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A few weeks ago we went to Palisades Interstate Park in Ft. Lee and Edgewater NJ, just below the George Washington Bridge. It is a beautiful park and quite large encompassing 12 miles along the Hudson River across from NYC.

The day we were there the weather was very threatening and in fact we were caught driving the cliffs in a very scary, windy, severe, thunderstorm. As scary as it was for us in the car, I was glad we weren't among the hikers and bikers that had been caught in it.

I did manage to get a few shots and some of my favorites really could have come from anywhere such as this one.

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News:

This photo of the Bucknell Quad is a 2 page feature photo in the Summer 2008 issue of Bucknell Magazine.

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As of July 2008 I have decided to post the same photos on "Parallel Universe" as I do here. It has become too complicated to maintain two different photoblogs on a regular basis. Feel free to visit "Parallel Universe" and look through the portfolio/archives since there are quite a few photos there that were never posted here. I will continue to post on both since each one gets different viewers.

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Another macro of a coneflower in black and white. I shot this with the idea of cropping it to square. It was tough to keep it in the frame and focus tight on the spiny center with the wind that day.

You can see the original here.

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News Flash

This photo of the Bucknell Quad is a 2 page feature photo in the Summer 2008 issue of Bucknell Magazine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As of July 2008 I have decided to post the same photos on "Parallel Universe" as I do here. It has become too complicated to maintain two different photoblogs on a regular basis. Feel free to visit "Parallel Universe" and look through the portfolio/archives since there are quite a few photos there that were never posted here. I will continue to post on both since each one gets different viewers.

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I was out in my yard with my macro lens on Thursday to see about getting a few shots of my coneflowers. I was fortunate enough to have this little bee who was all covered in pollen to pose for me very patiently. It was on the windy side so it took a few shots before I managed to get a couple that I could actually use. This was my favorite.

The tripod was pretty useless under the windy conditions, so I shot hand-held which I don't normally do with the macro lens since the focus is so darn finicky. I went for a high key exposure on this and then when I was processing it to post I realized that black and white was perfect for it.

I've been asked about the original color version of this so I decided to post this link so you can have a look.

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News Flash

This photo of the Bucknell Quad is a 2 page feature photo in the Summer 2008 issue of Bucknell Magazine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As of July 2008 I have decided to post the same photos on "Parallel Universe" as I do here. It has become too complicated to maintain two different photoblogs on a regular basis. Feel free to visit "Parallel Universe" and look through the portfolio/archives since there are quite a few photos there that were never posted here. I will continue to post on both since each one gets different viewers.

Check out my other Photoblog portfolio/archives:
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This is the third and final in this series here.

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This is another from a series of similar photos with the daylily leaf and water droplets. This droplet stayed there almost until it evaporated after several hours. I had to leave the studio set up to go run errands and pick up Russell from school, get supper etc. and it was still sitting there.

See a color version of this one here.

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A single droplet of water falling from a daylily leaf into the darkness.

To see what happened first, look here.

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I have been busy playing lately. I've been experimenting with some DIY photography tools such as lightboxes and snoots and such. I've been learning a lot with them and it's been pretty fun playing. I still have a lot to learn though! I will be posting some of the shots here and at Parallel Universe over the coming days/weeks. What better time of year to play with such things?

This is a macro of a slice of lime and several frozen cranberries floating in white cranberry juice...Mmmmm...refreshing! As an adult cocktail you can add 2 shots of Grey Goose Vodka, 1 shot of Cointreau, a generous splash of white cranberry juice, and ice in a shaker. Shake until chilled and pour over the lime and 3 frozen cranberries in a Martini glass and It makes a tasty and festive White Cosmopolitan...but be careful they are pretty potent! This one was a virgin one with no alcohol just the cranberry juice, lime, and cranberries. I was using it as a model in the lightbox.

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No I'm not Leaving! I just have some images left from summer that I hadn't posted and I thought I should probably do that before summer is officially gone and fall begins.

This was a strange summer. I felt somehow detached from it, like I spent all summer waiting for something, not sure what but that's how I felt. It was just odd somehow. Now that school is back in I feel like I missed summer all together. It's kind of sad really.

On a happy note fall happens to be my most favorite time of year. I have some interesting projects and my work is keeping me busy as are the kids and their activities which are just about all in full swing again.

This is one of the daylilies that grow all around my house. I love daylilies but their blooming season is far too short. I applied a soft filter to resemble an Orton effect in this. I really love the colors and even though these are very much summer flowers the colors are very much reminiscent of fall.

