Going Inactive For Awhile

We are going “off line” while we figure some things out. When we get the kinks worked out, we will see if we stay on this server/platform or move.

We have some commercial projects in the works so hopefully  y’all will be here when it happens.

 

If not, thanks for the support you have provided us in the past and we hope to run into you somewhere down the line.

 

Bill

Yep—-We is still here

Been a busy time period with spring cleaning, gardens, wet weather and all the associated chore lists.

Here is something that may be of interest.

Pinchbook  https://youtu.be/X4Pt7zARx_M

There are several vendors and most have videos that how to use these handy items.

Molly and I had our niece Brandi bring her little girl Olivia to New Haven for a visit and to take photos of her as well. The photo shoot started at our house and ended in the Downtown New Haven Arts District. We decided to use the 8.5 x 11 inch portrait  Pinchbook to make Mother’s Day gifts for Brandi (Olivia’s mother) Laura (Brandi’s mom and Olivia’s Ma-Ma) and Molly’s mom aka Grams. Worked out much better than a CD with pictures.

Here is Olivia at Elizabeth’s Gift shop in New Haven. Olivia is 2 1/2 years old….and a ham LOL.

All this experimenting with making books has led us to other ventures, which we will talk about soon.

 

Bollinger Mill

Molly had a few days off for Spring Break. She wanted to go to Bollinger Mill. So, off we went. Base of operations was Cape Girardeau. After checking in to our motel, we went to the mill to ‘scout’ the photo opportunities for the next day. We had driven in and out of rain all day and our scouting mission was not any different. In fact, we didn’t get sunshine until the morning we were leaving the area.

Bollinger Mill State Historic site also has a covered bridge, which really was the reason we went. Molly had photographed 2 of the 4 covered bridges in Missouri and this would be #3. With the heavy rain, the normal mill pond was very high and the normal waterfall the dam makes possible was essentially non-existent.

We also took the tour of the mill and the history behind the location as well as the machinery was quite interesting. Big post and beam construction held the heavy milling machinery on 4 floors.

Molly wants to get the mill pond and waterfall in her pictures so it looks like we will have to schedule a return trip this summer.

Here are a few of her photos.

Click on thumbnail for larger image.

10 days in April…. Ok– 11 days in April

The goal was to do a weekly post— so much for goals LOL

Here is the last 10 -11 days

April 6
won a photography contest
part of a fund-raiser for a good cause
Follow link— we will be here when you get finished
April 8
gave a presentation with Paul Fisher about photographing Bosque del Apache
(not quite death by power point even if I did put it together—
if you would like the pdf version— just ask– LOL)
title slide below
April 14th
Photo shoot with the Jeffco Camera Club in De Soto, MO
Had 3 hot rods
plus
models in period clothing– lot of fun
 2 of Molly’s photos  below— I think she knocked it out of the park
April 16
Went to Fairmount Park
First time since we moved to New Haven
Saw several photographers/friends and went to dinner with my friend Jim Ansley (track photographer)
Jim has 50 to 60 years as a photographer and he is quite the story-teller. He has some great stories and I am glad he decided that I am one of the people to tell them to–fascinating life. Still editing them.
April 17
Just found out that I placed first in the weekly St Louis Camera Open Digital  competition
image below
Cape Girardeau is next on the schedule
Molly will get # 3 of the 4 Missouri Covered Bridges along with the old mill at Bollinger State Park
I will probably take a few as well, but I think my major role will be ‘camera sherpa’ for all the gear she will want to take LOL
It has been a fun and hectic 10 or 11 days–
hope you all are well
Bill & Molly

FEAST OR FAMINE

Please excuse the following unabashed, pulling my shoulder out of socket..patting myself on the back part of this post.

This last Wednesday I was lucky enough to be awarded 1st place in the St Louis Camera Club Salon class of the Nature Division competition with this image.

Bosque snow goose air brakes

Considering the quality of images that are routinely submitted, my placing so high has truly been a case of ‘Feast or Famine’— famine more than feast LOL

 

On more important notes

We saw out first bluebirds perched on our shepherd crooks this morning along with the first robins of the season. All of them looked in fine condition and the robins were exceptionally big bully-boys.

Spring must be close and frankly….it can’t come soon enough. Tired of snow, tired of ice and tired of being cooped up.

later

Congratulations to Carolyn Schlueter

Friday, January 25th, was the reception for Framations Art Gallery’s annual Beyond the Lens competition. Our very dear friend, Carolyn Schlueter, was awarded 2nd place in the competition for her excellent black & white image “Pensive Moment”. Carolyn also had 2 other images accepted into the exhibition.

