Education Vacation

     My day job requires me to complete 20 hours of professional continuing education each year. Since I have to go anyway, I try to pick seminars in locations that are fun to visit. We are just back from a combination of education and vacation on the East Coast. The convention center was very nice. So nice, in fact, that I felt a little out of place there. This place was so rich that there was a vending machine in the lobby with $350 Bose Headphones for sale. Where I come from, vending machines are for crackers.
    Here is a view across the hotel atrium and out to the yacht club on the river. The atrium was set up like a little town with shops and restaurants in little buildings like the one you see on the lower right.

    This rocky stream courses through the atrium.

Outdoors, a wild Mallard Duck stops briefly at the hotel's  landscaped waterfall before flying on downriver.

    In front of the hotel, the limo drivers prepare for a busy day.

                           

     One morning we discovered a dirt road near our hotel that curved around a bend in the river. We were quite close to the convention center, restaurants, and shopping, and still we saw Mallard ducks with their babies, diving ducks, Canada Geese, and a Red-winged Blackbird. On the ground we saw deer tracks. Honey Bunny walked out there with me the following night so that I could get this shot, otherwise I would not have felt comfortable there alone. The convention center is on the far right. The purple lights are from the sixteenth floor night club.

                             

    Here are two more photos of the river. The bridge you see in the distance is a drawbridge. I always get the creeps driving over those. It is  1 and 1/4 miles long and carries twelve lanes of traffic. There is a concrete barrier to protect pedestrians who have their own lane. We saw people jogging there, but were told that noise from the traffic is deafening.

                        

                            

    This is part of a 70 foot sculpture that depicts a giant trying to free himself from the sand.

    That's okay. I don't want to get on your dumb old boat anyway!

                    

    The seminar we attended offered full time learning. Night classes, lunch-and-learns, and wet labs were all a part of the package. One morning I took advantage of the free continental breakfast in the exhibit hall, only to be bombarded by big screen TVs with advertisements from some of the vendors. None of this surprised me until I saw these signs paired together. I then had to wonder if the "full time learning" thing was getting a bit out of hand.

              

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    I spend a lot of time thinking about photography and very little time actually taking photos. Often while driving I see an old barn or a stately oak tree and I think about taking a picture. But I rarely get around to it.
    Recently I decided to take some of those photos I had been thinking about. Here is one of a dead tree that looks like an old woman with her hand on her hip.

    There is an old house I pass by often. I had hoped to photograph it when an oak tree behind it was in full fall color, but it didn't happen. So I used an HDR program to give it a "painterly" effect.

     A small town nearby suffers from a plague otherwise known as "road construction." Its citizens decided to make light of their plight with signs featuring those darned orange barrels.

    Many times I drove past this old house and wondered how best to photograph it.

    Finally I decided to take the grandbaby there.

    Honey Bunny convinced me that it looks better in black and white.

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Grandma Bearly Makes It

    I have been a grandma for almost two years now. But I never really felt like a grandmother until last weekend when I hiked to Rainbow Falls with a group of photographers 

    Rainbow Falls is over 100 feet high. Isn't it beautiful?

    When you think of rainbows you think of love, peace and happiness don't you? 

    Well, this rainbow almost killed me!

     Rainbow Falls is in a very steep part of the southeastern United States. Getting to the falls involved one hour of hiking down a steep mountain. Those of you who have not done this are thinking, "Oh! Downhill. That's easy." Not so! This is more of a "downmountain" type of thing. It involved stepping down from one ledge to another over and over again, using my thigh muscles as brakes, until those muscles turned to jelly. The ledges were very irregular, sometimes a few inches high, sometimes a foot high. At times it involved stepping from dirt collected by a root to an area below where rain had washed the earth away. At other times it meant stepping from root-to-rock or root-to-slippery-fallen-leaves. Every step was different and there was no way to establish the rhythm that we normally have while walking.

    One part of the trail was so steep that ropes were provided as an aid for descending two sections of large rocks.

    By the time we reached the falls I knew I was in trouble and would have difficulty on the steep ascent back out. I desperately gulped down an energy bar and water in an effort to avoid my personal train wreck looming up ahead.

    When we were done photographing the falls it was time to leave. We had spent about an hour resting there, but it was no use. After climbing just a few yards I began having serious difficulty.

    My quadriceps muscles were so exhausted from the trip down that in no time the climb up became nearly impossible. When my legs became too heavy to lift I resorted to crawling. I used my hands to  grip roots, tree trunks, and rocks to pull myself along. All of this with 24 lbs of camera gear on my back. Pretty soon my arm muscles became fatigued as well. And to say that my heart was pounding is an understatement. I was audibly panting and I didn't care who heard me. I was having so much difficulty I thought I might have to spend a night out there!

    Somewhere on the mountain Mama Bear set the table for dinner.

    All of this happened before we reached the section with the ropes. I'm guessing that as I approached all the young men drew straws. One tall athletic fellow must have been the loser. While I labored upwards he stood at the bottom, cursed with the job of catching Granny, should she fall. 