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I can't remember the last time I saw the sun...well actually it was last Saturday. We've been in a very wet and cold weather pattern ever since though. I don't mind the rainy days, but this is starting to get to me.

This wet sunflower is my attempt to persuade the sun to come out from behind those clouds and shine it's last summer rays on us.

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I've been tagged by Bonnie Bruno from Photo Buffet. That means I have to tell you all 8 things you might not know about me. Hmmm...Interesting...let me think...

1. I was very much a Tom Boy as a child. I had 3 older brothers and liked to play rough and tumble with them. My Barbie Dolls drove Tonka Trucks and were construction workers in the back yard.

2. In high school I was a bit of a rogue latent "Hippie Chick" complete with the fringed moccasins and embroidered gauze shirts and wrap skirts, hair down to my behind and feathers and beads adorning my braids. (What was I thinking?)

3. I never finished college. I left home and school at 19 and worked as a copy editor for an advertising agency. I got married at age 21 and I stayed at the agency until I had my oldest son. I became a stay at home/work from home mom after that and I am still doing that today.

4. I am an avid fitness enthusiast (although some health issues had gotten in the way the last couple of years). 2 years ago I could pass the PT test for a 21 year old woman that had just finished basic training for the Army. I was 42 at the time. I still run several miles a few times a week and do push ups, crunches, weight training, and such as well.

5. My favorite show on TV is "House".

6. I love to read ghost stories and folklore from places where I go on vacation. I go to the local bookstores and pick up all books on local lore and such.

7. I am a terrible gardener which is why I love photographing flowers so much. I figure it's the only way for me to "grow" a garden.

8. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Now I have to tag 5 photographers that I admire that hopefully haven't been tagged yet, and I hope they don't mind.

Kathleen Connally
Azhar Chougle
Steve W. (Watch This Space)
Dawn M. Armfield
Justin Gaynor

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I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments on my last post. It is one of my favorites. Those two fawns were just too sweet.

On Monday I took a vase of sunflowers out onto my deck in the sun, sprayed them with water and started to photograph them. Before long I was joined by this tiny little fella who decided that he was thirsty. He was no more than 5 mm in length, about the size of a pencil point. I shot him with the macro lens, handheld no less. I was really amazed that I managed to get this clear shot of him. The background is not Photoshopped at all. I only did Lightroom adjustments and curves for contrast and balance.

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I won't be posting again until Monday so I wanted to wish all the Moms out there a Happy Mother's Day. I hope it's a beautiful day for you!

Russell is doing much better. His fever has not come back since Tuesday and although he still has a cough, it's not nearly as bad as it was. His energy is returning and so is his appetite.

This is a tiny wildflower that grows in the woods by the pond and river in Mohawk Park near my home. They are no bigger than my thumbnail and are very delicate. You can see another photo of these on Parallel Universe. They will soon meet with the county park's crew and their mowers which show no mercy when they come to mow the park.

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This is another macro from my neighbor's flower arrangement. I just love flower macros. The softness that surrounds this one just feels soothing to me.

I have talked to Rob again, which is a blessing since everyday I talk to him is one day less to worry. But so far he's comfortable, he's even decorated his "home" which actually resembles a POD only with a door and a window, air conditioning and electric. He told me he got a couple of small rugs for it. I offered to send him a spring wreath for his door. He just laughed. I think I may just send one anyway.

Now I do have a vent I want to share with you all about an issue involving my son and his wireless carrier. I don't normally use my photoblog as a platform for such things but this really steamed me so here goes.

His wireless company is Verizon, and they offer a 6 month suspension of contracts/service as a courtesy for military personnel who are deployed. He set it all up and was told that all he had to do was give me permission to look into his account and call when the six month mark came so that they could extend it another six months.

I called Verizon today just to make sure that the phone was indeed suspended and that there was no outstanding balance. Everything was ok with that. I asked what I needed to do when the six months was up in order to keep his # and extend the suspension. The answer I got was quite shocking. I was informed that despite what they told Rob, their policy was that after the six months was up it couldn't be extended, it would just be disconnected and his # reassigned. Well at that I had to laugh, because the policy is ridiculous, understanding that a deployment like his was going to be a minimum of 12 months so the "courtesy they extend to the military" is totally pointless.

I argued this to no avail for some time until I finally was put through to a supervisor who had brought a manager in on it. I explained to them how utterly worthless their policy was since deployments are at 12-18 months. I did manage to get an exception for Rob, but I am now going to fight for them to change this ridiculous policy. I let them know of my intention to get the word out and try to rally for a change in this policy for all deployed military.

