Babs' Blotter

Memorial Day - unofficial start of summer

2010-06-02T11:48:00.003-05:00

Here in Minnesota, summer is defined as Memorial Day to Labor Day - no matter what the calendar tells you - and I'm sure it's that way elsewhere too. But the way the weather works here, odds are that Memorial Day weekend weather is going to be GORGEOUS and for outdoorsy folk here, there is nothing better than an extended weekend with a chance to play outside unhindered. Just about every town across the state has a ceremony or a parade to honor the locals who have been laid to rest there and the everyone goes off to be with family and friends for some grilling and fun in the sun.

Even better for me, my holiday weekend almost always involves my birthday as well. Sometimes I get folk together for a big picnic at the park to enjoy the grilling and games that are so common to the weekend. Other times, like this year, I prefer to just do a fun activity myself and keep things simple with no need for elaborate plans or coordination. It's taken almost 40 years to convince people of that! But this year was just a baseball game at the new Target Field with a friend and nothing more.. but it was so beautiful, it even felt like God was saying 'Happy Birthday' and I had to snap this shot of the city skyline at sunset from my seats in the park:

My Memorial Day was just about as classic as you can get without going to the cabin up north. I started in the morning watching one of my young brothers march with the high school marching band in a short parade and play patriotic music at the local cemetary. I spent my time walking amongst the crowd and taking a little time to reflect on why we were all there and the cost someone else paid for all the privileges I enjoy. Here's a few of the shots I got from the morning:

Then it was off to enjoy the freetime of the day. I had planned to bring along my camera and visit a local nature area that is walking distance from my house. I go there often and you never know what you will see - most notably great bird varieties. A few weeks ago, I walked there with my mom and in addition to several species of water fowl (one of which took a couple hours on the internet to identify) and song birds, we saw Bald Eagles, Osprey and other hawks circling overhead. It KILLED me that I didn't have my camera along that day. So the 13 yo budding photographer brother, Ben, and I hauled some gear along and went for a walk.

Who knew that predatory birds ALSO take Memorial Day off?? Nothing.. nada.. no ducks, no cranes, no egrets, no soaring wings in the sky. *sigh* We did find some very pretty wild flowers however.

We were a little bummed that we didn't get to try for the skyward shots on such a gorgeous day but we headed back to my parents' house for a little family meal. Drove into the driveway to find my mom all excited and dancing around her hanging baskets of flowers. A Swallowtail butterfly had decided to pop in for a visit and chose to hang out for awhile.

This one is slightly unusual because with the sun that day, I was able to get a picture of him with backlighting - and even shadows of the blossoms on his wings.

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL holiday weekend.

Kestrals at Target Field

2010-05-25T00:05:00.004-05:00

If you know me, you know I'm a HUGE baseball fan. Recently, I attended a day game over at Target Field in Minneapolis that went into extra innings. Now, I almost always have my camera along at baseball games - in addition to my binoculars, my glove, my radio, etc. This particular game, the weather conditions were perfect and I just happened to have brought the big lens just to see what kind of fun I could have from the nosebleed seats.

For those who are familiar with the new Target Field, a pair of kestrals have taken up residence in/near the park and often delight fans by showing up during games to sit and watch. I was lucky enough to have them show up with great light and good luck.

When they first flew in, I thought that there was just no chance I would be quick enough to catch them in flight with the big lens but I thought I would try anyway. The first shot wasn't great but it surprised me that I could FIND the bird and focus quick enough to catch them.

It's hard to see the silhouette but that gave me the confidence to keep trying. Then the first one of the pair settled down onto the big field lights that were just coming on to deal with the changing light as the sun started to set. I knew I could catch a sitting bird!

here, I blew it up a bit and cropped it for you so you can see the bird a bit better.

But then, the mate flew in and started circling - here was my chance to catch the bird in flight!

I had to zoom this one it too just so you could see the great face on the bird.

I just desperately tried to keep the bird in the frame and follow it across the open sky as it turned and flew across and I got my favorite shot of the day!

and then, he turned and flew away... It's even pretty to see him leave!

I took a LOT more pictures of the baseball game, but it was a lovely break in the middle of the action to stop and look up instead of down. If you want to see the pictures of the baseball game, they're on my other blog: Knuckleballs

Jeremiah's Senior Pictures

2010-05-20T14:06:00.004-05:00

It has been a LONG time since I posted anything but honestly, it's because it has been a long time since I took out the camera for anything other than recording a family event or whatnot. But since it's that time of year again, it was time to take yet another little brother out to collect some shots to use as his senior pictures!

Poor Jeremiah. A) He's extremely photogenic BUT he really doesn't like being in front of a camera so he loses some of his natural charisma, B) I'm always challenged by potraiture since it's not natural for me and I was seriously out of practice. The first day, I really had great shots lined up but just couldn't get the results I really wanted. Everything was soft, out of focus, or just not properly lighted. It was most definitely not my best day. I still got a few shots I liked but I was disappointed. A couple days later, we hit the high school again and my brain and hands remembered the whole process a bit better and I got some of the shots I had wanted to get the first time around.

Here's my two favorites:

If you want to check out the others I managed to get, here's a slideshow of the rest.

Scavenger Hunt Week 10+

2009-09-11T12:59:00.003-05:00

Week 10's topic was Wheels - with the restriction that it couldn't be automobile related. After a visit to the MN State Fair (from which I got a few different shots) this is what I chose to submit:

As always there were extras...

and here's a quick catch up because I never got around to posting Week 9.

Week 9 - Mechanical (with the restriction of no electronic)

Model Photoshoot

2009-09-08T14:44:00.003-05:00

In August, a photog friend of mine organized an event for a group of us to go out to a local lake and practice shooting a few volunteer models. I will readily admit that this is the weakest area in my shooting skills for whatever reason. But that means that practice opportunities like these are good for me to go out and stretch my thinking.

I am definitely nowhere near professional quality for these shots but I did end up getting some things I really liked.

Here's my favorite:

The rest of the shots I got vary in quality but they are fun for me nonetheless!

My thanks to Kinsey for setting it all up and Pauline, Josh, Teresa and Pet for being excellent models!

