2nd place!!

I entered four of my photographs in the Juneau Photography Contest in April. I entered the Creative, Micro, Animal, and Juneau categories. Each entry cost $10 and had to be mounted on a white 16x20 foam core board. The money earned from the entries was donated to a cancer awareness group called Love Hope Strength. The judging took place on May 6th and I was awarded a second place ribbon in the Creative category, and honorable mentions in the Micro and Juneau categories! Here are my entries.

"Treadwell Ruin"
2nd place Creative color

This photo was processed to be a High Dynamic Range photograph, or HDR. Basically, I use a tripod and take 3 photos of the same subject using the auto-bracketing feature on my camera. It shoots 3 shots in about a second; one at a regular exposure, one at -2 exposure, and one at +2 exposure. (I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel XT, so those are about my only choices...but you can auto-bracket as many exposures as you want). After shooting, I grab all three photos and drag them into a program I have called Photomatix Pro 3. It stacks all three photos onto one another and brings out detail from all three photos. Then (after processing it how I like...I think this one is called "painterly") I open the photo in CS4 and tweak it just a little and add a high pass layer to make the detail even more crispy.

These are the three original photos I took on auto-bracketing...+2 looks washed out, -2 looks really dark, and the third is taken at the indicated exposure.




"Painting With Light"
honorable mention - Juneau category

I went out to the glacier one night and played with the "bulb" setting on my camera. This
was shot at f/8, ISO 200, at 35 sec. I found that when I stood between the camera and the writing and tried to write, you could see me in the shot...so I had to stand behind the flashlight and write everything backwards! (see the failed attempt below...you can totally see me smeared all through the picture)

"Melting My Heart"
honorable mention - Micro category

This is a red, heart-shaped ice cube melting on a white dinner plate. I used a long exposure, and while the shutter was open, I took a flashlight and shined it all the way around the plate. It made for an interesting effect


"Anticipation"
Animal category

This photo was also processed as an HDR image. Unlike the other one where I used bracketing, I had to take this one in camera RAW and it was pseudo-processed in the same program. I couldn't take 3 identical pictures of this dog, since he was moving around a lot, but by taking the photo in RAW, I was able to get nearly the same effect. Below is the original, unprocessed/tweaked photo.

First Track Meet

Brooklin and Caleb are both participating in track this year. Caleb didn't really want to, but we told him he had to try it out. Their first track meet was today. Brooklin signed up for WAY too many events...the 1600m, 800m relay, 400m, 100m, and long jump!! She was ready to puke by the third race! She came in 1st in the 1600m and second in two of the other running events (I forget which ones). Caleb signed up for the 400m, 200m, long jump, and discus. He was out in front for most of the 400m, but towards the end, as he was running past the bleachers, he started to try and see who was cheering him on, and who was coming up on his backside...and when you don't look straight ahead when racing, you slow way down. I think he came in 2nd. (I just got told that he made 1st in his heat in the 200m...he ran that race after I left). I had to leave before it got over (I had to be at my final photography class), so I didn't get to see all the events, but I was able to take a few pictures. Their season is so short...only 3 meets!! They only have one other middle school here, so one week they host, the next week the other school hosts, and the third meet they both host and have kids from some of the outlying areas come in on the ferry to participate. Then it is all over.

Nic, Caleb, Khalil, Kacey, and Brooklin.

Caleb is the only 6th grader in this picture...The rest of these kids are all in 8th grade and are Brooklin's friends. They are really good to Caleb though. =)

Brooklin and Kasey running the 1600m.

Brooklin winning the 1600m

Brooklin running the 100m. It was kind of a photo finish, but I think the other little girl won.

Caleb flying like Superman! I'm not sure how he placed, since I had to leave.

Brooklin running the 800m relay. They have teams of 2 boys and two girls and each of them run 200m. She was their last runner (and I know there's a name for that runner, but I just can't think of it).

Brooklin's "I'm so ready to puke" face.

Caleb running the 400m

Caleb throwing the discus.

The girl before him didn't have a clue how to even hold the disc...so the teacher supervising the event showed her how. The girl put her arm back behind her head and threw the thing like a baseball!! Flat on!! It was so stinkin' funny!!!

This started out nice...brother and sister love each other...

...then Brooklin tries to give Caleb bunny ears and he tries to grab her to stop her from doing it.

She then wraps the bunny ears around his head and puts him in a headlock...hahaha!!!

Caleb has to call "uncle"
....oh well for the nice loving brother and sister shot!

Welcome to the family Brody and Bailey!

We have two new members to the Strasser family.

My brother Cody and his wife Jody welcomed a new baby boy to their family on April 20th, 2010.  They named him Brody-Ferrell Cluff Strasser.  He weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz., was 19 inches long, and arrived a few weeks early. =)  Baby Brody is their 3rd son and 4th child.  We are so excited for them, and can't wait to see them this summer.