I know it's seems a small thing, but this # has been my son's # since High School, even before he switched to Verizon. He likes his #, all his friends know it, his buddies from Basic training and AIT training, and friends from college know it. The thing is these young men and women are sacrificing so much, is it too much to ask that a huge company like Verizon be fair about their policy for suspending their service for the duration of their deployments up to 2 years? It's a small thing to ask for someone who is sacrificing so much. At any rate, I just wanted to put that out there.

If anyone out there uses Verizon wireless and agrees that this is an absurd policy, please let Verizon know. If enough people speak up, maybe, just maybe they will change it.

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This is a macro of a purple Chrysanthemum. It was in a flower arrangement that was delivered to my next door neighbor. But she wasn't home to get it so the florist asked me to hold it for her. I already had my camera all set up for some macro work in my kitchen so when I brought the arrangement in, I couldn't help myself. I know my neighbor won't mind and I think I'll frame a print for her. She's a really wonderful neighbor and dear friend.

Update on Rob

I spoke with Rob today and he is in Iraq now. While I cannot say exactly where he is, he seems pretty comfortable with his situation so far. He will have fairly regular, perhaps daily access to the internet since he brought his computer with him, and there is decent connectivity there, better than he had in Kuwait actually.

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If this posts on March 6, that means I once again managed to get to the internet while I was away.

This was shot in the woods near my house a few weeks ago while I was trudging through the brambles to find some treasures to photograph. It's not exactly treasure, but I found it interesting all the same.

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I am home. Arrived home about 2:30 AM and I'm exhausted. It is one heck of a drive from Georgia to New Jersey to make in one shot. I don't have much to say at the moment other than it was wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. I will fill you all in later.

Thanks for the visits and comments over the past few days. I will catch up with you all later, right now I have to go unpack and do laundry...yuck!!!

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This is the same yellow rose from this shot. I was experimenting with lighting...again. I like the way this one turned out. The rose was dried which accounts for the interesting textures and shading. I know it's dark but it was the mood that seemed to fit best. This rose is quite tiny and could easily fit on a quarter with room to spare.

*It was quite late when I posted this and I wanted to do a little description of the technique I used to make the deep shadows and light areas in this photo. It was really quite simple. I used a light stand, my SB-800 speedlight in remote mode, a white umbrella, tripod and my sons music stand for a table so I could get in close with everything. What I did was to fire the flash through the umbrella rather than reflecting it into and out of the umbrella. The flash was placed close and to the right almost at a right angle to the camera so the light came from the right and slightly above and fired across the frame. I shot it at different settings in terms of the flash, everything from TTL to AA, including different power levels on manual. I believe this was one shot at 1/4 power on manual at 24mm zoom (on the flash). I deliberately underexposed the shot to get the dramatic effect I wanted and then re-adjusted exposure in Camera RAW.

In post processing I adjusted curves, in layers, changing opacity here and there to get the look I liked. I then converted it to black and white using gradient map in layers, then I tweaked the levels in layers. I dodged and burned where needed. This is probably the most post processing I've ever done on any photo.

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I have Loved you with an everlasting Love,
I have drawn you with Loving kindness.

Jeremiah 31:3

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I received this tiny yellow rose tonight with the bible verse attached from a friend of mine, Isabelle, who is in the orchestra that I work with, and the boys rehearse with on Thursday nights. I am not a particularly religious person in that I can't quote Bible verse, or even go to church all that often. Although I have read and do study my Bible on occasion and I do have faith in God.

Right now I am relying on that faith to get me through some tough times that lie ahead for all of us in this family. We got the dreaded news. The date for my son's deployment to Iraq. He will leave for a 12-18 month tour in Iraq on March 10. We are not alone and it is comforting to know that there are people out there that share this burden along with us, but I am not going to lie...it's not going to be easy and I hate that my first baby is going off to war.

I am very proud of him for being the kind of person that puts others first and willing to put themselves in harms way to protect the rest of us. He did not have to join the military and put his college and his life on hold to enlist for a 4 years active duty, 4 years reserve duty, this was his choice one made out of his deep sense of duty and honor.

We will be going to see him for a few days before he leaves which is really good. We will have to go to Georgia since he only has a few days and cannot travel very far. So his brothers will miss a few days of school and take this road trip with us. We are driving because we are going to bring his stuff home here so he doesn't have to pay for storage while he is deployed. He is staying in a dorm on the base so he does not have his own place where he can leave his things.