Scavenger Hunt Week 8

2009-08-23T19:56:00.004-05:00

So our topic for week 8 was "Church". This is the image I chose.

It is a nearby Ukranian Orthodox Church that I was FINALLY able to capture with clear skies after nearly 2 weeks of rain every day.

This was an especially difficult week for choosing though - I had several that I really loved.

Scavenger Hunt Week 7

2009-08-10T09:18:00.004-05:00

This week's topic was "Unusual" and I think that the broadness of the topic made it the hardest one yet. And the rules for this week really didn't seem to help narrow it down.
Rules:
1. The photograph has to make you think about what the image is.
2. Can not be manipulated in photoshop
3. It can be any object, person, place or idea.

This is the one I eventually chose:

Stuff like that is why I think God allows little brothers! As always, I had a tough time choosing once I had a good selection of things I liked. Here's the extras!

Isaac's First Nature Walk

2009-08-06T16:51:00.004-05:00

One of the fun parts of doing daycare for my 4 yo nephew once in awhile is that I get him all day and we can do and see new things! In an effort to tire out the wiggles from the little legs, we went on a nice long nature walk to see what we could learn. We got lucky to see a LOT of bird life that day and learned some new trees too - he absorbs everything like a sponge and Mommy was very impressed.

The first thing we encountered was a gorgeous egret. Now we see a LOT of those in this area but I have never seen one this close or for this long. We sat and watched it wade in the shallows and eat for at least 20 minutes.

and by close, I mean REALLY close!

this was actually a pretty low branch but Isaac wasn't so sure about getting up in the tree until he was there - and realized that there were foot and hand holds just like his favorite climbing wall at the park. It was one of many trees he learned the name of that day (he's especially fond of the different kind of birches that line the trailway with Paper Birch as his favorite).

Another very rare sight for me - this is a Little Green Heron. I can only recall seeing one in person once before in my life and Isaac thought it was cool to see it only about 20 ft from us.

he LOVED the lily pads and the flowers.

a very pretty gold finch that flitted above our heads for awhile - Isaac can even tell you that's a boy and how to tell the difference between girl and boy.

This was actually later in the afternoon/evening. This is a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk that was the cause of a royal ruckus at my folks house between his shreaking and all the other birds complaining about him being there.

We got to see a lot of things that day but I couldn't believe how obliging the wildlife was. Here is a collection of stuff we got to see:

Willow River State Park

2009-08-05T08:53:00.017-05:00

Back in the spring, May 10th, some folk from the photography group got together to do a trail hike at Willow River State Park in Wisconsin. We hiked about 8 miles, I think - nothing too strenuous except a brief stair climb up a cliff face. But it was worth it. Turned out to be a fun day of playing with light between sun and clouds and a few teaching moments.

It took me a long time to sort through and pick the shots I really liked since I took about 500 frames but now that I finally have, here are a few of my favorites!

Believe it or not.. that is just the tip of the iceberg! The rest of the album is in the slideslow below.

Scavenger Hunt Week 6

2009-08-04T10:28:00.004-05:00

The assignment for week 6 was "Fences" which really had me looking at my surroundings in a different light. I admit that I don't normally NOTICE fences around me all that much unless they are ugly. You could get very deep and philosophical about a statement like that but let's just say that I started to notice the boundaries in my environment a LOT more.

I also went a pretty different direction in my choice of photo than I usually do in my photography. I think that is the point of the hunts so I let myself be a bit more creative. Even though I took some of the standard "cluttered, cuddly" or "artistically colored" shots that I usually do, I ended up going with a Black & White with a more industrial feel:

That's actually layers of fencing from a local zoo around the lion habitat. Kind of glad for all the fencing but it was remarkable that so many layers were necessary in one place.

Here's the extras that I didn't use:

Birth Announcement!!!

2009-07-30T09:32:00.005-05:00

with guest photographer: Phillip Thomas

yes, another one... the funny thing about having a big family is that when the next generation starts to arrive, it seems to be one of those exponentially growing things. So I have a new nephew! My brother, Phil, & his wife, Michelle, have definitely been working toward this for a long time so congrats to them both!

Caleb Riley Thomas
born: July 26th, 4:41 pm
Weight: 7 lbs 4.4 oz.
Length: 20 inches

Sadly, I haven't been able to meet him in person yet since they live in another state though it will happen soon. But here's just a few of the hundreds of pictures my besotted brother has taken.

Can't wait to come for a visit Little Monkey!

Scavenger Hunt Week 5 (plus some catch up)

2009-07-29T21:23:00.006-05:00

I have missed a couple weeks of posting the scavenger hunt assignments - but I was taking the pictures. So I'll give you Week 5 and the extras but then catch you up with the final selections I used for Weeks 3-4.

Week 5 assignment was Color - focus on a single color in an artistic way. I chose one from the inside of a slide at a local park - I loved the light, color and shape!

Here's the ones I debated and didn't use:

and the quick catch up on the previous weeks:

Week 4 - People at Work

Week 3 - Isolated

Toddler Photoshoot

2009-07-26T12:16:00.005-05:00

The process of getting some fun, unique and portrait quality shots of a two-year-old can be traumatic for everyone involved sometimes. So, when my sister-in-law wanted to get some shots of my nephew, Matthew, we decided to find some environments that he would find fun and be encouraged to act more naturally despite having a camera pointed at him all the time.

A local park in June provided a fantastic background for Stage 1 - we still have some ideas for an indoor shoot that we haven't done yet.

Out of all the shots, I think this one was my favorite:

But here is a collection of all the good ones - in my opinion at least.

Summer Scavenger Hunt Week 2

2009-07-05T07:38:00.003-05:00

This week's theme was Round Things. The fact that it included the 4th of July meant that there were some fun opportunities.

Here's what I went with:

And like last week, I had some extras that I liked but did not choose:

Summer Scavenger Hunt Week 1

2009-06-29T22:25:00.003-05:00

I'm in a local photography group that is aimed at just having fun taking pictures and occasionally learning something new or practicing a particular skill. We are a bit scattered around now so we can't all get together for the outtings we plan.

