Another lazy day along the American River. And Swan Goose came up to me. He was about 10 feet away. And a family of mallards (right, Rock? ) came floating by.  Foul Play And this goose posed for me. And I turned around and saw this cute cedar waxwing up in the tree watching me.

Bonus

This past summer  we bought a small fishing boat for my guy  Doug and his dad to have some male bonding time out on the Peshtigo  river .   Here is  Doug      holding his first catch of summer of 2009. As you can see it was  quite small ..  he had to throw that one back into the water.. He did catch two  Smallmouth Bass (macro) later that day...  and it was delicious    :)

Wishing you all a great day .. :) 

blessings, Ms Judi

A few friends decided to do a boat trip on January 1st on the Niger river. I had always missed previous occasions, so I was very happy that this group had a spot free. These boats, called 'pirogue' (lit. dug out canoe), come in all kinds of sizes and they are navigated by the Bozo people, the 'masters of the water.' Such a boat trip gives you really unique angles, such as the view of Bamako's 'New Bridge' from underneath.

As one commenter pointed out - you can see how high the water gets at other times of the year. The rainy season is from June to September, and the highest level is probably in Sept-Oktober.

Bridge

 Bridge A few friends decided to do a boat trip on January 1st on the Niger river. I had always missed previous occasions, so I was very happy that this group had a spot free. These boats, called 'pirogue' (lit. dug out canoe), come in all kinds of sizes and they are navigated by the Bozo people, the 'masters of the water.' Such a boat trip gives you really unique angles, such as the view of Bamako's 'New Bridge' from underneath (#1).

 Bozo steering boat  We were about ten people and it was a lovely ride, upriver on one side, coming down on the other side when the sun was already setting behind our tour guide (#2). By the time we arrived at our starting point it was dark.

Went on a good long camping trip this past weekend to a spot we haven't visited in a while.  I only managed to break out the camera once on the trip (I am too picky about the lighting and never get a chance to take them when the light is good).

Shannon 1

Shannon 2

Summit Creek 1

Summit Creek 2

Pocono Mountains Pike County, Pennsylvania Dingmans River 

 The Glen Lower Cascade 

 The Glen Lower End Of The River 

    Well, I finally got off my butt and went out and shot some stuff... mostly crap!  I was too shoot happy at first and wasted a lot of time.  I think because it was my first time out in a while.  A few made it past the delete key for various reasons but, overall I was happier at just getting out than with the shots.

 Misty Wabash   Misty atomosphere, snowy banks, and frosty cottonwoods on the Wabash River.

 The Bench   original name, huh?

 Big Tree    and again.

 Au Natural   no sepia tint just light not a good subject but shot it just for the light.  Might make a good jigsaw puzzle.

 Cataract Falls   Odd comp but shot for a desktop and I put all my icons on the left so needed some space.

 Worst Group This may be the worst group photo in history.  This is the one I was telling you about Wildman. A few days before Xmas my cousin called me and asked me to come to her house the next day and take family portraits of her and her kids to give to my aunt(her mom) for a gift.  She wanted them taken in her living room and had already told everyone to come and wear a black shirt and bluejeans, obviously she was pretty confidant that I'd agree.  I told her that as long as the groups were small it would probably be ok, even though I'd never done this before, but there wasn't enough room for the lights and to get far enough back to use a normal focal length in her living room. No problem, just small groups.  On the way there my son called and needed us to babysit Jaryd and Avary so we had them to contend with too.  After all the family groups shots which turned out ok but not great, being it was my first time I was happy with them, naturally... somebody suggests a photo with everyone in it.  I explained how it wouldn't work in there that it would be distorted and stuff but nobody cared and they wanted Barb and I in it too.  I finally gave in as it was almost time for the Bears game and I still had to drive twenty miles home.  So everyone lined up, I spread the lights out, moved the camera back, put on the wide angle, and set the timer, pushed the button, and ran over and took my seat.  While the timer counted down, here comes Jaryd into the shot, I'm trying to shoo him away before the timer runs out but he gets right into the group and just before the lights flash he says to the quiet group of people, "Hi,everybody!". Naturally everyone cracks up.  My cousin's husband in the back row looks like he's going to explode.  You can just see Jaryd on the left behind Barb.  My aunt picked this one from all the shots for her gift and they had it enlarged and framed for her and while it was the worst shot of the bunch it was my favorite one also. 

If you want to have fun you can enumerate all the things wrong with this shot!  Just remember I'm very sensitive.

These were taken along the American River. I went off the normal path and ended up here. The blown out yellows were done on purpose, for aristic purposes. But if you don't like it, I'd like to know.

Then strolled along a little further over the bridge, and this felt like a dream. 

Hope you like..... and I'd like to wish all of us here a very Happy New Year!!!

Camera: Canon EOS 20D

~Here~

Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 400

~Dream~

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 320

Nothing soothes my soul more than starting my day at the American River during an early morning sunrise.

And taking a simple walk along the path.  

I love it when the sun is shining low to the horizon and casting shadows... the sun seems to be brighter for some reason. I like the shadows on this one, what I call Natures Bouquet 

 alright, so my titles are sappy...sue me !

Camera: Canon EOS 20D

Sunrise -

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 118 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Simple Walk -

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 320

Natures Bouquet -

Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 400

I love how nature provides us with an array of colors.

 From leaves to sunsets...

from clouds to moonshine.

What a joy it is to see the Colors of Nature

Just back from a great vacation in Wlliamsburg Va. Saw the birthplace of the nation, mountains, beaches and some amazing people. I will share with you the first of many stories with some great sunsets along the James River. Hope you enjoy.

james river sunset IMG_0061 IMG_0055 IMG_0035 IMG_0033 IMG_0039 IMG_0052 IMG_0059 

Bagnell Dam is a hydro electric power plant owned by Ameren UE in central Missouri.  The dam also formed the lake known as "The Lake of the Ozarks".

Pilings1

Pilings2

Pilings3

AmonstThePilings

PilingsBW

Romance By The River