Lake George

A lot of people see vacation as lounging on some exotic beach, sipping drinks from fancy martini glasses (complete with umbrella!), and watching the sun set over the ocean. What some people fail to realize is that you don't need to go to Hawaii or Barbados to see beautiful things. You also don't need to spend ridiculous amounts of money, either. With my family, I drove upstate New York to the Adirondack mountains, and let me tell you, watching the sunset over the mountains is just as beautiful as watching one over the ocean. I have proof.

And those exotic flowers. Who needs 'em? We have our own beauties right here in the US. It doesn't take an expensive plane ticket to find beautiful things in nature. Remember that, folks. There were such lovely flowers where we were staying, I didn't know which ones to photograph first! There were sunflowers, daisies, roses, flowers I don't know the names of... It was wonderful. And then there was a gorgeous forest in the back. I had a great time exploring, climbing on fallen trees, and, of course, taking pictures.
I didn't want just any plain old forest picture, so I experimented a bit by using a longer exposure and turning the camera in a half-circle. The result you can see on the left.

I have a ton more photos, but I just haven't gotten around to posting them just yet. I'll have plenty more in the next few days, I promise. :)

YES: The End of Summer

The title of my last entry had a question mark because I wasn't sure if it was really the end of summer just yet. I was actually kind of sad to admit that the season was coming to a close. But now I can't deny it any more. The trees in front of my neighbor's house are starting to turn yellow. )`= Can you believe it?

Anyway.

My family's leaving for Lake George on Sunday for a nice 6-day trip in the Adirondacks. Well, more like a 4-day trip. Two days are spent driving. Of course, I won't be able to post at all until I get back, but when I do get home I hope to have plently of pictures. (= You might remember Lake George from here. That was last summer. I hope my photos will be better since I have a much nicer camera this year.

And I have two more pictures right here. I forgot to put them up yesterday. I guess you could say I was just experimenting, but I happen to like how they turned out. Something about the leaves against the dark background reminds me of the jungle, lol!

Yeah, so if I don't take any more pictures tomorrow (I probably wont'), this'll be my last update until Friday. Yep. Have a great week!

End of Summer [?]

Instead of just photos, I'll be typing a bit too. I just thought plain pictures got a little boring. You don't have to read if you don't want to, of course. I understand. (=

My latest pug-portrait is nothing too different from the 5 bazillion others I've taken, but I really have to share it. Why, you ask? Because so many people have told me that my lens was dirty. They probably wondered why I didn't take better care of my camera. This is the reason right here, folks. Yep, that's right. PUGSLEYS: The leading cause of slobbery lenses in the world today. My other pug (Also, appropriately, named Pugsley) is just as bad, possibly worse. I can't tell you how many times they've sniffed the lens just a little too closely or wondered just what a camera tastes like. You'd think after almost two years of me shoving cameras in their faces they would have learned, right? Nope.



Now this picture right here took forever to get just right. (PARENTS, you'd better be reading this. This right here is one reason why I need... Um, would like a new camera (= ) My camera is not so great indoors. Actually, it's pretty bad unless you're willing to either a) use flash (I loathe flash with a passion. At least the built-in ones that cameras have), b) put up with digusting amounts of grain and noise, or c) hold the camera really really really still, which is hard without a tripod (Something I don't have). For all you potential camera buyers, beware low light! It is not your friend. Unless you have a nice camera that works when lighting is dim.

This picture was taken at Monticello, otherwise known as "Thomas Jefferson's House" in Charlottesville, Virginia. As part of an academic program for highschool students, I spent one week in Washington, D.C. and Virginia (Not at the same time, of course. We traveled). We went to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Monticello, as well as visited several monuments in Washington. I had a great time, and was able to get several very nice pictures, like this one here, aaaaaand....


This one, taken at the Lincoln Memorial. We had pretty decent weather during the trip. The hottest was 92 degrees, which is great considering where we were and how brutal it's been lately. Global warming; Gotta love it!


I found this beautiful butterfly at Monticello. It was hanging out in the flowerbeds right next to the house, was very polite and let me take some great photos. I have to say, butterflies have to be one of my favorite subjects. They're very hard to capture on camera, but when captured just right it's a magnificent thing. I wish there could be butterflies all year round, instead of just in the warm weather. They're such fascintating insects.

This picture... Hmm... What's there' to say. My mom got flowers for her birthday/anniversary (Were they from you, Dad? If so, THANK YOU!) and I had a great time taking some pictures. The pink flower up there was in the bouquet as well. The photo on the right, here, was an accident, but I liked how it looked beside the other one. So that worked out well. (= Oh, and those little specks? You can blame those on Mr. Slobberface (See Photo #1 of this post).

Summer