Through the woods to see Grandma

Daddy, Morgan and Andrew went to Davidson North Carolina (BTW Davidson College is ranked number 9 by US News) to spend 5 days with Grandmom and Grandpop. Andrew and Morgan loved the homemade breakfasts and fancy dinners. They were kept busy all week.

Wednesday was all day at the Gastonia Schiele Museum of Natural History.
Thursday we went into downtown Charlotte for the Discovery Place and Children's Museum. I hated the Children's Museum, It was so dirty.
Friday was "the best day ever" at the Lazy 5 Ranch.
Saturday was relaxing in the AM then Swimming all afternoon (Thats today)
Tomorrow we head on the long journey back home to see Mommy.

Summer means a trip to the Carnival

The best carnival in the area is the Glen Burnie Carnival. Andrew was sure to remind us when it was happening, No summer can be completed without a trip to the carnival. We made the trip this year with the Phillips, Joey, Katlin, Missy and Kevin. Michele asked me not to bring the camera but I wanted to play a bit.

Most of my pix were meant to show motion. Here are the settings I used
Panning. This technique is following the subject to keep it in focus but makes the background blurred.
Continual focus, to keep the moving target in focus on the single AF point.
Small Aperture, to get a slower shutter and large DOF. If the AF falls off the subject a little the DOF will keep things better in focus. I dont have to worry about the background because its blurred from panning and the next item.
Slow shutter. I used about a 1/30 or slower to help blur the background. This also blurred hand and head movement but I think that adds to the artsy theme.

Portraits of Faith

My sister Pam asked me to help update her daughter's portraits. Above is my favorite. click on it to see more.

Feathers were hung with fishing wire, using a lamp as a template for Faith's height. This was done before Faith arrived. I was hoping it was not a bust, and I would get the confident shot right up front. I'm glad it worked. I actually hung ten feathers, ten for her age. But using the 70-200 lens the feathers were too spread out. But what I got I think was good. It would have taken too long to move them.

(White) background is inspired by Zack Arias. Four gelled speedlights, two on each side. One speedlight high and one low for even coverage. Using speedlights gave me the benefit of variable output to get cool transitions. Mostly fired at 1/8th. The flash gel was changed up or removed to change the background colors.

Foreground was three speedlights. One camera right for key/definition. One camera left-center for fill. One (borrowed from BG) grided pointed at the main feather, also lucky to also point at her hand and arm. The foreground lights were positioned close to prevent spill onto the background.

Lighting pattern is inspired by David Ziser. My results I think were close but not exact. Flash used were Nikon S26s and Canon 550ex. Because I used the Nikons I could only shoot at the fastest sync speed 320 (1D Mark 3). Because my flash was not as powerful I also shot at iso 400. iso 400 is not a big deal for the 1D. Most of the shots were at f8 for maximum sharpness throughout.

2010 Dance Recital

Its that time of year again, Its time for the annual dance recital. But this year is cracy busy. Not because Morgan is involved in more dances, nope she still is in only one. But Michi has decided to take up tap dancing again. Hope you ebjoy the Pics. Click the one above for more.

Also enjoyed my first at home studio. Whada-ya think?

Andrew's Kindergarten Graduation

Andrew graduated from St. Philip Neri's KB Kindergarten class on May 27th. Grandmom Sue, Grandpop Bob, DaDa, Morgan, Daddy and Mommy attended the ceremony. I balled liked a baby. Andrew's class held letters and used them to symbolize things from Kindergarten and at the end they held them up and it spelled 'We are now first graders". After that they sang 'The wind beneath my wings". That song always makes me cry. When your children are real little and people say enjoy it now because it goes fast, well Dan and I realized how true those words are. I can't believe Andrew will be in First Grade already. My how the time has flown.

Andrews AFB Airshow - Awesome

We suffered for 2+ hour in the hot sun waiting to get on the bus and back to our car, all for the fun we had at the 2010 Joint Service Open House and Airshow at Andrews AFB. Missy and Kevin asked us to join them for this event. But truth be told this particular airshow is a tradition for us. Anyway, we were one of the first to the base. So early that from Fed-Ex field to the base, the bus driver got turned around twice. We spent the hour before the show hanging around the static airplanes and kids area. I was surprised the kids lasted the whole day, and I think hanging out with the Phillips helped the kids make it. It was a blast regardless of the suffering at the end.

Like a Billy Goat

This is a place holder for the trip we took on the Great Falls billy goat trail (A) two weeks ago. Its a procrastination holder because I wanted to get up some of the pix from our trip yesterday. See above!

