Snow daze

In PA, as in may other states, we've been having snow storms on average of once a week.  At first it didn't amount to much, but the storms seem to get bigger each week.

Right now, we have about 3 feet of snow in the backyard.  Walking around back there can be a bit of a challenge and makes me laugh because of the way I have to walk to keep my balance.  So far I have not fallen, but I was really tempted to just fall on my back and see what it felt like and to try to make a snow angel.  Who knows, the snow isn't going anywhere any time soon.....

These pictures are taken during the Jan. snow storms, snow and ice.  All were taken in my back yard.

This following shot was taken during the ice storm

Another ice storm photo

I think there might be a bird in this bird house.  Smart bird!

From the Hudson River

Back in August, one of my dearest friends got married.  It was a wonderful ceremony, all done outside, with the Hudson river as a backdrop.

The next day, I went back to get some shots of the river.  Heres what I saw....

A close up shot of the Palisades on the NJ side of the river.

Just a shadow, or could something big have been swimming by?

Looking at this boat, I wanted to do just that, play hooky...

I'll have to find out what the building is.  If anyone knows, please post the answer.  :)

One of my favorite shots...

Taken from inside the reception hall.

That's a corner of the reception hall, view looking back towards NYC

From the garden, summer 2010

By now, using the camera is almost like a drug.  I literally have this urge to take pictures and will grab my camera and just walk around the house, looking for something to catch my eye.

I was passing the garden and some of the flowers were blooming, so in I went...

These were the first flowers I've every planted.  Day lilies, they've become a favorite.  I had yellow ones, but they died when the garden was moved from the front to the side of the house.

After those came back so nicely, I started planting more...

...and more...

...and still more...

Until recently, the majority of what I had were day lilies.  After seeing how well they were doing, I moved on to other types of flowers.

But, I always seem to come back to day lilies...

Wild flowers

How to begin...

I've taken pictures of people, places and things all my life.  They've never struck me as anything special until I took one picture of a field.  When I had the pictures developed, I couldn't believe how green it was.  It was exactly like I saw it and now I had the picture in my hands and could look at it any time I wanted.

Problem with that was, I always had to remember to have film with me and then to remember to have the film developed.  I somehow always managed to forget one or the other, and as a result, I still have some of those little black film cases with the grey tops, rolling around in my "catch it all" draw.  Some probably have pictures on them, some are probably blank.  But they're all so old, they'd probably just crumble to pieces if I removed them from their protective cases.

My interest in photography was renewed slightly when my daughter invited one of her friends up to the house a few years ago.  She bought with her, her camera.  A Nikon.  With that, she took the most fantastic pictures I had seen in a long time.  I could not believe the detail she was able to catch.  She kept assuring me that she was not a professional.  So there we were, in my backyard walking around, me pointing out things I wanted her to take a picture of, her taking the pictures and me in total awe of what I was seeing.

I priced the camera, and felt it was a little pricey for a hobby and opted to wait.  A few years went by and I forgot about getting the camera.  It wasn't until one of my co-workers came back from vacation.  She had taken a picture of an older couple walking down a dirt road.  It was a beautiful picture.  She had it blown up and framed and it now hangs in her office.  I was impressed.  She told me that she literally didn't know what she was doing, just pointed the camera and clicked and this was what she got.  I was sold.  That was the year I finally treated myself to the camera.  And it's been a source of constant amazement and enjoyment for me ever since.

I've shared some of my pictures with friends and family over the years and they've urged me to find a way to share them with everyone.  So here I am and here's where I begin.  I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoy taking them.

Thanks Shawn, for all of your encouragement, it means more to me than you'll ever know.