Whether they are Christmas or Hanukkah, holiday lights just make me smile and I love taking pictures of them. I especially like the images where the lights look really big. Of course I had to include an image where I used camera movement. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone!
The leaves are off of the trees here in New England, so even though things aren’t the most scenic, today’s sunny morning gave me the impetus to get outside and take some photos. Plus I haven’t been out just for the sake of photographing nature in some time, and I was itching to go. As I was trying to decide where to head, I realized that there is a huge wetland preserve right behind where we live that I really haven’t walked through. It’s probably too wet in the spring and summer, but now that the ground is almost frozen I thought I could walk through without sinking. It worked (mostly). Since the wetlands are not really the most scenic place, nor are they colorful right now or covered in snow, I thought I’d play with the images a bit. The first few are made by using ‘intentional camera movement’ as it is sometimes called, which is when you move the camera while pressing the shutter release. Then I worked on the color of the images in Photoshop to make them more visually interesting. Everything you see in these pictures are trees. This technique plus the processing kind of makes it look like the lower portion of the image is grass, but it is all trees. The last two are shots of the woods with some filters applied, but I like that sepia coloring, it warms the image up from the dreary wintery look. Hope you are enjoying the end of 2012!
What an incredible season our high school football team had! Ranked number 1 in the state and number 11 in the tri-state area (by MSG Varsity) and with an offense considered the best in the state, the expectations for our team were sky high. Our players and coaches were amazing in every way, from athletic ability to teamwork and spirit; they demonstrated what it means to be a great team.
Our regular season was extraordinary in every way. We won every regular season game, with an average score of 51-17 for the regular season. The team was 9-0 and clinched the conference championship on Thanksgiving Day. What a great day that was!! Smiles and cheering were all around, with awards presented and a bucket of Gatorade dumped over the coach in celebration.
Headed into the state championships we were favored and expectations were high. We won the quarterfinal game and were faced with another powerhouse team in the semis. Our boys played their hearts out in that great game. The game was close but unfortunately we did not win, an upset that was tough to take. I hope that the players, though, do not keep only this loss in their hearts and memories when they look back on their remarkable season. There are so many great times to remember and be proud of, which is what the season was about. I hope all of the players and coaches remember this season as an amazing achievement by a team to be proud of. Everyone on our team demonstrated a team spirit at all times on the field, from working their hardest to supporting and rooting for each other at every turn.
Being on the field taking pictures, I was lucky to be up close to the amazing athleticism demonstrated by our players. I just had to share some of the photos from the last game, which capture just a tiny glimpse of the effort demonstrated by our boys since September. Leaving that field for the last time was difficult, extremely so, particularly for seniors and their parents. I hope everyone associated with the team has a warm feeling about an incredible season filled with great memories. Wrecker Pride!
April Book Photography | Westport, CT 