a fence. Looks like it’s going to be a fancy fence. Black posts. A gate!
I had to make a quick run home over the lunch hour, and took my camera with me. The crew was elsewhere (down the street at The Maidrite Sandwich Shop - the USA’s oldest drive up window - ***Click Here***)
When I arrived back at the office, a few short minutes later, I took this photo of the new fence-poles all lined up. Real pretty-like.
A study in lines.
Just for fun.
I love the look the cat give to the camera.
Check for Karen’s look at me!
Christmas 2006 Tree Portrait
Here it is, hot off the CCD/DSLR (Christopher’s, not mine - yet): Our Annual Portrait by the Christmas Tree!
I really should do a retrospective of our past pictures in this grouping. We also have the Annual First Day of School picture of Chris! I might do that one for his wedding (coming up in May ‘07) [Did it ever get decided to say "Ought Seven or "Oh Seven" as in "Back in '99..."?]
Jennie & Chis on one side, and Matt & Karen on the other side. Johanna, our cat, sat this one out. She was still pooped from the previous day’s un-boxing activities.
Usually we have to cajole Chris into this picture, this year, I was moaning that I had to come up with yet another in my daily pictures to post, when Chris said, let’s do the Christmas Picture and you can put that up! Blow me over with a feather. That’s what graduating from college does for my son: he comes up with brilliant ideas!
Brilliant!
Tree Fun 5
A bit of photographic magic on this night of nights.
I love the effect that zooming in or out on an object has. This is our Christmas tree. If you follow the link ***HERE***, you’ll see the rest of the pictures I took. I did the zoom thing on about 8 tree pictures.
Fun!
Oh - and we had fun exchanging gifts after a filling and delightful meal prepared by Karen.
Church was first thing this morning. Karen and I sang in the choir and none of my strings broke today. 