2011-07-31: Maine Nights

I'm away in Hampton Beach today... Going on a whale watch.

So here's something from a couple of weeks ago in Maine:

Maine Moon

F/5.6; 30s; ISO-100; Tungsten White Balance

Keep Howling
Em

2011-07-30: Making Music

Had a great round yesterday at the International CC in Bolton Mass. Lot of fun with my friends from work, Sean John, and Rob. And today Sue and I are headed to the coast for the weekend. We're going to Surf 6 at Old Orchard Beach. An old college buddy of mine (Dave Rabideau) from Wentworth Institute has a band there (Kingpin). It will be good to see him after ## years and listen to some great music...So in honor of music...here's today's shot: My Aria:

Then tomorrow it's off to a whale watch in Hampton Beach, and then Monday is Sue's and my 13th anniversary. Sweet! Love her to death...
So I'll be pre-posting my shots for the next few days.

Stay cool
Em

2011-07-29: Something Fowl is going on here

Let's finish off our tour of the Maine farm with some chickens. Yes, Gloria has those too. Looks like these guys are on guard duty.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Sorry boring post, I know. I pulled my back golfing Monday and I've been in agony this week. Tough to get old I guess. But busy weekend starting today! Golfing at the International in Mass today. Then Saturday Sue and I are headed off to Old Orchard Beach to see an ol' college buddy's band (Kingpin) play at Surf 6. Hopefully that'll make me feel young again. Then Sunday, off to Hampton Beach for a whale watch. And Monday is our Lucky 13th Anniversary!  Wow, where did the time go? Time flies when you're having fun!

Have a great weekend
Em

2011-07-28: Gloria's Goats

As I mentioned yesterday, Mom's friend Gloria raises goats, among other things. The goats were very gentle and friendly. Here's a couple shots of the curious little guys.

Blue Eyes

What's happenin' out there?

I didn't want to bother them by using a flash inside the barn, so I shot these from outside. They seemed very interested in what I was doing. Cute!
And no honey....We really don't need a goat either...

Em

2011-07-27: Teaghan's Babies

Up in Maine, we stopped at Mom's friend Gloria's place. Very interesting woman and place. She's raises dogs, chickens, turkeys, exotic birds, goats, and makes cheese out of goat's milk. Here is her dog Teaghan (sp?) and two surviving puppies from her litter. So cute.

What a face! Very photogenic.
And no Sue, we really don't need another dog. :-)

Tomorrow, I'll show you the goats.

Em

2011-07-26: What's Em Making....The solution

Last fall, Taylor asked me if I could make something for her wedding. She wanted a cupcake stand. I located the wood I wanted-Some oak stumps. But didn't think I'd be able to do it myself because they were so thick. I searched high and low for an old fashioned sawmill, but had no luck. With the wedding a month away, I decided to give it the ol college try! With a brand new chainsaw chain, it cut thru the oak with relative ease. Whew! What was I worried about? Anyway, here is the first pass.

Cupcake Stand



Needs a little bit of fine-tuning and assembly, but you get the picture. I think she'll be happy!

So now you know. Hope you didn't lose sleep wondering what I was making.

Em

2011-07-25: What's Em Making Now?

Ok, it involves a chainsaw and a tree.
Am I carving a grizzly bear?
No..
A totem pole?
No
A tree fort?
Nope. Uh. Uh.
Um, could it be you're just cutting down a tree?
Nope. Not that either.

Doing Manly Stuff

Ah there's nothing like a big pile of sawdust to make you feel accomplished...

Guess you'll have to come back and see what I'm making.

Emery Bunyan....

2011-07-24: Fun With Lenses

I got back from my hike last weekend and my compatriots were still snoring away. C'mon! It was already 8am! Well I was courteous enough to let them keep sleeping, but I needed something quiet to keep me busy. So I flopped down on the ground and looked around for something interesting. Spotted some small flowers and fooled around with my lenses. Just laid my close-up and wide angle lenses on the ground.

It's fun to experiment. And it's great when you have time to stop and smell the flowers. There! A 3-for-1 special!

Enjoy your Sunday folks.

Em

2011-07-23: Trying to Make Miller Look Good...

