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2013-05-22 10:13:51 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

Welcome to my little shop of horrors

#allthingsred  +Lucille Galleli +Stephen Thackeray +AllThingsRed
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club   #tulips  

2013-05-05 11:55:02 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Pig Nuggets!

On the floor at the Whitewater Wisconsin train depot (museum).

#signsunday  +Lori Carey +Janice La Mere Hackney +Gary Posner +Sign Sunday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 

2013-05-01 10:37:27 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

No, I'M the Kween of the spelling bee!

At the Jefferson County Literacy Council Spelling Bee, Watertown, Wisconsin.  www.jclc.us 

#wackywednesday  +Jimmie Fisher 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 

2013-04-28 21:10:51 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Nikon D600's don't bounce far. Crooked lenses don't focus well. I'm just sayin'.

2013-04-21 15:52:30 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

take him to the volcano and hold him over the fire

Sunrise, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.
#dawnonsunday  +Ray Bilcliff +linda stokes +Dawn On Sunday  #skysunday  +Randy Scherkenbach +Patrick Scherkenbach +Sky Sunday - Photography Theme
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#sunrise   #costarica  

2013-04-18 23:01:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

There is hope for your wet cellphone

Thanks for the advice +Becky Worley 

2013-04-17 10:12:57 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

...be sure to wear, flowers in your hair...

Palm trees, banana trees, and flowers, surrounded the pool.  As I floated at the edge, watching the surf far down the hill, break on the beach, I spotted this tiny flower floating in front of me.

#wetwednesday  +Jen Baptist +Wet Wednesday 
#allthingsred  +Lucille Galleli +Stephen Thackeray +AllThingsRed 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#costarica   #flowers

2013-04-13 12:08:35 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

He wrapped himself in quotations - as a beggar would enfold himself in the purple of Emperors

Behind the bar at Fireside Dinner Theater, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
#saturdaynightlight  +Dirk Heindoerfer +SaturdayNightLight 
#purplecircle  +Lynn Langmade +Alexis Coram +Craig Szymanski +Sinead Sam McKeown +PurpleCircle 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 

2013-04-11 10:41:37 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Thank goodness it's almost the rainy season, monkey thought to himself

Chlorine must be an acquired taste. Bet he hopes the rainy season in Costa Rica comes sooner rather than later.

#thirstythursdaypics  +Giuseppe Basile +Mark Esguerra 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#costarica   #monkey     #thirstythursday   #howmanymonkeypicsdidItakeonthisvacationanyway  

2013-04-10 10:32:15 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

What's that?  I can't hear you, I have a banana in my ear.

Think I've almost reached the end of my monkey pictures from Costa Rica.  

#wildlifewednesday  +Mike Spinak +Morkel Erasmus 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#monkey   #costarica

2013-04-07 20:12:07 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

I try to leave out the parts that people skip

I turned from the highway to one of the smaller roads on my way to work last week.  "Holy sh*t" I said to myself, then I pulled the car over and started taking pictures, drove another mile where I knew this farmhouse would make a nice subject.  Sometimes, you just have to stop on the way to work.

Also, this picture made me notice that the #$%@ing sensor on my D600 needed to be cleaned.   #lightroomspotremoval   

#dawnonsunday  +Ray Bilcliff +linda stokes +Dawn On Sunday 
#landscapephotography  +Margaret Tompkins +Carra Riley +paul t beard +David Heath Williams +Bill Wood +Jim Warthman +Landscape Photography 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#rural   #farm   #sunrise  

2013-04-04 20:04:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Goodbye +Roger Ebert

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/17320958-418/roger-ebert-dies-at-70-after-battle-with-cancer.html

2013-04-04 10:23:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Baby Got (on) Back

The capuchin monkeys came by the rented house in Costa Rica twice a day.  But one day while I was in the pool, this squirrel monkey and baby came by.  I tried to get as close as I could with my telephoto lens because there was no way to get down the hill, through the jungle to get a better angle.  As it was, I climbed down and perched on the side of a wall next to razor wire to get this close.  I just kept focusing and pressing the shutter until they vanished again into the forest.

#threatenedthursday  +Diego Cattaneo +Sumit Sen +Sandy Schepis +Anette Mossbacher +Threatened Thursday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#costarica   #monkey  

2013-04-03 10:30:16 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Ahhhhhh........  That's just how I felt.

The view from our balcony a couple of weeks ago. So nice. I think I need to spend more time in the tropics in the winter.  Manuel Antonio was very nice indeed.

