Four.Twenty.Eight

HPU

I got the itch this evening to do some photo editing.  I took the camera with me on my recent trip to HPU for Homecoming.  Aside from my Alumni Association Board duties, I experimented and practiced sharpening my skills.  Here's a few of my favorites from the Homecoming festivities.  Click to enlarge.

Vacation: Day 4 - The Kennedy Space Center

On the last day of our trip, we had planned to stay an extra night upon returning to Orlando.  We thought while we were in the area we should head out to Cape Canaveral and tour the Kennedy Space Center.  It was a very cool place to check out, and I got a few good photos.

It was interesting that we happened to be in the area at that particular time.  The space shuttle launch had been delayed and was rescheduled for the day after we were scheduled to fly out.  Sammy and I almost extended our vacation one extra day so we could see the launch (how many times do you get to see that in person in your lifetime?).  We decided against it, though, since it would have cost us even more money.  Turns out, the launch was scrapped yet again, and our extra night's stay and the extra money spent would have been for nothing.  I guess it all worked out in the end.  But it was a good idea and is something I still want to see someday.

This building can be seen for miles.  It can hold 3.5 Empire State Buildings and the Statue of Liberty can exit the big doors without having to duck.  See the flag?  A greyhound bus can drive down one of the stripes.  This is a massive building!




This is called a Crawler Transporter (named appropriately).  This contraption is what moves the space shuttle to the launch pad (full view top photo).  It moves at the astounding rate of speed of 1/2 mile per hour when the shuttle is on top.  When it comes back to this spot after dropping the shuttle off, it can speed up and go 1 mile per hour.  See the plates that make up the track?  Each one weighs 2,000 pounds (better known as one ton).  Last but not least, do you see the road it travels on?  As you can see, there is one path for each of the crawler's tracks.  If you look at my first photo in the bottom left corner, you can see a typical two-lane road.  One of the paths for the crawler is the size of the two-lane road.


The shuttle launch pad from a viewing area.  Didn't get the greatest photo, but it was a bit hazy that day.





The second tour stop (The Apollo/Saturn V Center) had a complete simulation of the mission control room used in the Apollo Missions (some of which include the moon landing).  They simulated a rocket launch and what all the computers and machines did in the course of the countdown.  The simulation even opened vents on the windows that created heavy vibration to make you "feel" the take-off.  It was pretty cool!  After stepping out of the simulation room, there was a large bay with rockets galore.  Photos of the rest of the Apollo/Saturn V Center are below.  The pictures can't begin to explain the size of the rockets.  It's pretty amazing!













That wraps up our little summer vacation.  It was fun and I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Vacation: The "Entertainment"

One of the fascinating parts of vacation (at least in my opinion) can be the people watching.  It's always great entertainment, but there were some passengers on our boat that were a spectacle.  Every day the entire boat was up for a new show.

Turns out, we had a large group of guys who decided to go on this cruise for a bachelor party.  They not only went on a cruise, they played the part.  Every day.  I wish I had gotten more photos, but our first glimpse at the guys was, um, interesting.  In the terminal where you board the boat we noticed some guys in the most puzzling get ups.  They looked like they belonged on the Love Boat.  Short shorts, pink polo shirts, knee-high socks, converse sneakers, fake mustaches, wigs, and captain-style hats.  We never figured out the reason why they were around until much later in the cruise.  At this time, we thought they might work for Royal Caribbean and dressed in these ensembles to entertain the guests.  Little did we know that they were guests themselves!

A first glimpse.  Who are these guys??

The second day, we caught them at the bar near the water at the Atlantis Resort.

Last but not least, we came upon them all on the last night posing on the stairs for everyone to photograph and it was a sight.  Tacky, tacky 70s gear (complete with authentic platform shoes) and they played their parts well!  I only wish I could have caught better photos - the lighting in the area was not very good, and I had to work quickly to avoid missing the "event" all together!












I can tell you one thing, these guys were having a blast!  What a fun time.

Vacation: Day 3 - Cococay, Bahamas

On the third day of our cruise, the official stop on the itinerary was Cococay, Bahamas.  Turns out, Cococay is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean.  It is very small.  Everyone gets off the boat by tender and gets to roam the island as they please.  Lunch was served b-b-q style on the island, and there is a plethora of chairs to just sit back and relax on the beach.

