Posts from the ‘Photos’ category

Starting the 8th week

The weather guessers were correct…last night there was a weather disturbance.

I was up uncharacteristically late last evening. Bear and I had our last walk at … *GASP* … 9:45 p.m.!! It was precipitating a kind of hard snow – fast and furious – pellet-like in nature. There was enough fallen to cover our 5:00 tracks.

I woke to a temperature of 34F, not much more snow and the dripping of melting runoff from the roof.

Midday, the sun and blue sky surprised me. I made a mad dash to town – stopping for a walk and garbage run and then a grab of some supplies. Forecast for the weekend looks marginal and I favored a mid-week dry road run. Town was a mess! As in, why weren’t all those people at work??? But needed items were acquired and we headed home.

The sun was shining in the yard and I intended another two hours of work and then…and THEN…some time in the chair with Bear…on Beardog Point.

It was loverly.

Bear has been limping a bit on his non-surgery leg, so we have been taking things extra easy and some time in the yard in the sunshine was just the ticket for both of us. I did not distract by trying to take photos – just enjoyed the sun and quiet and fresh air that had a warmth and softness that felt like Spring.

But, that chair. That is where I sat – for the first time since Bear’s surgery. Bear was laying – a little distance in front of me…watching the game trail, smelling the air, listening. Just like we like.

Today, is the start of week 8 post op. Schedules of the surgeon and Dr. Calm are proving a bit difficult to coordinate so I think we will not have our 8 week post op appointment until week 9 or 10, but it is good to be in the 8th week.

And the moon is nearing full and it is beautiful in a clear Montana sky as we start the 8th week.

Pet photography: aka the incredibly lucky shot

So…the Merry Christmas photo of Bear, Bob and I…I was pretty happy with it! We were all looking at the camera. Bear and I were smiling. Bob did not look like he was swearing. The only photoshopping done was a bit of noise reduction courtesy of a great PS plug-in (Imagenomic) AND, I PS’d my missing left canine tooth – my tooth was removed and a titanium implant is in place but replacement of the tooth took a back seat to Bear’s leg surgery…still, I DO have my vanity so I added a tooth :) !!

As I told several I emailed an early release of the photo…there were about 100 other photos, i.e the outtakes. As noted above, I DO have my vanity so the best/worst of them have been deleted, but there are still a few to tell the story with.

My Canon Rebel xSi, my first DSLR, had a very nice timing function built in. It allowed up to 10 photos to be taken after either a 2 or 10 second delay. I had a LOT of fun with that and caught the “story” of trying to get photos of Karl and I as well as Karl, Bob and I.

My current camera, a Canon 60D has only a 10 second delay or 2 second delay…phooey! Several months ago, I bought a wireless remote that allows me to trip the shutter from up to 100 feet away. AND it allows for the motor to be set to continuous.

I have had the gadget for months but didn’t really start playing with it until the week before Christmas as time started getting short to get a CHRISTMAS FAMILY PORTRAIT !!!

If you have pets and if you have ever tried taking a photo with your pet and especially if you’ve tried taking a photo with your pet and no one else manning the camera…it is entertaining to say the least.

On the morning of December 23rd, Bear was on his bed and I set the camera on the tripod, hooked up the wireless thing and tried to get a photo of the two of us. I thought I’d photoshop a nice head shot of Bob in somehow…although they are now fine together, getting a cat to cooperate for a photo…well, I have NOT mastered that at all, at all!

The photo session of Bear and I did not go well either. Part of the trick is getting the pet(s) to look at the camera when their main person, the supposed “head of the pack”, is sitting right next to or between.

So…FAIL.

As Bear and I took our late morning walk, I got to thinking that I would get a nice head shot of each of us and Photoshop them onto ornaments or something…not extremely original but it would be fun and relatively easy to do.

I entered the house after our walk, with visions of Photoshop fun dancing in my head…when what to my wondering eyes should appear ???

BUT, Bob on Bear’s bed…by the pillow.

