Black's Web Log

Well, we tried for 10 years or so to get family to come south to warmer weather and join us for Thanksgiving, but finally gave up this year and loaded the family into the van and drove up to PA for Thanksgiving weekend.  Driving up 81 on Thanksgiving day was nice, roads weren't busy at all, but then we got to PA and it was rainy and messy… but we all perked up once we started seeing snow on the farm fields.

There was a bit of snow on the grass when we arrived at Mom’s, but that was it and no more was to come.  We enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast and eat till we could eat no more…then started on the desserts.  The weekend was a bit hectic traveling back and forth Mom’s place to Laurie’s, Laurie’s place to Mom’s, Mom’s place to Terry’s, Terry’s place to Mom’s, Mom’s Place to Laurie’s, and once more from Laurie’s place to Mom’s.  Oh… the exciting part (sorry mom) was getting back to mom’s place at 9:30 and finding the house locked up and no way to get in… the heavy sleepers slept through door bells ringing, phones ringing and more.  Called Laurie and she helped me find a way in.

The kids had a blast playing with cousins, Rock Band and Michael’s drums and don’t forget the movies and popcorn.

Below are a few pictures from the weekend.  Click on an image to view it larger and notice that you can click next and previous to see the rest.  Here is a link to all the pictures in a slide show at Windows Live.

 

Tags: Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania

We skipped a year or two, but it was time to attempt another family photo shoot at Myrtle Beach.  This time it was over the Halloween weekend so time for the photo shoot was limited to Saturday morning.  Unfortunately for the photographer ( ME ) it was a clear, bright sunny morning.  The children just wanted to dig and play in the sand, not sit still, pay attention and not squint at the camera.

No matter what direction the subjects were looking… it was too bright, but we did our best.  I turned on the built in flash for fill light, attempting to remove dark shadows and contrast.  Unfortunately the power of the sun was too much and almost all pictures needed to be “tweaked” in LightRoom to reduce the clipping (when the whites become pure white and the blacks become pure black).  To the untrained eye and the polite family members… these pictures may look just fine, but I know how much better they could be.  Mental note for next time, pictures just before dusk with a flash and now towel to sit on.

The beach trip it self was a success, stayed at Dunes Village Resort.  This place has a small water park with few pools, lazy river, some water slides and more.  But as usual, the visit was too short.

Here are a few pictures from the photo shoot.

   

   

 

Tags: Beach, Myrtle Beach, Photo Shoot

August sure was a busy month for us.  After a week at Pocono Plateau, we stopped by Terry’s place in PA to celebrate Johnny's and Dona's Birthdays with a swim and a bite to eat.  Laurie was there with Joey and Jessica, so our kids had a blast swimming together for a while.  It was a short visit, but good none the less.  After Terry’s we went to moms for the night and left bright and early the next morning for home. 

Tags: Pennsylvania