See, this is a tiny island.  It's just that little one.  Compare its size to the island where Nassau lies.

I am very irritated at myself because the one activity (snorkeling) we actually paid money to do on Cococay I took no photos of.  If you weren't aware, I am not a good swimmer, and deep water makes me nervous.  Sammy had reason to brag on me, though, because with the snorkeling gear, I was swimming all the way out to the edge of the snorkeling area in deep water!  Far away from him, too!  I was a little surprised at myself.

You know, by the third day I guess I might have been tired of playing photographer.  You have to be careful on the beach with the camera, protect it from water and sand, and it kind of keeps you from just relaxing.  I did get some shots, though.  I didn't come away empty handed.

Cococay, Bahamas from the tender boat.


Waiting for the ride over.




A couple more shots of the island from the tender boat.





Possibly my two favorite photographs of the whole trip.





Meeting the island wildlife, Mr. Iguana.


The private island was fun.  We didn't really leave our chairs except to snorkel, eat, and visit the restroom.  It was a hot one, though!  I was trying very hard to not get sunburned.  At one point I had my towel over my legs and torso and Sammy's extra t-shirt over my head and shoulders.  Plus the SPF 60 I had smeared all over me.

Tomorrow: Day 4 and back on shore in Port Canaveral, Florida.  More pictures to come!

Vacation: Day 2 - Nassau, Bahamas

Well, now that you've seen what officially happened on day one of our cruise vacation, I'll fill in on day 2.  We flew to Orlando, Florida on Friday to make our way to Port Canaveral and board our ship and almost missed our flight.  So much for being prepared and checking the terminal before hand.  After an eventful engagement night, we geared up to get off the ship the next day for a stop in Nassau, Bahamas.

We ate breakfast and decided to watch the sunrise from the deck for a few minutes.  Sammy took the seagull shot.

We decided the most effective way to see the best of this island in an afternoon was to pay for access to the Atlantis Resort, a spectacular resort right on the turquoise waters.  So, we took a taxi van ride over and headed to the beach.

Look!  I actually do make it into some of the pictures!



The Atlantis Resort from a distance.  It is massive!









The area known as "Predator Lagoon" was a massive indoor/outdoor aquarium that had a viewing tunnel.






Do you see the bridge between the two towers?  Oh, no.  Not just any bridge.  That's a room.  Don't ask the price per night.  You don't want to know.


Made it to the beach!


Got in the water...














Had some fun and laughs...  I enjoyed playing with the continuous shoot mode on the camera!


Then we decided it was awfully hot and it was time for a drink.  This my friends is a "Mango Bango" and it might very well be the best mixed drink I have ever had.  Delicious.  They are not shy with the rum, either.  After resting with a couple of drinks, we decided to find the area on the property known as "Dolphin Cay."  We found it, and observed from the viewing area.











Overall, Nassau and The Atlantis were beautiful.  I especially liked the colorful beach-town architecture.  So sunny and bright!  Sammy and I both said that we wouldn't mind going to the Bahamas and just staying at the Atlantis for the whole vacation.  It was beautiful and there is no shortage of activities.  In our walking, we didn't even make half the property and I certainly didn't photograph everything.  You would never have to leave the property.  It's just getting together our spare change to make it happen!  Does anyone want to come over and accidentally drop, say, a couple thousand into our sofa cushions??




Tomorrow: Day 3 and the private island of Cococay.  More pictures to come!

Yes, Virginia, there really is a bobcat in the driveway.

Yesterday, we saw a bobcat across the street behind our house.  It was hanging out in the field back there minding its business.  We watched it for about 5 minutes and went on our way.  We didn't think we would see him again for a while.  Until today.  I was actually talking on the phone to a friend and was telling her about our "sighting" yesterday.  I was chatting and gazing out our upstairs bedroom window.  Then, I saw it.  I stopped, froze, and said, "Holy cow!  You're never going to believe this.  The bobcat is in our driveway.  RIGHT OUTSIDE.  I HAVE TO GO GET THE CAMERA!"