Andrew and I took Sean and Olivia Dean out to Great Falls Maryland on a famous trail along the Potomac called the Billy Goat trail (A). This trail is not for the meek. We spent 3 hours on the trail before we reached an "early out" point. I thought we completed about 3/4 of the trail at that point but lucky we talked to a trail ranger who informed me that we only completed 1/3 of the total distance. That was our clue to take the early our path (at trail marker number 2). Maybe one day Andrew and I will complete the whole trail. Then we can get started on trail B and C.

Lost Tooth

Andrew lost his first tooth today. It came out while eating a banana. He was very excited.

Rick Family Easter

I could only talk Morgan into getting her picture taken. But pixel peep at the dress fabric for extraordinary detail. Side lighting caused that. BTW Easter was mostly a recovery day.

We had an adventurous Easter weekend. We went to Massanutten on Friday and Saturday. Spent Friday at the water park (Andrew went body surfing!) and then half of Saturday exploring and the second half being sold a timeshare. Everyone was very friendly right up until we said no. Honestly the resort was nice but we felt way too much like we were in a car showroom with more salesman than customers. We were pushed hard into buying on the spot and that in itself became an easy out. I slept well Sat night knowing we made a good decision. We are planning to visit the resort again but as visitors not owners.

Trip to the Zoo

It was too early in the season but it was still free. we took a trip to the DC Zoo today. Many of the animals were in the warm inside. By Morgan (age 3) and Faith (age 8) both had a blast searching and seeing the ones that were out.
I took my 70-200 with the 500d Closeup filter. With the close up I was able to get some cool Pix. Near the lions habitat there was a guy setup with his Nikon D700 and an 800mm, He let Morgan and Andrew look through the viewfinder.

Blizzard Season

Well its 4 Days of being stuck at home. We're getting back to family games, home cooking and chores. AA County has left us plowed in like many other neighborhoods. Georgetown staff all around the DC area are still reporting stuck at home. BWI reported we got 25 inches (seems like a lot more) of snow Friday night and Saturday. I was out shoveling Saturday and made the kids a snow tunnel leading to a snow "tea room". They also got some man made snow mountains to climb and slide.

Looks like we'll have more to come tonight. Another 10-18 inches forecast.

Busy weekend

We had another busy weekend this week. Andrew started swimming again, Morgan started her first lessons. Andrew had fun at another Lego class. But the high point was the Smithsonian Educational Research Center (SERC) visit. They had a live Birds of Prey exhibit today. Andrew loved this one as much as the one he saw in NC. Morgan got a little scared when a hawk started flapping her wings but she still liked the owls. After the exhibit we walked the grounds in Edgewater MD. Click the above photos for more. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time there in 2010. We'll probably send Andrew to camp there.

New Portrait

Michi never likes her portrait taken. I'm glad I was able to capture this one today. Its one she actually likes. This was taken on the trails at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater MD.
Its a totally staged shot. I found the tree she's leaning on and asked her to go a few feet off the trail and stand next to it. The pose is her idea. I think she had a great pose.

Christmas 2009

Boy did the kids hit the jackpot this year with their gifts. Santa gave Morgan a kitchen and he brought Andrew the Clone Trooper Helmet and blaster that he wanted. We had Christmas Breakfast with Bud, Pam, Faith, Stephanie, Rick, Jessica, Daniel and Nicholas. It was fun watching everyone open up their gifts. We gave Bud the new Star Trek movie on DVD and when everyone was done opening gifts, he put the movie on and Dan, Bud and I watched it. Before we knew it, it was 4pm and we were hungry again so the guys got us Chinese food for dinner. We then came home and crashed. Dan is taking Faith and Andrew Snow Tubbing on Monday and Tuesday so we will be getting ready for that this weekend. Merry Christmas everyone!

2009 December Blizzard

We experienced our first Christmas Blizzard. Twenty-one inches of snow was recorded at BWI Airport. Andrew and Morgan had a blast playing outside while Dad shoveled! Saturday we dug out the Yukon and traveled to Annapolis Mall but everything started closing so we decided to go see Avatar while the snow fell.

Sunday we woke to more snow and the kids again enjoyed playing in the snow while Dad shoveled and Mom stayed inside baking.
The kids decided to use their beach buckets to make castles in the snow. Unfortunately, we may not find one of the shovels until spring...


Click on the picture above for more pictures.

Heritage Christmas Play

Morgan and Andrew were involved for the first time in the Heritage Christmas Play. They of course loved getting dressed up. Andrew was very serious about his roll.

