Storyteller's Keep

It's been FAR too long!!

I've been away from posting for far too long!  Unfortunately, work and other projects have severely impacted my available time and I haven't had a free moment to sit down and post. 

That said... I did capture this fellow on a recent walk with Haeley and our visiting doggie-friend Harley and just HAD to post it for you.  Watching this creature eat the jerkified remains of a large mouse was super gross, but also fascinating and compelling.  Those teeth!  I had no idea!   

I hope to have more time for more regular posting.  I have a ton of pictures I need to share.  Alas, how I wish for more time.......or cloning technology.

Hope everyone is doing well and had a lovely and long and safe holiday weekend!!

Good to be home!!

Just a quick update.  Haeley and I returned home Friday to non-stop craziness.  We exchanged the new boat for another new boat Saturday morning (more on this later, but Jeffrey at Alder Creek was wonderful, as always), followed by T-Ro's final wedding dress mock-up fitting at noon, followed by ribbon shopping. 

And may I just pause here to say what a joy it's been for me to construct T-Ro's wedding dress.  If for nothing else than I've been granted the pleasure of spending more time with one of my dearest friends.  It's been so awesome to hang out and just be goofy.  Case in point -- sunglass shopping!

Sunday kept the crazed schedule alive with M&N's baby shower, which was great fun!!  (I took no less than 759 photos!!)  Then, we took a couple hours to kayak on Round/Lacamus Lakes.  I HAD to try the NEW, new boat out (I promise, more on this later). 

I'll be posting pics of our travels, the shower, and the NEW, new boat soon, but here's a photo to tide ya over until then.

This was taken in the ever-fabulous, Rita's lovely garden on Sunday, where we gathered for the baby shower.  This garden, located in northern Oregon is an incredible oasis of colors, smells, and textures.  I could spend several days (if not several weeks) there photographing the diverse landscapes, nooks and crannies, and special details that season the garden.  There are several rooms, each with it's own personality, but unified to the rest.  It's an amazing location!  Thank you to Rita (and her daughter Val) for opening this magical place to us.

Happy Tuesday, Everybuggy!

Link Salad...

• A Seemingly Square Nebula - via APOD : Reminds me of one of my lil'sis' eye pictures!
• What makes us explore? - via Centauri Dreams
• New Planet: CoRoT's Interesting Find - via Centauri Dreams

We made it!! We have connectivity!!

Many of you may not know, as this was a somewhat sudden decision, but Haeley and I are on vacation for the week.  Technically, I'm working all of it, but we drove down to the folks house, located in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, to spend the week.  It's been a rip-roarin' good time thus far.  And, with the recent addition of high speed internet, I can continue to stay connected.  Yay!!

Here's a quick shot of Haeley on our drive down.  I stopped to get some shots of a yellow, fiberous flower and captured this shot on the walk back to the truck.  Haeley, tired of our constant stopping, just wants to reach our final destination, and she's willing to drive us herself, if she has to! 

"Come on, mom!  There's kayaking to be done!  There's a new kayak that needs to be christened!"

Yep, we added a new boat to the Haeley-dog fleet.  She's a mango-colored Wilderness Systems, Pongo 120.  At 12 feet, she still tracks well and boasts a bigger cockpit, which is more confortable for Haeley.  Haeley definately prefers the new set-up over the tighter cockpit of the 14 foot Tsunami (also by Wilderness Systems).

Hope everybuggy is having a great Monday!!

Link Salad..

.Happy Tuesday, everybuggy!!

• The Portrait House - via Jasmine Star : A way for photographers to help Habitat for Humanity
• Travels and Travails (whafford's Live Journal) - via Jay Lake : Definately worth a look.
• Creative Food Sculptures - via Jay Lake
• M16 & The Eagle Nebula - via APOD  : They look like opposing Dragons to me!
• Lagoon Nebula - via APOD : A popular stop on telescopic tours.
• Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog : ...mmmm...Joss Whedon
• The Front Fell Off - via Militant Platypus : Ahhh, politicians (chuckle).

King of the World!!

