This is one of my favorite photos (so far) of my two grandkids, Sentry and Roland Thomas. We were at a wonderful sunny park near their home and they started digging for ?? in a small pile of dirt. (I did make sure it wasn't an ant nest.) They were so engrossed in the finding that they didn't notice me sneaking up on them for the photo.
Every time I see this I can bring to mind the whole experience. It says a lot to me about the joys of childhood and how fleeting they can be.
The photo was taken with my (now defunct) Minolta Dimage Z5. I will miss that camera. I will be taking my new photos with a Nikon D70, which I am learning to shoot with so painfully slowly. But, practice makes perfect, and my motto of "take 500 to get one good one" will serve me well!
Very little photoshop'ing was done, some lightening and sharpening, and cropping. Not much else.
Hope you like it! Visit back often and I will get more pictures up. Any and all comments, critiques, and suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks for visiting!
Mike

I took these photos on a trip to the Elgin Pumpkin Festival last year about this time. The boy was having such a good time playing with the tetherball I just couldn't resist pointing and shooting. His mom was gracious enough to give me permission to post these photos, and asked if I could shoot some more for her. Very flattering!

The first one is more focused than the second, and I like the composition better. I am trying to learn the art of "action" photography, which is a far different thing than shooting still life or landscape photos. Short delay from pushing the button till the camera takes the photo is very important, as well as a steady hand or tripod! I sat at a picnic table and propped both elbows on it to get as steady as I could. The telephoto feature on the Dimage Z5 makes every small movement a BIG movement on the film. Thinking "fast on your feet" as far as composing the shot makes the small successes much more satisfying.

More later, thanks for visiting!

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

(click on the photos to see them larger)

Last Saturday Jan and I took a walk up Enchanted Rock Natural Area located near Fredericksburg TX. We had walked to the top several years ago on a whim, but I wanted to take some photos this time.

We found out some things about E-Rock (that's the nickname, I swear) that we didn't know. There is a cave on the other side of the rock from where we climbed, that is a home for a pretty large bat population. We didn't get to see it on this trip. You can enter the park from the south (Fredericksburg) side or the north (Llano) side. The north hike up the rock is definitely more rugged and the Enchanted Rock Fissure takes a bit of climbing skill, from what we heard. Enchanted Rock is technically an Exfoliation Dome of granite. Enough of that technical stuff I guess....

 

I got lots of photos on the way up, but slipped and broke my right ankle on the way down!. Dr. Martha and the rescue squad had to carry me down the mountain on a stretcher.The things I do for a few photos...

If you'd like to see more of my Enchanted Rock photos, visit this link:

My Enchanted Rock Photos on Flickr

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Mike Z