Review of Tips for Photographing on a Hike

There is nothing like a hike in the woods to find great material for nature photography.  During the past month I have gone on several outings with photographer friends to capture the beautiful images of springtime in Missouri.  These images were taken on two of our outings at state parks in the St. Louis metro area.  The photo above was taken at Cuivre River State Park in Troy,  Missouri.  The second park we visited was Lone Elk Park just off Hwy 44 in the southwest portion of the region.

Preparing for Your Trip

Good preparation is important for your trip.  On both of the occasions there was a chance of rain so some rain gear was added to my checklist.

• Camera and back pack
• Extra batteries and memory cards for the camera
• Lens cloth to wipe away dust and dirt
• Two lenses- one wide angle(18-70) and a longer lens (70-300)
• large trash bag (to sit on if the area is muddy)
• rain poncho (just in case)
• lens hood
• filter
• tripod

Although I make sure all of these things are in my backpack, when I get to the place where we are going to shoot I leave most of the items in my car.  I do this because we were going on trails of 1 mile or less and if I need something else I can go back to the car.  For my first trip from the car to shoot I will put on one of my lenses and make sure to wipe it off.  I then check my battery and memory card and head out to shoot.  Later depending on what I'm wanting to photograph, I will come back and change lenses and/or pick up my tripod.  I used to always carry my backpack and tripod with me, but I have found that to be too cumbersome and not needed for short hikes.

 Photographing Wildlife

I have not done a lot of wildlife photography but on my trip to Lone Elk Park I had two photography buddies who really helped  me to hone in on wildlife to photograph.  Dina was great at listening for birds and pointed out the Pileated Woodpecker  that I was able to capture with my long lens in the photo below. In the photo below that you will see an Elk.  Our photo buddy Mac drove ahead of us through the park and would point out places where we could find Elk and Bison. I found that photographing wildlife takes a lot more patience than photographing flowers.

Photographing Plants and Flowers

I enjoy photographing flowers and foliage.

There is always something interesting to shoot in the parks. The first shot  is some pink dogwood I spotted through the trees.  This photo was taken in Lone Elk Park and the shot was taken out of the window of the car.  I had my lens set on aperture priority f8 and was able to capture the pink as I saw it through the trees.

We were hiking down a small path in Cuivre River State park when I saw part of an old stone wall. I stopped on the path and took several shots of the wall from different directions. It is amazing the different looks you get just by walking around an area and looking at it from a different angle.

I love the way the leaves were growing over this stone wall.  The sunlight filtering through the trees also gave it an interesting look.

 

Waterdrops and Puddles Create Interesting Photos

We were at Cuivre River right after a rainfall and there were puddles everywhere and raindrops still falling from the branches and leaves.  Sometimes new photographers avoid rainy days, but I find that you can capture some of your best images on a rainy day.  The first photo was looking down at the top of an old stone pillar.  The pillar was about 3 feet high and a oval pool of water had collected in the top of the pillar.  I stood over the pillar and focused my camera down on the puddle of water that showed a reflection of the trees above.              

This next photo depicts a waterdrop on a branch.  I was having trouble getting a good shot when a fellow photographer suggested I back up a bit and refocused.  It took a few tries but I was finally able to get a fairly clear shot of the waterdrop with the background blurred.  

Watch for Special Features to Photograph

As you are out in a park look for special features to add to your photographs.  Old stone bridges like the one below make an interesting photograph.  Don't forget to turn around and look at the path you've just walked down.  The leading lines will also make for an interesting photo.

I couldn't resist photographing this goose that sat out right in the middle of the parking lot.  He didn't move all the while I was shooting.

Gifts from  my Photographs

Here are some items I made on Zazzle from my photographs.  You can see other items on my Zazzle shop by clicking through either of the links below.

Old Bridge at Cuivre River Card by mbgphoto
Look at other Old stone bridge Cards at zazzle.com

Leaves on Old Stone Wall Gift Box by mbgphoto
Check out Cuivre river state park Gift Boxes online at zazzle

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Book Review of The Only Witness by Pamela Beason

The Only Witness

An infant is abducted in broad daylight. The only witness is a gorilla. Can you imagine how a detective would feel when about to ask a judge for a warrant on the basis of the testimony of a gorilla? Of course, he wouldn't tell the judge anymore than he'd first been told himself -- that the the only witness was a twelve-year-old with the IQ of a five-year-old. As expected, the judge had the same reaction he himself had had -- he wanted to  meet the witness. That's why Detective Matthew Finn had brought the video tape to show the judge if necessary.

