2022 Holidays | Merry Christmas!

December 26, 2022 by Debra

Hi, Merry Christmas 2022 to you. Our holiday festivities will be celebrated over a two week time frame beginning last weekend Saturday, December 17 thru next Monday, January 2, 2023. Funny how the older I become, the more I enjoy going slower. Enjoy the present a little more! The grand girls are the opposite, they have been so excited for Christmas morning and seeing what Santa brought.

We kick started the season with meeting up with my husband’s family on Saturday, Dec 17, 2022. Our Christmas gathering was at the Hollis Renewal Center. Our family has outgrown going to one family’s home to celebrate indoors during the chilly holiday.

Kevin’s siblings all were able to join; something I am truly grateful for! It was the second generation we missed. As the family grows time together is a commodity cherished when we can be together! They were missed as we had a wonderful time eating, playing games and celebrating this holy holiday Christmas.

Christmas with my parents was moved to Monday, January 2, 2023. Erika and her family had caught a cold from their travels the week before to Branson. Not wanting to pass the bug on, the decision to reschedule was made.

Kevin and I joined Erika and Shaune (and girls) on Saturday as previously planned; not to celebrate Christmas, but eat ham and beans and watch the Chiefs play football. The Chiefs won! Each time I am with the girls, I do my best to get our selfie. This day Brynlee was given the selfie stick and was in charge to take our picture this time.

My next post will feature the gathering for my folks, Erika’s family, Adam and my husband.

Merry Christmas 2022!

Best Wishes,

Family Time | Easter Weekend

April 22, 2017 by Debra

Hi, I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend with family and friends! I was very thankful to spend the whole weekend with members of my family. It is weekend’s such as this that I cherish greatly. Saturday I had the great pleasure spending the morning at my grand daughters soccer game. This was a first for me. I was the grand parent! Totally enjoying the game.

Brie at soccer game.

This was a first in the respect, I had to keep quiet. For me this is not an easy task! I know nothing about soccer; I didn’t want to yell out in case I was misleading. So I kept quiet (like a grandma should) and took my pictures. Following the game there was an Easter egg hunt.

The community center asked that the eggs be recycled (give back) so they could be used next year. It was good to see everyone emptying the eggs and giving them back.

After the morning activities, we headed to Red Robin for an endless basket of fries………..

After playing the biggest part of the day, it was time to head home and begin Easter baking. More family time Sunday with Easter dinner.

Best Wishes,

Freeze | How to Take Sharp Action Pictures

March 6, 2017 by Debra 2 Comments

SHARP ACTION PICTURES

Hi, taking pictures is what I do. Sometimes I just need to play; to remember why I love photography so much. Have you ever wondered how to take sharp action pictures? Here are the simple sure steps to freeze a picture while shooting in manual mode.

FOCUS MODE: AF-C
Select AF-C that continuously maintains focus on a moving subject while the shutter button is held halfway down.

FOCUS AREA: WIDE
Select Wide that automatically focuses on a subject, wherever it is positioned within the frame.

DRIVE MODE: Continuous Shooting- Hi
When shooting a moving subject, select Continuous Shooting that takes continuous shots while the shutter button is held all the way down.

SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500 sec. or faster
Try to select a fast shutter speed, so that the subject doesn’t become blurred.

The family image above settings info:
Focal Length: 70.00 mm (in 35mm: 105 mm)
Exposure: 1/640 sec; f/3.5; ISO 200; Manual

If you are just beginning to shoot out of the Auto mode, set your camera to the Shutter Priority mode (S or TV on camera top dial). Next set your Shutter Speed to 1/1000 or simply 1000. Then continue with the Focus Mode, Focus Area and Drive Mode. Note: With a shutter speed of 1/1000, this is very fast. You will want to be in a very bright area; outdoor action photos. An excellent reference is the camera manual. I keep mine in my camera bag. A pdf copy is on my smart phone as well! In case you have miss placed your manual, simply Google your camera make, model along with the word manual. This is how I saved a pdf copy to my smart phone.

Exciting events: While writing this post, Kevin asked if I would stop for a bit and walk down to the pond with him. Sure– how fun. I grabbed the camera. Good thing I did. Merle went with us and when Kevin cast his line out, Merle would go into the water after it!

Images on this website, I use the Sony Nex-5n and Sony a6000 exclusively. If your camera settings do not match the ones given above, please refer to your camera’s operating manual.

This was a time I wished I grabbed the zoom lens. Post edited the zoom in Photoshop for the images above.

Lens: E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Focal Length: 50.00 mm (in 35mm: 75 mm)
Exposure: 1/1000 sec; f/5.6; ISO 200; Shutter priority

Have I inspired you to get out and freeze some photos?

Best Wishes,