Unfortunately, my camera was in the camera bag. Unfortunately, because Bob had a look on his face that said: “Holy shit – they’re back early!!” (please pardon Bob’s language)

Then, he shifted and I could see him thinking that the best thing was to brazen it out.

“So…I lived here first, DOG!”

I didn’t get the best shot here…I could see where it was going. Bob does a great “To the moon, Alice!”** and I didn’t want Bear dancing backwards off the bed so I said something to distract them and missed the shot where Bob lifts his paw in preparation for a punch…

Ok…kind of cute and an option, but Bob looks annoyed and Bear looks uncomfortable.

Better, but they are a bit far apart and Bear looks a bit worried.

I try to enter.

I like the angle on me…Bear is blocking some of my heft, but neither he nor Bob is looking at the camera.

I continue clicking the remote and subliminally trying to get them to look in the direction of the camera.

Bear moves…

I continue clicking and doing my head thing to hopefully get a good angle on me…that’s the important thing…a good photo of ME!

I clicked and clicked and emoted and pointed and hoped.

When we all got tired of that, I downloaded all of the photos (100+) and started looking through them.

There was one…I say ONE! photo where we were all looking AT the camera. AND…Bear and I were smiling. AND…Bob did not look like he was swearing.

SUCCESS. Merry Christmas and all that: the incredibly lucky shot.

**”To the moon, Alice” is from “The Honeymooners” tv show starring Jackie Gleason circa a long time ago!

The river walk

Bear and I often go to a river access…actually a slough access – a slough that feeds into the Flathead River which feeds into Flathead Lake.

It is a fishing access with two boat ramps.

It is one of the places Karl and I frequented.

It is one of the places where I have taken photos in all seasons, in various light and of various views.

Today, with Bear and no one else around…

A wintry looking sky…deceiving…it has warmed quickly after several cold days. The sky looks wintry due to a foggy-mist from the quick warm-up.

From various view points…

the river walk.

From the woods

The property my house sits on – my name on the deed: the woods that are part of that property – they are magic to me.

The woods have light and dark, color, warmth and enveloping love…unexplainable.

I’ve been in this woods at all times of the day and night.

After Karl’s passing, the woods were hard to be in for awhile. He and I…we spent so many days and those last months…nights in the woods. The nights I especially remember as it was winter and dark. But, those times were so special. My memory of those times is warm. And some nights now, when I walk in the woods with Bear, in the dark, I wonder how it was that I did not trip over downfall, or feel fear? How did I feel like I could walk and follow Karl in the late night and very early morning and be ok?

Sometimes, Karl stopped and sat or lay down and so did I. I sat on a stump, or sometimes just lay on my back in the snow on the ground – Karl near and quiet all around us.

I know these woods well. I know the game trails, the crooked trees, the copses. I love these woods and I feel that the woods love me and mine.

From the woods.

**I don’t usually have the house spot lights on when we walk in the morning and night as they actually make it harder to see the ground as well as the night sky. I turn them on for a bit before we go out to alert the wild things, then turn them off for our walk. The morning I took this photo, I accidentally left the front spot on but we were out and Bear wanted to go, so we went. As we walked in the woods, I happened to look toward the house when the crooked tree was blocking the direct path of the spot. It looked so like the woods feels to me that after our walk I went back out with the camera to see if I could capture the way the woods feels in the dark. I’m happy with the result.

Fall Color Tour: the Montana version

Bear and I took a Sunday drive. Do people still do Sunday drives? Well…this people does and Bear goes along joyously!

Fall light from the ridge…

… the ridge on the road home.

Happy Bear!

The plan was a drive to Woods Bay, about 4 miles south of Bigfork and 10 miles south of the road home. We stopped along the way at Wayfarer’s park and walked a bit there.

Onward.

Woods Bay.

Sorry…WAY out of focus, but I was driving and holding the camera and the main thing is THE COLOR!

And while the Rocky Mountains do not have the reds of the White/Green/Smoky/Ozark areas of the east…my own heart is a western heart and the gold of the Rockies is the perfect color for me.

Fall Color Tour: the Montana version.

P.S.

I could not resist.

Bear and Bob.

Look at their feet. (dbl-click!!!)