My buddy Jim was out on the dock drinking his old faithful brew of choice, Miller Lite. Ug...Other than their really funny commercials, I don't get it. To each his own. I'm a Coors/Sam's drinker, so we always rag on each other about our lack of taste in beer. All in good fun. I was sitting on the beach with my Canon (And my Coors) and Jim placed his bottle on the dock post and challenged me to make some art. So here is what I came up with to make that skunk pi**-tasting beer look good.

Art

I know, Sue hates when I use photoshop, but sometimes the assignment really needs a miracle to help it look good. There is only so much a camera can do. Can't help the taste, but it does look good.  Sorry Jim..

While we're talking about beer commercials, I love those Dos Equis ads. I just may have to try it out.

Stay thirsty my friends..And enjoy the weekend.

The Most Interesting Man in the World. ;-p

2011-07-22: Aliens in Maine!

Be on the lookout! While out on one of my early morning hikes last weekend, I noticed this flying saucer that happened to crash into a tree. No survivors were found.

Crash Landing

This was spotted at 6:30 while I was out rummaging around and working on my upcoming 'Dead Trees of Maine' series. Good time for me to get out while all the other lazy bones' were sleeping til 9. See that they miss?



Em

2011-07-21: Reflections

I went for a paddle in a kayak last weekend for about an hour. What a great workout. I was within 20 feet of a loon and watched it for 10 minutes. It never moved and I thought maybe it was a decoy until it turned it's head. Maybe it was guarding a nest. Not sure, but it wasn't bothered by me. I wish I had my camera, but I know I would have dropped it in the lake.  I was thinking of bagging the camera up the next morning, but I never got the opportunity to go out again. It's too bad, because I so many photo ops along the way. Oh well. But I did get shots from the dock and while wading near the dock.  There were many water plants and I tried to get a clear shot, but the gentle breezes made it difficult. I did however, get this shot off the water. You'd exepect it to be blurry, so no harm, no foul.

Reflections



I believe this is a Blue Pickerel Weed. But I'm no aquatic plant expert, I just play one on TV.

Have yourself a fine day.. Hot and steamy here in Gilford. Wish I was back at the lake.

Em

2011-07-20: Moonshine

A half hour after yesterday's picture of the kayacker on Indian Head Lake, the moon started to come up. The reflection on the calm water was beautiful.  And the moon peeking from behind the clouds was very cool.

Moonshine

F/11; 1.3s; ISO-800 7:48pm



A perfect night. Can't wait to go back.

Em

2011-07-19: Back home from St. Albans...

Had a beautiful weekend up in St. A's, Maine with mom and friends.  I sound like a broken record with my family when I complain about the 4 hour drive, but truly, once I get there it's awesome. Peace and quiet and fresh air and relaxation. Read a lot by the water, swam, kayacked, played golf and cards, watched fireworks over the lake from a pontoon boat, and met some really great people. I did get up a early a couple of morning's and traipsed thru the woods with my Canon which you will see the results of in the coming days.
But here is a fine example of the peace of being up here:

Peace and Quiet

This shot was taken at 7:30pm on Indian Head Lake. A slight ripple on the water, and kayacker alone with their thoughts. Peaceful to watch.

And now, back to the real world. :-( 
But with great new memories to keep me smiling. :-)
Em

2011-07-18: More Saw

Quick post today. Still in Maine, so I'm just getting in this shot of my table saw. Working outside on a beautiful afternoon. With the Diablo 10" x 80 tooth Carbide Steel blade spinning right along. And the peaceful woods in the background...

The best thing : Sawdust is all outside! Nothing to sweep! Tim the Toolman Taylor would be quite proud of me.

See ya tomorrow, hopefully with some shots of Maine.
Em

2011-07-17: Trying not to lose a finger

Back home, I started to work on a project. Can't tell you what it is yet, but it involves cutting birch branches with my table saw. Didja ever try to cut a non-square hunk of wood with a table saw. Talk about getting your adrenaline up! I kept thinking it was probably a good way to lose a digit. But so far so good. And it probably didn't help when Sue came out and saw what I was doing..."I don't like the looks of that", she said. But day one of the project, and I can still count to 10 on 2 hands. It actually wasn't that bad. A little scary but what I have in mind is doable.

