CONNIE’S WORLD

Deer near chicken farm.

Deer wants to cross the road.

Deer in Flight

On the way home from our cabin at Buck Mountain… look at what we found. This looks like several deer but it’s just one deer trying to cross the road near the chicken farm. When we spotted her, we stopped and she froze. She looked up the hill as if that’s where she wanted to go but she turned back and ran into this field. By the time I focused the camera on her, she was looking back at us as if to wait for us to leave so she could continue her journey. When we stayed to shoot some pictures she eventually ran off into the bushes. I shot several pictures, but these were the best of the bunch. Notice that as she leaps away her ears are still turned back in our direction.

Turtle in a hurry!

OK…. earlier there was a turtle too when I was out on the Ranger. But he was not nearly as exciting as the deer. I waited for him to cross the road so he would not get run over by another motorist. For a turtle… he was in a hurry to go somewhere. I think he was late for a very important date. He was not real pleased with me taking pictures either but he did wait long enough for a couple of shots.

These shots remind me to always have my camera within reach. You never know when you are going to see something worth shooting. Even if it is a turtle late for a date.

Seeing a little wild life was a great way to end our trip this Labor Day weekend.

Ok… so I started to trim some bushes and with the first cut of the bush I discovered this nest. I took a few pictures and gently put the cut branch back on top of the bush to protect these new little creatures. The next day I saw the mama bird return to the nest, so I’m confident these little mocking birds are being well taken care of. I guess I’ll finish trimming in the fall.

You can click on an image a couple of times to keep increasing its size. If you look closely you can see their tiny little eyes shut tight.

There is nothing finer than summertime in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina - unless it’s the fall, spring or winter.

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Well here it is – named by our daughter to be “WOLF DEN Cabin”.

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Katie and Connie

Katie and I visited with my family in Southern California stopping at Laguna beach, at Disneyland and at Aunt Betty’s birthday party near San Diego.

We joined my sister, Judy, her husband, Richard and their daughter, Maggie. along with my other sister, Susan and her husband, Paul, for a wonderful reunion.

Here are images from our trip. If pictures tell a thousand words, then need I say more?

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Some friends called me who were thinking about vacationing in Hawai’i. Knowing that we used to live there, they were calling for advice on where to go and stay. So I promised to put some of my pictures up on the blog. I have hundreds of pictures taken in Hawai’i but, since I shot these on film, I have not scanned many.

Poi Taro field

This first image is of a poi field near Hanalei on the north shore of Kaua’i (the garden island). While it is not your typical Hawai’i picture, it is a different view of Kaua’i… one of my favorites.Because of its incredible beauty, the island of Kauai’i has hosted the production of film and TV shows for years such as Lost, Hawai’i 5-0, The Time Machine, Jurassic Park, Hook, Throw Momma from the Train, Fantasy Island, South Pacific and so many more.Most of my pictures were taken about 17 years ago when we lived on Kaua’i with the exception of the lava flow picture which I shot during the filming of an Hawai’i gubernatorial candidate for commercials we produced for him.

Lava destroys highway on Big Island, Hawaii

This picture was taken on the Big Island of Hawai’i near the (then) Black Sand Beach. This beach was made of lava that was churned by the water to create a black sand. It was really something to see white waves crashing on a black beach. This beach is no longer there as the lava flows consumed it. However, I understand that new black beaches have formed since we were there. The lava still flows on Big Island creating more of this island everyday. It is a spectacular scene to be visited anytime you travel to Hawai’i.

Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii Bridge in 1989

This picture is one of my favorites ever taken and is of the Hanalei Bridge built in 1812. This bridge crosses the small Hanalei River. It is between Princeville and the quaint village of Hanalei.While pictures are nice, what you can’t see is the feel of the soft warm breeze wrapping around you, the taste of coconut syrup on your hotcakes in the morning, the sound of a waterfall splashing on the rocks below, the smell of flowers in the air or the feel of sand between your toes.Aloha!

