Moving Day

Thursday was Moving Day. Well, Packing Day. We had over 200 boxes inventoried and labeled. Many of our friends from church and work came to help us load up the truck. Unfortunately, even with all of that preparatory packing, there were still about 20 boxes and two chests of my stuff that needed to be packed. I need to take a lesson from my bother Jon – purge often and purge a lot – but then he is not the one interested in archiving and content management, I am.

Moving Van via Josh Wagner

A picture of our Moving Van.
Photo Credit: Josh Wagner.

The Bulkhead

The Bulkhead – The use of halogen lights at night in a metal lined room make for some nice shadows.

So on Friday, my friend Jeremy and I finished and put the bulkhead in place. 900 cu. feet – though not completely solid. God is gracious. We originally wanted make Tuesday our pack and leave day, but we were delayed by having to spend an extra two nights in Philly. So, Thursday became the new Tuesday. And God knew what he was doing – it has been cooler temperatures these last few days. I do not feel like our stuff will bake in the truck.

Lightning in East Texas

Becky and I were flying standby and coming back from our trip in Europe. We had been bumped from a couple of flights and were desperate to get home. So we took a flight which ended in Little Rock, AR rather than Dallas, TX. On the drive to Dallas there was quite the electrical storm. Since I shot my first picture of lightning in Germany, I have wanted to give it another go. This was the perfect opportunity. I pulled off the highway onto a secondary road and drove about a mile before pulling off to the side. Because we were flying standby our checked baggage, including my tripod, were already in Dallas waiting for us – not good when you want to use it before you get to Dallas. So, I improvised. I used the trunk of the rental car and my camera strap for leveling. Here is what I was able to shoot.

Image 9325 possibly the best un-edited photo of the event.

I took about thirty photos playing around with a variety shutter speeds (time lapse), ISO and apertures. All images used my 50mm lens with a UV filter. This one is probably the best one unedited.

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The Ulster Fry

The Ulster Fry

The Ulster Fry : a traditional full breakfast from Northern Ireland.

This week Becky and I have been vising some of her friends in Northern Ireland. It has been interesting to sit and talk with people and to watch how the culture is different when compared the cultural elements we encountered in Edinburgh, Scotland. On of the things we had the privilege of eating was an Ulster Fry. Complete with eggs, ham, potato, tomato, sausage, toast, jam, tea, farls and friends.

Hugh Paterson (1781) of Edinburgh

This July 7th, Becky and I stepped foot in Edinburgh Scotland. It is kinda surreal with it gray overcast and old architecture. We were there to look into some family history records.

Prior Research

My dad, Hugh Jr. (also son of Hugh Jr.) and his sister took a trip to Scotland some years ago.

The Hugh Jrs (Both were Hugh Jr. and didn't know it.)

The Hugh Jrs (Both were Hugh Jr. and didn't know it. Well the younger one knew he was a Jr.)

Hugh Jr. and Sisters

Hugh Jr., (my dad) and his sisters on their Scotland Trip.

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Shoot the Sun…

Shooting the Moon took less planning. But both of these secessions were mostly spontaneous. After shooting the moon, I was showing the picture to a colleague at work and he mentioned that there was going to be a Transit of Venus. Of course this was the day before the transit was to occur, an event which would not occur again until 2117. I started to diligently look around for how this event should be photographed (including how it was photographed before). I found out about solar filters, I just needed one which would fit Josh’s lens. The best I could find was a filter from Thousand Oaks Optical. It seemed that everyone was recommending them. But it looked like the filter I would need was about $200.
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