Theme Thursday: Timing

Oh yes, timing is everything in photography. I had planned a fun post with a variety of pictures, but we're having a dilly of a heat wave here in Oregon...and we don't have central air. It's not pretty. I have the fan blowing full blast in my face right now before it gets too hot to be here in the den. So here's my photo for today:



Perfect timing to get smiles from both daddy and daughter.

Cute Tuesday

Babysitting my niece this week. How can I not photograph these chubby legs a hundred times?

BSM: Camping

We had a great time last weekend camping on Yale Lake in Washington. We went with friends, which makes it even more fun for everyone! Plus, our friends are experienced campers, so we had the benefit of their wisdom. Our kids can't wait to go again -- do you think that's because they didn't have to shower all weekend? :)

Cousins & Ice Cream

The perfect summer combination: cousins and ice cream...yum!

Theme Thursday: Chow Down

I've actually got the perfect photo for the theme this week:




What's better than ice cream for "chowing down"?

BSM: Dirt Mustache

No, puberty hasn't come early...it's just a dirt mustache, a craze sweeping campgrounds across the nation. You can get one at home, too. Owen's a pro, so if you decide it's a look you like, give him a call...he's got lots of practice applying them.

Theme Thursday: Silly

What $9.99 Will Buy

OK, that's $9.99 for the cheap underwater camera; trip to Australia's Great Barrier Reef not included.

BSM: Summers Past

I've been working on scanning photos recently. Because I only went digital at the end of 2005, I have A LOT of photos that are simply sitting in albums. I created a slide show of pictures of James and me for our anniversary this weekend. It was quite fun going through photos that are almost 20 years old (we've actually known each other that long), but I've discovered that I have a bit to learn about optimizing my photo-scanning skills. The photos seem to come out with many more specks and spots than you can really see on the original.

To that end, does anyone have any good resources for learning to scan photos properly? Is there such a thing? I'd love any input.

I also scanned a few old family photos from my parents' albums recently. My BSM this week is from summer of 1980, and it's such a classic family vacation shot.



Mom and Dad either lamenting the end of vacation or relieved it's time to go home, me with my cheesy braces grin, and Sean...stuffing his face with watermelon. What could be better?

New Favorites

My new favorite shots of the boys:

Theme Thursday: Reunion

I know, this really doesn't qualify as a "reunion," seeing as I had never met this particular kangaroo before. But doesn't he look happy to see me?

For The Birds

On the days James was attending the conference in Cairns, I went exploring on my own. One day I took a boat out to Green Island. It's a small island, but pretty touristy, so it has a small set of lodges you can stay in as well as a couple of places to eat. I sat down to eat my lunch at a small table, and immediately, I had visitors:



They were not shy:



As soon as I sat down, one of these birds (I think they're called Honeyeaters) hopped up, ran to my plate, grabbed a french fry, and took off. I spent the rest of my lunch alternately eating and shooing away birds as they peered over the table, crept up, and tried to take more food directly off my plate. Talk about shameless.

My favorite part of the experience, however, came after my very tiring meal was over. I walked away from the table towards the path to the beach and this is what I see:



Apparently the birds didn't get that memo.

BSM: Sparkler Art?

It seems I get the same kids' parade and sparkler shots every year on the Fourth of July. This year I thought I'd try something new:



While everyone was lighting fireworks in the street behind me, I concentrated on making "sparkler art."

Australia

Thoughts on Australia:

The natives are very greedy...



and lazy...



and often eyed us rather suspiciously...



There is litter everywhere...



and the traffic? Don't get me started...



But despite these complaints...we had a great time :).

Am trying to get through the various photos from our trip, but catching up on life seems to be getting in the way. You'll probably be treated to random Australia photos throughout the summer, so beware!

Hangin' Tough: The Popsicle Edition

It's hard to look tough while eating yellow popsicles, but they're giving it the old college try...



It must be the muscle shirts.

Theme Thursday: Rising

I'm still not really with the program here, but it's nice to be back on the blog.

One morning on our trip, I took a sunrise walk along the esplanade in Cairns. Here's what I saw:







What a great way to start the day, eh?

For anyone interested, I will be posting Australia pics over the next few days. They are on my computer now, so I just have to weed through them and see what I have. I think that's half the fun of a vacation!