In order to involve some of those who can't regularly participate, one person suggested a photography scavenger hunt. We loved the idea so we get a new subject each week and take a picture to submit to the group. We just completed Week 1: A Lake.

This is the picture I took on Saturday evening at a local lake just before a rain storm and the one I chose to submit.

and just for the heck of it, these are the extra shots I liked but didn't pick.

Cecropia Silkmoths live in Minnesota - who knew?

2009-05-14T23:49:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine has a somewhat unusual hobby - he raises moths and butterflies. He's been doing this for a number of years and just a few days ago, I got to see one of the most unusual members of his winged progeny. He found the caterpillar in a marsh area near our homes actually - which was a surprise to me since I have never seen a moth or butterfly of this size just flying around here.

What makes this particular moth unusual is not where it was found or even its type, but how long ago he found it. This beautiful creature spent 21 months in the cacoon before it finally emerged. I was very glad I got a chance to see her since she only has a life span of about 2 weeks once she comes out - which she did a couple weeks too early to find a boy moth in this area.

But regardless, she is incredibly beautiful and I hope you like some of these pictures!

BASEBALL SEASON OPENER!!!!

2009-04-06T12:57:00.015-05:00

Hard to believe this isn't something I mention more often but I'm a baseball nut.... I gotta tell ya, the combination of being a photography addict and a baseball fan makes for a LOOOOOOT of baseball pictures sitting on my harddrive.

In honor of the MLB Season Opener (WIN TWINS!), I have decided to post some of my favorite pictures from games over the last few years. First note: I had to sort through literally THOUSANDS of pictures (and took the time to delete similar shots and organize them) to figure out what to post. Second note: amongst it's many other failings, the HHH Metrodome is actually a VERY difficult place to get good action shots due to the lighting. I have spent a lot of time playing with different settings on various days to get them as good as I can. That is something I will continue to learn about but I bet it's a ton easier to get spectacular shots when we are outdoors in Target Field!

To start things off, here are a couple of my favorite "action shots":
1) Brendan Harris, MI, getting hit by a pitch.

2) Alexi Casilla, 2B, doing what he does best - seemingly running without ever touching the ground.

3) Nick Blackburn, P, warming up in the bullpen - can't wait to see him start tomorrow's game!

Here's a slideshow of a collection of more of my favorite pictures in general:

4) Jason Kubel, DH, in a moment of bat meeting ball action.

here's another slideshow of my best "ball at the plate" moments, including contact, strikes, and fouls:

I would also like to take a moment to thank a couple friends for providing me with a few shots that I love and would like to share with you.

This is my first baseball love, Doug Mientkiewicz. Picture by Kristie Strum

This is one of my current loves - yes, there is more than one - Joe Nathan. Picture by Corey Sauer

Well - it took me too long to raid friends pictures for a Spring Training picture of Crede in a Twins uniform because I just didn't have it in me to post one of him batting in a Chicago jersey. (and I couldn't find my Liriano pictures *sob) That being said, the lineup I was predicting is VERY near what has been posted at the Strib except that I had the order a tiny bit differently - not that you would know but you might have to trust me on this one. Anyway, here is the 2009 Twins Starting Lineup in photos!

And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BERT!!

Newborn Potvin Portraits

2009-03-18T16:28:00.003-05:00

I had a wonderful opportunity to do some newborn portraits for a couple friends of mine for their St. Patrick's Day baby. She really was very easy to photograph and I think I might have to do some more in a month or two when she's a bit more active and see what we get.

Introducing Kiera Ann Potvin:

Kiera Ann Potvin
March 17, 2009
8 lbs 8.5 oz, 20.5 inches

2 New Polls!

2009-02-28T12:19:00.009-06:00

YOU CAN STILL VOTE!

Since my house is soon to be under some fairly major renovations, I have begun pondering some decorating ideas to spruce up the places that AREN'T being updated as much. I have decided to take advantage of the horde of pictures on my computer to do some lovely floral groupings in my two bathrooms. But I have SO MANY that I have taken over the years in various places that I want you to help me decide. There are two different bathrooms so two different polls - please vote or there really isn't much point it going to all the code work to put them up!

GUEST BATHROOM
My guest bathroom is decorated in lavender and black with brushed nickel accents. I need you to choose three pictures to go in black frames. Here's your choices:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

Which three should be grouped together for the guest bathroom?
Hydrangea closeup
Hydrangea & Viola
Hydrangea & Hybiscus
Single Freesia
Freesia group
Pansy group
Single Pansy
Hydrangea budding
Allium
Water Lily

See Results

Which three should be grouped together for the master bathroom?
Fern
Primrose
Yellow Pansy
Pitcher Plant
Orchid
Old Garden Rose
Hostas
Dandelion
Tea Rose
Fallen Leaves

See Results

"MASTER BATHROOM"
I joke about the "master" part since this bathroom is only about half the size of the guest bathroom. It's decorated in deep green and yellow with beige accents. Again, I'm going to be grouping three shots together in natural birchwood frames. Here's your choices:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

Thanks so much for your help!!

Blogging is for the Birds!

2009-01-28T23:03:00.007-06:00

Yeah, I know, it's been forever since I put anything up. So, to make it up to you, there is a LOT of stuff in this one. I have been collecting this particular group of pictures for awhile - it's not any one occasion. One of the most entertaining way for me to test out my skills on the BIG lens is birdwatching. Now, if any of you have tried to catch birds on an 800mm or equivelant lens with no tripod, you know that it is tough to get good shots until you have practiced a lot.

Lucky for me, I have had many many opportunities to practice including several lovely visitors that share my deck with me. Several years in a row now, I have had a pair of Mourning Doves (and likely a pair of progeny) nesting in hanging planters on my deck. This is a fun little series that I got once this pair got used to me.

This is the pair:

This is mommy on the nest - took me awhile to figure out how to tell the difference between males and females:

This is daddy showing the eggs - turns out Doves share the job of sitting and he's got a distinctive scar so he's easy to spot:

Finally, here's a pic of the babies!