Yes, I've been away from my blog for too long (but, hey...I'm getting better.  Instead of a whole month's absence, I've narrowed it down to a week.  Pretty good improvement, if I don't say so myself.).  Work and my many other projects have been keeping me extremely busy and it's all I can do to get enough sleep to stay relatively healthy.  Two more weeks of insanity and things should slow down. 

Meanwhile, I've captured yet another white spider for you.  Okay...I use the term, "another," loosely.  I'm all about the truth, here, and don't want you thinkin' I slaved away, hunting down another one when I didn't really.  This is actually the same white spider from July 13th's post.  It cracked me up because it looks posed, Titanic-style, as if screaming, "I'm king of the world!!"  ::chuckling::  Lucky for us, spiders can't fly.  ::shudders::  Okay, great.  Now, I'm gonna have nightmares about flying spiders... just great.  Thanks, oh imagination.  Thanks a lot.

In other news, you'll notice I've created a new website for myself.  This website will be devoted to all things creative, including my photographs and artwork (I tried for www.kayt.com, but it was taken -- darn).   creativeKayt.com is currently under construction (I stuck a quick placeholder in there, tweaked from my Kathleen McKiernan website, until I have some time to get a slick homepage up).  And, no, Kathleen McKiernan is not going away.  That site will remain devoted to my sci-fi/fantasy writing projects. 

Happy Sunday evening, everybuggy!!

Tuesday Link Salad

It's been a LONG while since I tossed together a link salad fer y'all.   I thought it was HIGH time I remedy that "sit-ye-aishon."  I'm gonna try to do one every Tuesday morning from here on out. 

Enjoy!!

• Getty (Photo Stock Agency) Announces deal with Flickr - via A Photo Editor
• Lightmark - via Militant Platypus
• Easter Greek War - via Militant Platypus : WOW!!  ::wants to visit::
• The Webserver Is Down - via Militant Platypus  :: Heh heh :: -- Not appropriate for work

Shoulder Shudder Galore!

Got some good ones of yet another white spider.   While searching for Haeley's lost ball, I stumbled upon this girl preparing a meal.   Instantly excited by the find, I called to my fellow photographer (who was playing with my cat), "Grab my camera, quick!" 

What was I thinking not having it on me??  I know better than that. 

Here's another of the same spider.  I call this one "Eight Eyes" because you can actually see that it has eight eyes.  ::shudder::  Four small ones in the middle and two more to either side.  These spiders can actually see quite well.  In fact, it did try to hide from my fellow photographer when I turned the camera over to her.  But, with a little coaxing on my part, the spider returned to my fellow photographer's side of the thistle and she was able to get some great shots, too. 

Happy Monday, everybuggy!!

Learning, Yoga, and the Red Dress

Wow am I learning a lot about Photography!  I've been playing, experimenting, and becoming much more comfortable with my manual and priority settings and am starting to GROK the importance of things like filters and tripods.  My big'sis, in her infinite sisterly wisdom, got me the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.  Up until I read this book; aperature and shutter speed were alien concepts -- and forget about the alchemic combination that one must achieve to get a good exposure.  However, as I made my way through Bryan's book, the scary fog began to dissipate...the thick mud began to clear.  And, while I have a LONG way to go, I think I'm finally starting to understand these photographic tools. 

So, here's a big shout-out to my sis.  "Thanks, my big'sista!!"  You ROCK!!

In other news, the Yoga is going well.  I think I've silenced the worst of the headache-producing pain (that first stretching session was NOT pretty -- ouch -- no, not pretty at all), but I have a ways to go.  I've moved the Total Gym out to a more accessible area.  I love my Total Gym!  Because the ole' body aint what it used to be (How does Indiana Jones put it?  "It aint the years... it's the mileage."), I need to start slow, but with time, I should regain some of the strength and flexibility I've lost due to putting my repeatedly car-damaged bod in front of a computer for more hours of the day than not. 

Okay... on to the good stuff!  I've wanted to share a portrait I did in June for some time now.  I have more portrait shots from the pride festival that I'll be adding soon.  This one certainly is a favorite of the day.  I love it on so many levels.  To me, it articulates the intent behind the festival -- and you really can't deny how good this fellow looks in red, flowing loveliness.

