Well, I didn't get to babysit Jaryd today so I spent the day at home.  Mostly, reading and watching movies but decided to set something up on the kitchen counter to shoot.  This is it...

Book of Love

This is actually an atlas of the National Parks.  It was too hard to get the book positioned exactly where I wanted with the flash so I drug out the halogen work light and placed it above and behind the book.  I placed a piece of construction paper behind the book for background and also some color. In retrospect, pink might have been better. The camera was placed below the top edge of the pages so you are looking down the twin tunnels that make up the heart.  I held a reflector above the camera to bounce some light on the front of the book to bring out some detail.  This whole setup took very little experimenting and I quickly got it looking the way I imagined it... which is pretty rare for me!

Some shots from the last roadtrip with Jaryd and a posed shot from home.  One of the few days that the sun came out and it didn't rain... at least, for a little while.
Road Guard
Sun-kissed Barn 1
Sun-kissed Barn 2
Sun-kissed Barn 3
Two-Faced  In case you aren't sure, this is the self-portrait. I was playing with a 24x36 inch softbox I got for my flash.  Really like the quality of light from it.  Wish I had a better model!

Back at the macros again. Dang ol' gloomy days... can't wait to get outside.  We're going out somewhere Sunday rain or shine, at least that's the plan right now.  Subject to change at the last minute.
Angles
More Dice
Even More Slowed shutter speed to 6secs to allow some light from the room to register as fill.
Grinder
Peace Lily  As long as it lives I'm going to keep shooting it.
 

More for the macro challenge.  These were all shot on a mirror with a black background for reflections and using a single handheld flash with no fill light added.

Dead
Corny
Stacked
Mis-Match

These are some shots taken over the last few days before Easter on the last couple roadtrips Jaryd and I took and one evening when we let Barb go too.  The first two were taken at a State Fishing area that was formerly a strip mine, Chinook mine, before reclamation.  It closed right now because they are stocking it with trout or it would probably have fishermen on it.  The last is taken along the backroads out by our house probably across the state line in Illinois.  As you can see, the fields had standing water and I got very muddy getting out there to take this.
Chinook Reclamation Area 1
Chinook Reclamation Area 2
Lone Silhouette
 

These range from close-up to macro.  All were taken with the extension tube on various lenses.  Used just the kitchen lights and long exposures.  The hard part was keeping Jaryd from climbing the tripod.

Balloon
Brush Jaryd wanted me to take a picture of this.
Keys
Lily Still haven't killed the lily yet!
Button

Went on a roadtrip with Jaryd yesterday.  We got about an inch of snow overnight and it was supposed to be cloudy but clearing so I hoped we'd have a nice sunrise.  Sunrise is getting earlier each day and by the time we drop Barb off the sun is already up so we don't have much time to travel far.  We headed out to this State fishing area near Chinook coal mine along I-70 and got there just as the sky turned a beautiful yellow and the sun peaked thru the clouds.  It only lasted about 10 minutes though but was nice while it lasted.
On Golden Pond
Golden Morning
Later That Morning
Snowy Bank

Finally was able to take a roadtrip this morning with Jaryd.  Unfortunately, by the time we drop Barb off at work it is too late to get the sunrise but still early enough to get some good light.

Red Barn
Hidden barn
Sun-kissed barn

Just some random unrelated shots from the last few days.

Last Man Standing HDR of one of the survivors of our recent storm.

Wasn't real happy with either of these but damn it, it was 14 degrees with a wind chill out there.
Eclipse 1
Eclipse 2

Nag, Nag, Nag! Man, I feel your pain!
Winter Fat is easy to keep on when you dine on McDonald's fries.

Jaryd get's his first haircut from the First Lady... well, of Terre Haute, she's the mayor's wife.
First Cut
Finished Product He gets a kiss from grandma for being good.  Hey, mawmaw, grandpa's been a good boy too!

Well, today marks the end of two years for me here at Photographica.  It's been a great two years, at least from my viewpoint.  I've met a lot of people on here that I think I could be friends with in the real world, a few I've actually met in the real world and consider friends, and one I almost met in real life (Jo, that WAS my real phone#)!  We have a great community here and hope we continue to have fun at it.
Rather than inflict a lot of pics on ya I combined some of my and your favorites from the last year into a couple collages.  Hope you enjoy them and they bring back a memory or two.  Ooops, gotta cut this short just got a call to come and get Jaryd for awhile and that trumps all else. Enjoy. Thanks for all the help and friendship for the last two years.
Flashback 1
Flashback 2

No need to vote on these...just some shots of the ice left behind as the river fell.  It was over the banks and had the park closed for a day or two.  These were shot over a span of a couple days that is why some are sunny and some are not.  It made some interesting icicles as it gradually dropped.
Ice 1
Ice 2
Ice 2
Ice 4
Ice 5
Ice 6
Geese

p.s. I'm not a fan of Vanilla Ice just used that as a title!