In another incident of sheer luck, I had my lens ready while hiking the coast in Oregon and caught this Bald Eagle just playing around. He wasn't exactly close so I wouldn't have had a chance without the big lens BUT I still can't believe I got any good shots at all.

Ok, back to the deck visitors. I love to watch my birdfeeder but only the very bravest of the birds will come to the feeder while I'm out on the deck because of confined space. So you will notice that these pictures are partially diffused by the screen door between us since I took these pictures from my livingroom.

This is a gold finch and a house finch sharing a ledge:

I managed to catch the gold finch flying off:

and the house finch all on his own:

I also was amused to catch what appears to be a red-cockaded woodpecker (had to do a little research to come up with that) adding "texture" to the side of the house:

Last summer, I was visiting some friends who live just outside Rochester, MN and have great set up for attracting birds of many varieties. I spent quite awhile early one morning just watching to see who would show up as the sun was coming up. I apologize that they seem a little grainier than I would like since it was max zoom in most cases and pretty dim early morning light.

The first to show were the rose breasted grosbeaks:

then there was a VERY shy blue jay which is a vastly different attitude from the brazen guys who live by me:

My patience was rewarded by seeing a pair of baltimore orioles finally come out into the open since I had been hearing them for two days without a sighting:

Lastly, I got the chance to follow a very cute downy woodpecker:

This last grouping are just pictures I caught during various walks around my neighborhood.

A female cardinal hiding in the fall trees:

An egret fishing along the edge of a pond:

A pair of gold finches flirting back and forth in the water grasses:

A fledgling sparrow feeling his first pangs of separation anxiety:

and lastly, a beautiful woodduck:

Autumn Glory

2008-10-21T20:46:00.003-05:00

My mom, my sister-in-law, Kathy, and my nephew, Matthew all made a little trip to the MN Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen. It's really one of my favorite places. And we really couldn't have picked a better time either - it was peak color here in the Twin Cities area.

Here's the fam!

and one of the cutest nephews on the planet:

and here are some of my favorite pics from the outting.

and the last couple are extra special - it's of a sculpture by Paul Granlund, who I became a huge fan of during college. He has a very distinctive style and you can always recognize a Granlund.

If you want to check out the rest of the pictures from the day - and there are really some lovely colors in there - click the picture below and enter the password "autumn".

Photobucket Album

Senior Year

2008-10-18T11:25:00.003-05:00

Ok, my brother Nathan is a senior so, per the issue that professional photographers are freaking expensive, as with a couple brothers before him, his sucker sister takes him out for a photoshoot!

I was surprised with him and myself and really liked some of the shots we got. I think my favorites and his favorites will be different but that's the point of having a bunch of options isn't it? So here are some of MY favorites - he can post his own.

The first two are at Rice Creek Regional Trail where he trains for Nordic Skiing:

This next one is at North Heights Lutheran Church where he attends:

and finally - these last two are included just for interests sake. The first one because it is just freaky because it looks like a picture of his brother, Paul, instead of like him and the second one just because we both thought it was a cool "story picture" about graduation in itself and the road of life in front of him with no idea where it ends.

If you want to look at the rest of the pictures in the album, click on the picture below and type in the password "Nathan" and you can see the 20 best shots we got.

Photobucket Album

New Arrival!

2008-09-19T15:36:00.007-05:00

This has been a VERY long week but I'm sure glad that it is coming to an end in such a dramatic fashion. Last night, Sept. 18, 2008, Camden Lee Thomas finally came into the world after his poor mom worked at it since TUESDAY!!

My brother Joe and his girlfriend, Amanda, are the proud parents of the 4th grandchild on our side and the first on hers. Yes, big surprise, yet another Thomas boy.... a little on the predictable side. But we kind of like him anyway, just saying.

Here he is:

Camden Lee Thomas

son of Joe Thomas & Amanda Dusterhoft

9-18-08, 6:24 pm
7 lbs 4 oz, 20 inches long

Mom & Daddy are pretty excited if a little tired after all that work. Here's his first visit with mommy:

Daddy is a little giddy cause he's talking to his boy (keep in mind, by this time, we were ALL pretty loopy):

and maybe my favorite picture from the night - Daddy just mesmerized by the little boy in the warmer:

final closing shot of the youngest Thomas:

so.. everyone is happy and healthy and resting up a little bit before they come home this weekend.

Good Times.

Summer at Como

2008-08-02T22:29:00.004-05:00

With Guest Photographer Benjamin Thomas

It has been FOREVER since I posted!!!! I have been taking lots of pictures but .. honestly, this has just fallen to too low a priority to take the time to get everything uploaded. So, I have a serious backlog of stuff to share. But I'll start with the most recent.

So my mother and I took my youngest brother, Ben, over to the Butterfly exhibit at Como Conservatory and man, was that a great photographic challenge! Both Ben and I got some really beautiful pictures, both of the butterflies and of some of the conservatory flowers as well - just because we can never resist.

This one is probably one of my favorite pics of the day:

But this one also has it's own charm:

Ben got this shot that just blew me away:

The next group needs a bit of explanation. There was one particular kind of butterfly there called a Blue Morpho. They proved to be EXCEEDINGLY elusive to capture on camera. They really wouldn't settle down anywhere and they had very quick and erratic light paths. Both Ben and I spent more than an hour trying to find and/or chase a few down. We managed to get a few weaker shots but because the challenge was so immense, we are still pretty proud that we have anything to show for all the effort.

We saw a LOT of this in there but catching it on camera was a sheer miracle:

of course, now THIS picture is a zoomed in one that shows why it was so hard to see them sitting anywhere - turns out I have several pics of them just sitting on flowers but we didn't know it was THEM because the underside of the wing is so different!

We also had a lot of fun because butterflies don't care about landing on people so we'd been there about 10 seconds when one landed on my mom's back. Of course, she didn't even know which kind until she saw the pictures at home. But after a few minutes, one picked up on Ben's camera as a place that looked interesting.

and then when I decided in the pursuit of the Blue Morpho that I was going to set up shop on a bench and try to wait for one to come to me, I made a friend.

So we all got picked by a different flutterby type and had our fun. There are a lot more fun pics in the album if you click on the picture below and type in the password "conservatory".