See my Saw?

I do love working with wood. Always have. If I wasn't a programmer, I would have been a carpenter. More stuff I learned from my Dad, many years ago.

Stay tuned in the coming month to what I'm building

Em

2011-07-16: On the Road again

Heading way up No'th to Maine to visit my mom. Hate the ride (4 hours), but love it once I'm there. And I miss seeing her! And she has taken up Golf in the past year (after a 30 year hiatus), so we are going to get out and play together! The way I've been playing lately, she just might beat me!
So here's a picture from the road....Litterally, with the camera hanging out the window..

As Seen from the Road

I was trying to get a pic of my tires, but my arm wasn't long enough.  But this shot is kind of interesting.
Hopefully I get some good shots while up in Maine. We'll see!
And hopefully I'll get they-ah from he-yah.
Ayup!
Em

2001-07-15: Golf Game has been suffering....

I am 2 months behind in my golf game due to knee surgery, so I should be patient. But my golf game is going down the tubes quickly. I've been out 10 times this year, and I'm getting worse every time. Knee feels good, but I think my mechanics are off. Last year at this time, I was out 6 days a week playing. And averaging 40 for 9 holes. Now I'm averaging 49. OUCH. It's gotten to the point where I don't even miss not playing. So to mix it up a bit, and hopefully strengthen my knee, I've started biking for a few miles in the morning. Which leads me to today's post.

Souped Up Schwinn

I intended to take my camera on the ride, but that probably would have been a bad idea knowing how I can have butter fingers. But anyway, hope I can get this knee in shape soon, or I'll have to get a new hobby. Like crossword puzzles..

Have a good one.

2011-07-14: C'mon-Any idea what these are?

A different shot of those yellow flowers from yesterday...Sue doesn't know what they are. Any idea?

Yellow Flowers

F/11; 1/4s; ISO-100

I cropped this down a bit, just for something to do. Kind of makes an interesting banner I think.

And if you will notice, my blogs are short this week. I'm so bogged down with things that I can't really be inspired to come up with anything more interesting.

I've really got to get going on :

Wedding tasks.....

• Shopping Cart for Website,
• Portfolio
• Get Trade Name papers submitted.
• Aye Aye Aye...So much to do, and so little time.

2011-07-13: The Fly

We've got these little yellow flowers out in the side yard. Not quite sure what they are, but I sat there for awhile last night and tried to get a shot of a bee hovering around them. Couldn't get one, but did get a lazy young fly sitting long enough for me to get the shot.

In for a Landing

F/5.6; 1/250s; ISO-200

Any idea what these flowers are?

Em

2011-07-12: Another Philly Alley

Wow, there just doesn't seem to be anough time in the day these days. I was so burnt out from work yesterday, and still reeling from a horrible round of golf on Sunday, that I could barely bring myself to get out my camera.  I did of course, but didn't have the energy to shrink them down in order to post. So here is one from my stand-by list that I thought came out pretty cool. It was a copy of a post from last month during my trip to Philly, but I played around with curves and such on Photoshop. Kind of neat I thought. I just may have to print it.

Sue hates when I mess around with images, as she prefers my originals. What do you think?

Em

2011-07-11: Fun and Games

Had a wonderful weekend with the family. Fun, games, food, beverages, laughter, hot-tub belly flops...You can figure out the order of events here. Anyway, one of the less extreme games was the ring and hook game. Basically it is a ring on a fishing line that you swing and try to get on a hook attached to a tree. It's just hanging in the yard, and everyone has a frustrating and fun time trying to get it to work. A simple, yet fun game.

The Ring!

Success!

It's not so easy, holding the ring and trying to manually focus at the same time. Almost as hard as getting the ring on the hook. But success comes with diligence.

Anyway, perfect weekend, but back to work today. Life isn't all fun and games you know. But I make the most of trying to make work fun.

See ya

Em



2011-07-10: Great weekend

Had a fantastic weekend with my family. Lots of food, games, laughter, and even golf with my brother-in-law. And now the house has cleared out and we've got to go pick up the yard. So, it being late in the day, I'm just going to do another quickie shot from last week's hike in New Hampton.

