Water Conservation

So I decided to start collecting rain water, and the first thing everyone asks is, "what are you going to do with all the water?" My response is to water the few herbs that we planted, which might take 5 gallons every couple days and the rest of the water in the 55 gallon barrel............any ideas?

weed-b-gone

The grass in my yard is a mess, but the dandelions and other rogue elements are doing very well. My motivation to dumps bags of money into the yard has left, seeing as how I have done this in the past with no apparent results. Our lawn might be the only one on the block that has those wonderful yellow thriving flowers. So, instead of grabbing the weed-b-gone, I grabbed the camera and went to work. I took this image using the Lensbaby (f4 ring) hand held with the macro kit, the +10 and +4 rings attached, needless to say it was a fairly still day. Enjoy.

3 silos

A new image from a drive into northwest Iowa. As usual, I am paying more attention to what is along the road or clouds in the sky than my driving on the highway. These three silos caught my attention pretty much right away. I am not sure of the attraction, if its because I grew up in an small agricultural community, the simplicity of form and function, their iconic nature. I really like the scale, relationship of the silos to the the field behind them and convenience to the highway - you can call me a "photography poacher"! I was thinking black and white right away because I knew the silos contrast in relationship to the rest of the image would highlight the subject matter.

My friend has a nice video tutorial regarding black and white images similar to this, http://acjphotoworkshops.com/after-the-shoot-episode-2-singh-ray-bluegold-polarizer

Enjoy.

Spring almost here!

The winter weather has finally broke in the mid-west and we can venture outside shielding our eyes from the blazing sun. I thought this shot would get us in the mood for spring flowers, many of which are starting to come up around the area. This flower was shot in captivity on our kitchen table; the light was nicely filtered in the afternoon so I grabbed the Lensbaby and bent it. Also, I think this flower was my wife's spelling bee championship word in grade school.

Abigail

Born: Tuesday January 19, 2010. 8lbs -12oz. 20 3/4"

online DSLR class

A fellow photographer and friend in St. Paul is offering an online course in digital photography, it's well worth a look if you have a new camera or just want to do more with the one you already own. Check out the link below.

http://acjphotoworkshops.com/registration-now-open-for-the-next-level

Headshots

A couple images from an on-location corporate shoot that I did middle of last month. I had one light with me and the space had huge amounts of indirect sunlight. The shoot was tougher than I thought it would be and I figured out quickly there is plenty to learn down this avenue. My friend makes it look easy, check his work out at http://acjphotoworkshops.com/studio-photography-onetwo-light-portraits

prep for new Bechtel

Preparation has started for the new Bechtel. After both a girl and boy already - with a few storage bins for both, this was the aftermath of finding outfits in case of either (Abigail Francis or Curran Alcuin) at the hospital. And a few other necessities. Keep you posted. Oh by the way if you are a fan of Where's Waldo both these images have the Woody character from Toy Story in them.