FALL IS ON THE WAY

Here are some of the photos I took last week, but didn't have time to post.


If you look at the calendar, the official date of fall came about a week ago, but its only starting to show a little bit in the leaves. Here are some of the pictures I took last week in the park to show just how the changes are coming about as the days get shorter and colder.





These two dogs were with a man that looked like he was probably homeless... I asked him if I could take some pictures and he said it was OK, but told me not to get too close to them. I told him I saw how they were just a moment before, and would not get to close. They behaved rather well while I took some pictures of them. They also show how fall is coming on quickly, they seemed to be enjoying laying in the pile of fallen leaves while they wait for their owner.





I went back to the antique store again, to see what else I could come up with that was out of the ordinary.... I found a few things that caught my eye, so I thought I would share.


The first one is another set of books; I liked the way they were set up on this desk.








I loved the way this dog looked, like it was smiling at you, or perhaps just trying to make your day a better one while you looked at him on the shelf.







This horse was alot of fun, if you look closely, you'll see that someone painted it, so the colors are off, and the drips of paint are all over. Its still quite the character though....









And the last thing that I wanted to share was this wonderful Vase with Pansies on it. My stepmom loves Pansies, so it reminds me of her when I see them.

A PHOTO PAGE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

http://picasaweb.google.com/Katsfamilyandfriends

For any of you who have checked into my blogs recently, you may have noticed me bouncing from one page to another. I don't want to keep all of my stuff on the same page, so I create another page or blog to keep up with the various things going one.

Well, my most current thing is a page set aside for photos of my family and friends. I normally don't spend time worrying about these photo's, but lately it seems easier to put them on a page where everyone can access them, instead of taking the time to send them to each person individually. There is alot of work in trying to put seperate emails together for just a few photos so this will really save me alot of time.

If you stop by here, take the time to look at my newest page.. I will be adding things as I have time.

Have a wonderful day everyone, and may God Bless each and everyone of you as you go about your day.

MORE FROM THE ANTIQUE STORE

There are so many different things to look at in this store. The owner has been very gracious in letting me play in his store. One of the things I have found out lately is that most people are very gracious if you just ask them upfront. And I've noticed that the more I ask of people, the bolder I'm getting in asking for things that I would never have done before.

One of the things I found really interesting today was this display of blankets and quilts tucked away in the corner of the store. They seemed to be sitting there in a world all their own. I really love looking at quilts, especially the older ones, because there was so much time and thought put into eacho one.

I love pitchers and bowl sets, and although this isn't that exactly, it caught my eye as a nice serving set, so I thought I would get a picture of it, because the setting was better than most for taking the shot.

Antique books are something my son loves to look at. What I found interesting with this particular shelf full of books was the authors themselves. This shelf included everthing from Dickens, Longfellow, Anderson... There was even a Bible sitting up there. If you like to enjoy the authors of the past, this particular shelf has a wide variety to choose from.

The last few shots I took around my building during my break this morning. Roses have always been a way for me to learn more about my camera. The different colors, the different lighting, the varieties and locations make the challenge all worth while. I don't always get it right with these, but everytime I go out, I get to try again with something new. Unfortunately, the weather is changing, and so are the plants, so soon, I will be looking for new things to photograph, as all of the flowers will be gone, and fall colors will appear.

THE ANTIQUE STORE

The follow up from "And yet God Still loves me"....

My most current focus over the last few days has been one of the antique shops down the street from where I work. I stopped in there yesterday to kill a few minutes before my lunch hour ended. While looking around I saw the bear sitting in his little case, and it just seemed like the perfect picture. Well, once I got back and looked at the pictures, I saw a few things I wanted to change, so I went back again today to try again. I asked the clerk if she minded me taking some pictures and she didn't so I walked around the store trying out different shots. One of the neat things about having a store with so many different versions of "light" going on in there is it's allowing me to learn how to use my camera in various kinds of settings. I tried several different shots of various things in the shop, but only came out with a few that I liked. I will go back and try again in the next few days to see what I saw in them today, but for now, I will just show the ones I liked. And yes, one of them is a picture of the bear I took yesterday, but I moved some furniture around to get a better shot without the distractions around it. Here is what I came up with for today....

