Skywatch Friday

I try to make a visit to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art several times a year. I made my first visit of the year on Wednesday. Part of the galleries are closed while new installations are being placed. However the outdoor art and trail system are open. This guy is one of the permanent works in the collection. This is the first time I have captured him without the sun directly at his back. Ride 'em Cowboy!

Skywatch Friday

This tree has become my "Fall Color Gauge".  I have photographed it multiple times over the years. I think it has an almost perfect shape and when it bursts into it's fall color, it can be spectacular. This year it is okay. The wind has been blowing a lot since the start of the fall season causing many of the trees to lose some of their foliage and the photo opportunities are lost as well. I will be out this week-end and the first part of next week trying to get some images before the trees are stripped of their splendor. Have a blessed week-end.

Skywatch Friday

A sand sculptured Arkansas Razorback against a crystal clear Ozark sky.

Skywatch Friday

Indian Point Cove on Table Rock Lake, near Branson, MO. One of my favorite places to relax.

Skywatch Friday

For some reason, Autumn seems to have some of the best sunrises and sunsets. I just need to get out there more often and capture the images. Have a blessed week-end.

Skywatch Friday - Unclouded Day

One thing I like about autumn is the crystal clear quality of the blue in the sky. I think it is unique to this time of year and will soon provide an awesome background for the changing colors of the foliage a little later in the season.

Skywatch Friday - End of Summer

This past week my wife and I spent a few days at one of our favorite places on Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO. Even though Summer officially came to an end and Autumn began on September 21, temperatures were still in the high 80's and the sun was out in full strength. It felt like summer, but there were signs that autumn was indeed here.

During the peak vacation season these toys are in constant use from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Now, a couple are in use between 9:00 a.m. and about noon. The afternoon is pretty quiet.

The same can be said for the kayaks and paddle boards. I tried out a couple of the kayaks. One was a pretty successful float around the cove. The other ended quickly with me in the water. Fortunately I was in about 4 ft deep water, so  it was deep enough to keep me from hitting bottom, but shallow enough to stand up. It was a good trip and a nice way to say goodbye to summer and get ready for the colors of autumn, which happens to be my favorite time of year.

Skywatch Friday

City Hall, Savannah, GA. Yes, that is a gold dome...real gold leaf! The building was opened in 1904. Savannah is a beautiful city, with many historical sites to see and great restaurants to visit.

Skywatch Friday - Farmer's Market

Every Saturday morning between April and October, the Bentonville square turns into a farmer's market and a social gathering place for hundreds and hundreds of people. You can buy everything from hand made jewelry to organically raised prime beef & pork. This time of year I am in the market for fresh tomatoes and okra. Yes, okra...and I like it fried or boiled. Needless to say it is good in stew and soups. I found what I was looking for so Saturday evening we had BLT sandwiches and later in the week okra will be on the menu.

SkyWatch Friday

Cotton Candy Sky

The leading edge of remnants of tropical storm Cindy rolled through Northwest Arkansas today. Cindy was all clouds and no rain today. However a cold front from the northwest is due in here tomorrow and a rain event is most likely. Still Cindy provided some very fluffy, photogenic clouds in my rear view mirror. Not to worry, I was in a parking lot when I snapped this image.

Have a blessed week-end.

 

Skywatch Friday - Higher Ground

Skywatch Friday

The Perfect Day Job

Last week we took a vacation to Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. While in Savannah we drove out to Tybee Island for a day at the beach. I know that life guards have a great responsibility and are very well trained. Sometimes they are called upon to respond to very difficult situations, but for a young man or woman, I can't imagine a better summer job.

 

Skywatch Friday - Moon Shot

This week the Super Moon has been the topic of conversation for a lot of people. I decided to grab the camera, go outside and see if I could capture a few interesting images. Here are the results.

Skywatch Friday

When the clouds are churning, there is always a show to watch. Afternoon clouds like these make one anticipate an awesome sunset.

Skywatch Friday

It's been a looooong time since I last posted a Skywatch Friday image. Yesterday the clouds churned into thunderheads and eventually we got an afternoon shower. The clouds were so much fun to watch and so spectacular that I decided to focus entirely on the formations and forget about any kind of foreground in the image. These kinds of images make excellent backgrounds for placing quotations on. Here is an example that I created in PhotoShop Elements. Have a blessed week-end.

Skywatch Friday

I haven't entered a photo competition in a couple of years. Last Thursday I decided I would submit a few entries into the local county fair. It's not a huge competition but it is always exciting to see what others think of your efforts. I prepared four images for the competition. The judging took place on Monday and the fair opened on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I ventured out to the exhibit hall to see if I had any success. It was a good day.

This image was awarded first place in it's category.

This image took first place in the color division for "Sports/Action".

This image placed second in the Black & White division of "Sports/Action".

And this final entry placed second in the Black & White "Portraits" category. It was a very good day.
One thing about any competition is that it helps you know how you're doing. Your friends will always tell you that your photography rocks. That's what friends are for. But a competition places your work in front of someone with no knowledge or interest in who you are. They are only interested in the quality of the image. There is a dangerous side to this competition thing as well. Now I am giving considering taking a couple of these images and entering them in the Tulsa State Fair next month. Have a blessed week-end.

Skywatch Friday

Whenever life makes me a little crazy and doubtful if anyone is in control, all I have to do is look into the sky and the Creator reminds me that "He's got this".

Skywatch Friday

Thank You for Your Service

Skwatch Friday

I went to a local junior high track meet Monday afternoon. Since I'm a little burned out on photographing sunrises and sunsets, and since the afternoon sky wasn't all that glorious, I filled the frame with a high jump contestant.

This high jump contestant happens to be the youngest grand daughter. She finished 4th overall which qualifies her for the conference championship meet next week. Stay tuned, more photos will be coming. This is her first year as a high jumper, so she has some work to do, but she likes the sport and is catching on very quickly.

In junior high, the long jump was my favorite event. I still like to watch the kids fly through the air and try to leap deep into the pit.

I believe that this is from the 4x800 relay. I like this image because all four feet are off of the ground. I was never good at distance running and passing a baton only complicated matters.

The classic 1600 meters (metric mile) requires the ability to run in a pack and find your space, then wait for the right opportunity to break into the open and finish well. I do find it interesting that we have converted to metrics for running events, but the field events are still measured in feet & inches. Have a blessed week end.

Skywatch Friday

A few days ago I was in Neosho, Missouri photographing some of the downtown architecture. The sky was crystal clear blue and obviously not very interesting. I was intrigued by this stone work so I captured a rather mundane image, but I love the craftsmanship that is on display here.
Once I got home I cropped the image and added a little color saturation. Here are the results.

Now the mason's craft is really on display. I love this detail and it is repeated several times along this exterior wall. That was fun, now let's see what happens when I add a special filter preset.

Recently On1 photo editing software released a set of 10 filters for free. Previously Google had released the entire Nik collection of filters to the public for free. For those of us who have almost as much fun editing the images as we did capturing them, it just doesn't get any better than free filters for your PhotoShop Elements software. This filter is called "Tin Type Dirty". I have strengthened the details a little and reduced the opacity just a bit. It's funny, if you found a photo that looked like this, you would probably scan it, and try to restore it to like new condition. When you have a perfectly good image you take it out and play in the mud. We humans are strange like that. Have a blessed week-end.