#travelpanowednesday  +Rolf Hicker +TravelPanoWednesday 
#landscapephotography  +Margaret Tompkins +Carra Riley +paul t beard +David Heath Williams +Bill Wood +Jim Warthman +Landscape Photography 
#wallpaperwednesdaycontest  +Jamie Furlong +#WallpaperWednesdayContest 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#costarica  

2013-04-02 10:28:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Let's just stay here

One of the stops on our whitewater rafting excursion in Costa Rica, was for a hike to some waterfalls.  After stopping for a few moments on the trail to let some fire ants bite our ankles, we made it to this nice pool in front of the falls, and our group took turns posing (maybe I'll share the one of me sometime).  Annalize is a natural and I'm sure she could become a model if she wanted to.

Processed in Lightroom 4 with +DSLR-GURU Toolkit Pro "Fashion Chocolata", then used Focalpoint 2.1 from +onOne Software to adjust the focus and add sparkles around the edges.

#portraittuesday  +Laura Balc +PortraitTuesday
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#waterfall   #costarica  

2013-04-01 09:50:02 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

*Monkey see.  But I don't know what he's looking at".

The pool was the perfect place to watch these guys from.  A couple of times a day this group of five would bouncing through the trees to the lower part of the forest from up above the pool.

#monkeymonday  +alex lapidus +Sandy Schepis +Monkey Monday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#costarica   #monkey  

2013-03-31 14:01:37 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

Just let me lie here a minute more

We sat drinking our coffee, listening to the howler monkeys barking at the Costa Rican morning.  Some mornings, there would be wisps of clouds, others, clear skys full of stars.  Each morning was a wonderful sunrise over the mountains to the east.  Next time, I'm bringing a tripod so I don't have to set my camera in whatever crazy position I can, lol.

#dawnonsunday  +Ray Bilcliff +linda stokes +Dawn On Sunday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#skysunday  +Randy Scherkenbach +Patrick Scherkenbach +Sky Sunday - Photography Theme 
#costarica   #stars   #longexposure  

2013-03-30 13:09:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Jungle light

Sunrise from the balcony of our rented house in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.  I can hear the howler monkeys again just looking at it.  I posted this a couple of weeks ago, but have since worked on it a bit more to sharpen it up.  It's a crop of a much larger photo, but I love the way the sun is coming through the trees.

#sunrisesaturday  +Josh Davis +Sunrise Saturday 

2013-03-29 22:57:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

She turned to look, but I was gone

A flower growing on the wall of the pool at Casa Castillo.

#floralfriday  +Tamara Pruessner +FloralFriday  #costarica   #flowers    

2013-03-29 17:36:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I dream in color

Entrance to the Titi Canopy Tour in Quepos, Costa Rica.
Processed in Lightroom with a touch of +Trey Ratcliff 's Amazing Raisins preset.  

#floralfriday  +Tamara Pruessner +FloralFriday 
#costarica   #flowers  

2013-03-28 18:02:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Now I've said my ABC's, maybe next time you'll say them with me

WXYZ bar, Aloft Hotel, San Jose, Costa Rica.

#saturdaynight   #costarica   #androidphotography   #androidography  

2013-03-28 01:41:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

View from the top

Stopped for a minute while ziplining in the jungle near Manuel Antonio.
#travelpanowednesday  +Rolf Hicker +TravelPanoWednesday 
#costarica

2013-03-27 10:04:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

And let me tell you something else

Another picture taken during our lunch in Quepos.

#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#blackandwhite   #costarica  

2013-03-27 00:39:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

As plantain as the nose on your face

#costarica   #plantain   #eyes   #fun   #fitforphotosadventures  

2013-03-26 10:31:00 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Café en Costa Rica es muy bueno

Lunch in a little cafe on a sidestreet in Quepos.

#portraittuesday  +Laura Balc +PortraitTuesday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#coffee   #costarica  

2013-03-25 10:19:00 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Tryin', tryin' not to think about it, yeah, yeah, yeah

Our second day in Costa Rica, the local tribe of capuchin monkeys stopped by the deck for a visit.  We have a feeling former occupants of the rental house might have been giving them peanuts in the shell.  One of our group tossed a piece of mango to them, one of the monkeys picked it up, and threw it back down, then went over and found an old peanut shell and tossed it towards us like "hey, where are the peanuts!"
#monkeymonday  +alex lapidus +Sandy Schepis +Monkey Monday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#costarica   #monkey  

2013-03-23 16:18:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

More Monkey Business

You know what the problem with being on vacation is?  Not paying attention.  I always shoot RAW, but apparently, I can change the setting on my Nikon D80 by pressing something and turning the dial (yeah, I know, convenient).  But since I always shoot RAW, it took three days to notice I had turned the dial to jpg.  Oh well.  I guess I just  have to remember, the best camera is the one you have with you.
#costarica   #monkeys   #jungle  

2013-03-23 12:41:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Red in the Morning...