Happy Sunday, everybuggy!!

Blood Sucker - Part II

Yep.  Caught another one sucking my life-blood out of my arm.  This one is remarkable because, if you look real close, you'll spot a small gap of open space at the top of the blood-sac just below the body.  Kinda gross, yes, but the sunlight reflecting through it is pretty darned amazing! 

I'll stop supporting the next generation of demon blood suckers, now.

Happy Saturday, everybuggy!

Missed Opportunities & Banana

Heya.  Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days.  Work has been crazed and I've been a bit under the weather with migraine headaches and back/neck pain flare-ups.  It probably doesn't help that I'm staying up until midnight.

My photography addiction continues un-fazed, however.  Today, while Haeley and I were out on our walk, I spotted two beautiful dragonflies.  Both were contrasting white and black with deliciously big wingspans.  I missed the first one, not realizing how skittish they can be.  All I could do was think, "ARGHH!! DARN DARN DARN!"  When I came upon another one a few minutes later, I could not believe my good luck.  I immediately snapped a distant shot (see below), having learned from my prior miss, before moving in for a closer shot. 

Crawling on hands and knees through the grasses (I chose to wear shorts for the first time this summer -- not the best choice), I crept closer, keeping myself hidden from the dragonfly's view behind a large bush.  With great care, I manuevered in, contorting my body to get close without startling the small creature.  I raised the camera and composed the shot.  I flexed my index finger on the shooting button, focusing and... right at the very last second, Haeley came bounding happily around the other side of the bush, scaring my subject away. 

I won't replay the thoughts I had at this point, as I'd like to keep this blog PG-13.

It was not a complete bust today, though.  Despite this lost opportunity, I walked away with many other cool shots, including another mosquito shot and this one.  (I'll post the mosquito shot tomorrow, too!  It's frakkin' cool!)

I'm not sure why I think "Banana" every time I look at this shot, but I do...so,  I'm afraid the name is going to stick.  I tried changing it, but my brain keeps coming back to "Banana."  This is yet another shot from my own back yard.  Yes... I WILL keep harping about finding wonders/miracles and many practice opportunities in your own yard.  We don't need to go to a foreign country to engage in photographic escape (although, I am in complete agreement that it would be nice) or to capture photos that National Geographic would be proud to have in their upcoming publications. 

Anyway, my head/neck is killing me.  I'm off to bed.  Tomorrow (pounding fist on table), I re-initiate a regular yoga routine - both morning and night -  to see if I can eliminate these headaches.  (crossing fingers)  I'm also going to re-locate my "Total Gym" so I can rebuild my core strength.  I think my avoidance of these two key activities is why my headaches are getting worse.  That and I'm sure I haven't been drinking enough water or taking enough vitamin D.  Sigh...

Have a lovely weekend, everybuggy!!

Expanding Your Serengeti

You all know I believe you don't have to travel any further than your own backyard to capture stunning photos.  However, if you find yourself longing to expand your hunting grounds, yet unable to vacation to those remote locations of your dreams, both your place of work and traveling to and from can provide a wealth of equally fabulous subjects. 

Take this lovely beauty, as an example.  I captured it outside the door to my work building.  I hadn't noticed them springing up, but suddenly, there they were.  The soft, cream-yellow petals against the dark green carpet captured my eye.  Thankfully, I had my trusty camera in hand. 

If there is any advice I can pass along, it's to keep a camera close at hand, even if it's a small point-and-click.  I love my Sony DSC-H2!  It's a 6 mega-pixel camera and SO easy to use.  When I eventually upgrade, I'll keep it close by.  Man, do I hope she never gives out!  I'll be SO sad if she ever does.

The moral?  No matter where you find yourself, stop and take a good look around.  There's a wealth of potential everywhere!

Happy Tuesday, everybuggy!

Blood Sucker...