Photo Courtesy of Pixabayxabay

                                                                                                                               

The Kidnapping                 

Seventeen-year-old single unwed mother Brittany Morgan stops at a convenience store because because she's out of diapers. Her two-month old baby, Ivy Rose, is asleep in her car seat. She doesn't want to wake Ivy, so she carefully locks her car after opening the windows just far enough for the air to flow, but not far enough to reach in. She whispers through the passenger window to Ivy, 'Mama will be right back, Ivy Rose.'

Brittany  notices a tall gray van parked next to her on the right, the kind with mirrored windows that prevent people from looking in. The words "Talking Hands Ranch" were painted on the side. Then she went into the store and bought a few groceries. When she got back to the car, the doors were still locked, but the baby was gone. So was the gray van, but Brittany didn't remember the van at that moment because she was still in shock. She thought some boys standing around smoking might have taken the baby as a joke but they denied it and hadn't seen anyone else with a baby. A woman called  911. Soon Detective Finn was on the scene with  his crew gathering evidence. Brittany was frantic.

Inside the Van

Grace, a research professor at he University of Washington, returned to her van and to Neema, one of the gorillas in her project to whom she was teaching sign language. Unbeknownst to Grace, Neema had seen the kidnapping of the baby. She had signed to herself what was happening as it happened.

When Grace had returned, Neema signs "baby" to her, and then "car." Grace has no idea what Neema is talking about. In intervals Neema signs "Snake make baby cry." Grace thought Neema was calling her a snake, a word Neema hated. Neema continued to sign: "Baby cry, bad blue snake". But then Neema remembered she wanted a banana and the conversation took a different turn.

Later, Grace found out about the abduction, but still did not make the connection. It took her days and repeated signs from Neema before she made an anonymous call to the police. She remembered she had been at the Food Mart about that time.

The Investigation

Before Grace finally called Finn was not getting far in the investigation.  He'd learned that Brittany had been in a program for unwed mothers at her high school, the Sister Mothers Trust program. They had a support website for the girls in the class called YoMama where the girls could communicate. Brittany's computer had been taken in to custody, since she was the first one the police suspected, along with the baby's father Charlie, who was the son of the County Executive. The police certainly did not want to get Travis Wakefield's name into the news over this.

So far, the police had not learned much that helped. It was only after Grace called with the anonymous tip that Finn began to make progress. Brittany, had, meanwhile, remembered seeing the van and  described it to the police. By tracing Grace's call from a pay phone and tracking down the van, he was finally able to find  Grace's compound and discover that his only witness was Neema. In the phone call Grace had only said her ward told her that a man with a snake bracelet took the baby to a green car. Grace had said her ward was twelve and had the mentality of a five-year-old. Finn still thought Grace was passing on the words of a mentally retarded child witness. Finn had been  crushed when Grace said he could not contact Neema and then hung up.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Finn Meets Neema

Finn finally tracks down Grace's location just after she has received a letter from the University of Washington that the project is closing and the gorillas will be sold at auction. When Finn unexpectedly appears, Grace is crying. He still has no idea Neema is a gorilla. When Grace finally allows him to meet her, he still believes he is meeting a child. He has even brought a flower to try to win her over. When he first lays eyes on Neema,  you can just imagine what went through his mind.

You'll have to read the book to see that rather humorous scene. It is the first of many interviews Grace tapes. Neema's testimony,  though not presented formally in court, does help solve the case and the cases of two other missing children of mothers who were in the Sister Mothers Trust classes. I'm not going to spoil the book for you by telling you any more. I'm anxious to read the sequel. The best deal is the Kindle box set for the two books.

