242.365 Drilling Rod.

Tuesday August 31 2010.

The company next to us makes drilling rod for the oil and gas drilling industry. They have it piled high and lined up along the fence. Miles of the stuff all over their yard.

Chris.

241.365 Big Water, Big Sky.

Monday August 30 2010.

Don't ask me what the title means. I pulled it out of the air.

When I looked up at this cooler sitting on the back of a crew truck, The sky just looked so cool. So, here it is. :)

Chris.

Exploring An Abandoned Farm.

I love old farm yards. The run down buildings, the overgrown pens. They are just the best place to explore. We had the opportunity this past weekend to explore such a place. There was so much to see! Buildings, equipment, even a house! We took some time to look around and capture some images. I hope you enjoy these.

Chris.

240.365 Drops Of Light

Sunday August 29 2010.

I spotted this jem while out on a walk in the rain today. This is the best part of rain.

Chris.

239.365 Rusty, Crusty Tractor.

Saturday August 28 2010.

We went for a drive around the lake and area today. We came across an old abandoned farm stead complete with some old equipment.

I love the rust on this unit. I'm sure there was no original paint left.

Chris.

238.365 An Apple A Day.......

Friday August 27 2010.

Makes me crave apple pie. :)

Chris.

237.365 Murphy, I Hate You.

Thursday August 26 2010.

Ok, I know I took this photo Friday morning but it is for Thursday. I was just unable to take the photo as it was so dark when we got home. Let me explain.

After shopping last night we drove into hail and rain so hard you could not see the road. We were on St. Albert trail at the time. The wind had blown over a barricade and knocked the sign off it. I didn't see it and ran over it. Destroying the front drivers side tire on the van. So there I am in a torrential down pour changing a tire. Within seconds I was soaked through to the skin. Hail was pelting me but at least it has eased up a bit. The whole time I had this evil giggle going on. I'm not sure where it came from. LOL.

Murphy I hate you.

Chris.

Outdoor Flash Photos

I've been meaning to take my lighting set up outside. Today was that day. I needed to experiment.

I started just with the Canon 430 just in my hand off to camera left and up a little. I think I was around 1/8 power here maybe 1/16th. I snapped a couple of the kids to see what I would get. I was after a nice blue sky so I adjusted my exposure so I would be about 1 stop under exposed. The flash took care of the kids.

I liked the look but thought it may be a little harsh with the bare flash. I grabbed my light stand and umbrella and tried some more. This one is the one I liked the best.

I'm not sure which look I like the best. I like the harsh pop of the bare flash with the darker sky but I also like the softer look of the umbrella shot. What do you think?

Oh, of course being the Dad that I am I had to play a joke on them too. I had them hold the umbrella up asking them to make sure it did not touch the ground as it was bad for the umbrella. As they were laughing and looking up at the umbrella I took this shot...

They didn't find it too funny. Me on the other hand, well I had to put my camera down. Any photos taken after this would have had some pretty bad camera shake, I was laughing so hard!

Chris.

236.365 Dark Side Of The Moon.

Wednesday August 25 2010.

Having more fun with the "moon rock" I found the other day. What's odd is that the rock is slightly magnetic. Maybe it is a meteorite.....I'll keep thinking it is.

Chris.

235.365 Will Travel For Work.

Tuesday August 24 2010.

It's a true sign of the times when workers will live in a holiday trailer so they can travel to find work. Sure oilfield workers do this all the time living at camp grounds or the site camp for the duration of the job but some will travel and live in a trailer because that is all they have.

Chris.

234.365 Moon Rock??

Monday August 23 2010.

While out on a walk inspecting our equipment storage yard, I noticed this fist sized rock on the ground. It was filthy and full of sand so I put it in our parts washer. 20 minutes later it was a nice clean photographic subject.

I wonder where it came from. It's not like we have rocks like this naturally here.

Chris.

234.365 Super Jump

Sunday August 22 2010.

We played with this cheap little race track for a long time. It was super fast and the car never landed on the track. Ah, Sundays at home. Filled with house cleaning and entertaining the kids. :)

Chris.

233.365 Tight Grip

Saturday August 21 2010.