Photobucket Album

In addition to the butterflies, we also had to go get more flower pics because neither of us can walk by a blossom without aiming that camera. This is my best shot I think:

But Ben really nabbed a great one here:

if you want to see an album of a bunch we got, here's another picture link and you can use the same password from above:

Springing up at Como Conservatory

2008-04-21T17:41:00.005-05:00

It's been a bit since I was able to just go out and take some pictures - sadly, I kind of overdid it when I finally got the opportunity. Some friends and I went to the Como Park Conservatory on the morning of April 13th. Three hours later I left having taken nearly 1200 frames. That makes for a LOT of sorting and editing. I'm quite happy to say that I have it down to a much more reasonable number, although still a lot of them. But nothing made it feel like spring like spending some time wiht a bunch of gorgeous flowers and coming out to beautiful sunshine.

To see the shots that remain, click on the album photo and enter the password "conservatory". For the best view, I recommend clicking on Slideshow.

Photobucket Album

Birth Announcement!!!

2008-04-01T12:16:00.005-05:00

with guest photographer: Jonathan D. Thomas

Well... shockingly enough, a GIRL has been born into the Thomas gene pool!! Obviously, I am fond of pointing out that it does happen occasionally *raises hand* but it's hard to avoid the reality that it's a rare event despite birth being a pretty common one. But my brother, Jon, and his wife, Naomi, are now the parents of the first girl born to our family in nearly 36 years.

Elizabeth Jo Thomas
born: March 31, just before 9 pm.
Weight: 7 lbs 1 oz.
Length: 20.5 inches

She had a pretty big crowd waiting to greet her when she came into the world - but she better get used to it because her family is pretty darn big. I was glad to get just a few minutes with her myself.

while Daddy used the video camera to record the majority of the day, once all the hard work and excitement was coming to a close, I gave him my camera and let him follow the little doll to the nursery for her first bath and such things.

And just because it was so funny, I had to post this picture Daddy took while he was still trying to figure out his sister's fancy little camera

She really seems pretty calm about the whole thing after a bit but one of my favorite pictures that Jon got is this one where she's looking straight at him and kind of looks like she's thinking, "Daddy, what is that thing you have on your face?"

Luckily, it's QUITE obvious that she resembles her mother very strongly - including her extraordinarily large eyes. I'm sure that the Thomas genes will show up eventually - sadly, they always do - but for now, she's got her very pretty mommy's looks.

Of course, the nickname debate has begun in earnest already. Daddy has decided to call her LizardBreath. Yeah, he's not very nice. And it's going to be especially difficult considering the orginal "LizardBreath" (our 21 yo cousin) lives in the same house when she's not at school. Personally, I'm trying out LizaJo to see how well it sticks... And I think it is the nurses that Jon said are calling her EllieJo. That is nice too - we'll see what sticks.

ETA: it appears that EllieJo is definitely in the lead but a couple late entries have joined the fray, including EJ. We'll have to see how much of a tomboy vs girly girl she ends up being.

Montana Ski Trip

2008-03-01T00:02:00.000-06:00

ok... I think this is the last of the old photos for awhile. I will have to get my camera out and take some new ones to show you next.

Anyway, back in 1998, we got a group of friends together in my grandparents' motorhome and roadtripped out to a cabin we rented in the Bozeman area and hit a couple different ski resorts. It was one of the more memorable roadtrips of my life - and not necessarily for the good reasons. But that being said, I still remember the trip fondly.

The saga started on the trip out... somewhere in the middle of the night as we entered the part of the North Dakota that actually ISN'T flat, my brother started having trouble getting the motorhome to go more than 40 mph and we could just barely get up the hills..

that's where we stopped at a gas station in the early morning hours just after we crossed the state line into Montana and discovered that the fuel filter was plugged and even though there was actually a Cummins dealership right off the freeway on our way, we couldn't get a new one. This was a few of the guys taking the filter out, cleaning it out as best we could and putting it back in. We should have taken this as an omen for the trip to come.

This is the Montana countryside through the window of the motorhome as we approached our cabin. You can just see it at the base of the hill. It was truly gorgeous out there.

And I know I posted these before but for reference sake, this is out back of the cabin:

I really loved the scenery there and we even got to do some hiking.

That was some of our in-cabin activities - push up poker and 4-man chess. Interestingly enough, I only went skiing twice while I was there. Part of my problem was that I wasn't too bright about choosing to hit the mountains to go skiing for my first outting after I broke my leg skiing the winter before. My brother, Jim, will tell you how he practically had to babysit me down the hill as my poor brain freaked out. It wasn't so much that I was worried about FALLING as I think I was really worried I wouldn't be able to get back up. I also had not gained anywhere near the muscle mass in my right leg that I had lost so it really wasn't very strong and I didn't have the control I was used to either. It wasn't the greatest skiing experience I've ever had. But at least here is the proof that I actually was out there making a go of it - this is at Big Sky:

as you can tell, it was starting to snow - which made the trip back to the cabin kind of interesting.

and from there, the trip REALLY started to get memorable.

I did not go out skiing the next day but the some of our group did - including my brother who ended up trying to figure out how to drive the motorhome through a snowstorm in mountain roads - with rapidly failing power-steering and brakes. I'm pretty sure that is when his blood pressure started going up. I think he might be a motorhome jinx but don't tell him I said that.

The next day (the day before we were supposed to leave and go home) was spent in the ever-exciting town of Bozeman trying to get a mechanic to fix whatever was wrong with the motorhome. If you know anything about vehicles of that size, they don't really have regular work done by your normal mountain town garage. Turns out the problem was VERY serious and they couldn't fix it.. so we could hang out for a week while they waited to receive parts that we couldn't afford anyway and we were on a VERY tight schedule so.. the week delay was not good either.

In an entertaining coincidence, one of the friends on the trip must also have been recently reminiscing because I received a link to a video that was shot while they were killing time while we were trying to figure out what to do with the motorhome... They decided to make a mentos commercial.

