A Bit Out of My Comfort Zone

I recently asked a stranger if I could take his photo, an act outside my comfort zone. I gave myself a mental pep talk before mustering up the courage to ask - I knew if I didn't ask, I would regret it later.

Meet Robert, our highly animated, funny and super knowledgeable server at a local BBQ establishment, The Black Dog Smoke and Ale House.



It was my first visit to this restaurant, known for its burnt ends, double baked potato casserole and long wait times. Case in point - the restaurant opens for lunch at 11, we arrived at 11:05 and found all the seats taken. The facility is indeed tiny, which, of course, adds to the experience. We ended up waiting 25 minutes, but the food was worth it.

Robert made our experience even more special and he graciously agreed to have his photo taken a couple times - yup, his grin says it all.



If you are ever in the Champaign - Urbana, IL area (home to the University of Illinois), be sure to check out the Black Dog for a great BBQ meal.

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Workin' It

With last week's busy work week behind me, I am now playing catch up with all the daily tasks I didn't get to complete. Although presenting training material to a group of adults was tiring, I now miss the group setting and interaction as I sit in my (thankfully warm) office analyzing data as always.

I took a few photos during last week's session, mainly during the breakout exercises and the evening events. I normally don't fill the role of "event photographer" at work, but in this case, my camera was already out in use by my co-worker/friend, Mark. Mark executed last week's training session with me and is also photography hobbyist. His visit from out of town was an opportunity to check out some of my lenses.

If the weather had been nice, we would have embarked on a proper "photowalk" around town, but the classroom was definitely warmer.

Two of the gentlemen from Mexico, who had never seen snow until last week. Juan, on the right, never stopped smiling the entire time he was here.




We don't spend all our time in the classroom - evening events allow the participants to relax and get to know each other better.




The group attended the local NCAA Basketball game - amidst a snowstorm - and had a great time, even though the home team lost.

Who knows, our small prairie town may become the "destination of choice" for future training sessions. We delivered unique experiences (big snow, possibility for tornadoes), collegiate sporting events, good restaurants, and lovely prairie sunsets.



Note - non watermarked photos in this post were taken by others

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A Night in Vienna

I attended a student orchestra concert last week at the high school. While I don't have direct ties to the orchestra program, I still play the violin and enjoy listening to live classical music, especially music created by young artists. I guess it brings me back to my own high school orchestra days.

The program included string players from the 6th grade, whose skills are still quite basic, all the way to the High School orchestra. The wide breadth of musical ability across the performer displayed the years of practice it takes to play an instrument well.

I had this musician picked out as the most technically advanced of the high school students. Sure enough, later on in the program he performed a solo.


I love the rich sound of the cello. I think if I were to pick up another stringed instrument, this would be it.


I noticed her black fingernail polish - something I would never do with mine!


Congrats to all the performers - they did a great job!


Shared with Nancy's Tuesday Muse

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London Times | Big Ben, Trafalgar and Portobello Market

We covered a lot of ground on Day 2 of our visit to the UK. Greeted by ample sunshine and warmish temperature, we headed out to Central London - the Westminster Tube stop - to start our day. The thing is, about a gazillion other people had the same.exact.plan - we weren't quite prepared for the throngs of people on the Tube, at the station, on the street, etc. God bless my sister and her husband for enduring the crowds with two toddlers in a large stroller (aka "pram") - it is quite an effort to travel with little ones in tow and they do it every weekend.

When you emerge from the Westminster Station, you are greeted to this....

...and pretty much all the tourists stop walking to snap a photo [guilty as charged, although I stepped out of the flow of traffic to take the photo].

Westminster Abbey:


Parliament and Big Ben:


A sunny Saturday is bound to attract a number of people to this area, but add in a rehearsal for the upcoming Royal Trooping the Color event and you get even more. Per the British Monarchy Website, "this is a military parade and ceremony dating back to the early eighteenth century or earlier, when the colours (flags) of the battalion were carried (or 'trooped') down the ranks so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.". It is also the summer celebration of the Queen's birthday.

We watched some of the ceremony from the outskirts of St James Park:



Then we made our way to Trafalgar Square and passed across the Mall that leads to Buckingham Palace.


The girls posed in front of the famous lions of Trafalgar:


The Square is home to the National Gallery:


Our next stop - Portobello Market - a street market that operates on Saturdays. It is accessible from the Nottinghill Gate Station.


We didn't buy anything, but there was plenty of eye candy to take in:




So, if you are visiting London in summer, be aware that Saturday's in the city are quite crowded, especially when the weather is nice!

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Team Up Thursday - Signs

This week's "signs" are quite subtle -



A sleepyhead in the morning and frost on the window. What does it all mean?

Lee writes: Caden snuck into my bed at some point during the night. This is usually a sign that he is coming down with something or he needs to talk. This particular morning my little boy simply wanted a bit of mama time. Thank goodness it wasn't followed up with a cold!

Thank goodness, indeed!

My sign - frost on the inside of the windows definitely signals that it is cold as the dickens outside. When I took the picture, it was 0 degF or -18 degC.
That was on Monday and it hasn't warmed up much since.
But I took away a "good sign" from the picture - it's no longer dark when I get downstairs to the kitchen at 6:45. The days are getting longer, so warmer days will be here soon.

What signs do you see outside your window today? I hope they are positive ones.

On Thursday, Lee Curie and I create a diptych based on a theme. You can view the other great diptychs at the Team Up Thursday Flickr group.

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Heart Shaped Bokeh

With the twinkly lights on the tree, it's a perfect time for some shaped bokeh!

I read about specialty shaped bokeh last year with the Bokeh Masters Kit. But I also read a how to create your own optic filter at this post from DIY and tried it out.

Using my [seldom used] scrapbooking tools, I created a heart filter that I placed over my 50mm lens.

I was in a rush so the tape job isn't pretty, but it does the job:



It is important that your subject be placed at least 4 feet away from the lights - this will enhance the shapes and make them bigger. You need to set your aperture to as wide as it will go - I set mine to f1.8. You may have to spot meter your subject, too.

Of course, half the fun is experimenting. Having a willing subject helps, too.

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Vegas Memories

I've worked through all of my Vegas pictures and here are some of my favorites, featuring all the friends we traveled with.



We traveled with four other couples, all to celebrate our friend's upcoming 40th birthday. And what better way to celebrate than on the neon city strip.

I'm linking to Mary at Mosaic Monday. Go and check out the vast collection of mosaics there.

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Boys of Summer - The Delta Kings

For some reason, I remembered I hadn't uploaded these pictures I took back in August during a local street festival. The band is called the Delta Kings.





Taken when the temperatures were sultry and summer was in full swing. It's nice to look back, now that the weather has turned to Autumn.

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I Heart Faces - Smirk Photo Challenge

With eight boys here for a sleepover birthday party this weekend, the silliness and smirks were quite plentiful.



Today marks my son's 11th birthday, so I thought it was appropriate to share a little bit of the fun from his party.

If you have a smirk you want to share, head over to I Heart Faces and enter yours into their photo challenge.

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