Nobama!

I disagree with everything Obama. Even though I thought he started out on the right foot, I now have to say he has made many questionable moves. It's to the point where I can say I'm glad I didn't vote for him. I still hope he (or someone) can pull us out of this mess of an economy we're in, but I really don't think he knows what he's doing. He is pretending.

Behind the Glitch

Well, it appears I've been procrastinating on keeping my blogs up to date. Honestly, it is an indication of how busy I've been. Looking over my past blog entries, I've also noticed that many of my pictures are gone. One of the things I've been doing during my 2009 summer break is to "clean up" my directories and files. Over the years, my directory structures and file naming conventions have evolved mainly for the purposes of genealogy. My present goal is to go through all of my computer folders and files and restructure and rename them so that all conform to the same format. The purpose is to better organize everything for my genealogy program. It helps me keep better tabs on the records I've found during my research and travels. So, I apologize for not keeping my blog up to date and organized. When I get my directories and files in order, I'll come back and attempt to do the same for my blogs.

Obama's First Day in Office

Well, I believe I should give our new President credit. On his first day in office he issued a pay freeze for his senior staff members. He's off to a good start!

Obama's Inauguration

A little over a year ago on January 5, 2008, I wrote in my blog what I thought, then, about the presidential race. At that time, we didn't know who the nominations would be for either party - Democrats and Republicans - nor any others for that matter. Mitt Romney would have been my choice for the Republicans but he lost to John McCain.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were neck-and-neck for most of the Democratic race. Clinton was a little behind and falling further behind as the days went by. She wouldn't give up until Obama had enough votes to knock her out.

Then we experienced the presidential campaigns and incessant advertisements everywhere. I noticed a trend, at least from the people I talked to or saw with my own eyes. It seems the youth of our country were more excited about voting than in years past. The majority of them had their hearts set on electing Barack Obama as the next president. Minorities naturally leaned in his direction. Women voters who were wanting to promote Hillary to the office were disappointed that she wasn't nominated and switched from the nominated Dem candidate to McCain, especially after he chose Sarah Palin to be his VP candidate.

Either way, history would be made. Sarah Palin could have been the first female VP or Barack Obama would have been the first man of African-American descent to be made President. As it turns out, Obama and his running mate, Joseph Biden, were victorious.

No, I didn't vote for Obama. We don't see eye to eye on many items. That doesn't mean I won't have faith in him. I pray he does well. I wish him luck in turning this poor economy around. It is my hope that he makes good decisions on what this country needs to propel it to leadership status once again.

Tomorrow, January 20, 2009, history will be made as Obama is inaugurated as the President of the United States of America. He will be sworn in using the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used on his first inauguration. I'm expecting one of the best inaugural speeches in history. Referring back to my Jan. 5, '08 blog, I mentioned that he was an eloquent speaker reminiscent of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Happy 80th Birthday, Dr. King!). On the news this evening, I learned that Obama has researched Lincoln's second inaugural speech as well as Kennedy's inaugural speech, most likely to quote them or emulate their styles. It sounds like Obama wants to be remembered after his presidency for many, many years.

If I remember, I'll post a blog about Obama's inauguration tomorrow. Until then....

Through the Lens - DP101 Assignment 3

Since I've been trying to photograph something everyday, I have had a little bit of a head start on the latest assignment from Through the Lens - Digital Photography 101. The theme for Assignment 3 is Better Composition. It is something I've been working at and wasn't quite sure what the rule of thumb was other than the Rule of Thirds. Now, I have more options available as seen hereafter with eight photography tips. Besides this blog, these photos have either been added to my Photoblog and Flickr accounts or they already reside there. Enjoy!

#1 - Rule of Thirds

This photo was taken at about 1:30 a.m. during an approaching lightning storm. I was hoping for streak lightning in the background but wasn't so lucky. I did, however, get plenty of sheet lightning providing adequate background lighting for the subject. The original was about a 106 second exposure, though still quite dark. The contrast and colors were tweaked in PS.

#2 - No Background Clutter (and Rule of Thirds)

The picture of the deer was taken in June while on vacation to Durango, Colorado. I didn't get any closer for fear of a hoof attack!