Tonite I'll go thru my shots of the week and plan for this week's posts.
Have a good night.
Em

2011-07-09: Ah..the weekend!

A quick post for today. I've got family coming today for a cookout and one of my world famous towering bonfires..So, I've got to get back outside and get ready. But in the meantime here's a nice peaceful scene from last weekend.

i've never seen as much green as I did on my hike in New Hampton. Pure beauty and serenity.
Well now I'm in a calm place, and looking forward to the crazy noisy fun of my family.

Talk tomorrow
Em

2011-07-08: Working for the weekend

Oh man, what a week...This working thing is for the birds...Billing week is always hectic. But I do have this woodpecker pecked stump smiling at me, letting me know it will all work out. From last weekend's hike:

Smile!

But at last it's Friday and my baby Sister and her family are coming to visit. YAY!  Time to relax!

Have a good one

Em

2011-07-07: Reflections

Sorry folks, a quick post. Had to pull an all-nighter for work and the day almost got away from me.. So now with eyes at half-mast I'm going to get this donw and go take a siesta.
Hare's a shot from my early morning (6am) walk in the woods last Monday in New Hampton.

 I wasn't sure what I was going to find on my hike, but I found a stream and followed it. And got some great shots like this one. Very peaceful. The only sound was the buzzing of mosquitos around my ears.

Speaking of peaceful..I'm going to take a snooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2011-07-06: Nostalgia! Good Ol Days...

When we were camping this weekend, Sue and I were telling the kids about fires we had at our respective grandparents camps when we were young. Our grandparents used to have some cardboard canister with crystals you'd shake over the fire to make colors. That was a real treat when we were kids. Ah the simple life! Sure would be great to get that back. I miss those days.
Well, we went out for a ride for something to do when it was a bit rainy this weekend, and we went to a general store. What did I find? A packet of those fire crystals!! for $2 we had about 20 mins of simple entertainment back at the campsite. After Jordan read the warnings on the package about not breathing in the fumes, for fear of liver damage and cancer and all that fun stuff, we put the packet on the fire..(You can't shake it on any more because it could possibly burn your skin.) Good grief, it's a wonder I survived my childhood. We didn't have to worry about things like that back then (I still don't).
Anyway, here is what entertained us for a while:

Like "when we were kids"

Well we had a great time this weekend. And made some NEW "Good Ol' Days".

Peace out...

Em

2011-07-05: Fun Camping

Well I'm back from a grueling weekend of Camping, and relaxing, and reading, and swimming, and eating, and drinking, and just plain being merry. Awesome! I could really get into this relaxing stuff.  Of course, I took my camera. Wouldn't go anywhere without it. Took a nice long early morning walk in the woods and got some good shots, but also got these fun ones of Jordan and Shelbie playing with sparklers. Jordan gets the credit for the design. Clever kid! I just manned the camera.

Stars And Stripes

F/6.3; 3sec; ISO-100

Exposure set to Bulb Mode

White Balance set to Tungsten

Pacman

Same settings

Yes I do enjoy the camping and photography lifestyle. So, if any philanthopist out there wants to support my photography habit, I'll take any and all offers under consideration.

Camera Club tonite. Maybe I'll see you there.

Em

2011-07-04 : GBA!

God Bless America!





Be safe.

Em

2011-07-03: Quick Post #3

Where's the Kaboom? There's supposed to be a Kaboom!

Notice that I don't do much writing when I'm away...

Happy 4th folks.

Em

2011-07-02: Quick Post 2

While I'm away camping, and don't have the means to post, please feel free to insert your own comments here: ->>

In an alley off Elfreths's Alley...



I just really liked the texture of the old brick.. You know me and bricks...

L8r..

Em

2011-07-01: Quick Posts

Ok, Busy Day at work, then I hope to get out early so we can go camping...As I said, I won't have my laptop for the next few days so I'm going to post ahead...

This scene is a doorway I saw in Elfresh's Alley in Philly. Typical of the homes in this 1736 era neighborhood.  Beautiful indeed!

Ok, there's the start of Month 7 in P365...

Onward and Upward.

Em