Polar Bear Plunge 2011

On Saturday Jan 29th I was part of the media shooting at The Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge @ Sandy Point State Park benefiting the Maryland Special Olympics. An amazing, incredible, almost indescribable, social event as some 12 thousand people plunged into the Chesapeake Bay to benefit the Special Olympics of Maryland
Local Radio Morning Hosts Amelia & Josh Spiegil , take an early morning plunge in the chilly 33d water of Sandy Point State Park in support of the "Super Plungers" and MD Special Olympics

Seconds before the official start of 1 PM plunge, when anticipation is transformed into action.

action

Plunge On!

Don't be a Chicken Jump in.

Yes it was cold but the unbridled dedication of the plungers kept us all warm.
Thanks to all who came and supported this fine event.

Cold as Ice.. and not outdoors.

While working to complete a project due this week it has become evident the aperture library contain all the 2000-2008 projects, versions, keywords, locations. are located on the failed Drobo. Sure I have all the images stored on other drives, but realizing not having that Aperture library, and from web searches, not really not expecting Drobo to proved any real support that will restore the data contained, sends a cold chill down my spine.. My mood is now as fowl as the weather outside. Gone Gone Gone,

Welcome 2011. Out with the old, In with the new.

Happy New Year to Every One. My wish is that peace and prosperity rein supreme.

Chinese (Cantonese)
Gung hay fat choy (a New Year greeting meaning, "May you become prosperous.")
Sun nien fai lok (meaning, "Happy new year")
Chinese (Mandarin)
Xin nian yu kuai
Danish
Godt Nytår
Dutch
Gelukkig nieuwjaar
Farsi
Aide shoma mobarak
French
Bonne année
Gaelic
Aith-bhliain Fe Nhaise Dhuit
German
Gutes Neues Jahr
Greek
Kali hronia

Hawaiian
Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew
Shanah tovah
Hmong
Nyob zoo xyoo tshiab
Hungarian
Boldog új évet
Indonesian
Selamat Tahun Baru
Italian
Buon Capo d'Anno
Japanese
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu
Norwegian
Godt Nyttår
Pilipino (Tagalog)
Maligayang Bagong Taon
Polish
Szczesliwego Nowego roku
Portuguese
Feliz ano novo
Romanian
La Multi Ani
Russian
S Novym Godom
Spanish
Feliz Año Nuevo
Sundanese
Wilujeng Tahun Baru
Swedish
Gott Nytt År
Turkish
Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Welsh
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Yiddish
Gut Yor

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. (Part 2)

Cont...

While most shot the light with the Temple in the background I decided on the path less taken and shot with my back to the structure.

The was a "Life Size Naivety" With an ever popular with the kids. Camel.

Most of the shots were taken on a tripod, ISO 800, manual exposure set around F22/ 15 sec.


We had a wonderful time shooting the light and then came the really important question. "Where are we going to eat?" Which turned out to be a "5 Guys" in nearby Bethesda. Last but not least. we visited the Apple store to say bid a Good Yule to the big guy himself.

Merry Christmas to all and to all Good Night!

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat.

Kind of a slow start to this years Yuletide Photo collection. Hopefully those activities will accelerate in this final weekend before the holiday. Tonight's trip was to Jeff Revell photowalk at The "Festival of Lights" at the Washington DC Mormon Temple, where 1/2 million colored light decorate the grounds and buildings. First Stop was the Visitor's Center to meet the other walker. The night was rain/snow free but seasonally cold. Perfect for the lights/

While there lots of other visiting for the exact same reason as us, local church members make a point of greeting all who came.

The lights were nothing short of amazing. Have to end this post right now, can't drop any more images in the blog, have to find out why.

Fly Like an Eagle, Thunder round the track (Part 1)

Last Saturday (12/11/10) was a day of extremes to say the least. A pre sunrise departure found me heading northbound to Conowingo Dam to join with other from the Central Maryland Photographers Guild for what has turned into an annual visit to photograph the migrating Bald Eagle(s) at the dam. We were greeted by cold, damp, weakly lit conditions, that while not ideal, for some in out party, were evidently tolerable to the Eagles, as they were plentiful and flying and feeding frequently.

And it's time to head home for part 2 of the adventure. Stay tuned.

As Photographing migrating Eagles is to me very similar to "Ice Fishing" (Cold/Long periods of inactivity broken by much shorter spells of frenzied activity. and little-to-no worthwhile results) This year trip was no exception, & I joined the "When's Lunch Time? discussion very early-on in the outing. Which turned out out to be Woody's Crab House in North East Md. which, while not providing a magician, did serve up a mean "Fish&Chips"..
But I digress a bit. As luck would have it, the best images of the day was two eagles fighting over a fish no more then 20 feet in front of us. I raised my second camera with the 28mm - 90mm knowing I could best those "big lens boys" who were struggling to find the birds in their 800mm viewfinders. As I raised the camera expecting to see a viewfinder filled with eagles I was rudely reminded that I had just put the lens cap back on only seconds ago anticipating the group leaving for lunch. Skunked again! Eagle shooting Ice Fishing samo samo.
Oh well lunch done, and a quick visit down to street to St. Mary Anne's Episcopal Church established in 1709.

And now it's time to head home for part 2 of the adventure. Stay tuned.

Gettysburg, why the fascination?

Over the years I visited the Gettysburg battlefield maybe over 100 times. And with out fail, on each return, I see it in a slightly different light. Over the last few weeks I've been fascinated with capturing sunrise images, which of course, means.

• Checking the weather forecast.
• Getting up at 0 Dark 30, & making the 45min drive.
• Picking the spot to be when the sun come up and hoping it works.

Sometime it's over here.

Other days it's some where else.

But the end state walking (yes walking is involved) around the park, seeing it in early morning "magic light, always adds to my sense of what went on here so many years ago and the sacrifices men of both sides made for their cause. Which of course adds yet again to my fascination with the place.

Two of the big helps have turned out to be a pfd copy of the Official Park Map, which is stored on an ipod touch, and of course, my AMOS AGL3080 Geotagger, which allows me to pin point exactly where each images is taken, which is referenced to above said map.
.... To be continued