a slice in time

Things are not always as they appear

mfreesto — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:33:45 +0000

This serene area was known as the Stairs of Death at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria during World War II. Prisoners were forced to carry granite blocks up the 186 steps to the top of the quarry.

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Shiny

mfreesto — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:04:20 +0000

Nathan’s favorite Pinewood Derby award.

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Tension

mfreesto — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:45:33 +0000

Music is like a huge release of tension.

~James Taylor

This is a photo I took at Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, of the inside of a Bösendorfer piano.

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Facial expression

mfreesto — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:46:09 +0000

I really like the detail in this photo from last Fall of Christie, a mother elephant at Hogle Zoo. Her wrinkles and scaly skin. Her eyelashes. The hay or grass on her forehead. And she seems so serene as she watches over her new calf, Zuri.

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Waiting for Spring

mfreesto — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:33:21 +0000

Ok I’ve had enough of Winter and grey days. Time for a little color. This is a photo of the flowers along our back fence last Spring. I haven’t seen anything starting to bloom yet this year, but this is what I am looking forward to.

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Francis Scott Key, Wii Champion

mfreesto — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:06:17 +0000

Nathan played the part of Francis Scott Key at a school activity today. He dressed up and pretended to be a statue in a wax museum. I have a hard time imagining him holding still for a whole hour, but he looks pretty handsome. Oh say can you see?

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Somewhere between a rock and a hard place

mfreesto — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:34:47 +0000

Skyline Arch, Arches National Park.

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Thousands of fabulous prizes

mfreesto — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:17:05 +0000

Everyone has a chance to win at the Pinewood Derby race.

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A sharp tongue

mfreesto — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:09:35 +0000

A sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with constant use.

~Washington Irving

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Photo finish

mfreesto — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:13:22 +0000

Nathan had his first Pinewood Derby experience last night. His (ok our) car ran fairly well, finishing in the top 5 or 10. But he was much more excited about getting the trophy for the shiniest car. He also won the Sportsmanship award. When I think of a Sportsmanship award (I hate to admit) I usually think of a consolation prize. But he really was a good sport. He sat near the finish line and after every race he kept telling the other boys, “good job” or “way to go!” So I was more proud of his Sportsmanship award than anything else.

I included a few pictures here that tell the story for me: The infamous track, a close finish, the expressions on the participants’ faces as their cars close in on the finish line, and of course the prizes.

Taking photos at an indoor event like this is very challenging. I ended up using the flash for pretty much everything and boosting the ISO to 800. I noticed a pretty significant difference (read: decrease) in exposure when zooming out near 105 mm as the aperture stopped down to f/5.0 or smaller. It was a balance between trying to get as much as possible in focus, stopping the action, and getting a good enough exposure. It was fun though.

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