 THE ONLY WITNESS (The Neema Mystery Series Book 1) THE ONLY CLUE (The Neema Mystery Series Book 2) The Neema Mysteries: A Box Set Including The Only Witness and The Only Clue

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I would recommend this book to those interested in inter-species communication, gorillas, and police procedural mysteries. One thing I appreciated about this book in addition to the story itself was that no one got killed -- no gory scenes. The emphasis was on the police work and the human-gorilla interaction.

Gorilla Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

 Could this Really Happen?

It is plausible.  I think the author may have been influenced by the work of Dr. Francine Penny Patterson at the Gorilla Foundation. She is best known as the mentor of the famous Koko the gorilla, to whom she has been teaching American Sign Language, as part of her gorilla research. The project began in 1972 at the San Francisco Zoo. Since then it has progressed and moved to larger spaces, and finally to a large compound in Hawaii, but it appears the foundation is losing its lease and will have to raise enough money to buy the land if they are to stay there.  Koko will turn  45 on July 4, 2016.

Here is some insight into the relationship between Koko and Dr. Patterson. One can easily see how Pamela Beason might see Dr. Patterson and Koko as models for Grace and Neema in The Only Witness.

In this video, you will meet Koko.

   
In this video you  will watch a conversation between Koko and Dr. Patterson.

What do you think? Would you consider a signing gorilla like Neema a capable of being a credible witness?

For more information about  Koko, try one of these. You will see more options when you click through, both in books and DVD's. Koko A Talking Gorilla is a DVD.

 Koko's Kitten (Reading Rainbow Books) Koko: A Talking Gorilla (The Criterion Collection)

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Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Reviewing A Fathers Day Gift Idea

Hammer It Home For Dad

I have a Father's Day gift idea to share with you today and I think you might just say it nails it. Well, if your Dad, Husband or Grandfather happens to be a bit handy around the house it will work perfectly as this year's gift. Shoot, even if he isn't handy, I think he will like it. 

An engraved hammer with sentiments for Dad is unique and something that will be fun to give and I think Dad would say it is fun to receive, too.

You nailed it, Dad! Hammer

The engraved hammer above was my most favorite pick from the options that are available. There are several options for the sentiment to be placed on this fully functional tool for his tool chest or to hang on the wall. A few options are:

• Thank you for helping me build my life
• We love building memories with you
• Let's build more memories together (I plan to get this one for my husband from me for our anniversary)
• Thank you for giving me the tools to build my life
• My Dad can fix anything

See, there are some perfect sentiments for you to choose from and I'm telling you Dad is going to love the idea! If he chooses to use the hammer, he will think of you every time he picks it up. It will warm his heart and put a smile on his face. At least in our house, Dad will!

Last year for Christmas, my oldest daughter was struggling with an idea for my husband (her step-dad). She asked our little grand-daughter what she thought would be a good idea and she came up with the perfect gift. She said, "Well, Grandpa likes to fix things so I think a new toolbox would be nice. We could put our names on it so that when he opens it, he will always think of us." Well, we just thought that was the sweetest thing ....EVER! So, little McKenna was my inspiration when looking for a good Father's Day gift this year. I was looking for a tool that could be engraved and when I saw these hammers, my search was over. 

So, what say you, dear readers? Is an engraved hammer for Father's Day a gift that will work for you this year?

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Sony SRSX11 Speaker Review

Sony SRSX11 Portable Speaker

I procrastinated.  I complained constantly about the lousy audio on my inexpensive laptop for a long period of time.  But I continued to put off purchasing a small, portable speaker for as long as possible. Recently, with a purchase of a speaker-less portable media player and continued frustration at having a hard time hearing audio on my little laptop, I gave in and purchased a small speaker.  I chose the Sony SRSX11 Ultra-Portable Bluetooth Speaker and I'm so glad I did. I love this little cube of sound.

The Sony SRSX11 Ultra-Portable Bluetooth Speaker

This little speaker is advertised by Sony as the "compact cube with serious sound". In my opinion, they aren't over-stating. I love the sound that comes from this tiny speaker. Sony provides the following information:

• 2.4" x 2.4" x 2.4" small
• Bluetooth connectivity - NFC One Touch
• micro USB terminal; stereo mini jack input
• 12 hours playtime on the rechargeable battery
• 10 watts
• Variety of colors: black, white, red, pink, or blue

What Others Have to Say About the Sony Speaker

Because I am the most technologically challenged person you may ever meet, I am happy to point you in the direction of reading what others have to say about this little gadget. At the time of this writing, the Sony SRSX11 Ultra-Portable Bluetooth Speaker has a 4.5 out of 5 star review on Amazon.  Of those reviews, 70% are 5 star reviews. 

