Seeing YOU while seeing Me

Just a side-note about two photographers, with two different brands of cameras, but one passion: getting that image!

That is US in a heartbeat!

In general, photographers are difficult to capture on film, mainly because they are behind the camera often. Usually others won't think to photograph a photographer while working simply because, they work in photography and they "probably" should have a few pixs of themselves already.

How farther from the truth that can be sometimes!!

I hate how I look in any picture, and have avoided being in images for as long as I have carried a camera, and my first camera was a SLR when I was in my mid-teens. I have managed to stay out of pictures till I left Spain in 2006, when I then wanted to share my "life" behind cameras in so many different places, with my Spanish amigos, so I sort of have given consent to have my image captured on virtual film, and sometimes with strikingly good results! 

HA!!

Now married to a photographer, I have been photographing her daily, especially since she is so lovely and unknowing of my intents! I love having snapped her in Spain, in San Francisco, along the Delaware coast, in rain and in fog, on frozen lake/river ice and freezing cold snowy areas, as I have seen my love with camera in hand, and love how intent she is in seeing the World through her lens.

It's a sight to behold!

Here are two images of us, as I snapped her, and unknowingly, she snapped me too. 

hahahahaaaa ~ enjoy!

First she gets me in a scene by the Upper Niagara River

I see her later and snap her as the sun drops lower
 as the golden hour arrives to surround her in liquid gold.
That's my Sheila!

After the snow storm

Well, we survived the worst of the big storm that blew up from the SW and dropped snow on our western Michigan location. Granted, we were inside for the most part babysitting kids, but we could see the grand amount of snow falling all night Monday, and practically all day Tuesday. That called for me to get busy again shoveling the snow from the driveway and sidewalks. Using the edge of the snow shovel, I cracked several frozen parts of ice that was over an inch thick and more!!vehicles just get in the way

We cranked the car and moved it onto the cement overflow off the driveway. In such snowy areas such as Michigan, vehicles are not allowed to be parked on the street since plow and salt trucks need 
to move freely around neighborhoods and main roadways quickly, and for that to happen smoothly, cars are not to be parked on the streets. Sounds like a good idea to me, but unlike New York state, there are NO signs posted about this here; I guess they expect everyone to know, but what if you aren't from the area?

Our poor but bright red minivan resting in the chilly street

Yes, that is about 4-inches of white stuff!

Monday we took a short walk around the neighborhood, and on a snow-covered trail, we heard birds and later saw the birds too!! Of the three types of birds seen, one was a bird we haven't seen ever, being a Northern Flicker (Yellow-Shafted) which makes it a tiny bit different from any of the other usual Northern Flickers! If anyone is interested, I'll put up a picture! 

In the meanwhile, here is a picture snapped at just about the spot we saw that bird! I love Winter and its stark landscapes and scenes of overlying whites. It's so tranquil and abstract in its own way, but Nature does that!

Unretouched S5 image of the trail

Post-Holiday Thoughts

It's Monday after the long holiday weekend, and it has been snowing almost all night. It's the third substantial snowfall, and by 8am today, probably has surpassed the total of the other previous snowfalls, and it is still lightly snowing!

We completed our holiday escape Sunday late afternoon, stopping at an area east of the lakeside community Muskegon. This was our third visit to the area in search of the elusive Snowy Owl. Last winter was our most successful year when we saw Snowy Owls before we departed to Spain, and saw Snowys again after returning to western New York (WNY) in late February 2018. We DID see a Snowy Owl yesterday, and it was relaxing in a cornfield waiting for a model shoot!

While we haven't been successful in previous visits, we were able to find the white owl on this visit! It's always exciting to see these birds, and any chance to see Snowy Owls are always special!

During our weekend retreat, we also stayed at the Inn of Ludington which turned out to be a lesson in history! Plus the following day's breakfast was a heavenly treat, consisting of cooked eggs atop home fries (delicious!), a quiche of egg and spinach, fried bacon, and several baked desserts among the favorite treats! It was so tasty that I didn't even take a moment to snap any pixs as I was too occupied eating!!

Though we originally planned to go further north to the Mackinac Bridge for a few pixs, it was so bitterly cold with blowing winds that we ditched that idea quickly. 

The white stuff is still falling as I finish this up, and soon we'll go out to shovel the sidewalks outside, and see exactly how deep the snow is. My most recent record of snow depth is Norway, where I was up to higher than my knees while taking walks after a long snowfall. Enjoy!!

A nearby park with reflecting clouds

Yes
It looks BETTER in Black and White  ;)

A recent moonlight scene snapped with my getting-old S5

On the road again

Looking across the water at some nice houses

The lovely quiet Riverwalk in Manistee, MI

The Manistee, MI Riverwalk where
they proudly call themselves the Victorian City!

Victorian homes in Ludington, MI

Victorian homes in Ludington, MI

Victorian building in Ludington, MI

Lovely details of the street in
Ludington, MI

Finally saw our first Snowy Owl of the 2018/19 winter season!