Not Long Now

I've been out all day, taking pictures up at Hillsborough River State Park. I should have been here at home working on posts for the next week, but I couldn't resist. I did get some nice shots, though, so you'll be seeing some of those pictures in and amongst the 100 posts I intend to make this coming week. I counted up the shots I've made with my current camera, a Canon digital Rebel XSi that I got last May. In less than a year of shooting, I've averaged over 100 pictures a day with it! Now, there are plenty of days I don't go shooting, sometimes I won't take a single picture for a week or more. But when I go out to shoot, I shoot a lot. Like this squirrel above. I got five pictures of him in a very similar pose. Two of them showed him looking straight at the camera. I could have shown you either one of those, but I chose this one at random. It took all of those pictures to get the one I like. And that's why I take so many pictures, to get one I like. I think it's worth it. See you tomorrow!

Giving It Some Thought

So, I'm thinking about trying something challenging here at the blog. I've been neglecting it somewhat for a while now, only posting a third of what I have in past years, so I'd like to do a little something to help get back on track. I'm thinking of a marathon blogging week, beginning this Sunday. My goal is to make 100 posts between Sunday morning at 12:01 AM and Saturday Night at midnight. Not easy, but not impossible. I know I've got dozens of pictures I should have posted before, but never did, and I've got some record stuff I want to throw up, too. So I think tonight I'm going to start writing up some posts, but not publishing them until Sunday, and see how many I can get up in the next week. Back during Christmas I've posted over 50 items in a week, so 100 is a big stretch. And I'm going to try to shy away from silly novelty text-only posts. No one is going to visit the blog to see what I think of the day's news, that's for sure. Wish me luck, and I'll see you on Sunday!

Helpful Advice

Many of you have written in to Ernie (Not Bert) and asked what you can do to stop rampant train theft. I guess in some parts of the country, it's just not safe to leave your steam locomotive parked on the tracks while you duck into Wal-Mart for a few minutes, even if you bring your coal in with you. But what can you do? Well, how about the new and improved Chock-O-Matic? This little device works much like a boot for your car, only it locks up the main drive wheels of your locomotive tighter than a drum, keeping the bad guys from riding off in your steam-powered, 80,000 pound, 80 year old locomotive. Call today for more information!

Airfest 2009-Six At A Go

I've been meaning to post this shot for you since the night of Airfest, but I've been lazy. I think this is the best picture I've ever taken of the Thunderbirds, and I've shot them three times now I think. The light is pretty good (although not perfect) but the composition is awesome. All six planes in formation, with the the top one just beginning to break out and roll off towards me, letting the sun light it up so that it stands out from the others. The number six plane at the bottom is also starting to roll out of formation away from me, showing you the full paint scheme of the underside. This one may turn out to be a calendar shot, watch and see!

Baby Birdies

I walked out of the shop this morning and spotted something a little out of the ordinary on the cell tower across the street. It took some close watching, but I finally decided that there were two juvenile bald eagles perched up there. The shot above is the best one I got, and it's enhanced quite a bit. I don't think this will make the calendar, but it's something you don't see every day.

Lookee, lookee who came back later in the day? Only one of them this time, and not in the best spot to get a picture, but at least the light was much better.