Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Our middle grand daughter is all about dance in general and ballet is particular. I captured this image at her studio one afternoon. Recently my wife and I attended her dance recital. If you scroll down you will see that there were tiny dancers as well as more mature artists participating. Here are a few images from the recital.

A couple of her dances were as part of a group. Here she got the opportunity to show some balance and flexibility.

Here she got the opportunity to show off some high kicks. I was NEVER able to do this...ever. She and the other girls make it look easy.

Her ballet number as truly breath taking. You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium during her solo.

 While you are reading this, we will be watching her compete in a national competition. Unfortunately there will be no photography allowed. There will be a paid photographer who has exclusive rights to photograph and sell the images to the families, so the rest of us will just have to enjoy the performance and take the memories home with us. Have a blessed day.

Wordless Wednesday/Crystal Brigdes Exhibit

We are members of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum has had exhibits honoring Norman Rockwell and is home to "Rosie the Riveter" and there is a restored Frank Lloyd Wright house on the property. It is a "must see" if you are in the area. There is no special exhibit going on right now, but I did find these characters. They are fiberblass/mixed media and the are around five feet tall. They are supposed to represent the seasons, but I have my own names for them.

Flower Child

 

Vegetable Lady

 

Wine Guy

 

Wood Warlock I

 

Wood Warlock II

Wood Warlock II is outside and much larger than the interior pieces. I may not truly appreciate all of the art that I see, but I find the creativity fascinating. I think these pieces are really cool.

 

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

 I Love a Rainy Night

It was a rainy Friday. The high school soccer matches got canceled because there was some cloud to ground lightening within 5 miles of the venue. So what else could I do, but wait til dark and go shoot some reflections around town.

One nice thing about rainy nights is that you get some pretty cool reflections. This little food trailer was sitting under a street light so the reflection was built in.

Everyone knows that Bentonville, Arkansas is the home of Walmart and this is where it all started...Walton's Five & Dime. The building has been converted to a museum and has the complete history of the Walton business. Sam Walton's office was moved from the general office and reconstructed here. It is exactly the way it was on the day that he died.

Just around the corner a whole new block of retail/office development has been constructed, including a one-of-a-kind Neighborhood Market. This particular store has a deli that rivals Whole Foods and Fresh Market.

 The past few years have seen the construction of multiple bike and walking trails in the area. In fact you can ride or hike from Fayetteville to Bentonville and Bella Vista on a connected trail system that is nearly thirty five miles in length. One of the results of this fitness trend is multiple aparrel and outdoor gear shops have opened in the area. There must be a dozen bicycle shops in town. Ten years ago the only place to purchase a bike was....you guessed it, Walmart.

The regional growth has also brought a multitude of new eating establishments to town. Louisiana based Flying Fish is one of my favorites.

One of the best things about the growth in the area is that old buildings are being repurposed. Here, the old City Hall building in Rogers has been reborn as upscale condominiums. Well, that's it for another not so Wordless Wednesday. Have a blessed day.

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

 Last week my schedule allowed me my first opportunity to photograph the local High School boys soccer team. Generally speaking boys soccer is more about speed and power while the girls game is more about finesse and teamwork.  The home team (in the white uniforms) won the match 2-1. They are defending state champions, but graduation thinned their ranks and they are having to adjust to the loss of several seniors.

 The opponents were pretty proficient at the slide tackle. This is a technique you don't see as much in the girls game.

 The trick to the slide tackle is to tackle the ball without touching the opponent. It's a pretty tricky maneuver and failing to do it correctly can result in a penalty, even the dreaded "yellow card".

 I must admit, the slide tackle does provide some great photo opportunities.

 Here the opposing goal keeper has come out of the box to prevent the home team from scoring an easy goal. It takes a pretty tough individual to play goal keeper.

Here is the winning goal, scored on a penalty kick. A more exciting image was published yesterday, so just scroll down if you want to see it.
One important lesson I have learned this year about photographing sports. If a ball is involved, the ball needs to be in the image. If possible the face(s) of those playing the ball need to be visible. That isn't always possible, but it is most desirable.
For those who may be interested in the technical side, I ALWAYS shoot in manual mode and for sports I always shoot in jpeg. For night games at a well lit park I shoot with an ISO of 1600-3000, a shutter speed of 1/400th - 1/500th  at f3.5-5.0 and Auto White Balance. I have the focus set on single point, contunious focus and high speed continuous shutter. For my camera, that means it will fire 7 frames per second. Have a blessed day.

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

 GOAL!

 Goal!

 Goal!

Goal!