#3 - Viewpoint Angle

This is another photo that was taken in June for the Grand Opening of the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri (free plug?) Dirk (in pic) and I are members of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). They'd like me to be in the Color Guard, but then who would take the pictures?

#4 - Fill Frame

Meet the granite girl I affectionately refer to as Rebekaha. She is the same subject as photo #1. Rebekaha is part of a large headstone about a mile from my house. This has to be the neatest grave marker in town. It stands about 8 feet tall which requires a step ladder to get an angle as seen in this pic.

#5 - Lines

After sleeping in this morning (teachers get to do that during the summer), I awoke to find a fog still hovering outside. Not wanting to miss this weather opportunity, I skipped breakfast and headed out to get some fog photos. Well, they weren't so great, but I did find several vacant spider webs covered with fog dew inviting me to capture their image for this assignment!

#6 - Details

Flowers weren't in bloom outside my home when I took this picture, but I couldn't pass it up for this part of the assignment. It was taken at the Flower & Garden Show in March. Check out the details of the stamen and pistil on this flower. A picture of the flower including its stem would not have been as striking as the flower alone.

#7- Know the Subject

The Church of Saint Luke (Episcopal) in Excelsior Springs, Missouri is the reason I slept in. Another night shot taken after midnight with a 4 minute exposure time. The street lights provided the lighting I needed. Other than cropping, this image has remained unaltered, although I must say, it looks awesome in b/w.

#8 - Breaking the Rules (Panning Blur)

A visit to a skate park in Kansas City today allowed me to complete the assignment. It wasn't necessarily my intention to copy delineated's idea of a skateboarder. It was the only thing I could think of at that moment. I would imagine that trains, cars, bugs, birds, pets, airplanes, runaway shopping carts, and more could be used as a subject of panning blur. By the way, I did try the camera toss. It was scary thinking that my concentration on tossing it just right would cause me to lose focus on catching the darned camera. I managed to eek out one somewhat decent picture after about three attempts. I may try it again if I can rig up an apparatus that will simulate the effects of a toss but without the possibility of camera wreckage!

All in all, I had a great time with this assignment and am looking forward to the next one. While waiting for Hallie to post it (in about 2.5 weeks), I shall continue taking photos using what I've learned from this and past lessons. Thanks, Hallie!

DP101 Assignment 2

I made it a point to go out to shoot some pictures in manual mode today. The assignment is to familiarize myself with the white balance function. With my camera, when using auto mode, the white balance is automatically adjusted too. Using any of the manual settings allows manual selection and adjustment of the white balance function. Hallie did a nice job explaining it at Through The Lens: Digital Photography 101 Assignment 2.

In my experimentation, I would find a subject, set up my camera on a tripod, and shoot one auto mode picture (as a benchmark) before switching to manual. I used the same aperature and shutter speeds as auto mode to duplicate what was taken in auto mode only to find out that too much light came in. So, I adjusted my aperature and shutter speed until I was satisfied. Basically, what I found out when I moved the pictures over to my computer was that the ISO setting was set to 1600! I didn't notice and was too uneducated to check!

The day wasn't a complete waste though. I did see the differences in white balance settings through my experimentation. The pictures may have been clearer with a lower ISO setting like 100 or 200. I must have been somewhere really dark to use 1600 recently. Oh well. I guess I learned two lessons today - white balance adjustments and ISO settings! My plan is to redo the assignment, possibly at the same locations. Here are a few pictures I took today at ISO-1600:

Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Auto mode

This first photo shows the sand colored wall as something cooler than sand. When I was seeing it with my own eyes, it was a much warmer color even with the scattered clouds overhead that were partially blocking the sunlight.

Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Manual mode with white balance set to direct sun at -3

This image is slightly warmer than the one taken in auto mode, but it still isn't where it should be.

Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Manual mode with white balance set to direct sun at 0

The sandy color in this photo is about where it should be, at least according to my eyes. I still want to show what it looks like if it is too warm...

Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Manual mode with white balance set to direct sun at +3

Here it is! This one really does have too much sunshine in it making it appear too warm. The differences are very subtle, especially when looking at them on a little 2" camera screen.

