An Apple for the Teacher

kanniduba9 Comments

Saturday was our Annual Apple Picking Extravaganza with our dear friends, The Anywho’s.  *waves to Anywho*  I thought it was a great opportunity to capture that Portrait that Scott challenged us all to get.

Midday, bright (harsh) light and dramatic shadows didn’t help, and of course I forgot to try flash for this photo…(tried it later under the shadow of the trees, but wasn’t thrilled with the washed out affect.)

However, I DID try that “Vivid” setting that Milkay mentioned to me, and I LIKE it!!! In fact,  I may never take it off that setting.  I’ve been feeling that my D90 isn’t giving me the rich tones that I enjoyed with my D40, so this might solve that annoyance.

Anyway, Mister LOVED apple picking this year, and was so proud of his loot.  Here he is showing off his first pick of the day.

[Using P mode (thanks Scott!) the camera chose f/6.3, 1/640s.  I had to lighten shadows in post processing.]

Meandering About

kanniduba8 Comments

And a continuation of highlights from our Disney days…

Today’s sampler—Sights from Epcot

And I happened to look down after taking the above shot, and there was this little guy posing for me.  The least I could do was give him his moment in the spotlight.

And while we’re visiting Epcot, I probably should mention how Jasmine stole my son’s heart during one afternoon visit.

A little game of “Give Me Five-Oops You Missed!” softened him right up.

After about 15 tries, he finally got her! 🙂

She left him with a big ol’ red kiss mark on his cheek which he promptly wiped off on my shirt before I could snap a photo, but it was pretty cute, I will admit. 🙂

I love this place!

Up

kanniduba11 Comments

One of the most welcome signs of fall in our area is the return of the hot air balloons.  The September sky is often speckled with dots of color, and festivals are the highlights of our weekends.

This past weekend was the Sunkiss Balloon Festival, a small gathering of balloons that has become a kickoff of the season.   Zan got the first ride of his life on Saturday while the family drove around all the back streets chasing him through town.  🙂

Here he is at liftoff.

A few more shots from the evening…

A balloon is filled with air with a high power fan, and then the air is heated with the propane burners…the heat radiating from those burners is intense.  I’m not sure how that man stood that close to it for as long as he did.

Liftoff…

In every phase…

And check out this little cutie patootie!

The real fun begins in a couple of weeks if the weather cooperates.  🙂

http://www.adirondackballoonfest.org/

And for a wonderful blog post about the festival, complete with stunning photographs that put my pathetic little snapshots to shame, check out Barre.Me .  There are some real treasures over there.

Cinderella’s Castle

kanniduba8 Comments

One evening early in our vacation, Zan said, “Why don’t you take your camera and go by yourself to the parks for the night and have some alone time?”  As you know, alone time is something I have been craving more than usual, so I did the unthinkable and left the family to fend for themselves for the evening .  I parked at the TTC in order to give myself options, and started out at Epcot.  I stood in front of the fountain for 10 whole minutes, doing nothing but watching.  Very cleansing.

Then I traversed the Lands, snapping photos, walking in and out of gardens and shops.  I ate fish and chips on a quiet bench overlooking the little lake, all alone with the ducks and little birdies.  And when I reached the end, I hopped the monorail back to the TTC planning to head back home to my family.

However, as I got off the monorail and began the walk to catch a tram to my car, I realized that dusk was just beginning to settle in, and if I hopped another monorail to Magic Kingdom, I just *might* catch that “sweet spot” that everyone talks about when the light is just right before the sun sets.  I stood debating for a minute, then took off at a dash to catch the monorail pulling into the station.

So glad I did.  I walked along Main Street enjoying the setting sun, dark clouds, the beautiful lights, and of course, the castle in all it’s colorful glory.

As tempted as I was to stay for the fireworks, the pull of my family was stronger.