Fun Day 650 Ft Below

August 31, 2015 by Debra 4 Comments

Fun day 650 feet below; Strataca– Hutchison, KS.

Hi, Saturday I had a date with my hubby! It was a pleasant surprise when Kevin agreed to take a road trip to Hutchison, KS. We left at 9 am and returned at 9 pm. A fun filled day 650 ft below. Off we went to Hutchison KS to see the salt mine – Strataca. We left our home just north of Lawrence and drove south of Topeka down to Hutchinson. Our route is marked below. The drive home we headed north to Junction City where Kevin surprised me with a wonderful dinner at Munson’s Prime.

Strataca

Mike Rowe- Dirty Jobs did an episode on the mining side of the salt mine. The video recording of the episode plays in the lobby of the Strataca. The salt mine functions in three capacities: mining for salt- road salt for winter conditions; storage of film, digital media and documents; and the museum.

The total time we were 650 ft below was approx. 3 hours. There was a self tour which included a 12 minute train ride. And we were able to take the Dark Ride! While on this ride the conductor for a brief moment shut the lights out. Boy that was dark! It was interesting to know that there were no bugs in the mine. Breathing air is pumped down the shaft. Without electricity, there would be enough air to breath for about two weeks the tour guide mentioned. After our tour was complete we drove north to Hutchinson, KS where Kevin surprised me with a delicious steak dinner! He read of this family operated restaurant in the Grass & Grain paper.

Munson’s Prime

Munson’s Prime was delicious! Each dining guest selects their own steak from the “market”. The price depends on the one selected. The side dishes are served family style with unlimited refills. Dessert of home made ice cream included! This is a family business that extends beyond the restuarant industry. Click here to read all about the Munson’s Prime.

There are lots of images in the gallery from our outing. Simply click the link below to check them out!

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Best Wishes,

Our Friend is Moving

August 16, 2015 by Debra 2 Comments

Hi, I’m going to cry. I just know it. The tears are swelling in my eyes as I am typing. Today Katie is on her way to the airport. She’s flying to North Carolina to be with her mom, sister, her brother and her family. Katie is very happy. I truly am happy for her as well. However, it’s bittersweet.

What can I tell you about Katie? I consider her one of my kids. She’s fun, care-free and you are left to wonder what color her hair will be the next time you see her. Heck, she might even shave it off! Katie makes my son happy. And that makes me happy! She loves cats and anything furry.

Keeping in touch with today’s technology will be very heart warming. I have already been looking into the Skype for computer and the app for my Android. And of course text and phone calls. Vacations are always possible.

Kate’s leaving is bittersweet. Saying good-bye is never easy. God brought Katie into our lives. I will treasure our friendship and remember her always.

The collage above features images from a casual photo shoot last year. I was preparing a photography order to send to the lab. The lab was having an 8×10 half price sale so I wanted to take advantage of the special. I was going through all of my images and ran across these. The above collage was designed (with Fotofusion) as an 8×10 and I had 5 of them printed. One for each of the kids plus me, my mom and Erika.

Did you ever have a good friend move away? How did you cope with them leaving?

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Best Wishes,

Editing | Photography

July 27, 2015 by Debra

Hi, I just LOVE photography! As previously stated, images here on gmasDiary are not fully edited. They will resemble the middle image above. Levels and color adjustments is just about all that I do to the pictures. The collage illustrates one image at the three editing stages used for my personal and professional pictures. My personal preference is never print the straight out of camera file.

Skin tone straight out of camera is never correct. By adjusting the color and exposure in Adobe Lightroom the image is much more appealing and flattering. The final editing in Photoshop of skin and eye enhancement is especially important for larger sized prints.

From straight out of camera to the final enhancement images takes less than 10 minutes to process. Using the correct camera settings saves tremendous amounts of time in post production of the image. Especially true if there are multiple images to edit!

If you would like information on how I edit my images, please contact me.

Best Wishes,