Due to the time and money constraints, we decided that our only hope was to limp the motorhome the 1000 miles home and have it get attention there. The problem was that we had a hole in the hydraulic system - which is a shared system between the brakes and the steering. That meant that whenever we used the brakes, it pumped all the hydraulic fluid out and we lost the ability to steer AND couldn't do anymore braking. Ever tried to drive a 44 ft motorhome with no brakes or power-steering? Yeah, that's a serious challenge. We invested in GALLONS of hydraulic fluid and set out for home - we could go about 45 minutes of very careful driving until we would need to pull over and refill the hydraulic fluid. Amazingly, driving straight through on the freeway for 24 hours with that same schedule, we actually made it home in one piece. I tell you, that was definitely more miracle than skill.

Anyway, it's still a memorable trip...

2008 Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-20T22:11:00.002-06:00

Frankly, I'm surprised I could coax the camera to actually focus in the -4 degree temperatures (I'm not going to even bother looking up what the windchill might have been). I'm still learning how to do the low light pics and this was DEFINITELY that but for all the difficulties, it's not a bad picture.

Canal Park Visit

2008-02-13T22:41:00.004-06:00

Believe it or not, also in 2000 (it seems it was a very busy year) and again in 2002, I got to spend a bit of time in Canal Park in Duluth Harbor. It's really a great place to hang out and you might agree that the scenery is pretty amazing. On the first occasion, my hotel was RIGHT on the beach so I got to take advantage the ocean views at dawn and dusk. I had to admit that I might have taken too many pictures but .. it was so pretty and makes for a nice progression!!!

but the Point has some great scenery even during the day

and I took this one while on a walk on the beach boardwalk

and since it's a harbor, you wouldn't believe the size of the ore boats that come in. They make for quite a sight.

and since you have that lighthouse for reference, this should give you an idea of the immensity of this ship

now that you have seen the size of the ships coming into harbor, just imagine the lift bridge that is required to allow ships of that size through!!

the group I was with was lucky enough to get an evening ride up with the bridge (something not allowed to standard tourists)

but it also allows a pretty spectacular view of the city

considering that I haven't been up to Canal Park since 2002, I might just have to go for a visit up there again sometime soon.

Another Stroll Down Memory Lane - to the Midwest

2008-02-08T17:33:00.001-06:00

In 2000, I took a roadtrip vacation with one of my best friends to Colorado. It was a FANTASTIC vacation and we got to see a lot gorgeous countryside. So, I grabbed several of them in the scanning I was doing earlier and here's what I pulled out - lots of that trip isn't here but we'll just call it a representative sample..

Part of the trip we spent in the Colorado Springs area in an extremely adorable little victorian hotel. The reason we were in the area was to go white water rafting down the Arkansas River near Cańon City.

yeah, that's her and I on the left side of the boat. It was a BLAST - I would totally do it again.

Of course, one of the cool things about going rafting in the Cańon City area is that the Royal Gorge spans the Arkansas River right near there:

of course, one of the really neat things about standing on the edge of a cliff taking pictures of a bridge is that if you stop and look down at the river below you, you can get really cool shots like this!

I really really love this picture and one of these days it will be one that I have up on the wall in my livingroom like the others I posted.

Of course, as with every trip I take, there was hiking. Happily, Jeanette and I didn't seem to have any problem with hiking in the altitude at all. But there is a place in Colorado Springs called Seven Falls - you should see it. I don't have a picture of it in it's entirety because the little camera at the time just didn't have that capability. But it's a waterfall that comes down the mountain and is broken up into 7 different sections. The scenic area has a series of staircases that go all the way up to the top. If you want to check it out, go to sevenfalls.com It's really beautiful but it's quite the hike. Here's a pic DOWN the stairs once we got to the top:

of course, that's not really the end of the hike. Turns out, at the top is a trail up to Inspiration Point which overlooks the valley containing Colorado Springs. Basically, you just follow this creek:

and it there are gorgeous little waterfalls the whole way up like this one:

Sadly, the pics I DON'T have are the ones Jeanette and I took on rocks of Inspiration Point when we got to the top. I think she has them though so I should find out and add them to the collection at some point.

One of the other places we visited was called Cave of the Winds. I love caves so this was a pretty cool trip even though it's very touristy. Still, the caverns were HUGE and there were so many gorgeous things in there. But I did figure out that it's hard to get pictures with a little 35mm point&shoot in a dark cave:

A lot of them turned out like this

and for a little reference - this is about 3-4 stories high

and even the walls can look cool

One of the coolest visual images of the trip started with this:

It's a pic of a stormfront on the eastern horizon that I took from the parking lot after we had dinner at Perkins. Little did we know that it would make for a very spectacular electrical storm covering the horizon that we followed the whole night driving home across Kansas. We finally caught up with it just before dawn, drove THROUGH it for about half an hour and just came out on the other side as the sun was coming up. It was cool to see the sunrise in splendor with lightening flashing right next to it. I wish I had THAT on film.

I gotta tell you, we were gone less than a week and I don't know how we managed to squeeze in all the stuff we did - we were in Denver for the first couple days and we also went horseback riding in the Garden of the Gods by Pike's Peak. I have pictures from that too but I haven't gotten around to scanning any of them in yet

Some New OLD Stuff

2008-02-02T17:32:00.000-06:00

So I finally decided to start making use of my scanner to get some of my pictures online from back in the day before a digital camera. Yeah, I have a LOT of old pictures and stuff that I would love to share with people but it will take years to get it all scanned in. But I started with one very long evening scanning in a variety of things and some of my favorites from various outtings (about 50 pictures). I'll try to break them up a little bit into something that makes a little sense... at least to me.

My first group are special to me for a couple reasons but for anyone who has been in my house, they will familiar. Many years ago, I pulled together some of my favorite pictures from over the years and gave them to my brother. Paul was working in the developing world at the time and did his magic to blow them up, crop, edit and mount them for me so that I could frame and hang them in my livingroom.

The first two pictures are from the back yard of a cabin in Montana where a group of us stayed during a ski trip.

Then I have a pic that I took from my grandmother's back yard in Cowell, Arkansas.

