Because Theresa Asked for More...

For one of the few people I know of who checks in on the dogs' blog OF HER OWN VOLITION, here are some pics of my birthday-time hike with son #3 this fall. We were privileged to be able to take a seldom-open path down to the river, then went up the hill as planned. Enjoy -- and THANK YOU for coming! 

The Cascades are out there. Somewhere.

No whitewater was harmed in this telephoto shot.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.

Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands; let the sing mountains together for joy!

Canyon Sunday

Here is a glimpse of what I was doing a couple of days ago. Had to drive home from a conference... chose to stop SO MANY times to take photos.

It impresses me that God didn't create a stagnant world. Those rock formations probably didn't start out tilted, right? They got moved. Who would have the power to move them?

               O God, when Thou didst go forth before Thy people,
               When Thou didst march through the wilderness,
               The earth quaked;
               The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
               Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Are You Ready to RUMMMMBLLLLLLLE?

Welcome to our 20th season with the Chargers! The team I love because they wear my initials... and because the coaching staff is great, and they let me be on the sidelines instead of far away in the stands! My excitement for the first game is like a kid on Christmas Eve. It's here -- let's get started!

Thanks to the wonders of modern computing (I guess), the printed score books I'd used have become obsolete. A few years ago, I designed my own, drawing it on graph paper and getting it printed each season. This year, it seemed like time for a change, so I have been working on an Excel template instead. I still want to fill it out by hand -- if I entered the data directly onto my laptop, I'd be stuck way up in the stands. Where's the fun in that?

So, I printed a few sheets of the new form and looked for a recorded game to use for a test. The first one I found was an AFC Divisional Playoff between the Bills and the Browns. This was in 1989, recorded from television and posted on YouTube. No computerized markers to show line of scrimmage or first down, fewer replays, sideline camera angles -- a pretty good simulation of real life for tonight's high school game. I had forgotten Bernie Kosar's sideways stance under center. The commentators recounted Ron Middleton's highs and lows as his son was born 12 weeks premature and Ron was released and rehired a couple of times that year. I remembered a few names -- Jim Kelly, Pete Metzelaars, Thurman Thomas, Cornelius Bennett, Ozzie Newsome. In a promo for the next day's game, baby-faced Bob Costas and OJ Simpson were pictured. My, how the times change.

Ahhh... good nostalgia. But now I must make a few last adjustments to the score sheets and get them printed again. Sharpen the pencils, dig out the clipboard, it's time for FOOTBALL!

Oh, and if you'd like to share my little trip down memory lane, here's the link to that video. Enjoy!

Sights Seen in Seattle

Half the fun of photography is finding new ways to look at stuff. Here are some different views of Seattle. Enjoy!

This tower seems a little off-kilter... but the next one is supposed to be that way? Go figure. Not sure my dad the carpenter would have appreciated the effect.

I guess wooden dragons aren't too scary.

Today's Encounters-From-Afar

Sitting on my deck this morning, I heard a dull tapping up in the tree. It was our birch vandal -- a red breasted sapsucker, adding more bird graffiti to the trunk!

Went for a nature walk later (I covered two miles in about two hours) and came across various interestings --

Eek! This looks like a bald-faced hornet! Thankful for a telephoto lens!

I'm allergic to yellowjacket stings, but such an amazing insect!

Loved being able to get this view of the lake --

Just for fun, I zoomed in on the cattle resting across the lake. It wasn't until I edited photos tonight and super-magnified them that I noticed this fellow's horns! Glad I was far away.

Can I Just Say That God Ate My Homework?

This week's assignment... shooting a single subject with varied focal lengths. It took me a couple of days, but I figured out what props I wanted to use and how I might set the scene. Here it is, up close and personal, without background or variances:

The sun was very close to dropping below the horizon, so I hurried off several shots with the wrong shutter speeds, incorrect apertures, and no sun filter. Meh and bleh. Good ideas, but bad light. But then, this began to happen:

Are those sky jellies?

Meanwhile, off to the east...

Add moon...

and eight tiny reindeer...

And there you have it -- my excuse for not finishing my photography homework tonight.   

                   

Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

They faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Well... so maybe I shouldn't use God as my excuse... but still... He did this... and it was amazing!

Back to Basics -- the Dog's View

When I created this blog, oh, so many years ago, it was an assignment for a class. The specific purpose was to record my progress through the course, demonstrating various internet tools and such. This summer, I'm back in school, taking a short adult-education photography class. And I need help. The first "lecture" was on the use of aperture as it relates to depth of field. As you have noticed, I like to play with depth of field. A lot. But I've only done so by using a telephoto lens and manual focus. This aperture thing is... well, it's actually physics and higher math and stuff about which I am clueless.

Enter Polo.

If he can explain aperture, to give me a memorable word picture, I'm golden. (Of course, he's more of a Golden than I will ever be, thanks to his canine heritage. But I digress.) Take it away, Polo!

In back yard, I focus on Squirrel. No concern about what is behind, around Squirrel. Squirrel, my mortal enemy, my wide-eyed concentration. I have big, big eyes for Squirrel. Background no matter, let it blur so that Squirrel is only subject.

But if Crow lands on fence, I must narrow eyes to watch Crow and Squirrel. Crow my mortal-est mortal enemy. I might someday catch Squirrel; but Crow flies, sneaks up, does mean things. I make eyes small to watch near Squirrel and farther Crow. My expression with small eyes is inscrutable. Do not let Crow see my thinking.

Okay, so that one word -- inscrutable -- gives me a strong mental image. When Polo has more than one subject to watch, he squints. Sure, in his case, it's a psychological game, but the practical application is that making the aperture smaller will increase the depth of field so that he can focus on both the near and far critters of malice. 

f/5.6 (largest available aperture)

f/36 (smallest available aperture)

marshmallows at f/5.6

marshmallow visual pun at f/36


Must be inscrutable, watch both Mortal Enemies at same time. And take nap.

Flowers of the Field... er, from my friends' garden

I've got a bad cold that's interfering with word processing, but here are recent photos that make up for several thousand words. Thankful for a camera to capture these beauties while they're here.


As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; and its place acknowledges it no longer.
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who revere Him, and His righteousness to children's children.