Right after I got my new Canon 20D there was a local air show featuring the Blue Angels Navy Flying Team. So I packed up my gear, folding chair and a bottle of water and trekked off to the airport to watch them fly. My dad (being a model airplane builder and pilot) would have loved it. I was thinking about him the whole time.

I found the best vantage point after a long walk - all the way to the far side of the field. So that is where I set up my day camp consisting of my tripod, chair, mini ice chest, camera-vest full of all my stuff including back-up batteries and extra flashcards. Can you tell I hate not being prepared?

Blue Angels playing chicken

I had a blast taking pictures. This was the first time that I was able to really put this camera to work. In most cases I found that setting the focus manually and estimating where the planes were going to cross was better than letting the automatic focus try and set the focus. While this camera has really fast auto focus ability, it is not fast enough for the Blue Angels. Additionally I had plenty of daylight so I was shooting at a faster speed to help stop the planes in mid-air with the hopes that the pictures would be as sharp as possible.

Blue Angels kissing

Something I always try to do when I have two subjects crossing each other is to set the focus about where I think they will cross, then follow one subject as it comes across the landscape and snap the picture when the other enters the frame. The result here was one sharp plane and the other slightly out of focus. While some might not like that result, I think it demonstrates the speed at which these plans are flying toward each other.

Four Blue Angels

By the way, if you ever go to shoot an air show. Get your camera cleaned by a professional immediately afterwards. This air show left tiny little spots of jet fuel on the sensor on my camera. It probably happened when I was changing lenses. My husband recently gave me a gift of a professional sensor cleaning kit that has solved my problems of dirt on the image sensor, It has helped to make my images appear more clean.

Blue Angels in a row

Photography is always a learning experience… I believe you should have fun while you learn. I’m not sure which is more fun, the adventures I like to photograph or the photographic adventure itself… probably a little of both. Either way this was definitely a fun learning adventure.

Our cat, Blue

No, she is not blind… Capturing a good shot of our cat has proved difficult. Usually, when I’d go to take her picture, she would want to come and rub against me or want to be picked up. So most my shots are rather boring of her, but this day I got lucky. Blue was not about to give up her warm sunny spot on top of this trunk in front of our window.She is a Siamese Color Point Blue - Thus, the name Blue, which is fitting considering her brilliant blue colored eyes.

Katie and polar bear

More from the zoo…While this is not photographically great, it was a lucky shot (Katie and bears touching hand and paw). Katie and I had so much fun with this polar bear and he was in the mood to play.Additionally during his ascent from the bottom he often would put a paw on the glass and push off as he reached back for his shot. Twice I was able to photograph Katie comparing her hand to his paw.

Big Polar bear

He had several balls to play with, some weighted to fall to the bottom of the tank and some that would float. He seemed to prefer the weighted toy as he would swim to the bottom grab the ball and swim to the surface holding it against his chest. As he ascended to the surface he would arch backward onto his back and shoot the ball into an imaginary basket behind his head like a true pro basketball player would making a fall away jump shot. Michael Jordan would be proud of his style.

Katie and polar bear play

As you can see this animal was a very impressive size.

The girl was told magic didn’t exist. But she’d seen birds flying in the sky. Those white wings lifting the graceful creatures to the infinite blue above her head. Those fish swimming in the sea that can breathe under water- how do they do that?! The fishes of many colors and so many shapes and so many sizes…

Katie in 2005

The seasons were magic, too. How could people deny this wonderful fact of life? In summer, everything’s pretty and green. In the fall, the leaves have to put on their colorful scarves and sweaters. In the winter, they get covered by the blanket of snow that falls for them so they can sleep. And in spring, they wake up again so they can play with the flowers!And the most magical season of all was summer. If the little girl stayed up late and out long enough, magic lights would float through the sky. Her father had said they were fireflies. She laughed, and told him, “No, silly, they’re starflies!” Because starflies are much, much prettier.