A Long Absence

Sorry for the long absence. I have had a severe bout of non creativity which still continues but is gradually improving. I wanted to remind everyone of the "High Noon Photo Contest" , be sure and read the post below to be involved.

This is a clematis from the Master Gardener's Demonstration Garden at Nathaniel Greene Park here in Springfield. It was taken early in the morning.

Front Porch Friday Addendum

Now this is a front porch designed for comfort! Taken with my new Blackberry when Teresa and I were walking back to the car from the Springfield Cardinals game tonight.

Front Porch Friday - Rendezvous Style

Even tents can have front porches and they are very evident at a rendezvous event. It is part of the fabric of the event to sit out and get to know your fellow redezvousers.

This will probably be the last formal Front Porch Friday since I haven't gotten out to take pictures well and the response has not been what it used to be.

2009 Finley River Rendezvous in Ozark, Missouri

I took Friday off and Teresa and I cleaned our closet, garage, attic, and shed. We worked on more stuff today. Gee whiz am I tired! But it was not all work...I got to play just a little.

There were so many things going on this weekend. Blue Grass Music at the Ray House at Wilson's Creek, Civil War Days at Hulston Mill and the event shown above which was the Finley River Rendezvous in Ozark. I had to pick one so we chose this one as we didn't get to give it justice last year when we snapped some shots on Sunday afternoon. This year I wanted to give this event my front and center attention and I was really pleased with some of the pictures I got. The rendezvouers were very gracious welcoming Teresa and I to take pictures.

The top two pictures are some overall shots of the site in the Ozark City Park. It was about 9 am so the light was already pretty harsh but there were some opportunities as you will see here and over at Ozark Faces. I loved the lines in the third picture.

We have so much going on! We are down to 2 openings in our Springfield "World Wide Photo Walk. If you are interested in going be sure and get over to http://worldwidephotowalk.com/springfield-mo-usa/ to register for this event. Participation is limited to 50 and incredibly we have reached 48! I am looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at this event. We have a lot planned for the walk so there should be something for everyone.

Activity in the High Noon Photo Contest is picking up. At first I thought Mark was going to walk off with the prize but he has some competition now. Be sure and let your readers know about the contest.

If you live in the Springfield area be sure and either stop by the Finley River Park in Ozark tomorrow or take a drive to Greenfield for Hulston Mill's Civil War Days. You will be glad you did.

Morning at Nathaniel Greene Park

This was taken early in the morning at Springfield's Nathaniel Greene Park. I have been taking some time to take some early shots before I go into work. The light is magnificent when you hit the right day.

Don't forget about the High Noon Photo Contest described below. So far I have had very little participation. Is this too tough of a competition?

http://ozarkphotos.blogspot.com/2009/05/announcing-first-annual-ozark-photos.html

Old Ship Models...

Another Polaroid scan of 35 years ago! This is a Lindberg model of the German Battleship Tirpitz shortly after I completed it. My friend Danny and I used to sail our models in ditches after rains!

This ship has survived many, many years on Danny's grave. I check on it and him every time I go to El Dorado Springs and pass the small cemetery where they rest. It is battered and worn but so far no one has taken it or thrown it away.

For The Love of Star Trek 2

This one reminds me of the current movie poster...

Ok, no more until tomorrow! :)

For The Love of Star Trek

This is probably the strangest picture you will ever see me post here...

Most of my long time readers such as Mark and Lori will know that I am an avid Star Trek fan. I took this picture about 35 years ago hanging an unpainted AMT model from a clothes line and snapping away with a Polaroid. Both the model and the Polaroid are horrendous, but I loved the angle of the shot I captured. I scanned the Polaroid last night and was attempting to isolate and turn the cloudy sky black but got to this stage and thought it was pretty interesting so there it stayed.

Going through the old Polaroids was a bunch of fun, just goes to show I had an interest back then at 15. I wish I had pursued it!

