Raining & Racing + Pictures

The Indy 500 is today along with the Coca-Cola 600 after that. That is 1,100 miles for racing today! The road race in Monaco was also on tv earlier but I didn't watch much of that...

The Memorial Day weekend has been filled with rain thus far. OH! It's been raining since early Saturday morning as well. We still went on the "Behind the Signs" tour at Lee Metcalf Refuge. It was very informative and fun as well. If it wouldn't have been raining and 40 degress we would have enjoyed it much more. Yes, that's right, I said 40 degress. The high yesterday was 46 and the predicted high is 53 today, however I have a feeling we won't get to 50.

On with the pictures now... Since recieving the camera on Wednesday evening, I have taken 213 pictures - I really havn't had a chance to really set up any 'nice' pictures, but I have been able to take a few pictures which I will share.


We have some flowers in the backyard that are just blooming and they are making a good subject to photograph. The good thing about flowers is they don't move around and it is easy to setup a picture that looks good. I havn't been able to take any pictures in full sunlight though. All of the outdoor pictures were taken when it was cloudy or near sundown without any direct sunlight. I do like the close-up pictures of the flowers and the detail that the camera shows. I am hoping the rain will give me a break so I can run outside and take some pictures of the flowers with water on them. Those types of pictures usually make a nice photograph as well.

Due to the fact I havn't mowed the lawn in three weeks, we have quite a wide variety of grasses and weeds growing throughout the yard. I got down on the ground and took a few pictures and I thought the detail in the photo was excellent. I especially like how quickly the background blurs and the foreground comes into focus. The picture almost becomes an eye teaser in the fact that it is difficult to tell where one stem ends and another begins. The white and green contrast is a nice effect as well - as with the pictures before, the violet and green contrast is nice.

I also found a flower in the flowerbed by the sidewalk which had gone unnoticed. I didn't think it would make much of a photo, but after looking it over a few times I am starting to like the picture more and more. I really like how the flower is in focus and the stem extends down and goes out of focus at the bottom of the picture. Once again, there is a nice contrast with the white petals and the green background - with a hint of dark red - make for a nice look.

For the final outdoor picture I have a view of the Bitterroot Valley from our back deck. This would be looking southwest at Lolo. I really liked how the setting sun reflected off the leaves of the tree on the left side and the dark clouds around the mountain really made a nice contrast. For just snapping a quick picture of the area I was quite pleased with the results. On the right side you can see the tree which has died. I am afraid that the tree is going to blow over in a strong wind and really make a mess of things, but the landlord didn't seem to concerned with the tree, so I will let it be and keep clear when a storm approaches!

And now I will move onto some subjects with a little character. Ha ha! Well, the first picture is obviously of Laura. Oh, I forgot to mention, the camera takes black and white photos as well - I have really liked that feature for just snapping photos of us when we are just sitting around. Laura has been a very good sport with all the pictures I have been taking. She is probably getting a little tired with me taking the camera everywhere, but she doesn't complain when I start putting the camera in her face and start taking pictures. She does laugh at me when I take ten pictures in a row, but she knows I am an odd character to start with.. I mean look at the pictures I took this morning...

The first picture looks like my prison photo or something. I am in desperate need of a haircut and probably should find a razor as well. I didn't do too bad for just sticking the camera into the air and shooting a picture though.

I used a mirror to get the shots actually - but I never checked the viewfinder to see where the camera was focusing. I just aimed in the direction I thought I needed and took the picture. A couple of pictures I zoomed in and then took a guess as to where the best angle would be. Here's one I got lucky on and actually got my entire face in the frame. No Photoshop or anything - actually all of my prison photos are 'as is' and no editing was done... Maybe I should give myself a digital haircut though, look at that mess!

Don't be under the impression that I am mad in these pictures. I am usually in a pretty good mood, but my face naturally seems to have a 'pissed off' demeanor whenever I am not intentionally smiling. So even though I look unhappy this is really how I always look. Ha ha! Yikes... I like the picture where you can see the camera off to the side of the frame. Not only do you get a wonderful view of my stylish hair, but you can also see that wild shower curtain we have!

Finally, I like the last picture because nothing is exactly in perfect focus. The door is out of focus, but so is my face. There isn't a distinct area that is focused. Sometimes those are the best photos.

That's all the pictures I have right now - that are any good anyway. I will be trying to get some more photos when I get a chance to get outside and take some pictures. When the rain stops I will definatly be out there!

Until again

-=Nolan=-