  Had sun!!! yesterday and it was partly cloudy at sunset so we loaded up and drove over to a barn near here that I knew was located nicely for the winter sun.  As soon as it starts looking good, my son calls and needs some info from his last years taxes which I had at home.  He's in the process of getting them done and needs the info now, of course.  So we left, and as we drove back home I could see this awesome sunset, the best we've had in weeks, in the rearview mirror.  Of course, I did stay long enough to get something...I'm not THAT good of a parent.
Barn at sunset

  These are some more shots of the plant we kept from the funeral it started opening up yesterday.  I have some more of these on my dashboard but I didn't want to bore the uninterested with a bunch of them.  Damn, I'm good to you guys... and Barb thinks SHE should be up for sainthood.
Opening
Open

  The begging last post was to set up a joke reference to Stuart Smalley, Al Franken's SNL character, but I don't think many got it, my bad.  I wasn't actually begging for votes, though there's a lot of that on the news lately.  Not that I got anything against begging. I have begged for food before in my youth and I'm still begging Barb for stuff.  Come to think of it, it's the same stuff I begged her for when she was 15!  Ah, but that's another story for another place.  Anyway, to counteract the apparent begging last post, this post you can take your votes and shove'em!

p.s. By now even the newest newbie and most ancient oldie here (Pyro or SG)  should know that I am never serious.  I'm too old and having too much fun to get serious.  Always assume I'm not.  Even if I tell you I'm serious I'm just trying to trick you. Seriously,(trick) unless you feel my hands on your throat... I'm joking.

We've had fog, rain, wind, hail, and last night a little snow.  I've been down with the flu and haven't been getting out much.  This has been the worst winter I've ever experienced, as far as my health is concerned.  Anyway, here's some shots I've managed to glean from the last few days.
Transformers
Boxes

These are just to show the difference a day makes and how much rain we got the other night. We  went to the river two days in a row to eat lunch and let Jaryd feed the birds and squirrels.
Foggy  that's a whole tree trunk with roots floating by.
Rainy

Some housework...
Stem
Breath of Fresh Air
Inner Light
Delicate

I posted eight shots so if eight people like even one of them I'll get enough votes to move on.  This may not be my best post but that's.... o-kay!  Just vote anyway cause tomorrow will be my best post ever and because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!  If you think that's arrogant or egotistical then you're just doing some stinking thinking!

p.s. Don is a caring nurturer, a member of several 12-step programs, but not a licensed therapist.  

...and, as you might have guessed, since I've been stuck home I've been watching a lot of Saturday Night Live re-runs.

Well, the weathermen were wrong!  I got up expecting 6-9 inches of snow... more like 1-2 inches.  It was supposed to be partly sunny in the morning so I was expecting to get some sun behind the Bridgeton Covered Bridge(about a 30 mile drive for me) but it was gloomy and cloud covered.  But I had Jaryd, coffee, and some good sounds (Thanks to Pablo) so we waited and watched the water flow over the dam for awhile but the sun never peeked out till after we left there.  I would have gone back but we had moved on and also had to pick Barb up at work.  I didn't get the shot I came after but it was a blast to get back out and shoot something and the sun did eventually come out later.

Bridgeton Covered Bridge
Bridgeton Bridge and Mill
Big Raccoon Creek
Old Barn
Roseville Bridge
Sunrise
Yellow Barn and light
Washed out  Liked the scraggly clump of trees but was never satisfied with the actual shot so I kept increasing exposure to lighten snow... still didn't care for it so I just went overboard with the exposure and got this watercolor look.  Don't think I'd hang it on the wall but it's at least more interesting than the original.

These are a couple I uploaded the other day but didn't post.  They're just desktop setups I was playing with when I couldn't get out and about.
Dumbo
Star

p.s. Pablo, they got baptized on the backroads of Indiana and Jaryd gives his approval. Thanks.

It's been a such a frantic week here with the funeral preps and stuff that I haven't even had the camera out, let alone try to pick a best of anything. But that reminded me of a hectic day late last year and the few minutes Jaryd and I stole to drive thru a local park on the way home from an aborted road trip.  This was the only shot that day and it's not the best here and maybe not even my best but it's not bad and it's a typical Hoosier Autumn.  I wish I could go back to that spot right now.
Tranquility

p.s.  Last night I logged on to check the "best of" entries. At the time I didn't think I would enter, I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea with all we have going on, and I must say I was impressed by all the entries...not a loser in the bunch.  I feel obliged to say that for a bunch of students, amateurs and wannabe pros we are pretty freakin' good.