Another wonderful sunrise in Costa Rica.  I'm still culling but keep running across pics I want to stop and edit.  The clouds were interesting on our third day there and I was hoping they might light up, which they did, long enough to get a few exposures.  Then things just went grey for a  while until the sun came back out.  Now I'm back in the cold of Wisconsin, but this is one of the reasons I love my photography, it brings me right back to the moment.  I can even hear the howler monkeys barking.

#sunrisesaturday  +Josh Davis +Sunrise Saturday 
#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#silhouettesaturday  +SilhouetteSaturday +naila ziani
#costarica   #sunrise   #silhouette  

2013-03-21 10:33:23 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Welcome to the Jungle

Sunrise, our first full day in Costa Rica.  It was dark by the time we arrived at the house the night before, after riding three hours in the roller coaster taxi van.  The last eighth kilometer was a walk down the face of a hill that only a jeep could navigate (even though somehow they had actually paved it), while trying to keep our luggage from flying down the hill and knocking down the person in front of us.  We awoke to the sound of what is apparently the Costa Rican equivalent of a rooster, the sound of the howler monkeys in the trees.  We stood in on the veranda in the dark, listening to the sounds of the jungle, and taking pictures of the sunrise as we drank our coffee and talked.

#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#allthingsorange  +Nina Piccoli +Kenneth Williams +AllThingsOrange 
#silhouettesonthursday  +SiddharthPandit ... more »

2013-03-20 11:00:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

...and all they brought me was this stupid t-shirt!

Stopped for a rest on the way from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Manuel Antonio and spotted this colorful storefront.

#breakfastclub  +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 
#costarica  

2013-03-09 12:42:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Be not afraid of what you are, be only afraid of what you may become. Those that choose to do nothing will become nothing.

Choose to do something spectacular and become spectacular.

2013-03-03 19:28:23 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Stir Crazy!

We're working on getting packed up to head to the beach in Costa Rica.  I feel sorry for those I leave behind (ok, just kidding).

#puppy   #dog   #winter   #stircrazy  

2013-03-02 01:06:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

My first HDR from Photomatix

It wasn't planned, I just bracketed because it seemed prudent at the time.  Gives me something to play with though. I've admired +Trey Ratcliff 's work for a long time and took his advice to purchase Photomatix from HDRsoft.  This is a bit off the cuff, so don't judge the composition too harshly. I like it.  Now I just need to take a few photos with intention.

Olbrich Gardens, Madison, Wisconsin http://www.olbrich.org

#hdr   #hdrphotography   #trey_ratcliff  

2013-02-14 14:08:14 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

search for exact term

Is there any way possible on this earth to search for an exact phrase in a search engine that contains punctuation?  I mean EXACT TERM.

+Google just can't seem to do it no matter what, even with verbatim search (and if someone can give me a shortcut to verbatim search, PLEASE). I've tried 20 ways to Sunday to find the term "mac.class" and all I get is offers to learn about Apple Macs.

HELP!

#verbatimsearch   #givemebackmyoldgooglesearch  

2013-02-10 13:59:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Now that's a smile. Tried out my new flash for the first time last night. Nothing fancy, just ttl on auto with a diffuser bounced off the ceiling. Looks pretty good, especially with such a beautiful subject!

+Maria Griffin 

2013-02-09 15:01:31 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Windows 8 the more I use it, the more I think the interface sucks

I've been doing this for a few years.  Seems to me if I have to do a Google search every time I want to do something simple, there's a problem.  Windows help has never been very good, but at least there used to be some clues on the screen somewhere.  I think Chinese puzzle boxes are cool, I just don't like that behaviour in an operating system.  

Don't get me wrong, there are some very cool improvements, I just can't wait for the desktop interface to come to Windows 8.  lol.

2013-02-02 13:03:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Google pays ransom, France releases hostage

Sure looks like extortion to me.  Hope the Somali pirates don't get comptuers.  lol.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415023,00.asp

+Google  #france   #internetfreedom  

2013-02-01 11:23:59 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Everything happens for a reason, there is a plan.