He's got a pretty tight grip on the bars. The way he goes crazy on the swing set, I'm happy he can hang on!!

Chris.

232.365 What The??

Friday August 20 2010.

I laugh every time this happens. My wife's socks stay in the runners when she pulls he feet out. LOL. Makes me laugh every time. :)

Now, if she can put them back on this way, I will be impressed!

Chris.

Should You Purchase That Gear Or Travel To That Place?

I've been thinking about gear and travel lately and exactly what I need/want.

There is a pile of gear that I want.....really want. Like the new Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Oh man, would I like that. But it's expensive. The last price I saw here in Edmonton was $2600.00CA. That would pay for my family's return flight to California! Add to that the price of the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS at $1500.00CA and that pays for our hotel rooms. And the Canon 1D Mark IV at $5100.00CA, well that purchase alone would pay for the whole trip.

What is more important a couple of lenses that will still be available when my kids are older, or that family vacation while the kids still want to do those kinds of things? Sorry gear heads, I must go with the family vacation. The gear I have is more than enough. A Canon 50D, the Nifty Fifty and a Tamron 18-270mm are perfect for any photography I plan to do for the near future. My kids will only be kids for a short time.

It's funny, I've been thinking about this the last few days and today I read a post from the Digital Photography School about this very thing. It's entitled Buy Less Gear: Travel and Experience More. Funny how karma works isn't it. Photography isn't about gear it's about vision. Sure the gear is part of it but seeing the light and visualizing the photograph you want to make is much more important that the gear. Knowing your existing gear inside and out and knowing the basic techniques of photography will go a lot farther by far than any new camera body and lenses will ever take you.

Sorry Canon, I won't be getting those 2 lenses or the 1D Mark IV just yet but one day I just may. Of course if you would like to donate them too me I would do my best to use them to their full potential. :)

Chris.

231.365 Case Grill

Thursday August 19 2010.

Close up of the grill on a Case back hoe.

230.365 Come On WCLC.....Help Me Out Here.

Wednesday August 18 2010.

Dear WCLC (Western Canada Lottery Corporation),

I've been a fairly loyal purchaser of your product for years now. Sometimes spending upwards of $40.00 for a given draw. Yet still you have chosen not to draw my numbers.

I'm not one to complain (much) but I really need a couple new lenses and cameras and such. While I'm at it, a new car for my wife and a truck for me etc.....

Don't even get me started on what my kids will need just to get them to university. You can't expect me to pay for that myself.....

I`m not looking for a hand out, I`m just looking for some sort of return on my investment in your company.

I`m quite sure all my family and friends would be excited as well. They really don`t like to work.

So, I`m going to send you my numbers and if you could find some way to draw them I would really appreciate it. I would even continue to invest weekly in your company.

Your loyal investor,

Chris.

:-D

229.365 My Sweet Pea

Tuesday August 17 2010.

She is growing so fast! Seems just yesterday she fit between my elbow and my hand.

What will she do, who will she become? I can't wait to find out.

If it's bad, I'll kick her skinny little butt......

Sorry, I was getting too misty eyed. :)

And of course there is My Little Man.....

Almost six now. Man the years have flown by.

Chris.

228.365 Hail Hail Go Away........

Monday August 16 2010.

I'm glad I waited to do a photo for the day. Look at it come down! This is the first hail storm I've been in this year. Nothing too serious. Pea sized. But man was it coming down for a while there!

A couple more from my front porch....

Chris.

227.365 Rural Church

Sunday August 15 2010.

I'm considering a photo of this church for my NYIP course. It's a bit over an hour from my house so getting there in better light will not be a huge task. I love the lines and curves of these county churches. This shot is from the road in front of the church. I'll probably have to call for permission to photograph on the grounds. To the right is a beautiful cemetery that would really add to the photo.

Chris.

226.365 Oil Tank Portrait.

Saturday August 14 2010.

The kids and I took a nature walk this morning and came across some sort of oilfield site. Not sure what it was but it was all rusty and crust. Made for a great back drop for a field portrait.

Chris.

225.365 Key Tags.

Friday August 13 2010.

