Moon Shot! - Thirty Word Thursday

As a child of the 60’s,

something about the moon fascinates me.

A stop along our Sunday drive in the country

set me up for a cool midday moon shot. 

Early to Rise - Thirty Word Thursday

Early to bed, early to rise

doesn't necessarily make a man

healthy, wealthy, or wise

but it does create

the opportunity to see

some of God’s amazing work

first hand.

Thirty Word Thursday - My Very Best

I will rise above the rest 

as I prepare for the race 

and regardless of the outcome 

I will always be a winner 

because I will give my very best!

Gateway Arch

From where we live almost any trip going east takes us past the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO.  We've stopped on several occasions and have even ridden the tightly packed, bumpy ride to the top to peer out the windows at the mighty Mississippi River.  If you've never stopped at the arch, it's worth the time and there are plenty of other things to do in St. Louis while you're there.

These photos were all taken with our Canon Rebel XT and our Tamron lenses.

1/2500, f/4.0, ISO 100, 18mm

1/4000, f/4.0, ISO 100, 18mm

1/1600, f/4.0, ISO 100, 27mm

1/4000, f/4.0, ISO 100, 18mm

1/2000, f/4.0, ISO 100, 18mm

1/500, f/4.0, ISO 400, 18mm

1/160, f/8.0, ISO 400, 18mm

The Arches National Park

On our way back from Yellowstone we stopped at the east edge of Utah just a little ways south of I-70 at the Arches  National Park.  The color of the rock and the beautiful natural arches create a great playground for any photographer.  This is a great area to visit and we stayed in Moab which gave us access to both the Arches and Canyonlands National Park.  These photos were shot with my Canon Rebel XT and my Tamron EF lenses.

Looking through these has me longing for warmer weather and some of God's natural beauty!!

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/9, ISO 100, 18mm

1/200, f/9, ISO 100, 21mm

1/160, f/10, ISO 100, 31mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/9, ISO 100, 18mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 58mm

1/200, f/8, ISO 100, 18mm

1/160, f/7.1, ISO 100, 18mm

1/400, f/13, ISO 400, 18mm

1/400, f/13, ISO 400, 18mm

California Coast

My last post included photos from one of the best vacation spots in the United States. Now I'd like to share a few more pictures from that trip that reflect some more of the treats we found along the California coast.  Hope you enjoy!!

The photos on this trip were taken using a Kodak P850 and automatic settings.

1/500, f/3.2, ISO 50, 16.8mm

1/640, f/2.8, ISO 50, 8.3mm

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/800, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/50, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 64, 6mm

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

The Redwoods

We've traveled through a lot of the United States over the past 30 plus years and have seen some of the most amazing sights imaginable.  But to me, this it the place that beats all of the rest.  There something about the purity of the beauty in the redwoods that easily made it my favorite.  We would pull off the highway and head onto a trail and within a minute we were in a whole different world of tranquility.  I would think to myself this is amazing and I'll never have a feeling of awe like this again and then we stop at the next spot and it would start all over again.

There's really no way to capture the beauty of this majestic place in photos but here are some of my better shots.

The photos on this trip were taken using a Kodak P850 using auto settings.

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 100, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 80, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 125, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 64, 6mm

1/10, f/2.8, ISO 100, 6mm

1/50, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 160, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 80, 6mm

1/10, f/2.8, ISO 100, 6mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 50, 6mm

Niagara Falls

In 2008 we headed out on our family vacation with Niagara Falls as the focus of our itinerary. Passports in hand we made our way there an arrived in the late afternoon.   As we walked the few short blocks from our hotel to the falls nighttime was already upon us and the falls were beautifully illuminated.  Our daytime trips proved so show a view that was just as spectacular.  We also found ourselves taking a short trip through a butterfly conservatory and were again treated to some very unique photo opportunities.  Hope you enjoy!

Photos were taken with my Canon Rebel XT and Tamron EF lenses.

8.0s, f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm

15.0s, f/4, ISO 100, 28mm

1/400, f/14, ISO 400, 28mm

1/320, f/11, ISO 400, 18mm

1/400, f/13, ISO 400, 18mm

1/500, f/16, ISO 320, 18mm

1/500, f/14, ISO 400, 18mm

1/60, f/5.6, ISO 400, 49mm

1/500, f/5.6, ISO 320, 55mm

1/125, f/8, ISO 400, 55mm

1/100, f/5.6, ISO 400, 22mm

1/200, f/11, ISO 100, 42mm

1/250, f/10, ISO 100, 18mm

1/500, f/16, ISO 400, 28mm