Labor Day Picnic

Spouse and I had a lovely Labor Day picnic with my Dad and his friend S at Gillie Lake.

Gillie Lake is one of those sweet little out of the way parks that's so close to home (less than a 15 minute drive) but yet I forget its very existence.  There's hardly ever anyone there, and it IS a beautiful spot for a picnic.  It's more of a large pond than a lake, really, but has swimming, big open lawns, picnic tables and a few picnic shelters, and a lovely old barn with agricultural exhibits in it.

And well, you know me and rusting farm equipment.  I can't help taking pictures of it.  It's some kind of compulsion!

In fact, taking photos is a compulsion.  Everywhere I go I see things I want to take pictures of, often the most ridiculously random things, like the thumb tacks in the picnic shelter below.  They were screaming "photograph me, and the way the light is making us glow!"  Ah well.  An artist's brain is never still.  Hope you enjoy them.

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Lytro Dreams

I have heard about this camera for a while, but just recently got to see some of its amazing possibilities here.  Check it out!  A camera you can focus AFTER you take the picture!  I just added it to my wish list.  What a fantastic toy that would be to add to my camera collection!  That, and a macro lens.  And a really bright zoom...

Sigh.  More dreams than I have money for.  But still.  At least the Lytro isn't that expensive.  It's far less than some of the lenses I want, so it remains in the realm of possibility someday.  But only after I rebuild the back stairs, put hardwoods down on the stair case inside since the pets have ruined the carpet, get new brakes on my car, and buy a new dryer.  The list never ends.  But hey - a girl can dream!

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Friendly Katydid Katydidn't

I was standing in my kitchen when I looked over and noticed wee little Wednesday staring intently at the floor with her ears swept forward.  Sensing she might be up to no good, I leaned forward to see what she was looking at, and lo and behold!  I had a very large katydid strolling across my dining room floor!


I quickly scooped her up and took her outside.  Insects don't last long in my house - Sneakers usually gets pretty violent with them.  While that's great when it comes to the horrifying house centipedes that I have a phobia of (slinky! fast! creepy!) I generally hate that cats kill for the fun of it.  For good measure I ushered the male cats inside to give my katydid a fighting chance.

I adore bugs (aside from the aforementioned centipedes), but am not great at identification.  I need some good field guides and to really spend some time working on it.  Beyond knowing she's a katydid, and that her long ovipositer makes her a female, I can't get more specific.  Any bug lovers want to tell me more?  She was nearly 4 inches long - big enough that I considered calling her Big Bertha.

She sat on the railing on the back porch for ages and took a bath.  I love the shots of her washing her antennae.

I want a macro lens soooo badly.  It's on my wish list.  I want to get good close-ups of buggy eyes!

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Carnival

I have no good explanation for why, but I got inspired to check out the Canalfest in Rome, NY on Saturday.  We'd never been, but saw it was free (big motivator).  I was tempted to go to a beach somewhere-or-other since it was in the mid 90s and the air was viscous with humidity, but I wasn't in the mood for a crowded beach, somehow.

It was a good time.  Rome Canalfest is sort of like a county fair without animals.  There were horticulture and photography and quilt contests, and of course a midway.

This "flower arrangement" is just... weird.  And creepy.  Reminds me of Ophelia.

There were also some water skiing shows and all sorts of vendors and a fireworks show at the end of the evening.

I am not certain how much you should take my word for its being enjoyable and worth the trip to Rome, though.  I've discovered that so long as I have my camera along, I can pretty much always enjoy myself!

I find carnivals to be a wonderful place to play with different shutter speeds, particularly at night.  I love all the bright colors and lights, all the faces of people enjoying the fair, all the commotion.  Next time I go to a carnival I'll be taking a tripod along, I swear.  I could have had more fun with one, and could have taken far better pictures.  But even without I enjoyed the interesting effects, some of which I think are rather haunting.  I certainly learned some new tricks I will be applying again, perhaps at the New York State Fair midway (with tripod, damnit!).  My favorites are the funky portraits, where faces appear in the midst of the chaotic swirling motion.

Hope you enjoy the show!

I love how ghostly the riders appear in the next few.

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