Billiards competition

Any event that occurs can become a opportunity to make some good images. I'm a firm believer in that. Yesterday there a APA semi finals. Pretty much the best so far for the season are who qualifies to be in the competition. I figured it would be an excellent opportunity to capture a few images.
I'll note there's a bit of shutter lag because the lighting in the bar is rather crappy. Action shots are difficult therefore. I had to set the ISO at 1600 on my Fuji. At first I considered using my FLD filter but in my test shots it didn't seem to me the fluorescent lights were casting much of a hue. Out of 38 images I had six that seemed to be usable, one of which I included on my Viewbug account.

I liked the way the balls were sitting on the table in this image during one of the matches.

This is one of the action shots I was attempting. I apparently moved the camera slightly while I was capturing the image which caused a slight amount of blur. It probably would have been worse though if the camera didn't have some image stabilization built in.

This is the one I included on Viewbug. The blur from the hand, and the ball, I think added to the composition, and the image did get one peer award.

I haven't seen too many images where the camera is looking down the stick. It's kind of a different angle and this one I will probably include on Viewbug when I can upload again. Since I have a free account I'm limited on how many I can put on the site. I pretty much have to pick the images I think are the best of the best. If I went to a paid account I'd no longer be limited but my hobby wouldn't be as cheap to pursue as it is presently.

Here's Susan. I thought I did well with the framing in this image.

I was trying to get Susan in the act of her stick connecting with the cue ball. With the shutter lag it ended up a little late though she had gotten the ball in the pocket she wanted to. I think the cue ball also went in though I can't remember. Still, the result was rather decent. 

A couple of hours from now Susan will be in the second day of competitions. There were two complete sets yesterday. Apparently her team did well enough to continue into today which is cool.
Have a great day and try to enjoy life a bit. 

Ft Morgan

Tomorrow is when we'll be in Brush, but for tonight we're in Ft. Morgan staying at the Super 8. Since we were somewhat early we went driving for a little bit and got something to eat at this Italian restaurant. We asked the waitress about some fishing spots in the area and she told us of one. Luckily, the same places that are good for fishing usually happens to be good for doing nature photography too. 

It turns out it's a wildlife area and appeared to be mostly closed. The gate on the road going further into the refuge was closed and padlocked. It was also 98F so it was pretty warm. I really didn't feel like hiking too far.

Near the parking area you can get to a little of the river. At least the oxbows you can. This is one in the picture is pretty filled with algae. There are a lot of mosquitos. You notice them.

A short ways over I came upon this one and it was a bit more photogenic. I really like the reflections in the water.

This dead tree just looked interesting to me.

We came back to Ft. Morgan and we drove through a park. Near that park is the Rainbow bridge which crosses over the South Platte river. Quite an interesting look to it. Having read the plate the bridge was built in 1922.

Tomorrow, early in the morning we'll be in Brush. Have a great day.

Brush, CO

Tomorrow we leave for Brush, CO. There's a large free dental clinic that will be held there Friday, and Saturday. My teeth have been bad for a long time. It's finally gotten to the point all the rest needs to come out, and I get dentures for the first time.
   While we're up there we have plans to go to the Brush State Wildlife Area. Susan will be able to fish and hopefully I'll get some good images of the wildlife in the area. It'll be a bit like a mini-vacation.
   For now I need to pack what I'm taking so we can leave in the morning.

Monument Lake

Today we went to Monument Lake at Monument, CO. Really not that far away north of Colorado Springs. I'd never been there before, and neither had Susan. After I helped set her up where she was fishing I went off exploring with my SLR as is usual.

As I walked toward the dam I seen this grandparent, and their grandchild playing in the water. It was so cute I had to photograph the scene.

This guy was near the dam fly fishing.

This I captured on the trail. It's a 1/4 second exposure, ISO 100. I think I used my ND4, ND8, and circular polarizer filter too.

This just looked spectacular.

This is the creek that flows into the lake. The exposure is 1/5 of a second, ISO 100. I think I used my ND4, ND8, and circular polarizer filter.

This is a 1/2 second exposure of ripples on the surface of stream. I thought the result would look rather artistic and it takes kind of an abstract feel. I think I used my ND4, ND8, and circular polarizer filter too.

The picnic table in the center of the frame captured my attention. I also wanted to get the stream in the image. 1/4 second exposure, ISO 100, ND8, ND4, and circular polarizer filters.

I'm not sure what these little white flowers are. It just kind of looked with the cat tails.

I did a good day, got in a good mile and a half hike I think. You have a great day and try to get out a little bit.

Roses aren't always red.

Tomorrow I'll finish my chemo and I'm looking forward to being done with it. Soon after I'll be seeing the dermatologist again to get my checked. It's still kind of freaky to realize that I had the start of skin cancer. At least it's better now.

On a more pleasant note here are some roses growing here at the house. They've all begun to bloom and they're looking wonderful.

Thank you for your allowing me to share my photography with you.

Quail Lake

We ended up going to Quail Lake here in Colorado Springs.  It's a lake that's also a park. There are a lot of reeds around the lake shore and there are a lot of birding opportunities. There are birds everywhere.

After I helped set up Susan for her fishing I went walking with my camera. I think I hiked about a mile and a half altogether. At least I got my exercise today.

As I was walking along the shoreline I came upon a Mallard and her brood. She was off to the left of the photograph in the water watching carefully. They captured my attention the way they were piled up together. So far this image has won three awards on ViewBug as of right now.

This is a lovely Blue Heron. It was wading around close to where Susan was set up for her fishing.

I believe this is a Wood Thrush though I could be wrong. I'm not an expert birder by any stretch. I think I was about six feet away from the bird. It had been rooting around in the reeds making noise which caught my attention. This image has also won two awards on ViewBug.

That's all I'm posting for this time. Make sure you take some time and enjoy some nature. You don't have to go far to do it either. I think Quail Lake is about three miles from my house. It's kind of funny but I used to work for Atmel, a semiconductor company, which is right next to this lake. I'd never visited.
I can tell you I don't recommend working in a wafer fab. The bunny suit was rather annoying and quite honestly the job was rather boring. I was dipping the wafers into vats of acid.

Anyway, for now, have a great day. I'll write again soon.

Skin cancer

   Recently I was found to have Actinic Keratoses which is a precancerous skin growth. It's caused by too much sun over too many years. For it I was prescribed Flourourcil cream which I have apply twice per day.
   There's a two week period of applying the cream. Then a two week break. And then another two weeks of applying the cream.
   If you get the cream on undamaged skin it doesn't do anything. On damaged skin it causes a nasty rash. You'll even have layers of skin peel off. Sometimes you'll feel the cream burn.
   As of now I'm into a week my second two week cream applying period. No burning this time which is nice. The skin is a little sensitive near my glasses bows is all which is nice. I will be glad next Thursday when I completely finish the treatment.
   On a more pleasant subject tomorrow we should be going to Monument Lake. Susan will be fishing and I'll try to get some photos. I'm also finally going to break out the kite.
   Have a great and try to enjoy life.