When we were kids, we used to play together with the four girls from across the street nearly every night.  We'd finish our respective dinners and meet out front to play hide-n-seek, kick-the-can, or ride bikes and roller-skate.  One night, a blood sucker landed on Donica's arm and started sucking.  Now, Donica did not react in the usual "I'm going to slap you into oblivion" manner.  Instead, she watched the mosquito fill with calm fascination, a mischievous grin transforming her face.  As the blood sucker expanded, she cocked an index finger nearby, ready to launch the blood sucker into outer space, like the leading NFL place-kicker of the time. 

Sensing something unusual was unfolding, we all gathered and leaned in close to watch.  One of Donica's younger sisters happened to be wearing a pristine, white shirt (I think you can see where this is going).  When the blood sucker was full, Donica let her index finger fly.  The white shirt bore the brunt, becoming a speckled mess, rivaling Jackson Pollock's best.  It was pretty gross.   

Taking photographs, even in my backyard, is not without risk.  There are dangers that lurk around every corner, including these flying demons that long to rob the unsuspecting photographer of valuable, life-sustaining liquids.  Having already been stabbed before I could discourage my attacker, I decided to spin the violation into a positive.  Why waste a perfectly good photographic opportunity, after all?  I'm willing to sacrifice a little sweat, tears, AND blood to get a good shot. 

(gulp) I hope I don't get the West Nile virus... that would really suck!! (looking around)  Now, where did I put those anti-virals? 

Happy Monday, everybuggy!

The Neck-Shudder Affair

It's true... over the last couple of days, I've developed an affair.  Although she's a bit short and a more stubbly than I like -- and, okay, she has eight eyes and legs and sucks the blood out of her victims, leaving nothing but dried husks in her wake -- she's a miracle and she's been ever so patient with my focused...

ehhh?... what's that you say? 

I see.  (big sigh) ... yyyooouuu want honesty?  You want me to "get real" about my addiction?  You want me to take that first step? 

Okay... She's been ever so patient with my "obsessive" attentions.  Satisfied?  I admitted it?  I'm obsessed.  Can we move on, now? 

However, I think when you see her, you'll agree.  She's worth it.  Neck-shudder and all. 

I call this one, "Envelope Lair" because the web structure she created is like a flat envelope with a narrow opening on one end (I think she has a back door, too).  A flattened, cocoon-like lair.  The challenge here was in getting my camera to focus on her through the narrow opening.  Interstingly enough, I ended up with one shot that looks totally fake because while she's in perfect focus, the plant and surrounding web aren't.  It looks like I plucked her out of another photo and photoshopped her in!  But, as you can see, I didn't. 

I honestly can't believe I found her amist all the dried blooms.  She makes her home on the back side of a large bush.  I just happened to meander over in hopes of finding some pollen-gathering bees in search of a digital portrait.  Imagine my surprise and excitement when I found this instead. 

So why the days long affair?  As I mentioned, my camera had some difficulty focusing on her with all the dried flowers and surrounding web.  And, because my view-finder is not the greatest, I often am not 100% sure if I got the shot or not.  A shot might appear to be focused and I skip home, full of anticipation, only to find a blurry mess. 

Long story short... It took me a few days to get "the" shot.  Thankfully, she wasn't in a hurry to relocate.  I have gotten a couple other good shots over the course of our affair that I'll post later. 

While our short affair is now over (we simply grew apart), I will likely continue to check up on her -- camera in hand, of course.  She's a magnificent one and it'll be hard to move on.  But, move on I must.

Finally, I did use the "Dodge" and "Burn" tools in Photoshop elements, following the Pioneer Woman's tutelage.  I darkened the surrounding dried blooms in order to pop her color a bit more.  I highly recommend the Pioneer Woman's site.  She's a wonderful voice and has great info on all things photographic.

Post 4th Recovery...

It is the final night of fireworks here at Marvin's lair.  I'm sitting at the kitchen table, still recovering from a few day's lack of sleep.  The Zzzzzs are calling my name!  Although I did not drink a drop of liquor yesterday, I woke this morning feeling a bit on the sluggish side, almost as if I had a slight hang over, although I know I didn't.  Yet another telling indicator that I'm no longer the blossoming youth I once was.  (snickering) I never realized how comical the word "blossoming" could be when used in sentances where I refer to myself.  (chuckle)  I'm sure there must've been a time when I was blossoming....errr....

