Today was my last visit of the year to Spring Lakes - a great hidden gem of birding right in my backyard.
Sunshine :)
Had to take advantage of some of the first sunshine we've had these last couple of weeks. Here are some neighborhood birds.
Instagram's Rising Stars
Make sure to follow Wilbelle on Instagram - Life through the eyes of two much loved guinea pigs. Follow the adventures of Wilbur and Chantelle.
Freezing Nights
I've been wanting to try this photograph for awhile. Fortunately, the weather only lets you take these pictures a few times of years - last night was a finger numbing 6°F/-14°C. The only downside, frozen bubble photos have cropping up more and more, making this pretty trite.
Snow Day
Yesterday, we were surprised with 5-inches of snow in Dayton. A group of us braved the snow at lunch and had fun shooting at Spring Lakes Park in Bellbrook.
More the Merrier
Some more Christmas cheer - this time from Emma.
Lights, Action, Camera.
Lily and Chantelle step in front of the camera together.
Merry Guinea-Pigmas
Chantelle posed for her first Christmas portrait yesterday. Hope you're have a great start to the holidays and a Merry Christmas!
SEMED - Scanning Electron Microscope Education Program at WPAFB AFRL
Thank you to the engineers and scientists at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Once again they hosted students from Bellbrook Middle School to experience the Scanning Electron Microscopes an the Air Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. Twenty students from Ms. St. Pierre's 7th grade science class had hands on experience driving the scopes as they explore microscopic details of plants, bugs, filament and composite materials. A great team of volunteers (active and retired) from WPAFB guided the students as the explored. Even the adults were allowed to test out the scanning electron microscopes! When I hit the lottery - I could see adding one of these to my camera collection.
Supermoon 2016
It's been a busy week this week and has taken me longer than expected to get back to some of the photos I've taken. Here are a few photos dedicated the the 2016 Supermoon. It’s the closest supermoon since January 26, 1948, and the closest it will be until November 25, 2034. While I love photographing the moon, I generally take these media hypes with a grain of salt. For a photographer, the size difference is minimal. But, the weather in Ohio participated and the sky was crystal clear.
Interesting to see the distortion in the moon at moon rise - takes on a egg shape.
New Species (at Our Feeder)
It's always fun to spot a species you haven't seen before. It's even cooler when it's at your feeder in your back yard.
Sing With Sophie
Following Castle High School's amazing tenth place finish Saturday evening in the finals at Bands of America Grand Nationals, tragedy struck the Marching Knights.
"With incredibly heavy hearts, it saddens us to confirm that the Rinehart family and the Castle Band Family suffered a tragedy on the way home from Indianapolis. David Rinehart, his mother, and Sophie Rinehart were taken from our world in a car accident. [sister] Josie is in the hospital in Bloomington." - Director Dean and Director Eifler.
While we did not know Sophie, this accident reminds how temporary all that we hold dear is in this world. Our thoughts and prayers are with the students and staff at Castle High School, the Rinehart family, and all her friends who miss her dearly. Here are several photos of the talented singer and flautist performing at Bands of America Super Regionals two weeks ago in Indianapolis.
Super Regionals
Friday and Saturday were Band's of America Super Regional in Indianapolis. Here are some highlights from Saturday's Prelims and Finals. Congratulations to Centerville Jazz Band on a 6th place finish overall in the finals.
WoodLawn Revisited
Quick visit to Woodlawn Cemetery yesterday, hoping to catch some fall colors. While the colors were beautiful, overcast skies were hard to manage. My favorite shot was this conversion to black and white.
Centerville Invitational Highlights
Centerville was blessed with the most spectacular weather this past Saturday to host the Centerville Invitational - 70 degrees and sunny. Below are highlights from the event. A couple thank you's. Thank you to the Centerville Band Boosters for letting me photograph the event. And, a special thank you to my daughter, Emma, for shooting the event with me. She captured some wonderful images. A larger selection of photographs of the Centerville Jazz Band and the Bellbrook Marching Eagles can be found on my Facebook page.
Highlights - Mason Band Invitational
A special shout out to Mason Bands and the band boosters for putting together a fabulous marching band invitational. The quality of bands was amazing - from the smallest twenty member band to biggest band, 200+ strong. Below are the highlights from the contest.
Mason Band Invitational - Mason Band
Thank you to William Mason for hosting a wonderful invitation Saturday. Here are some highlights for the Mason performance and some of the great student ambassadors. Still making my way through 3000+ photos and will be posting highlights from the invitational very soon.
Cast Aways
Two of my photos were selected as finalists in the Dayton VA Center photo contest. VOTE HERE. Below are the "cast away's" - not selected a finalist. While I like the two that were selected, I think they missed a few of my favorites.
Sunrise Over Sugarcreek Reserve
On the way to work I could tell we were in store for a beautiful sunrise, but where to capture the image? After driving out into the country only to find that the barn I wanted to photograph didn't face the right way for a sunrise shot, I found the perfect spot at Sugarcreek Reserve on my drive into work. Truth be told I missed the best lighting by about ten minutes with all my driving around, but at least I've found a nice quick spot for the future. (now if someone would build a picturesque barn atop that hill I'd be really happy)
Crescent Moon
Quick shot of a great Waxing Cresent Moon. Tested the tele-converter vs. no tele-converter. Tonight's winner: NO TELE-CONVERTER.