We had other friends who had their work accepted into the gallery exhibition and will note them in another blog post soon.Molly and I are blessed with being surrounded with wonderful friends that are very creative.

It is our pleasure to try and showcase them to our subscribers.

Here is an image of Carolyn with her prize winning image

(sorry, I do not know who took the image to do a credit caption).

Congrats to Carolyn

Carolyn Schlueter and her prize winning image “Pensive Moment”

Mistaken Identity

I recently entered this image in a local competition (didn’t make the cut for any points) and had titled it Bosque Snow Goose At Dawn.

Not sure what I was thinking, but it is a Ross’s Goose. They are a ‘cousin’ to the Snow Goose but lack the size (Ross  is about the size of a mallard) and also the ‘grin patch of a Snow. Beak length is different at well.

Ross Goose

Snow Goose

Just goes to show that even after chasing waterfowl for more years than I care to admit, I still make mistakes.

 

Bosque del Apache and Cranes

For years I’ve wanted to photograph Sandhill Cranes. Even looked into the blinds you can rent from an organization in Nebraska when the cranes head to their breeding grounds. The drill for these blinds is the organization people take you into the blind after sundown and they come get you the next day after sundown. From accounts, you can’t leave the blind unless it is an emergency. The blinds are reported to be very cold and cramped. A couple of folks I asked said the openings to photograph out of were not real conducive to longish lens.

So when I read some of Arthur Morris’s articles and saw his images from Bosque years ago, I decided that some day I would go there and photograph cranes. As most of you know, Paul Fisher and I made the journey and tried to wear out our cameras photographing cranes,snow geese, ducks, harriers,javelina and Rio Grande turkeys.

A photographer by the name of Jim Palmer (https://www.jimpalmerphotography.com/) gave us some information of where the cranes would be and some places we could set up to capture them feeding and flying. Paul and I found a place along the flight line and it became our go to place. We nick named it “The Beach” due to the sandy soil where we pulled off the main road. From this vantage point we photographed cranes until we thought we were “craned” out. Looking back on the images as I work through them, it just makes me want to go back and try some different settings and different vantage points etc.

Here is a small sample.

FREE 2019 Calendar Photoshop Action and FREE 2019 Lightroom Preset/Templates

We finished our calendars a couple of days ago. Printed them on Red River 60lb. Polar Matte and had them spiral bound at Office Depot using their ‘report’ covers. I broke out our heavy-duty commercial paper punch and they are ready to go.

In case you have the urge to create your own calendars, here are a couple of links.

Photoshop Action

https://www.redrivercatalog.com/sbproject/inkjetcalendars.htm

Download and read the ReadMe file. Pretty easy peasy– see sample at the end of the post

For those of you that like to play in Lightroom

A photographer named Ed Weaver has been making template/presets for use in Lightroom for several years. Matt Kloskowski has a video tutorial on how to set up the templates for use in Lightroom– read the text on the download page for the link to the video

Looks pretty easy for those of you that play in Lightroom–

http://www.redphotographic.com/lr-calendar-templates/

Here is a sample off of this years calendar– a Bosque del Apache mallard no less with a gorgeous blue mountain background– 8.5 x 11

Bosque images are being edited– got a ton of them so be patient LOL

The road to Socorro

Thursday,November 29th, Paul Fisher and I embarked on a photo “safari” to Bosque Del Apache (Woods of the Apache). The goals were to test out Paul’s “new” camera and his existing lens, bird and bird in flight photography and generally photograph anything that would allow us to photograph it.

Betty (Paul’s wife) and Molly acted as the quartermasters. I am not sure if we had enough snacks,soda, green tea and water to circumnavigate the globe, but anywhere in North America was certainly covered. Being amply supplied, Paul and I were able to drive for extended periods with pit stops for gas and other reasons.

Twelve hours after leaving New Haven, we arrived in Amarillo and spent the night there. Next morning we headed to Socorro. We were hoping to beat a winter storm forecast. While on the road, we saw an isolated snow storm falling about 3 miles off Hwy 40. White from cloud to the ground. The rest of the area was untouched. Quite the sight….and no, we didn’t stop to photograph it. Sometimes the memories can’t really be captured with a camera. This was a recurring lesson on this trip. How do you capture that landscape and do it justice? We measured our trip in hours and not miles.

To paraphrase Robert Frost–we had miles to go before we sleep.

I am still thinking of how vast the country is from Oklahoma City and the Short Grass Prairie to the Mountains and the desert scrub of New Mexico. While not “The Road Goes On Forever” by  Robert  Earl Keen the vistas do bring to mind The Allman Brothers “Midnight Rider”. Poets and photographers, what a mix this trip would be.

Next post– Arrival and our first afternoon.

For larger image click thumbnail