Now, I need to go out and do it again, but with the ISO set correctly! ;-)

Through The Lens: Digital Photography 101 - Assignment 1

Today, I joined the Yahoo! group ThroughTheLens-DigitalPhotography101@yahoogroups.com. This group was created by an amateur photographer for amateur photographers as a means to learn photography tips and techniques with each other. I believe it is a wonderful platform to use to learn and share various aspects of digital photography. I'm really looking forward to it.

The first assignment is to read the camera manual and then go out and take some pictures. Having had my Nikon D40x for a year now, I've found that the manual is a necessity when "auto" mode just doesn't cut it. So, for the first assignment, I'm a step ahead. I've already read the manual. As for the photos, I've posted some images that I captured just two days ago.

It was supposed to be a foggy morning. I wasn't sleeping well, so I got up early to take advantage of the fog. By the time I arrived at my destination at Watkin's Mill Park in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, the fog had already burned off. I still took time to take pictures. Hereafter are a few examples.

A Still Morning

Fence Row

Old Bridge

Ivy

Photography

Last year, I purchased a Nikon D40x camera. It's a digital (10.2 megapixel) SLR. It came with two lenses, an 18-55mm and a 55-200mm. The only equipment I've added since has been a polarizer filter and a replacement battery after the first one quit. The camera goes with me most of the time because I want to be prepared for whatever image may present itself.

As with most photographers, my goal is to improve my photography skills. My plans to accomplish this goal are classes, online communities, and trial and error, of course. The most important thing, though, is feedback. If you're reading this, and you see photographs dated after this entry, please comment on them if you have the time. I would appreciate any constructive criticism. Please, don't feel as if you shouldn't offer suggestions as to what could have been different or better. That's what I'm looking for. Your advice will be appreciated.

The Presidential Race 2008

I have never really followed politics much, if at all, but this year the race has received more of my attention for reasons unknown. Maybe it's because I'm older. I don't know. But anyway, I'm following it more than usual. As November 2008 draws nearer, I'll probably hate politics all over again due to the negative ads and incessant barrage of junk mail and pre-recorded phone calls.

A couple months ago, I completed a questionnaire at http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460 to see which candidate best matched my views and opinions. Since I was not familiar with most of the candidates, I thought it would be nice to see who I should be following as far as ideals go. As it turned out, the candidate who most matched my opinions the first time I completed it was Mitt Romney. The list was top-heavy with Republicans. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were near the bottom along with most other Democrats.

I just went through the questionnaire again and came up with different results. No, the questions didn't change, but my answers must have. I'm not sure where my opinions have changed since I didn't print out the results. Anyway, at the top now is some guy named Duncan Hunter, a Republican and Vietnam Veteran endorsed by Chuck Yeager. Mitt Romney has slid down the list a ways. Clinton moved up the list and Obama remains near the bottom.

My point in all this is that I'm still not sure who I would want in office. In my opinion, I think whichever candidate I tend to agree with should be the one I vote for. At the conclusion of the Iowa Caucus and hearing all of the candidates' speeches afterwards, I would have to say that the best person for the job, the one who sounds like someone who would be a GREAT PRESIDENT, my gut feeling... is for Barack Obama! What? His viewpoints for the most part are the opposite of mine. But, listen to his speeches. I sense great things are to come from this man. His post-caucus speech was reminiscent of speeches from other notable historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln (no recorded speeches, but his speeches are timeless masterpieces), John F. Kennedy, or Martin Luther King, Jr. Listen to him! Wow!

Don't get me wrong. I haven't voted yet. My feelings may change. At this time, we still don't know who the Democrat or Republican candidates are. We have a better idea of who they might be. And, as a Republican, I'll be the first to say that I won't necessarily vote Republican. I'll vote for who I believe to be the best candidate.

Now, assuming Obama becomes the Democratic nomination for President, and assuming he wins and becomes our next President, I fear great tragedy for a great American politician. Obama has two qualities about him that many prejudiced people may not be able to look past - his race and his religion. One or the other could quite possibly end in his demise. I, for one, would not want to see that happen despite our opposing viewpoints, simply because assassination is not the answer to anything. Not only that, but the United States would be in turmoil. Think about it... race and religion riots... not just in America, but around the world, repercussions would be felt.