I was asked to Photograph the event for them. Turns out the church really love the animoto slidshows. There are a few photos that I think will make it into my portfolio. Click the above pictures to see the rest.

2009 Christmas Card

We took a traditional trip to a Christmas train garden today. This is where we captured the Rick Family Christmas Card photo for 2009. Cards will be heading out this week. We went to the B&O Railroad museum in Baltimore. We brought with us Jamie Stiffler. Jamie loves trains and as a bonus put up with my picture taking. The B&O museum had a LEGO train garden, very amazing scenery. We also tried to take the kids to the Ellicot City firehouse train garden but it opens next weekend, Dec 5th. We ended the long weekend by putting up the tree and decorations. This year Andrew and Morgan are so very excited.

Thanksgiving 2009

Today is Turkey day, we always have Thanksgiving at our house. I love to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, this year they even had Speed Racer in the parade. I also love making dinner. It is a challenge to get all of the food ready at the same time but each year it seems to work. This year we are trying 2 new items. Dan has made a Cranberry Relish and Cornbread Stuffing. He has also been busy setting up the dinning room to take pictures before everyone starts enjoying the Thanksgiving Dinner. He is also taking the kids to see Planet 51 today (even though I wanted to see it too). This year Pam, Bud, Faith, Stephanie, Rick, Jessica, Daniel and Nicholas (with a quick visit from Kimmy) will be here to celebrate the day with us.

We hope your family is having a wonderful Thanksgiving also!

Deodorized Skunks

Morgan participated in Susan Ina's Welcome Winter Show and was a deodorized skunk. She danced with her friends Hope, Makenna and Braelyn. This show was for charity to support NCEON in Anne Arundel County. She did a great job and loved dancing as a skunk. The costume was hand made. However, Mogan couldn't seem to shake her rear end, she could only shake her shoulders so her tail never moved. But it was still very cute. Click on the picture to see the rest of the event photographs.

Halloween Weekend

Boy was this weekend busy!
Friday night was Bunko at Rebecca's house (not the every day Miss Rebecca but the Miss Rebecca from church). I didn't win anything but I really enjoyed my time there with the rest of the ladies from church.
Saturday was crazy, Andrew and Morgan had their graduation from their Fast Trak classes. Andrew took an Economics Class and Morgan took a Speech/Drama class.
Then we rushed home to pack and change clothes to go to Pam Pam's house. I needed to finish entering the items for Tot Swap and we decided that the cousins could Trick Or Treat together.
Andrew was Anakin Skywalker, Captain Hook and Captain Rex-Clone Trooper, Morgan was Cinderella and Faith was a Lady Bug.
Sunday, we had the Halloween party at Susan Ina's Dance Studio then back up to Timonium to Pam Pam's house so I could finished the Tot Swap stuff. The kids stayed with Dan and Bud and watched them race RC trucks.

Get your accessories here!

Michi had a purse party on Friday. Here is a picture of the spread she put out. The purses are pretty cool, they consist of two purses, black and brown and a large variety of outer shells to match a ladies outfit. The outer shells attach snugly via magnets.

I took the kids to the Cole Bros Circus.

Andrew's First Day of School

Andrew started his first day of school on August 28th 2009. Daddy, Mommy and Morgan took him to the bus stop at Severn Elementary to send him off on this new adventure. He was so excited when the bus finally came that I had to hold him back so Dan could get a picture. The bus lady was so nice to let Dan come onto the bus and take pictures. Andrew is going to Monarch Academy and he is in Kindergarten. He likes going to school but he says it is boring. Hopefully it will become more challenging as the year progresses.

North Carolina Vacation

Andrew and Daddy took an 8 hour car ride to Visit Grandmom and Grandpop in Davidson North Caroline. My Mom had a week full of adventures planned for us. Day one we went into Charlotte to the Discovery Place and the Freedom Park. I took The above portraits at the park. Tuesday we went to the Reed Gold Mine, However, I forgot my memory card that day. Andrew was excited to pan and find a gold speck. Later we went to the Davidson Park to feed geese. Wednesday we went to the Transportation Museum. We loved the trains there. Thursday we spent the day at the Lazy 5 Ranch, This was the best time of the week. Spent the day feeding and seeing all kinds of animals. Later we took an hour car ride to eat at the Pirates Landing. (What a long ride) We all were so exhausted that night. Friday we went back into Charlotte for the Nature Museum and back to the Freedom Park to feed the ducks. Saturday we are going to the Carolina Raptor Center.

