It's a mini-vacation

This has been a very hectic week for me. It got me thinking. I was trying to post here everyday, but just wasn't finding the time to put something up that was thoughtful. Today, I figured out what I wanted to post!

I have this picture stuck to the side of my monitor at work. I call it my "Mini-vacation." When the stress builds here at work and I need a moment...I look to this picture and it puts me back to the family cabin on Horseshoe Lake near Turtle Lake WI.

I'm not an expert in photography by any stretch of the imagination, I just know that when I look at this picture...I sudden feel the tranquil beauty that I tried to capture.

I should be back there soon, and recharge my batteries.

What a way to wake up!

The kids came screaming up to our door this morning. "Mommy! Daddy! Look out your window!" Ok...what could it be. Holy Cow! Our backyard is filled with hot air balloons!

More to come!

Let's just call it the barn picture

There are days I just know I need to bring my camera to work. I don't take pictures for a living, so that doesn't happen that often.

Every now and then, I just bring it with. Sometimes I feel the need, sometimes, because nature calls.

This photo I took on one of those days that nature just called. At the end of this last winter, mother nature decided to catch up on a serious lack of snow in these parts by dumping a whole seasons worth of snow in two days. And where there is heavy wet snow, there are cool picture opportunities.

I drive past this bard every day. It's on my way home. But today, there was something different. It actually looks cool with this fresh snow! I drove past it with the kids in the van and got about a mile down the road. All the time, I was thinking...that was it. That's why I took my camera to work! I drove back and slowly found the spot.

This photo is touched just a bit. In Photoshop, I made everything but the red of the barn black and white. And the red of the barn I saturated just a touch. Really not much.

Taking pictures of kids

I still don't know how much I would ever like taking portraits of kids. They are about the hardest subject I know of. But still, I captured this one of my daughter.

I had just got my new Canon 30D and was experimenting with the 17-85 mm lens that came with it. Both my kids really think cameras are cool, and Daddy's new one was no exception.

She kept following me around and we started playing a game where I'd take a picture of something and show her in the LCD. Well, at this moment, she really wanted me to take a picture of her. I've cropped my feet out, that's how close she was to me. The lighting worked great and her pose was unforced. A truly fun candid! Look guys -> I got the light twinkles in the eyes!

Exploring the beach

This is one of my favorites. I took this one on the beach in Pepin, WI. The field of blue is quite relaxing. The colors in the clothes just make it interesting.

Church Steeple

I took this photo this past weekend while attending a wedding in Red Wing, MN. I thought the lines were cool.