    To add to my embarrassment, the group of hikers I was with (all in their twenties and thirties) had to stop and wait for me.  They were quick studies and soon learned my name.  "Liz, are you okay?"  "Liz, do you need to rest?"  "Liz, do you want some of my water?" One slender young lady who could talk without gasping for oxygen must have also thought I would be spending the night out. She asked, "Do you want some food?" Bless their healthy little hearts! Their concern for Granny was heartwarming!

    The only way I completed the climb was by drowning out the sound of my own pounding heart with positive mental chatter. I told myself that I could make it,  and I chanted a marching cadence silently to myself as I put one foot (or one knee) in front of the other.

    Finally we reached the top. My shame was overcome by the  pride of a job well done. I bragged to our guide that I was probably the oldest person to have made this hike. Before you could say "You bet your sweet bippy!" he replied, "My dad has done it a few times. He's 74 years old." That really busted my bubble!

    Later we visited several more falls. This is Shower Bath Falls. So named because campers used to shower there. Brrrrrrr!

    I crawled under the ledge at the right side of the falls to video the water from another angle. I had to crouch down under the rock ledge, not an easy maneuver  after the beating my muscles had taken at Rainbow.

    Here are two close ups taken near the bottom of another falls. Sometimes these are prettier than wide angle shots of waterfalls.    

    This photo is taken along a trail to one of the falls. See where the sunbeam hits the rock? Look just to the left of that. Where the rock meets the tree roots is where the "trail" is. This is not the trail to Rainbow, this is what our guide called an "easy" trail.

    In addition to waterfalls, we visited this mountain which is one mile above sea level and known for its windy weather. The day we were there the wind was blowing about 35 mph. It blew so hard that it was difficult to open the car door and at times I was blown off course while walking. There was no way I would have walked out onto the edge of this cliff!

    And that's the truth!
   

    

   

Joy

If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness ....... but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough. 
Audrey Hepburn 
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/sadness.html#GKDoYpHe717y3vY1.99

    I have been going through a bit of a rough patch lately. So rough, actually, that I didn't feel like picking up my camera. As a matter of fact, some days I felt so bad I contemplated tossing it into the trash.  Who am I to think that I can be a photographer?

    But then the baby came over. He has a way of putting things in perspective.

    I resolved to take his picture before he left. 

Shall we say he was less than enthusiastic?

At times he feigned disinterest.

But he loves to be in the spotlight.

Finally I was able to get this one!

    It's hard for me to explain, but somehow this small step forward in my attitude has to do with the fact that it is my own child's 24th birthday. 

    Happy birthday, Darling.

    Love,

    Mom

Like A Twinkie!

     I went out early this morning looking for bugs. I stepped just into the edge of the woods and right away I found this Praying Mantis. Mantises sit very still until an insect comes close enough to catch. This one moved because she was startled. She looks so much like the surrounding plants that I never would have seen her if she had held still.

    It did not take long for her to catch an insect. Her spiky front legs helped her to hold onto her prey. She began by biting off the head.

    She was willing to tolerate me as long as I did not get too close. This ugly glare reminds me of my dog's eyes when she is in possession of a favorite toy.

    The black dot in the middle of her eye is a pseudopupil. Mantises have compound eyes, no pupil.

    Apparently the best part is in the middle. Sort of like a Twinkie.

    Now she is done with her breakfast and she licks the last bits off of her "hands."

    In some parts of the world there are mantises large enough to eat mice and toads. I don't believe I want to see that!

Girl, look at that body!

  

Photographing the baby is harder than it looks.

Sometimes I think I need a baby wrangler.

   

   

   I let him play with a shoe lace in an effort to hold his attention.

   

Still, he tends to wander off in pursuit of other interests.

   

But when he comes back around the results are rewarding.

Push Up!

    Grand Baby came over today! We had a wonderful time.

    First we played in the sandbox.

    Then we blew bubbles. He belly-laughed as the dog tried to catch them in her mouth!

    He was offered pizza but preferred an orange.

    Later we stood in front of the mirror and brushed his hair. He loves that.

    After a while he grew sleepy. Waving goodbye, he was buckled into his car seat. Sweet dreams, Grand Baby. I sure am tired!

Smile!

    I have been thinking a lot lately about buying some portrait studio equipment. Strobes and backdrops and such. Not so much for human portraits. For my dog.

    This will come as no surprise to those who know me well. I am the one who had to stop myself just short of telling my grandson "Good dog!" today when he obeyed a command. 

    Correction. He didn't obey a command. He he did what I told him ;)

    I am also the grandma who has seriously considered clicker training my only grandchild.

    Speaking of clicker training, Kira and I have been working on "stay." Kira will do anything if I have the clicker and some cheese. She will stay several seconds now. It seems like a long time to her, but to me it felt as if I had to take this photo very quickly.

    Since I don't have any nice studio stuff yet I rigged up some things and took this (quick) shot last week. It's not perfect, but I like it.

Boxing

    Don't waste your money on toys for Grand Baby. He often is unimpressed by common baby toys. He prefers to entertain himself with things he finds around the house. 

Here he contemplates where next to look for entertainment.

  A cardboard box! What could be inside?

    A shiny red cup makes a good toy.

You know that feeling that you're being watched?

Cats like boxes too.