Out of the past

I've been playing with different processing techniques with these images and gave this one a vintage look.

Two friends

These two young men sat here for a long time watching the parade of horses for sale at the mud sale in Refton.

Mud sales

A few months ago a bunch of my photobud friends went to a mud sale. I had never heard of a mud sale (what, do they sell mud?) before, but after seeing the photos they took, I knew I wanted to check it out myself. I finally got to one a few weeks ago and it was an experience. I have never photographed the amish and it took me a while to get comfortable using my camera. In the end, I spent most of my time off to the side on this hill which ended up being the best spot. All of the amish kids came over to eat their lunch, hang out and check out the scene just like me. They didn't seem to mind me taking photos and I got several great shots that I'll post over the next few days.

Emily

This is my niece Emily, taken at Ocean City at the house we rent. Emily was a great subject and I took dozens and dozens of photos of her, which I have yet to finish sorting through! I haven't done much in the way of portrait photography, but I did try some new processing techniques with this image.

Under the Pier

We had a lot of overcast skies while we were at the shore. Most afternoons the sun eventually broke through as my suntan can attest. But sunrises were a bust the days I was in Ocean City. I got up early one morning anyways to see what I could find. On my walk the skies broke open and the rain spit on the few early risers like myself. But it made for a good opportunity to play with slow shutter speeds and water movement. I've never done this with ocean water, but I got some pretty neat images including this one.

World Famous "Ocean Gallery"

We just got back from our yearly trek to the shore with my entire family. For the last 3 years we've been going to Ocean City MD and every year I photograph this wall. It belongs to this wacky store called the "Ocean Gallery" which sells posters, prints, photographs and anything else you can think of to hang on your living room walls. The wall doesn't change much (they added a Michael Jackson memorial this year) and every year I am still fascinated by it.

M is for...

Mika, or mikamouse or mikasmickaroo or (spicewood's) match made in heaven. We call her all kinds of things, but she is ultimately my sweet Mika. Today she is scheduled for her last chemotherapy treatment. So far she has done very well, only some minor bumps along the way. The vets, oncologists, students, vet techs and other staff members at the University of Pennsylvania and other vet hospitals have enjoyed working with her and say nothing but good things about how well she is doing. We have had so many people asking about her, sending us/her their thoughts and prayers and we can't say "Thank you" enough. Keep them coming as the real test is just about to begin. But I can't help but believe they've gotten her this far.

I have taken dozens of photos of her these last couple of months not knowing what each day would bring. It seem fitting to put together a collage of some of my favorites.

Giraffe

From the Philadelphia zoo.

Amur leopard

From the Philadelphia zoo.

Sloth bear

From the Philadelphia zoo.

Ben Franklin Bridge II

Ben Franklin Bridge

A view from the top

A few days ago a bunch of my photobud friends met early in the morning to photograph the Ben Franklin bridge. Here's the view of Philadelphia from the bridge.

Fireworks!

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July holiday! This was taken last night at the State College fireworks show in central PA.

Water Works Restaurant

The water works building closed down over 100 years ago and since has been converted to a restaurant. This image is a 2 shot hdr...it was intended to be a 3 shot hdr, but I must have bumped my tripod while pressing the shutter for the third shot. I figured the photo would be a bust, but played with it anyways and ended up with this somewhat 3D image.

Certainly an excuse to go back and visit...for dinner as well! I hear the food is excellent!