We are selling off some trucks at the auction tomorrow. All I get to keep is the tags and the tool box keys. It would be nice to keep the cash but sadly, they won't let me. :)

Chris.

224.365 Mug O Joe

Thursday August 12 2010.

Oh man did I need this coffee this morning.

Chris.

223.365 Do I Dare....

Wednesday August 11 2010.

I'm looking for a quick way to leave work today. :) If I pull the alarm and run screaming like a little girl from the building, I could just run to my truck and feign panic......bwuhaha.....:)

Chris.

222.365 Shackles.

Tuesday August 10 2010.

I spotted these shackles on a walk around the yard today. They looked neat sitting on the deck of the crane.

Chris.

221.365 Most Missed.

Monday August 9 2010.

It's my first day back to work after my vacation. After all the running, swimming, sandcastle building, hiking and general chasing of 2 little kids around, what part of work did I miss the most?

My chair. I can sit, actually sit. Not move anywhere. Just sit here. Ah........so relaxing.

:-)

Chris.

Photo A Day From My Vacation

I've decided to post all my photo a day images from my vacation in one large post rather than individually. Just to make things a bit easier to read.

Enjoy.

205.365 Storm Portrait

Saturday July 24 2010.

Lots of storm clouds on our first day of vacation. Could this be a bad sign?

Sure hope not.

206.365 Ski Time!

Sunday July 25 2010.

My wife's cousin Jared is a very graceful slalom skier. I love to watch him ski.

207.365 Storms Brewing.

Monday July 26 2010.

We had a storm front move through the area. It made for a very dramatic photo.

208.365 Catching Dinner.

Tuesday July 27 2010.

The boy and his uncle out catching us some dinner. Fresh fish was on the menu.

209.365 Alice Was Here.

Wednesday July 28 2010.

I think Alice may have dropped down the rabbit hole close by this toad stool. This one was at least 5 inches across.

210.365 Super Hot.

Thursday July 29 2010.

It was a very hot day on the beach today. As you can see by the flush little cheeks. Of course playing so hard in the water and on the beach doesn`t help much. :)

211.365 The Ski.

Friday July 30 2010.

Yes, I slalom ski as well. Not as much as when I was in my teens and surely not as gracefully but I still love the feeling of gliding across the water in a more or less controlled cut. :)

212.365 I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me....

Saturday July 31 2010.

I had a strange feeling and looked up to see this young squirrel coming to visit me. They are so cute.

213.365 Yuck.......

Sunday August 1 2010.

What is a vacation at the lake without a gross spider photo. LOL.

214.365 Put Em To Work!

Monday August 2 2010.

We are home for a day before we begin the second half of our vacation. Much work to be done around the yard before we go. I refuse to do it myself.

And not to be out done, the girl lends a hand too.

215.365 Drumheller.

Tuesday August 3 2010.

We continued our vacation in Drumheller for a couple of days this week. Trips to the Tyrell Museum, The Hoo Doos and more filled our 2 days there.

The kids had a blast checking out all the dinosaurs and hiking.

216.365 I'll Say It Again...

Wednesday August 4 2010.

The boy is part Mountain Goat! He had a blast at The Hoo Doos. Me too. All those places to explore and climb.

217.365 Jurassic Forest.

Thursday August 5 2010.

On our way back to the lake for the remainder of our vacation, we stopped at the newly opened Jurassic Forest just north of Edmonton.

It's nice to have some dinosaur attractions up here for a change.

It was quite fun and educational. The dinosaurs move and roar at you too!

218.365 Walleye

Friday August 6 2010.

I went fishing with my Father In Law and Brother In Law today. I didn't catch one of these tasty Walleye but I did catch the biggest Northern Pike of my life. 98 cm long and about 13 lbs! No photo though. Had to put it back. It was 2 cm short of the size limitation for the lake we went to.

We had a great time.

219.365 Hit It!

Saturday August 7 2010.

I can almost believe he is about to go.

220.365 Beach Treasure.

Sunday August 8 2010.

Pop Shoppe?! How old must this cap be? 20 years I bet. Found it on the beach this morning. All rusty and crusty.

A very busy couple of weeks.

Chris.