The Wait...

Earlier this evening, my DH mentioned that the hummingbirds were playing near the feeder. I grabbed my camera and headed outside...to wait on the front porch. I waited along with the biting mosquitoes. After a few minutes, I noticed something was fluttering around very quickly. I was able to capture a few shots as the sun was setting:



There were two of them playing around and chasing each other. I was able to capture one of them. Thirsty little buggers, aren't they?



This was worth getting mosquito bitten. Tomorrow, I will be ready along with some sunshine, tripod, and mosquito repellent.

Happy Shooting!

A Trip to Chicago and The Global Leadership Summit

Last week, my hubby and I headed to Chicago for The Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek. We attended the Summit last year and enjoyed it immensely. We knew we were in for a treat this year. We heard from Bill Hybels, Jim Collins, Christine Caine, Tony Dungy, Adam Hamilton, Dr Peter Zhao Xiao, Andy Stanley, Jeff Manion, Terri Kelly, Daniel Pink, Blake Mycoskie, Jack Welch, and TD Jakes. It was an awesome experience to hear from both Christian and Business leaders.


Opening the sessions with Nancy (S90)

There were over 7000 attendees (S90)


Bill Hybels (D5000)


Blake Mycoskie, owner of TOMS Shoes (D5000)


After the conference was over, we headed to downtown Chicago to do some exploring.


Downtown Chicago Riverfront - taken from car (D5000 w/18-200mm lens set to Active mode)


Downtown Chicago - taken from the car (D5000 w/18-200mm lens set to Active mode


On the Lake (D5000)


A feathered friend on the Lake (D5000)



We ate some wonderful food at Bahama Breeze (Schaumburg) and the Lucky Monk (Hoffman Estates):


Margherita pizza @ Lucky Monk (S90)


Portabello mushroom sandwich with Cuban bread @ Bahama Breeze (S90)


Tilapia with mango sauce @ Bahama Breeze (S90)

We had a wonderful time in Chicago and looking forward to another visit soon.

Note: All pictures were taken without flash.

Busy Photog Week

Last week was a busy week for me. Photography-wise. From Monday through Friday, in the evenings, I headed over to my church to take pictures of our VBS (Vacation Bible School) activities.

Monday started out hot and humid and we had to deal with the rain towards the end of VBS.







Tuesday brought the winds and we had to deal with holding on to the tents. We gave up and dismantled them for safety reasons. We all headed over to the church for indoor activities, but not before the rain drenched some of us.








My DH ran the brick making shop. The kids had a ball mixing the soil, straw and water and placed the mixture in their molds:








Here are additional pictures from the remainder of the week:













All in all, I had a good photography week. Took over 300 pictures between my D5000 and S90 and a few from my iPhone.

Through My Lens...Fiber Arts

** UPDATED to include additional pictures **

I've been asked several times...What do I take pictures of? For me, it's a hard question to answer. I've been known to take pictures of anything that captures my attention. I don't have a particular subject or object that I'm really good at. I'm always in practice mode with flowers, people, buildings, motion, nature, etc. I guess I'm a fearless photographer. Just take the picture. I don't mess with the dials of my camera too much as I'm afraid I'll miss the photog moment and mood. I shoot mostly in P-mode and A-mode and know how many clicks I need to adjust my settings on the fly. I'm an all around photographer.


I use my camera mostly to capture the progress of my many hobbies. I'm a knitter and I'm a sewist. I've also dabbled in beading, baking, sketching, and painting watercolors. Mostly, I'm into Fiber Arts...yarns and fabrics. I photograph my work, my finished products. Handmade products by me. I also post reviews of garments and accessories I have made. I photograph my handmade creations for everyone to see. A picture is worth a thousand words.


I thought I would share some images of the creations I've made. I will continue to update this post as more pics become available. Enjoy!

Happy July 4th!

Today doesn't feel like a Sunday to me, but a true holiday. I spent most of today running errands and well, just having a fun day. You can tell it's a holiday...there just doesn't seem to be that much traffic. Folks are either visiting friends and relatives or venturing downtown (Washington, DC) to take part of the festivities there. I prefer to have a nice, long, quiet weekend. Doing my own thing.

By mid morning, I ended up in Old Town Manassas. Armed with my Canon S90, I went on my picture-taking adventure before the crowds arrived. At first I felt really restricted only having a small P&S camera with me. It felt good not to be bogged down in hot weather carrying heavy equipment. So, I put my camera to the test to see how well it does in bright sunlight and in low light situations. Here are the results:

In the middle of Old Town


One of the decorations around the train station


Okra's got a new facelift...bright yellow!


The gazebo at the Pavilion


At the Pavilion


Tractor ride


In the middle of the train tracks


Signage at the train station


Train on display


A close up


Enjoyed chatting with these two ladies waiting for the train to arrive


School Must Be Out - Taken at stop light while in the car



Early afternoon, I was thinking of my DH, and decided to pick up some lunch and some Mango Smoothies and headed over to the garden center. Hmmmm, another picture-taking adventure. The indoor shots were taken without flash. Amazing.


The patio - indoor display


The blue room - indoor display


The orange room - indoor display

Gardening Wear


A False Window Display


A Fish Wine Rack


Orchids in the greenhouse


Merrifield's own


Need pots?


Outdoor patio display


Spectacular color arrangements


Couldn't pass up taking pictures of these colorful chairs


Another outdoor patio display


Hibiscus in bloom


A Lonely Wagon


Nap Time!


The temperature gauge in my vehicle registered 101. It really felt like it. The humidity wasn't too bad, though tolerable.

This turned out to be a fantastic no flash day for me. I left the camera on "P" mode and just snapped away. The S90 did a fabulous job with the indoor and low light situations. The battery lasted for 255 pictures. I kept snapping away even when the red battery light kept blinking. Eventually, the lens retracted and the camera turned itself off. And yes, I did have a spare battery with me.

Overall, I think my camera did a great job. It took me awhile to get used to holding a small camera. Then I had to get used to looking at the LCD versus a viewfinder to take a picture. To keep the camera hanging from my wrist, I used an adjustable heavy wrist strap that worked better than the flimsy Canon strap that came with the camera. I've ordered a Canon leather case for my camera that should arrive in a few days. In the meantime, I picked up a Lowepro Ridge 30 padded case to use while on travel.

A wonderful small camera that's almost as good as a DSLR. Almost.

Fireworks - Scene mode


Camera: Canon S90
Lens: 28-105mm
Mode: P-mode
Flash: none