Andrew found a Ray Gun at the park...

On our way to the park I tossed one of my ray gun (toy) prototypes in my camera bag for Andrew to play with. 

This is the image I started with in Lightroom

 I brought the image into Photoshop to add a "ray"

Back to Lighroom for some adjustments and a Perfect Effects 8 filter (d-day)

Back to Lightroom for some final adjustments.

One last trip to Photoshop to add a simple quick 3D effect

Day(s) In the Life

The other morning Andrew asked to play Legos.  After building a plane he decided to build a "monster shooting gun". This was the first time he was able to think, plan and build all on his own.

There is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that Emily and I have been saying to each other these days.  We are certain the little girl in the poem is three years old.



"...When she was good, she was very good indeed..."

 

"...But when she was bad she was horrid."

Today, in response to watching the MythBusters episode testing a 165 ft waterslide, Andrew and I built a waterslide out of the couch cushions. 

After he sat on these same couch cushions for 6 weeks with a broken femur, it's hard to describe how his mom and I feel watching him tumble down them with a smile.

Clearly, I enjoy being a stay-at-home dad four days a week.  It is a profound blessing to be able to watch my kids grow up one minute at a time.  Still, I will admit that spending a whole day responding to one need after another can sometimes leave me feeling like I haven't accomplished anything.  I think that is one of the reasons that images like these mean so much to me.  Taking pictures tells the story of our days and shows that they include more than spilled milk and dirty diapers.  This is our life, moment by moment.  I love it.

Spending the Afternoon with Film

 

I recently spent an afternoon with my brother-in-law Eric G. He is taking a photography class at WCU and has access to a film developing lab. He invited me to come shoot a few rolls and develop them with him. I started out shooting with film but I have never developed myself.  Eric is actually borrowing the Olympus OM-1 that was originally my dad's.

I thought it would be fun to use an old ARGUS that I have.

After we unloaded and developed the film, we decided what to print.

It made me want to build a light table. 

I was excited to be able to be able to print as well! Eric had to print a few for his portfolio so I let him do the printing.  Next time I go, I will be all over it! I did not have a lot of usable pictures.  It took me while to get the hang of the camera: a little more complex due to mechanics and age. The focusing mechanism was pretty challenging.

This one is my favorite.

I am happy to be able to say I can develop film. I hope to be able to go back and spend some more time in the lab.

Senior Pictures

I had some family come into town recently and one of my cousins asked if I would take some senior pictures for her.  I know railroad tracks are cliche but my cousin and her family have always loved coming to my parents house and walking the RR tracks. 

Cabin in the woods

 A Cabin in the Woods

Emily and I went up to a friend's cabin for a few days on Lake Logan.

A foggy sun rise

While we were there we hiked around and took some pictures of Anna on the dock.

There is a neat stream that runs next to the cabin.

The cabin is available for rental. It is a wonderful escape in the mountains of NC.

A few Saved Shots

I was at a local tractor show last year and was never happy with the way the pictures turned out (It was one in the afternoon and the light was terrible). I spent some time today and I feel like I was able to salvage a few of the shots.

Fleenor Guitars 

Fleenor Guitars is my brothers business - He is a self taught luthier as is my father. My father took up working on violins after my brother started playing (adolescent + fragile instrument = repairs) and discovering that his grandfather (my great grandfather) built violins. My brother has focused his work on acoustic guitars and Electric basses and guitars. I did a post on some of his work before you can find it here.

His latest work was for a custom ordered Bass 

The pickups are custom hand wound

 The back plate is held on with rare earth magnets (I thought that was a cool feature)

To find out more about his work you can visit his face book page here, he is currently working on a web site which should be up in the next couple of weeks.