Right in the center over my TV is the first landscape picture I ever took. I was 13 years old and on a camping trip with my family in UP Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior playing with my dad's 35 mm for the first time. I didn't have the horizon quite straight and was just discovering what low light does to a shutter but I got a great useable picture anyway. The photog bug had officially bitten. With a bit of cropping and straightening, my bro turned it into a magnificent pic to hang...

the last two were taken from opposite sides of a lake at the 4H Camp I stayed at while working in Atlanta, Georgia for the '96 Summer Olympics.

I will post a few more old things when the muse strikes me.

More Goofing Off in the Snow

2008-01-13T11:24:00.000-06:00

So a photog buddy of mine says, "lets go to Minnehaha Falls and take pictures of the frozen falls!" You really don't need much more of an invitation for a bunch of like-minded camera geeks to go play so a half-dozen of us headed down to the park on what turned out to be a really warm day (40+ degrees in Minnesota in January? we call that a thaw).

I was somewhat limited by a damaged shoulder so I couldn't do all the clambering around that I otherwise would definitely have done. And I'm still jealous about some of the pics that a friend of mine got because clambering is something he does in his sleep. I'll give you a link to his pictures at the end... I'm jealous but they are still some phenomenal pictures! Anyway, here's some of the stuff I got from the day:

this is the view of the falls from the walkway at the top - park your car and this is what you see.

yeah - lots of people down there on the frozen creek. Mind you, thawing temperatures and the constant sound of falling ice doesn't instill confidence but.. it's all for the pictures!!

of course, getting down there wasn't as easy as you would think - the stairs were actualy closed and we had to climb over the chains to do it. This is Tim going down rappelling style - I told you he does a lot of clambering. *wink*

yeah, lots of us made the trip but you can see there was a lot of open water. The view was totally worth it though.

Tim struck off on an icey climb to go behind the falls while I was relegated to shots from below in the basin.

but at least the falls are still really cool!

yeah, that's Tim in there... too bad he couldn't just slide down.

really - the ice we were walking on was thinning from underneath and there was a lot of open water.

open water makes for cool pics though

so we met up with the rest of the group and headed downstream

the stairs on the other bank were even worse - but some enterprising kids decided that sledding down in their snowsuits was easier! They giggled the whole way down.

Kinsey kept taking pictures of us so I got one of him!

the view back upstream

something fell through the ice here..

but the layers in the broken ice were so beautiful! Almost like an agate.

it was getting dark by the time we made it down to the big bridge but not dark enough for the lights to come on... darn.

heading back upstream on the other bank

oh wait!! the lights came on! HAD to run back to get this picture..

The falls are pretty gorgeous when lit up at night...

even just heading back to the parking lot had some cool view - this tree lit from so many directions just glowed.

well, that's the highlights folks. If you want to see what Tim got on the same trip, I highly recommend checking out his gallery: http://invisi.us/gallery2/v/invisi/2008/Minnehaha/

First Day of Winter

2007-12-23T10:39:00.000-06:00

That phrase sometimes makes those of us in Minnesota giggle at the absurdity of Winter actually waiting until the 22nd of December to arrive... yeah, we're firmly in Winter's grip by then around here. However, this year, the weather conspired to give a touch of recognition to the date regardless of having had permanent snow on the ground for weeks already. It warmed up on the 20th to the balmy realm of the 40's and when the storm front came through on the 21st, it was only just starting to cool down again. That made for an almost rain-like very heavy snow overnight.

Morning on the "first day of winter" dawned with every tree coated with a thick layer of white insulation outlining each twig and branch with white against the sky. By afternoon, the clouds were breaking up enough to make interesting games of light playing off the sparkling snow. I simply couldn't resist taking a break in the middle of my Christmas preparations to run out to a local park and take some pictures. Nothing has lifted my spirits more this Christmas. It really reminded me of poetry:

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost (1874 - 1963), Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Flying Home!

2007-11-21T12:25:00.000-06:00

So part of the great thing about flying out during the middle of they day was that I got really great views from the plane.

This is Mount Hood!

and interestingly enough, as we were flying over Fargo and I was waving at my brother, we got to witness a massive storm front which I was quite glad we were going to be ahead of - it came through central Minnesota later that evening.

the Last Full Day of My Vacation

2007-11-20T12:53:00.001-06:00

Sadly, this was the last day to just hang with my friends and go somewhere because I was flying out the next day. So we took a drive out to the ocean. Haystack Rock is about an hour and a half west of Portland (if I remember correctly) and we spent the morning on the beach there playing in the tidal pools. Then had lunch at this AMAZING seafood place overlooking the beach and scooted over to Ecola State Park. You can literally see Haystack Rock from an observation deck built on a cliff point in the park so you can tell we didn't go very far. We hit a couple of spots in the park too so it made for a GREAT day with the camera. When you click on the picture, the password for this album is tidal - oh yeah, and I was simply amused by that first sign. It's a tsunami warning right on the beach. My sick sense of humor found it kind of funny.

Photobucket Album

Day 3 and It Was Raining...

2007-11-20T10:49:00.001-06:00

Day 3 of my vacation involved a massively fun trip to Powell's Book Store but I didn't take any pictures there because, well, I was busy. However, earlier in the rainy day, my friend and I once again hit Washington Park. This time, we went uphill to the Japanese Garden - and got lucky enough to catch it on a day with the annual Bonsai show! I love Bonsai but still am very good at killing it. Someday, if you want an interesting story, ask me how I got two ivy plants home in my carryon luggage from that sale because I didn't check any baggage on this trip... on second thought, you basically just heard all the interesting parts so don't bother. BUT, the garden itself was amazing and is a wonderful place to visit in the rain. It was a downpour but it was enough. The password for this album is bonsai when you click on the picture.

Photobucket Album

Day 2 of my Oregon Vaction

2007-11-19T17:19:00.001-06:00

So the next day wasn't quite as nice weather-wise but despite being a bit on the gray side, my friend and I made a visit to Washington Park which is conveniently near her house. It was a beautiful way to spend an afternoon in the International Rose Test Garden before going on to our plans for the evening. These are a different style of picture for the most part from what I took while hiking. I was caught up in the details - and they were cool. Two things that still impress me from those two days: the size of the Douglas Firs (yes that is me standing by one just over the fence of the garden), and massive variety of blooming plants at the end of May from Roses to Rhododendrons. The password for this album is rosegarden when you click on the picture.