I respectfully ask that this post not be turned into a political debate on the merits of this war. I will ask that if you are a person of Faith, please pray for all the brave men and women and their families who share this burden with us.

This was taken right after rehearsal using my halogen under-cabinet counter lights in my kitchen for light and shot with my macro lens. I threw it together fast and last minute, but it was one of those things I felt I just had to do and post right away. I only knew I wanted it to be lit from above.

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!!!Thanks to Azhar for fixing my archives!!!

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This is a shot from a couple of weeks ago. It was the only appreciable snow we've had so far this winter. It was only a coating and it melted very fast. I took a quick walk around the park near my house and by the time I got round the pond there, it was nearly all gone.

These are actually teeny tiny delicate little branches with teeny tiny delicate little dried leaves. It was tough to get this shot since it was a little breezy and the macro lens is a bit finicky about focusing in those conditions.

I've been pretty busy lately and haven't been able to get out and shoot for the blogs as I'd like to, but I hope to get out in the next few days.

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Since some people have asked, I decided I probably should tell you what Noise Reduction Software I used in the last post. It's called "Noiseware Pro" by Imagenomic http://www.imagenomic.com/.

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Back in October while on the 2006 NJ Lighthouse Challenge, my son Jon, found this dead Monarch Butterfly on the lawn of the Cape May Lighthouse. It was in nearly perfect condition so I brought it home and placed it in a glass bowl in my china cupboard and forgot about it.

Well on Sunday I was playing with some still life vignettes and when I went into the cupboard I saw the Monarch still in fair shape, a little worn from not being properly preserved, but it was still fairly intact and retained most of its scales and color. So I put the Monarch on the wood shelf and snapped a couple of photos at High ISO with my macro lens.

I was experimenting in low light using high ISO's to see how well my camera can handle high ISO shots under different low light sources. These were shot at 1600, and did pretty well. There was some noise in the shadow and background areas, but really very little and virtually none in the detail of the butterfly's wings. But since I just had installed a new (to me) noise reduction plug-in that I had heard raves over, I decided to apply it and see how it would affect the detail in the Butterfly's wings. I was really quite impressed at the result. In the second photo you can still see the scales, they kind of look like the weave in a fabric which was really interesting to me.

I should mention that the banding you see in the lower part of the top photo is the grain in the oak wood shelf of my cupboard, it's nothing to do with the camera, and not JPEG artifacts. The blue in the corner is the edge of a plate that was in the cupboard. When I shot these I really had no intention of posting them, but today I was looking at them and found them interesting enough to post. So here they are for what it's worth.

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Since some people have asked, I decided I probably should tell you what Noise Reduction Software I used. It's called "Noiseware Pro" by Imagenomic http://www.imagenomic.com/.

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It's been so incredibly warm that I am sitting here in my office at almost 9PM on a January evening with my windows open wide. We went out to supper and had on very light jackets and even they were a bit much. Tomorrow promises to be in the 70's. WOW!

Now that the Holidays have passed and things are settling back into the normal routine, the house has become quite quiet again and somewhat depressing...I miss Robert being home. He left On Tuesday afternoon and we won't see him again probably until summertime...sigh. Thank God for cell phones and internet, although next week he goes away for a month of additional training and he will be likely be out of touch with us for the entire exercise.

Blogger has been having issues with archives so I do apologize to anyone who has tried to look at them. I do link each post to the one prior so if you want to look at previous posts just click on the current photo and it will link to the previous one unless otherwise noted on the posts.

This is a macro of purple coneflower seeds (echinacea) from my backyard. I thought the seeds looked interesting in this state. Although dried out and dead they hold the promise of the next generation of flowers in my garden.

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Thanks all for all the Christmas Book suggestions. I will look into a few of them. I was in COSTCO on Saturday and did find a little novel with a Christmas theme that looked cute. I don't have it with me right now so I don't remember the name off hand.

Robert is safely home and torturing his brothers again...Life is good. He came in Saturday afternoon instead of in the morning since there was a last minute change of plans...such is life in the military...At least Continental didn't charge him to change his flight last minute, so good things!

Mark gave me an early Christmas present...a new lens!!! Yippee!!! I have a REAL Macro now. He wasn't going to try to pick it out himself so he told me to go pick it out and we went and got it Sunday. I got a 60mm f2.8 Nikon Macro. It is really fun and I am going to really enjoy this lens!!!

Todays shot is one that I took with the macro lens. Can anyone figure out what it is??? I bet Micki can guess since she does tons of these shots herself and probably has one somewhere like it.

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