Tuesday Andrew found a little Fowler's Toad. He captured it and kept it for three days. He took the responsible approach and let it loose again on Thursday.

North Carolina

Dan took Andrew to North Carolina this week to visit his Mom. Mom and Bob live in a retirement community (like Erickson) that's so new they aren't on any maps yet. Andrew was excited to go on vacation. I am excited to be able to watch what TV I want to watch this week...

I will miss them though.

Everyone is sick!

Last week Andrew started with an ear infection then it turned into a sinus infection but he is feeling better. Morgan has a cough and I was not feeling good Sunday so I called my doc this morning and they took a look at me today. Well, I have a sinus infection and a double ear infection! No wonder I wasn't feeling good. Then I get yelled at for being at work and actually thinking I could return to work. So I came home and slept for about 2 hours. Once Morgan was home, there was no resting. Oh well.

Photograph Wins 2nd 1st Place

2nd 1st place drick172

What a thrill, one of my Great Falls Pictures wins 2nd place on my favorite challenge website. At first I was not going to enter it because I though it was a picture of a waterfall and not a geology picture but then after I started looking at other examples of geology there were waterfalls everywhere. Erosion is the geologic process that made this photo possible.

It turns out that the first place winner was DQed for post editing. His editing was only just enough to be DQed. None of the other contestants complained about his photograph. It was only in the final proof that he was ousted. While I'm glad to have moved up. I still consider it as a 2nd place finish.

ER

Crazy Day!

I was leaving our monthly meeting at work when I got a call from AACS that Andrew had gotten his thumb stuck in the door and that they wanted me to come there to get him calmed down. So I thought I was just going there to calm him down and get him settled then go back to work. I was wrong. His finger looked broken, it was bleeding and he couldn't move it. So I took him to the ER at AAMC where I work. They took xrays and they let Andrew see them. He said he has Dinosaur Bones in his hands. It wasn't broken but the nail bed needed to be put back. In order to do that, they had to give him needles of Novocain in his sore thumb. I felt so sorry for him. It hurt so bad he was screaming not just crying. They gave him a popcycle after that. Once the finger was numb then the doc put the nail bed back. It was not a pretty site but I did tell Andrew he was getting a "manicure". Poor guy.

We spent Friday at the Maryland side of the Potomac Great Falls We did get a late start and could not stay all day but I think everyone was tired of walking when we left. We saw the falls, the canal boat, and the working donkeys. The kids had a lot of fun exploring. I got some nice photos too. Later that night Morgan got a little cranky so Mom and Andrew went to see fireworks themselves.

We spent the next day, the 4Th, at my sister's (Aunt Stephanie) house. She had an in ground pool and just got a new (huge) patio surounding the pool. It was a great way to spend a day. later we took the kids to see the movie Ice Age 3.

We spent the next day pooped!

Recital Pictures

I had fun with these pictures. I purposely shot with only the stage lighting. Adding anything else would have taken away from the dramatics. I shot in AV mode and also purposely shot under exposed to get a faster shutter speed. I shot in Raw to later properly expose in post processing. I also changes my ISO between 800 and 400 depending on weather I could get a fast shutter at 400 or if I just had to use 800. I think the 40D did great job. As always click the picture above to go to flickr for more.

Its recital time!

Here's a picture of Morgan getting ready for her dance recital pictures.
Her dance recital is on Saturday, June 6th at 3pm. She goes to Susan Ina Dance Studio in Linthicum.
She is their youngest student. She is following in Mommy's footsteps.
Here recital song is Bushel and a Peck from Guys and Dolls. She will dance to it even if you sing it to her.
It is sooo cute!

New members apply here!

Nicholas Connor Kelbaugh joined us May 29, 2009 at 1:35 pm, He was born to proud parents Jessica Stephens and Daniel Kelbaugh. Jessica is the daughter of my sister Stephanie. Congrats grandma. More details to follow.

Fifth's Disease

If you notice the graduation picture of Andrew, his face is very red.  I took him to Dr. Gordon's on Friday because he broke out in a rash on his face, arms and legs.  They said he had Fifth's Disease which is a virus and they really can't do anything for him.  It just has to work its course.   Anyway, He is looking forward to Faith's Birthday Party tomorrow and then the sleep over at Pam Pam's.  

Dan and I get a "Date Night".  I am really looking forward to sleeping in on Monday....

Math Grad

Andrew finished up his FasTracKids  Math class today. He learned about daily numbers, counting individually and by groups, shapes, sizes and patterns, and time and measurement.

Nothing else matters

Andrew was totally engrossed into Mary Poppins tonight