Okay, now I'm just grossed out. 

Anyway, my point being -- the bod just doesn't recover like it used to.  Sheesh! 

I did get some good shots I hope to post tomorrow, but I wanted to say, "thank you" to my big'sis, evil bro-in-law, and lil'D for the lovely BBQ, awesome desserts, and rumbling light show.  I had a blast!  I got to re-meet the ever-fabulous Jackie and her lovely family and visited with other members of my extended family (bro-in-law's parental units).  And my dear, dear friend, TRo, and her recently appointed, fiance MattRo joined us for the fun, too (MattRo fits right in with the gang, as I knew he would--smile).  It was a truly fabulous time and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the 4th than with this merry gang of pyromaniacs!! 

(whispering)  Jackie's hubby sacrificed a plastic 2 liter soda container (dry-ice bomb) to the blow-y-up gods!!  The destructo personality in me highly recommends this one, despite the 2 to 3 minute wait.  I suggest you google it for an explanation, but I have an aftermath pic to post.  In fact, it was SO spectacular, I may have to devote an entire post to this alone.   

In the meantime, here's a small token to tide y'all over until I get the other photos organized. 

Enjoy!!  And, have a fabulous weekend, everybuggy!!

Wishing you a HAPPY 4th of July!!

Although I wasn't able to travel South for the annual family gathering, I am spending it with family and dear friends.  This morning, in true 4th fashion, we started off with a parade!  I'm always awed by how many kids we have in our neighborhood (I never see 'em all together the rest of the year). 

What do they put in our water, anyway? 

It was great seeing people I haven't seen for awhile.  Lil'D and the parental units came up and we all walked.  Most of the kids either rode bikes, were pushed by parents, or had motorized cars.  We even had a fire-truck at the head of the parade to see the kids safely around the course!  How cool! 

When the parade was over, many of us stood (or sat) around and chit-chatted a bit.  I so enjoy visiting with everyone, and man, do I live in a wonderful neighborhood or what?!

Camera in hand (you're shocked -- I know), I captured this a few minutes prior to the parade.  My neighbor did a fabulous job decorating her kids' bikes.  Everyone did!  I am super impressed. 

Tonight's festivities include blowin' stuff up at big'sis's house!  Hopefully, I'll be able to capture some more good shots to share with y'all.  Hope everybuggy has a wonderful and SAFE 4th!! 

It's official... I'm obsessed!

Upon going to bed last night, everything seemed normal.  Boy, was I mistaken!

Tired from a long day, I fell asleep after reading a bit (I finished up Bryan Peterson's "Learning To See Creatively" -- I highly recommend it!).  Around 2:30AM, I drifted out of dreamland and back into wakefulness due to a raging thunderstorm that was rolling through the neighborhood.  I love thunderstorms and this was a particular treat!  The late hour lent the storm a personal quality and I wondered if I was the only human alive witnessing this miracle.  Smiling, I leaned back and soaked in the lightshow and soothing sounds of rolling thunder for about 2 minutes before this compelling need to capture some photos settled in my blood, waking me like no amount of caffine ever has.  I grabbed my camera from my nightstand and quickly removed a screen from my bedroom window, worried I might miss that one shot, while setting up.  Sitting on the window-sill, I braced my camera against the window frame and began to wait. 

When it seemed only a twenty minutes had passed, I decided (reluctantly) to pack it in.  I had a report due before 8AM and I wouldn't do well if I didn't get some sleep.  On top of that, my arms and neck were starting to ache from sitting motionless, anticipating each flash.  The aching should have been an indicator of my error.  Casually, I checked the time.  Not believing my eyes, I double and triple and quadriple checked the time.  A full two hours had passed -- not the half hour I thought.  Whoa!

Returning the camera to my nightstand, I jumped back into bed and tried to get some more sleep.  No luck.  I was WIDE awake.  With each blue flash, I cringed at the potential moment I could have caught, now lost.  Suddenly, a close strike rocked the house and I was certain the entire neighborhood was now awake, sharing the stunning experience with me. 