I'm slowly working my way through my dad's papers (he passed last week) and sorting taxes, legal, etc. I just found a letter my father sent to Medicare asking them to reverse their decision after they denied a claim, that gives me an interesting perspective on how things might have been if they hadn't happened exactly the way they did.  

In the letter, my dad explained that he and my mother were eating dinner in a restaurant in April, 1997, when suddenly he passed out and his heart stopped (he had the flu at the time). Two nurses happened to be in the restaurant and performed CPR, saving his life.  

Later that same year, my mother had a heart attack in their home, and Flight for Life flew her to the hospital, where she was saved, within minutes of certain death.

How things could have beend... more »

2013-01-27 16:22:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My new chair?

Now that my dad has passed we are turning his room into a tv room and went to look for a couch.  Steinhafels Furniture in in Waukesha has a very interesting entrance lobby.  This chair was there.  I decided to go for a more traditional couch though.

2013-01-24 01:10:35 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Goodbye

No fancy photo editing here, just a crop of a much larger picture from the 60's. My father passed a couple of hours ago.  1927-2013.  They say WWII vets are almost all gone, Goodbye to another one.  He only told me two stories of war, drinking in the wine cellars of a castle with a prince in Luxembourg and almost driving a jeep off the side of a mountain afterwards, and briefly mentioning stacks of bodies when they liberated the concentration camps while he was crossing Germany with Patton's army.  Seriously, that is the entire length of what he told me.  That and he was in the Korean War.  He just would never say any more.  And I knew better than to ask.

It was a blessing though for both of us that we could be together at the end.

I love you dad.

#fathers   #wwii   #goodbye  

2013-01-23 16:04:07 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Is the Flickr app next?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414590,00.asp

2013-01-23 11:22:20 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Under construction.

I know that has nothing to do with the picture.  I just haven't posted much lately. I've just upgraded my camera and computer and I'm working out the software installs and such, so there should be more coming into the stream soon, as well as re-working some of my earlier stuff now that I actually will have the tools. It's also been a bit hard to stay on task waiting for my father to pass, such is life.

Here's one from a few summers ago, just to remind my fellow northerners that 0 is not permanent.  P.S.  Yes, I know the horizon is crooked, I'll fix it later (that one is for all you Lightroom community people, lol).

#sunrise #summer

2013-01-21 15:03:01 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Undercover in New York

+Sergey Brin took his glasses out for a ride on the subway the other day.  You never can tell where he might pop up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/21/sergey-brin-google-glass-new-york-subway

2013-01-19 20:35:53 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I've got Windows 8

I'm upgrading so I can run Photoshop and Lightroom with reasonably powerful hardware (i7) and bought a new pc right off the shelf.  Didn't feel like going through the hassle of building again.

Thank goodness I've got Chrome too, at least I still feel at home here.  I was going to downgrade to Windows 7 at first, but then I thought, well, I work in tech, maybe it's time to move forward.  Still have my laptop with Windows 7.

This should be interesting.  

#windows8  

2013-01-16 11:27:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

CBS wont' interfere in "actual news" only fake news?

I sooo want Dish  to buy Facebook so I never have to see another story about Facebook on CBS.  LOL

2013-01-15 11:12:36 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

With all the media conglomerates buying everything, after the CNET/CBS scandal, TWIT might be the only place left to get an objective review of tech stuff.

2013-01-14 19:05:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

the Hopper wins "Best in Show" at CES

Awesome.  We find out that the disqualified product was actually the winner.  

Remember when CNET had credibility?  I feel sorry for the people there that need the paycheck, because I don't know how they can feel good about this right now.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/14/3874682/exclusive-cbs-forced-cnet-editors-to-recast-vote-after-hopper-win

#ces   #cbs   #hopper  

2013-01-10 11:30:30 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

Sunset for Sunrise

Good Morning!  Have some sunshine in your day today.

#breakfastclub  +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 
#sunset  

2013-01-03 16:15:49 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

35mm negative scanner recommendations?

I have 20 years of negatives held hostage in my file cabinet. Any recommendation do a good desktop scanner?

2013-01-02 11:25:22 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 37 +1s)

Misty Mountain  but a little too wet and slippery to hop that day.

The trail continued upwards into the clouds. Maybe not being able to see the climb made us forget how much farther there was to go. The mountains in Vermont are a great place to work out those climbing legs.

Thank you all for seeing in the picture what I saw.