Westward Bound

Well folks, it's been a while since I've last posted.  If there's anyone out there still reading this I need to share our latest news.  We are moving to Denver, CO.  And soon.  Like, in three days soon.  I recently accepted a job in Denver and we've been frantically packing the house and trying to get it ready to sell.

This move comes with a mixed bag of emotions.  On one hand, it is really sad to leave behind family we have here, and really good friends we have made, and that includes the people I work with.  On the other hand, the move is very exciting.  We'll get to be much closer to family we both have that we rarely get to see, I have an opportunity to develop in my career, and we'll be in a city and state with so many outdoor opportunities.  So here's to the next adventure in our lives!

I would like to thank all of you in the Huntsville area that have been so good to us while we've lived here, and also a big thanks for all of you that have helped us prepare to make this move.  We are truly blessed by all of you.

HDR

I've recently started taking HDR photos.  For those who are not sure what that is, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.  Have you ever taken a photo where the sky was nice and blue, or you had a beautiful sunset, but the person in the photo is totally dark?  Or just the opposite, you have your person looking nice and illuminated, but the background, your sky, is blown out and totally white.  Here's an example, I have a nice sunset captured, but all detail in the foreground is black.

With HDR photography, you take multiple exposures of the same shot.  For instance, I take the shot like above where the sky is just how I want it, I take one where the foreground is just how I want it, and one in between.  In fact, you can combine more than just three photos, but you need at least three the majority of the time.  This is really basic, but for anyone more interested in HDR, do a Google search on it.  :)

So, here's the result when I take 5 photos at different exposure levels and combine them together.

You'll notice that everything is properly exposed.  The sky and the foreground.  Another cool thing with HDR is you can really push some other settings to give it a surreal kind of look, or you can chose to give it a more natural look...all a matter of preference and what you're trying to accomplish.

Here's a few more I've done recently.

Taken with a fisheye lens, which gives it the linear distortion you see

Another fisheye shot

Cabin in Chattsworth, GA

A few weeks ago we decided to take a last minute family vacation and rent a cabin in Chattsworth, GA.  It had been a really hectic few weeks prior to that with my work schedule and church callings, and it felt like I wasn't home much at all.  Q and I decided that we should get away for a long weekend, and man was it worth it.  The cabin was awesome.  In fact, if anyone is interested in renting a cabin, let me know and I'll forward the info on this one to you.  It was perfect for us.  Two bedrooms, full kitchen with all the appliances we would need, gas and charcoal grill, fireplace, fire pit, lots of space out doors for the kids, including a very pretty stream, and best of all...it was totally secluded.  Not a soul around.

After staying at the cabin for a couple of days, we went to Fort Mountain State Park and hiked one of the peaks there.  It was very beautiful and the weather was awesome.  It was a much needed weekend for our family and everyone had a blast.  Only problems were Q's allergies, and HDB not wanting to take naps in a new place.  Everything else was perfect.  Here's a pic of the cabin.

Q likes to poke fun at me for taking so many photos and video of nothing but water.  What can I say, I'm fascinated by the great H2O!  So, I'll get my obligatory water shots out of the way here.  :) Here's a few shots of the stream by the cabin.

Here's HDB exploring his new surroundings.

 

  

 

 Kids playing in the creek. By the way that water was FREEZING. Our little Firebolt didn't seem to care though, she stayed in and played, played, played.

 

See the rock in Bimmer's hand? He spent the majority of his time searching for rocks to throw in the stream.  He was a machine and not to be deterred.

Here's a couple that Q shot while I was grilling.

He loved playing with the tadpoles

And if the kids weren't outside (which they were almost the entire time), they vegged out and watched TV...We don't have cable or anything at home.  We have a TV and a DVD player, but no stations.  So, this was pretty fun for them.

Here's a few from our hike at Fort Mountain State Park

And we stopped by one of our favorite restaurants (Moe's) on the way home.

Chip Inspector

Birthday Boy Video

As promised...even though quite a bit later, here's a video of HDB's birthday party.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Our little Hot Dog Bun turned one year old last week.  Below are some photos.  The hot dog cake was made by our friend Laura.  HDB didn't seem so much interested in eating the cake, but he sure loved the frosting!  I'll post video later.

Awesome cake!

Taken with the iPhone. My camera was taking video at the time...

The carnage

Nice sticky mess

Family Gathering/Test Drive

Below you'll find a few photos from a test drive we did with the kids and their new bikes.  Grandma and Grandpa Jack got them bikes for Christmas and they've only had a chance to ride around on our driveway, which they've loved.  However, today we went to the greenway and let the kids open the throttle and go for it.  Bimmer did just that, but our little Firebolt decided to play it more on the cautious side and not ride too fast.

Also, I've included a few photos from a family gathering we had at the beginning of last December.

I am speed

Taken right before a collision. Only the pink racer was shaken up, however she made a full recovery and finished the course

Go speed racer, go, go speed racer

She's probably asking why I'm not walking right next to her. :)

OK, not exactly bike riding, but here's a cool tree along the way.

And now some from the family gathering.