My brother Joel and his wife Lila officially welcomed Bailey Corinne, to their family on April 22nd, 2010.  Bailey is nearly 18 months old and has been with their family for about a year.  She came to their family through the foster care system when she was 6 months old, and they were able to finalize her adoption on the 22nd.  Yesterday, they were able to have Bailey sealed to them in the Boise, ID temple.  We were not able to attend her sealing, but we are excited for their family as well.  We will also get to see them this summer during our move to Oahu.

What's left...

 
We have just over 8 weeks left in Juneau.

I have 3 accounting assignments, 2 accounting quizzes, 4 economics assignments, 15 (or so) photography assignments and 3 final exams before I can even start to think about moving.

We have found a Coast Guard family of six to rent our home.

We found out it would cost $3000 to sell our truck...or $2400 to ship it to Oahu,

so we are shipping our Expedition to Honolulu on our own dollar. (the coast guard will only pay to ship one vehicle).

We will be down to one car in about 3 weeks...when we ship my van off to Hawaii.

We decided that it would be best to sell our boat...and we are sad.

We have our plane tickets to Oahu.

We leave on the 22nd of June and fly straight to Honolulu (via Seattle).

We got the ok from Darwin's command to take leave from July 3rd - 23rd.  We don't have those plane tickets (which they are paying for) but we will be somewhere in Idaho/Utah/Wyoming (maybe??) during those dates...
(This is one of those things I will think about after I am free from the homework monster)

We need to have a garage sale...bad.

I hate garage sales.

Darwin and Caleb are out on a boy scout campout this evening and I am up late, trying not to think too much about all this moving stuff.  I need to, but it just doesn't seem very real to me yet.  I'm sorry...mostly to myself...that I haven't been very good at keeping up with this blog.  I've had a pretty consuming semester this time around and have been pretty stressed.  I won't be able to take any classes this summer, and that is probably ok.  I have signed up for 9 credits in the Fall and am going to finish my degree via online classes within the next 3 semesters.  I will be taking the second half of the Accounting class I am in this semester in the fall, along with an English class (Technical Report Writing) and a computer spreadsheet class.  It was only supposed to take three years, but moving has thrown a wrench in several of our plans.

I know this move will be good, and I am excited for the new adventure...but as I have said before, "I like moving around and experiencing new things...I don't like actual moving."  Many things have been quickly taken care of for us that we were not anticipating, and it has been a great weight off of my mind to know that God isn't necessarily going to make this easy, but he has made it easier than I thought it was going to be.  I'm really glad he's in charge...He always seems to know what is best for us, even if at first it doesn't seem like the best idea. =)

I could write lots more stuff, now that the house is silent and I don't have a warm body to sleep with tonight, but it is midnight and I need to get going.  I'll try harder to just mention stuff on here now and again so I don't get so far behind.

Oh...

and by the way...

Brooklin got an early birthday presents today.

We let her get contacts!
=)

Climbing at the Rock Dump

I started this post on March 22...and never posted it!  Oops!

It was gorgeous this weekend!  Blue skies, sunshine...temps in the 40's...hahaha!  We walked down to the middle school and played frisbee and kicked a ball around for about an hour, came home and ate lunch, and then went to the Rock Dump...which is an indoor climbing wall gym.

Fun with 6 rolls of TP!

I love April Fool's Day.

I get to make mischief...

...the fun kind. =)

Last night, I did a little cupboard/drawer switch-a-roo in the kitchen.  I switched the hand towels and the utensils...the cups and the bowls...the pots and pans with the cereal and stuff...the lunch bag drawer with the measuring cups.  I also used yellow food coloring to tint the milk to look like orange juice.  Then I went downstairs and drew eyes and flowers and smiley faces on the girls' glasses with a dry erase marker.

They all loved it!

They all get their own breakfast in the morning (while I am making their lunches) and they usually have oatmeal (the flavored kind in packets).  Normally, we keep a container on the table full of  utensils...but I made sure to empty that back into the (wrong) drawer and I emptied the dishwasher so they would have to look in the drawer to find a spoon...and when they opened the drawer, there were towels.  =)  I switched the cereal with the pots and pans...and when they went to find a bowl, they only found cups.  We bought the Costco milk last time we needed some (i really hate the new square containers they have) so we keep the milk in a pitcher...which made great cover for the "orange juice" milk.  Isaiah started opening every drawer and cupboard trying to see if I had done the whole kitchen. =)

This afternoon I decided to toilet paper the kids' bedrooms.

I only used three rolls in each room, but it was fun.  No one tp's around here, because it rains too much...and wet toilet paper is really not very fun to clean up..  I'm waiting for them to get home right now so I can watch them open their bedroom doors. =)

Here are the photos of my beautiful mess!

...and I do not claim responsibility for the mess that was there before I started my mischief...

...I'm not their maid...

...and between me being constantly angry about it or them just living with stuff piled on their floors, beds, and dressers (which doesn't seem to bother them in the least)...

...I'll take vacuumed once a week and just let them live in it.

It isn't worth the angry nagging and yelling that could go on.

(and has at some point).

Just a funny from the other day

Me: Isaiah could you go get me a chocolate? 

Isaiah: Can I have one too? 

Me: If you bring me two, you can have one. 

Isaiah: If I bring you the whole bag, can I have more?

hahahahaha!