There is a brief review of the Sony SRSX11 speaker on C/NET.  In the past, I've valued the reviews on C/NET due to their focus on the latest technological news and reportedly unbiased reviews of the latest tech gadgets. 

Why I love my Sony SRSX11 Speaker

The helpful young man at the store tried to talk me into "better" speakers.  I wanted cheap, small, and easy - I insisted. He demonstrated a cheap speaker - definitely in my price range - but when he turned on the demo speaker even I could tell it sounded like .... well, it sounded bad.  Okay, I relented, let's move up into the next price category.  

I liked the look of this little speaker "cube".  I liked the weight of it.  It felt well made.  I liked the sound.  The nice young man tried to tell me about the bluetooth features and his voice turned into the teacher's voice in Charlie Brown's classroom, "wah, wah, wah, wah, wah."

I asked if I can connect it to my laptop with a cord. And can you help to make sure I purchased the correct cord.  He seemed puzzled but he answered both of my questions with a "yes".  He tried to explain again how this speaker can be portable.  

While I don't mind being tethered to the laptop or my Ipod with a cord in my teeny apartment, you can easily use this speaker in a more portable way with the NFC & Bluetooth connectivity.

The only downside of this little speaker is that it seems it could be offered at an even lower price. Of course, I believe that about all electronics. But if you are looking for a small speaker that delivers good sound and easy portability, check out the Sony SRSX11 Ultra-Portable Speaker. I think you will be pleased. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Discount and Deals Page for Popular Online Stores

Discount & Deals Page Created
by Funkthishouse Here

Are you taking advantage of all the savings available when you online shop?

I've been guilty of not using coupons, flash sales, daily deals, clearance and discounts when I online shop. 

Has this happened to you? You've reached the check-out point for your online purchase and notice a spot for coupons .... and start thinking .... did I miss the coupon, could I get this cheaper, do I need a free shipping coupon? So you stop the process and go back and double check, or you say 'to heck with it' and complete the transaction as is because you're in a hurry.

After all these years I'm finally paying attention to coupon codes advertised on a site. The problem is, sometimes coupons are not clearly positioned or the best deals turn out to be another type of discount, rather than a coupon; like flash sales, or daily deals.

Another problem; it's hard to keep track of where to find daily deals and discounts. We forget where the location of the daily deals are (where the links are), and sometimes doing 'a google' brings us to multiple wrong or out of date places.

For Deal Shoppers, Here's my Discount Page Providing a List of Links for Deals for Several Popular Online Stores

Daily Deals: Amazon & eBay offers daily deals. It's a great place to scan when you're gift shopping or need daily supplies of basics.

Flash Deals: Flash deals are discounts offered for a short 'flash' of time. The clock ticks on these deals. When you visit The Discount Page you'll see a popular home decor company that runs these.

Clearance: That's exactly what it states, 'items on clearance'. You'll notice a link to both Walmart and Allposters. It will lead you to their items on clearance.

Coupons: If you're looking for where to find a list of Etsy and Amazon Coupons, you'll be directed to it via The Discount Page. All their Coupons are in one convenient place.

BoNuS TiP

My 16 year old son recently purchased a new laptop. Prior to buying, he researched online for the best price based on where he wanted to buy and the features he wanted included.

He didn't buy it online though; he wanted to see it, so he went to the actual store in the mall to make the purchase. However when we arrived there, the item was displaying a 'normal price' not the online sale price.

He was quite discouraged and thought he missed the sale. So we asked the sales representative who looked it up on the computer and found that, yes, this item was in fact on sale. For whatever reason, it hadn't been marked for sale in the store.

Also, because of his age, he was able to receive a student discount of about $100 on top of the sale. So a laptop that would have cost him over $1400 actually cost him about $1100 (taxes all in).

So even if you're not buying online, it pays to research online. That way you're armed with any discrepancies you notice in the store.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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