Coach Ricky Simms, Jr. 1974 - 2009

This post is dedicated to the life of Coach Ricky Simms of Study Middle School. Coach Simms was the ISS teacher at Study and coached the 8th Grade Football, Basketball and Track programs there. We learned this week that Coach Simms passed away leaving many devastated students. Today Teresa and I attended his memorial service at Deliverance Temple here in Springfield along with about 1,000 other teachers, students, former students, administrators and family.

Coach Simms will be remembered for his love of the Study students, his smile and his competitiveness. He and his 8th grade football team brought Study the City Championship for the first time in 38 years this year. Judging from his teams emotions at today's service he was not only a good coach but a good mentor to these young men.

Coach you will be missed.

These picture were taken a few months ago at the Hillcrest Junior High City Basketball tournament. These pictures were hanging on Coach Simms office wall and were in the video shown at today's service. I only wish I had taken more.

Downtown Hartsburg, Missouri

Teresa and I almost missed this beautiful little town close to the Missouri River. It is on the Katy Trail State Park and is about 5 miles off US 63 between Jefferson City and Columbia. This was a "High Noon" shot and I was very fortunate to have some lovely clouds as a background. I used my polarizing filter in my NIK software to help highlight the sky.

Be sure and check out the High Noon Photo Contest post below. This is the type shot you can get at high noon. You just have to carefully work your angles and composition as the light can be very harsh. Often though a photo opportunity will present itself and you would be amiss not capturing it while you are there.

Announcing the first annual Ozark Photos' "High Noon" Photo Contest

Photo taken at noon in Springfield, Missouri

What is the High Noon photo contest?

Noon light, especially in the summer, gets very low marks for quality. So what I have decided to do is challenge the readers of Ozark Photos to go out between 11 am and 1 pm in their local time to take their best shot. I realize you readers in the Southern Hemisphere may have an advantage here since it is winter. Oh to have those long shadows! The contest will run from June 1st to August 15th. Your pictures must be taken between these dates. You will submit your entries to me via my email address ozarkphotos@sbcglobal.net . You may submit low resolution images or watermarked images if you wish. I will collect your entries and along with a couple of other local Southwest Missouri Photographers we will judge the entries after August 15th and come up with First, Second and Third place winners The first place winner will win a copy of Joe McNally's newest book The Hot Shoe Diaries.

Why am I doing this?

First off, because I think it will be fun. Secondly, I would like to get this blogging community that I have enjoyed so much for the last 3 years active again. Thirdly, I think mid-day light gets a bad wrap.

Who can participate?

Any reader of Ozark Photos. Of course, that number has dwindled of late so you need to go to all your blogging friends and tell them about this contest for it to really work and for us to see some really creative noon time shots.

What do I need to turn in and how many times can I enter?

You need to turn in a jpeg image preferably no smaller than 550 by 600 pixels. Please also submit a description of what you did to get the shot. Also make sure you have your name in the body of the email. If you are the first place winner I will request your mailing address to get your prize to you.

You can submit one shot each week during the contest.

Anything else I should know?

Obviously, I can't change what mother nature does so you may get lucky and have a cloudy day. That works too. Pictures do not need to be in a particular category. Portraits, landscapes, flowers, macros all qualify. The picture must be taken outdoors to qualify. Studio work is cheating! :)

If you come up with questions post them on this entry or any of the updates so everyone can see. I am sure I am not thinking of everything.

Good luck and most of all have fun! Let's see how creative we can be with noon time sun. Tell everyone you know, the more that participate the more we will learn from one another. I will give periodic, probably weekly updates if people really get involved.

The Log Cabin Porches of Nathaniel Greene Park

Friday's sure seem to roll around fast! I was at lunch today and realized I had no new shots for "Front Porch Friday" so I drove to Nathaniel Greene Park. The harsh noon sun was not much fun, but hey sometimes you don't have choices.

I have seriously been thinking of running a challenge to the one or two people still reading this blog. It is going to be called "High Noon" and will consist of shoots taken at the lunch hour when the sun and hence light is the worst. I am thinking about running it through the summer and even giving a prize for the best picture. Any takers? We will have to work out the logistics...let me know your thoughts.