Another Tree That I Have Been Watching

Last night Judy and I started with a beer at the Chapter House with Gary and Maude and Friends, and then the Ithaca Artist's Market.  The Ithaca Artist's Market is a great event that happens once a year.  It was a great opportunity to see other people's work from the area.  There are a lot of photographers in this area, and some of their work is fantastic.

On the way home, we had to take a detour because of road work.  As we passed Ludgate Farms, I noticed this tree. I've driven by this tree several times, and have often thought of stopping and photographing it.  Last night the lighting was spectacular.  Thank you detours.

Steve

Cat Tails

I took a photo walk this morning.  I'm always surprised by what I end up photographing when I go on a photo walk.  The things that I think will be interesting turn out not to be, and things I didn't even think of stand out yelling photograph me.  This was one of those days.

In this photo I like how the leaves have the look of ribbons.

Enjoy your weekend.

Lighthouses, Birds, and Deserts. A Week Long Family Vacation/Photo Shoot of the Outer Banks.

Our family just returned from a week long vacation at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I decided to post a few of my favorite photos from the trip.
Before this year I knew very little about this area of the country. It's an incredible area that I highly recommend.
If you've never been to the Outer Banks the first thing you should do is look at a map.

View Larger Map

You can easily see that the Outerbanks is a series of Islands off of North Carolina. One one side of the Island is the Sound, and the other side is the Ocean.

We stayed in Rodanthe. It was a short walk to the Ocean and the Sound. Each body of water offers two very unique attraction. On the Ocean side the waves are incredible. There are many surfers and fishers. We spent time there body surfing, swimming, looking at crabs at night, and combing the beach for shells. On the Sound side there are various types of sports like kite surfing, jet skiing, and bird watching.

Lighthouses

If you enjoy Lighthouses, the Outer Banks is for you. There are 5. Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras, Currituck Beach, Ocracoke, and The Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. We visited two while we were there Cape Hatteras, and Ocracoke. Cape Hatteras is probably the most famous of the Light Houses. For a small fee you can climb the stairs, and get an incredible view from the top. Be prepared to climb!



Interior of Cape Hatteras Light House

Two Ravens Hang Out on top of Ocracoke Lighthouse

Birds
Although I know very little about birds, I very much enjoyed seeing many types of birds that are not common where I live. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge has several experts. While there we observed Gulls, Pelicans, Egrets, Mocking Birds, and Osprey.

Desert

A quick visit to Jockey's Ridge State Park gives vistors an opportunity to climb 100 foot sand dunes.  We felt like we were in the desert.  In this first photo our group stands before descending the valley, and climbing to the next dune in the distance.

I'm now relaxed. I'm going to have to try and fit my feet back into shoes after a week of sandals and flip flops. I'll begin looking at a calendar again tomorrow to see what day it is.

Currituck Club on Dwellable

Magic Bus

When I was driving home the other day I came across this gem. Old buses come in handy for many things in this area. Campers, homes, storage, and a farm transport vehicle. But the most interesting use was as a Pig House. I'm not sure what is up with this one, but i was a great opportunity for some photographs.

More Fireworks

This weekend we were invited to a lot of different events, so we had to pick and choose.  We spent a lot of time with Aunts, Uncles, Parents, Cousins, and new family members.  We shared the stories of our family, laughed, remembered those who are no longer with us, and played with those who have just begun their journey.  It was so much fun!

Some neighbors also invited us to their annual party.  We saw neighbors, and celebrated with more fireworks.

The celebration began with sparklers for the kids.  I tried to play with the sparklers, but I was told I needed to be more responsible.  I stuck to my camera.

After the sparklers the fireworks began. This one looks like it was sponsored by Nike.

Happy birthday USA.  Remember your diverse roots, learn from your mistakes, be humble in your accomplishments, and move toward a better world for all.

July 2, 2010, Fireworks

It's Friday July 2nd.  I'm looking forward to having a 3 day weekend of fun.  There are so many things to do this weekend, and not enough time to do it all.

Tonight we went to the Groton Elementary School to celebrate the birth of our Nation.  It was a great night for a very diverse Country. I hope we find strength in that diversity, and embrace it.

Lessons Learned:

• Long shutter speeds at low ISO's seem to work well.  I think I need a remote for the camera so that I can use it in bulb mode.