Photobucket Album

A Lovely Day In May - Day 1 of my Vacation

2007-11-17T17:11:00.001-06:00

Alright, step one of the catchup on a summer's worth of pictures is Day 1 of my Oregon Vacation. I spent the day hiking in the Columbia River Gorge region at Multnomah Falls. It was a magnificent day - the only day of the vacation that didn't rain - and a fun light hike. These are certainly not ALL the pics I took on the hike since I'm pretty sure I added at least 45 minutes to the hike by stopping every three feet but they are most of the fun ones. You will notice that it doesn't matter if it is huge scenic expanses or tiny little details, I just love to stop and capture the photo. To view the photos in the album, click on the picture and the password is "hiking".

Photobucket Album

Someone is always watching...

2007-11-07T21:47:00.001-06:00

actually, I was just playing with the camera today and got a startlingly cool and unexpected result. It's kind of creepy but I liked it so I decided to share. For the record, this is a completely unretouched photo - not even any cropping. That is exactly how it came out of the camera. Just lucky this time.

haven't posted in WAY too long..

2007-11-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

man, I have a whole bunch of stuff I should have posted in the last 6 months. I'll have to get a few going here really soon so keep your eyes open for pics from my trip to Oregon, maybe some baby pics from my new nephew, some wedding pics (my brother's, not mine), some fun stuff of just playing with the camera and who knows what else I will dig up.

I promise to get a bunch of stuff in here soon!

Photo Poll

2007-04-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, Friends! I'm posting again! I know you were all sitting there holding your breath right?

I have decided that since I have this little photography hobby going, I should do something with the toys I have spent a considerable amount of money on. I'm entering a photo contest - and the theme of the contest is "Spring Meltdown".

I have spent most of the last month since I purchased my new camera taking pictures of whatever or whenever I felt I found something so incredibly iconic for Spring. Of course, this meant I froze my fingers off at times, trudged through mud for odd angles, and hung precariously off ledges just to get something I thought would be cool. You know what? I had a blast! It was so fun that I took well in excess of 500 pictures. Now I don't know how to choose what to submit!!!! So, I figured I would put it out there for a bit of public opinion - at least once I did a lot of sorting, sifting and editing. I have narrowed it down to 10 pictures - which is of course, still too many. I would greatly appreciate your votes and opinions.

ETA: Just to let you know that all entries had to be submitted today, April 30th. In addition to the poll here, I received some email votes so with the totals and with only submitting one of each style of picture, I submitted #3 Nest Egg, #7 Snow Buds, and #8 Ice Melt Portrait. When finally printed in 8x10's, I was quite happy with how they looked and I think you guys have pretty good taste! Thanks so much for your help!

Here's the pics:

#1) Robin

#2) Snow Shoots

#3) Nest Egg

#4) Ice Melt Landscape

#5) Mourning Dove Nest

#6) Spring Creek Portrait

#7) Snow Buds

#8) Ice Melt Portrait

#9) Nesting Dove Eye

#10) Spring Creek Landscape

A Day In The Life - a Photo Journal

2007-04-09T20:32:00.000-05:00

This primarily started as fun with the new camera - and posting pictures may well end up being the primary use of this Blog - but here is how Easter Sunday went for Babs.

Man, it was an early start..

but the day started like pretty much every other:

Then - who KNOWS what insanity inspired this - I spent an hour curling my hair..

and of course, because THAT took so long, I was a little late getting out the door for church

but apparently it wasn't TOO late because the parking lot was still practically empty when I got there for the 7:30 show call but that's my folks' van so I know they're here anyway...

fact is.. I was early enough that the dressing room was empty and still dark!!

Ah... there's a couple of the girls finally!

and the torture begins - let me tell you, being an angel involves PAIN!

ok, 8:15 cast meeting - at least they provided coffee!

and yes, this is our little group of angels in full costume greeting the congretation coming in for both Sunday morning services.

ok, this may not be the kind of church or even Easter Sunday Service you are familiar with:

After 3 hours in that frame, there is nothing that feels as good as taking it off - literally weak-kneed:

and yeah, we just stayed there for awhile - and laughed at ourselves

so with Church finally over, and the costume and makeup finally off, I can get over to my folks to help with Easter Sunday dinner - about 1:00 - but our Easter dinner is a little different than most. Our family tradition is to use a bunch of the dyed easter eggs in a MASSIVE bowl of my mom's potato salad - which is a very unusual full meal recipe with ham, cheese, eggs, pickles in addition to the potatoes. That is two of my younger brothers who are helping to prepare the meal with me.

Of course, because David and I are working on lunch, we definitely have to get the Twins game on!

which means I have to start playing with the new camera to get a better shot of TV screen

Mom finishes mixing all the ingredients together and we are ready to eat!!

of course, during lunch, Dad and I have to keep playing with the camera and the TV and my Dad can really do a good job with a slow shutter!!

After lunch, I sat down to help little brother, Jeremiah with his French homework

HUH??

homework and chores completed, the boys run off for some fun and the 'rents and I play a game...

Ok, Mom kicked our BUTTS at dominoes so we switched to cards so Dad could win

yeah, since I was tired of losing, it was time for GINORMOUS homebaked chocolate chip cookies for snack..

... and one more game to see if it's my turn to win

Turns out, I spent a LONG time playing games with the folks - good relaxation but time to go home

and I generally end the day the way I start it - a little computer time.

And getting ready for bed - THIS is why its insane to curl my hair - it NEVER lasts

so... hanging out in bed, vegging and watching a bit of Mythbusters!

OH!!! Planet Earth! I love this series! guess I'll be staying up a little later...

but you remember how I got hooked on the whole camera thing with the TV? hooked again..

come on, you know those are cool!! but yeah, it's late, I'm tired, time for bed!

Introduction

2007-04-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is just a quick hello! We'll see how often I'm able to pop in and visit with you but I hope that when we meet up, it will be fun and games all around.