I ran for the camera and managed to get a few decent shots through the window (the best you can do without tearing the screen down and scaring the cat away).  I then bravely headed out the garage and caught even more shots.  I wasn't afraid of it, but I did keep my distance.  All in all, I was a happy photographer!

So, as you can see from the progression of events, he stalked a bunny (didn't catch it) and then decided to head back to the creek behind our development.

Taking Flight

Over the weekend at the ranch I wanted to stretch my photography skills and tried to take shots of things I haven't tried before.  I took a minute to go outside and catch the hummingbirds during their morning feeding time and got (what I believe to be) a few decent shots.  I stood fairly close to the feeder (in the flower bed barefoot, no less - I was trying to hurry) and stayed still.  They were spooked at first, but got used to me enough to come around.  The last photo is a bit blurred (difficult to focus on those tiny critters!), but you can see that both hummers are resting on the fence together.  Enjoy!

 

James Avery Corporate Headquarters

You might know that I am a huge fan of James Avery Jewelry.  You might have seen me wear it a time or twenty-five.  Yesterday, I had the chance to drive to Kerrville, TX and visit the corporate headquarters, retail store, and visitor's center.  I've always wanted to, and I'm glad I did.  There is no "tour" per se, but there is a small visitor's center and a retail store.

The visitor's center has a documentary playing about James Avery's personal story, and has some favorite and special items.  There is a window overlooking one of the jewelry-making floors and that is interesting to watch as well.  In addition, the backdrop is the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and the "factory" definitely doesn't look like a factory.  It is a beautiful place where I wish I could work!  Who wouldn't want to walk out after a day at work to the beautiful scenery and serenity?

Enjoy the photos I took below.  Click on each for a better view.

A case with several pages of James Avery's original sketches.



The original sketch and wax casting for The Creation Cross.



James Avery was asked to create the communion vessels for the Pope's visit to San Antonio in 1987. You can read the description better by clicking the picture to enlarge. The visitor's center had replicas of the originals.




A wax casting tree.



A view onto the jewelry making floor.


The window looking in on the jewelry making floor.



An apparent project on someone's desk.

An employee working on rings.

Some of James Avery's original tools.



An original price log book from 1957.  Wish the prices were still the same!

Photoshoppin' The Oldies...

I'm at it again.  This time, I brought home a baby photo of Sammy from his Mema's house this weekend and I thought, "Hmm... I just know I can fix this baby up."  Pun intended, by the way.

So, here's the before and after.  Darned good, if I do say so myself.  I found a couple of very elementary tutorials online for fixing old photos in Photoshop Elements, and I am pleased with the results.  I basically knew what to do, such as using a blemish tool and color correction, but I needed a little more detailed instruction to fine tune.

What I really should do is do this more often - I know those old photos exist in our families that need restoration.

Color is faded and pretty pink.  There are also a lot of little spots on the photo - who knows what from.  You really have to click to enlarge to really see how bad the photo was.


The doctored version.  It may not be perfect, but to my eyes, it looks pretty nice.  Next, you can explain to me why his eyes look brown when I zoom into the picture.  They are blue.  And this is definitely him!

You know, the one thing I couldn't do with this photo was wipe that completely mischievous grin off that cute face.  Even at that age it looks like he is mere seconds from getting into trouble...

Photo Editing - Learning Curve Ahead!

After getting this snazzy new camera, there is one big learning curve.  Not only in the camera settings, but in editing.  I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements for the Mac at a nice sale price, and I have been slowly learning little things to do to improve my "SOOC" (straight out of the camera) photos.  I first learned how to colorize certain elements of a photo (like the cute photos of babies with santa hats that are black and white, but the santa hat is red), but I didn't save my work.  I will likely have to head to the Adobe website and run that tutorial again.  There were a lot of steps to remember.

However, this little experiment I did save!  I have been diligently reading The Pioneer Woman's Photography Blog and learning all of her beginner-friendly skills.  I decided to use the photo below to practice her recent tutorial for simple photo enhancement using Photoshop Elements.

What do you think?  From my eyes, it looks better.  I didn't want to over-do it.  I don't want my photos to look "Photoshopped."  The top is obviously "SOOC" and the bottom is with a little enhancement.  This could become very useful!  I'll keep working the tutorial with some other photos and see what I come up with.