NEW PHOTO ALBUM

I have another link that can be accessed for anyone who might be interested in the photo's I've taken that are involved with the church I attend. Our church was going on a road trip this last Sunday, and I had many things going on, and didn't really want to go. As I sat down and started listening to our Pastor talk, I asked God to let me know if I should take this trip or not, as I really needed the rest, and to just get work done around the house. The answer I got was to put together a photo page for the church photos so that others can access them. So, I guess that meant that I was going on a road trip..... We really had a wonderful time, and the photos were lots of fun, and they will leave memories for those who went. Now that I've started this, I guess I need to keep up on the photos from various events, so that everyone will have a way to look back and enjoy the time spent in worship and fellowship. I hope that others who look at this page are able to stop by and check out the page from time to time, as the picture will change with the events that come up. Our next big one is the church picnic in August, so hopefully it will turn out as well as this batch did. And as I go along, hopefully others will want to add their photos to the batch also.


http://picasaweb.google.com/calvarydpphotoalbum/

John Denver...or maybe not

On our way back towards Spokane, on the last day or our trip, we stopped for the second time in Packwood Washington, on the west side of Stevens Pass, where they put on a big Flea Market twice a year. The first on is on Memorial Weekend, and the second one comes up over Labor day. We started out trying to go there on the friday before, but ran out of time, so we made time on the way back, even though we were already really behind on our schedule. As we were getting ready to go check things out, I saw a man on a stage in front of one of a restaurant there in town. Being a "huge" John Denver fan, the first thing that came to mind when I saw this man was the leather vest he was wearing and how much it reminded me of John Denver. I knew before I even got a look at his face that this was who he was impersonating, but until i got a look at him, I didn't know just how much he was really like John Denver. I froze in my steps as soon as I got up close to him....He had the long hair, the round "John Lennon" glasses, the vest....everything. It was so cool...And he just kept on singing John Denver hits, one after another. I could have sat there all day, just listening to this guy. I took several photos of him, and then gave Tyler money to put in his tip jar to show him my appreciation at not only is music, but allowing me to take photo's of him. If you didn't know much about John Denver, you would have never known that this person was not him....Only a true follower of his music would know he passed away years ago in a plane crash. What an experience this was listening to this guy.

learning to use my new camera

I thought I was doing pretty good with my new camera, and was thinking my pictures had pretty good quality to them. Even when I looked at them on my new lap top, they still looked pretty good. Well, I put them on a regular computer to see the quality, and the things a lap top doesn't expose showed up once I looked at them on a clear screen. They were very cloudy looking, like there was a lot of shaking in the camera. I was very frustrated, because I had taken a lot of great pictures, and now I saw they weren't clear enough to use. I'm not sure if it's something I did, or didn't do, because the camera is new to me, or if its something else. The cool thing is I can see what the set up is to each picture when I look at them online. I just need to figure out what I did or didn't do and try to match it up with the photo's I took.

I really need time to just go out and play with it, one photo at a time, to see if I can make it do what I need, and not what the camera thinks I need. Once I know that, I think it will make a difference in how my photos look.

I've decided after seeing my photos over the last year that I have a lot to learn about taking pictures when there is limited light, shade, shadows, etc, or when the object is moving. My picture quality really drops when those issues come into play. (frown) Anyways, its all a learning process, so I need to find time to learn it. My problem is not having the time. I have so many project I am working on right now, and not one of them is finished. They all seem to have an early start at them, and then I get busy doing something else and I put one aside and start another.....On and On I go, and nothing gets done completely. The only thing I seem to notice is I am always busy, but never have time to do anything... Go figure.