REFLECTION

 

Well...reflection was the latest photo challenge and I'll have to say it was a bit more challenging than I thought it would be. I really wanted to get into downtown Portland and get some good city shots but the weather and my schedule didn't cooperate. If you want to see some more good reflection photos, check out jsltd.blogspot.com, I'm sure he did some nice work.

 

The theme for next month will be...NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY. If you want to join in on the monthly theme challenges with us, leave me a message. Each month is a new theme chosen by us.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited in Blogsy for iPad

FORE!

Recently I got word that a buddy of mine, Kevin Simons, had earned his way into the Oregon Amateur Golf Championships. Not only had he earned a spot in the tournament, he did it by sinking a 25 foot birdie putt in an extra hole playoff! Luckily I was able to break away for a while, I am on summer break so it wasn't that hard, and walk the course with him. The tournament took place at Tualatin Country Club in Tualatin Oregon. The weather could have been a little better, but it was nothing an umbrella couldn't handle. When I got there Monday afternoon I was the only spectator in the group. About 9 holes later Kevin's Mom, Sister, Grandma and Grandpa came to show their support. They had just about missed a great finish to the front 9. Kevy was +2 at the turn and was sitting tied for 15th. He went on to have a few bogeys on the back but mostly pars. He ended up shooting a 76, a great score, especially considering the pressure that he had to be feeling.

Kevin was able to finish the first day ranked in the low 40's. The top 64 after two days move on to match play, he was sitting in a pretty good place.

Day 2 got off to a great start, besides not having a caddie for a few holes.

Starting in the par 5 eleventh hole, Kevy recorded a birdie and was -1 right out of the clubhouse. After a bogey he was able to keep it at even par for most of the front 9. After an unfortunate lost ball, which never came down from a tree, he was able to battle back and card a nice front 9 score. This momentum carried over to the back 9 and helped propel Kevin to a two day total of 151, 156 was the cut score. This put him ranked 27th and ready for match play.

Match play began on Wednesday and the players finally got a break in the weather. After the first few holes Kevin sat at all square with Matt Keyser of Lake Oswego. Keyser then jumped out to a 4 up lead before Kevy cut into it by winning the 9th hole. Kevin was 3 down going into the 13 hole, where he started his comeback, winning the 13th and 14th holes. The deficit was now 1 hole heading to 15. Kevin was about to bring the match back to all square when he caught a bad lie and lost the hole. Until this unfortunate break the momentum was undoubtedly swinging in Kevin's favor. A few holes later the match came to an end, with Keyser winning 3&2.

Overall, Kevin was happy with how he played and I'm sure it was nice to get his first championship tournament experience under his belt. In talking with Kevin he told me, "I'm happy, next hear I will win a couple of matches". So don't rest on Kevin Simons. If anybody can set their mind to something and accomplish it, it's him. I've seen him do it in many other aspects of his life. Way to go Kevy Kev and thanks for letting me come out and walk with you. Oh and...thanks for not going all Tiger on me while I was snapping pictures!!!

 

Empty Chair Project

I've had fun this month working on the first theme challenge with my brother-in-law, Jeff. Check out his pictures at jsltd.blogspot.com, they're great! It sounds like the next challenge is Reflection. Join in, in if your ready! Here are my favorites from this month:

DAY GAME

Today I got to go to a Portland Timbers Reserve game with 60 5th graders. The day was a complete success and we got to see the Timbers U23 team win 4-0. The kids had a great time, most of which had never been to a professional game of any kind, some had never even been to Portland!! These were a few shots from the day.

AROUND PORTLAND

 

I had to throw this picture in here!!  Saw him cruising down on the waterfront in Portland.

OC AFTER DARK

I've been wanting to get out and shoot a few of the landmarks in Oregon City for quite some time. Unfortunately I didn't get it done last summer and had to wait through the wet months to get another chance. Here we are, April 21st, and we get our first day in the 70's. After a full day with friends at the zoo it was time to set off on my own!! I headed to downtown Oregon City to set up shop. I started at the Oregon City Municipal Elevator, which is a cool piece of Oregon history, then headed to the new River Walk, and finished up the hill at the fire station. Besides a few drunks from the bars and occasional sirens, it was a peaceful night in the OC.
To get these pictures I used a tripod, Nikon wireless shutter release remote, and set the camera to Shutter Mode. I played with the shutter speed throughout the night, ranging from 3 seconds, clear up to 20. The key to night photography is to make sure there is no camera shake, hence the tripod and the remote. You could use the self timer if you don't have a remote, but the tripod is a must. Night photography is a lot of fun. The blurring effect of the passing car lights was really cool, I'm going to continue to work on those shots in the future.
Here are a few of my favorites from the night:

SNOW DAY

We live an hour away from the Mt. Hood wilderness and had not taken Bryson to play in the snow yet. It was time! We set out in the morning with all of gear, Bryson's sled and a hot Starbucks. The destination was Snow Bunny sled park near Timberline. Upon arrival we found out it was $15 per person, all ages, to use their lame sled hill. We packed up the gear, again, and headed down the road to Trillium Lake. This proved to be a great move. The Trillium Lake parking lot is a trail head as well as a small sled park. We found the perfect little hill for Bryson and set up shop. We had our little section of the hill all to ourselves and had a blast.