Another hour passed and I was still unable to drift to sleep.  Each flash agrivated my creative self.  I was finally forced to cover my head with my blankets in order to block out the flashes.  This tact worked and I finally fell back to dreamland. 

Here's a shot from last night.  I'm not an experienced lightning photographer and I'm still learning how to make my Sony Super Steady Shot DSC-H2 do what I want it to do, but I think it's an okay start.  In fact, this may be my first focused attempt to get lightning shots.  I hope for more opportunities to get some good ones. 

This also gave me an opportunity to try a new format for framing my pictures.  What do you think?

Anyway, I am off to sleep.  Hope everybuggy has a wonderful 4th!!

It's been too long!

I've been away for FAR too long.  Work has been keeping me crazed.  Here are a couple new additions to the photo library.  I captured both recently -- one in my big'sis's backyard and one in my own backyard.  Y'all know how I love that I don't have to leave my own yard to get awesome shots.  I think I'm becoming rather religious about it.  All you have to do is look around a little bit.  Suspenseful dramas and magical events are unfolding around us all the time.  We just need to stop to take a look.

I call this first one "ArmStroll" for obvious reasons.  This little dude landed on my right arm and rather than waste an opportunity, I started capturing away -- with my left hand, no less.  (I know, pointing and shooting takes all the manual dexterity of a... well... it's not that difficult.  But, I had to hold the camera funny and I'll lay claim to whatever fame I can, wherever I can.  I'm a amidextrous photographer! Nah!)  In this particular shot, our little green friend was in the middle of a good stretch.  Man do I love to watch a good stretch in progress.  Ahhhhh.....   

I'm amazed by the transparent wings and love that I got them against a semi-dark background.  I also didn't realize how red my arm hair is.  It compliments the little dudes legs and feelers. 

Next up is a shot of another white spider.  This dude is much bigger than the last one I captured awhile back.  The white with a couple red spots are the perfect camoflage here.  I wonder if it changes color when I takes up residence in a different flower. 

I think the thing that I love about this picture is the hint of opposition in the subjects (spider to flower) and lighting (light and dark).  Most spiders lie in wait for unsuspecting prey, but the stamen of this one seem to be waiting for the spider to come closer -- like a venus fly trap.  I think the intimacy of the picture adds a lot, too.  It's like we are in the flower, observing events. 

Have I mentioned how much I love digital photography?  Have a fabulous July 1st, everybuggy!!

Velvet...

Captured a fly today.  The contrast of black against the cool green and the lighting -- especially how the light reflects off the fly's body, wings, and eyes -- lends this image an elegance and almost liquid quality that competes with how flies are typically viewed.  Flies are most often associated with images of overflowing garbage bins and rotting food.  This image competes with that notion.  Pretty cool! 

Have I mentioned how much I love digital photography? 
Have a happy weekend, everybuggy!!

My Serengeti...

One of the things I love about where I live is the diversity in all things.  One of the things I love about Macro photography is that it helps me pay attention.  Usually taking a much needed break from work in order to let my mind breathe a bit, it takes me a little while to get into that space where I'm really looking closely at my surroundings.  I find this very meditative and enjoyable. 

My backyard is a jungle; no less spectacular than the Serengeti or Borneo.  On my daily outings with Haeley, I see new wonders.  New miracles.  I am humbled every day. 

This one is called, "Above and Below."

That we have technology available that allows me to share these moments makes me happy!!    My creative side is fed.  My hunting instincts are satisfied.  My scientific/analytical self is challenged.  My perspective is reset. 

This one is called (simply) "White."  This little critter proved quite shy, behavior that matched its delicate nature.  The white color is a perfect compliment.  After putting up with a lens in the face, it manuveured and tucked itself into a spot behind the flower where I couldn't reach it.  (I snapped a couple more, however, on the return walk because it had returned to the same whithering petal.)

Hope y'all have a fabulous ... WAIT!!  IS IT FRIDAY!!!  YIPPEEE!!!  Happy Friday, everybuggy!