Bridges of Johnson County...Part 2 (21 of 365)

I was pretty rushed today so I did not really have much chance to be inspired and grab a snapshot of anything, so I'm bending the rules again and bringing up another photo from the nature walk on 03.21.2010.

Using the monochrome setting on my XSi and the 18-55mm lens, I snapped this photograph of the bridge I talked about in an earlier post. A good friend once said, after looking through photographs I had taken, that I have a thing for vanishing points. What can I say...it is the truth!

Bridges of Johnson County (18 of 365)

Being that I was not feeling the best yesterday afternoon, and happened to pass out early, I did not get the chance to upload a picture of the day. I am making it up for all those who missed out.

This is the Prairie Star Parkway overpass which crosses over the bike trail I mentioned in my post from Sunday. This overpass is very well built and looks very pretty lit up at night. Another neat feature this bridge has is an anti-ice system. With a large creek, two railway tracks, and a bike path all going underneath it, one can imagine a bridge of its size would normally have quite a bit of ice.

This photograph was taken on 03.21.2010 with my XSi using my 18-55mm lens. Being that it had just snowed the anti-ice must have been on because we had to dodge showers of water drops to cross underneath the bridge!

"Walking in a winter, uh...spring wonderland..." (17 of 365)

Yes it is not an optical illusion, it is officially the second day of spring and there is snow on the ground. What a wild weekend huh?

After a bit of house hunting, Kali and I went on a nature walk in the snow. We stumbled upon these two sets of footprints. One of a jogger who had been and gone long before we showed up and the other of a little bird trying to find food in the snow. We eventually caught up with the bird to take a few pictures, but it was just really neat to see how the bird was zig-zagging between the footprints.

This photo was taken with my XSi and 18-55mm lens. Believe it or not, underneath all this snow lays part of a fifteen mile bike trail. I have only traversed about the middle three miles, but it is hard not to spend a lot of time checking out all the beautiful scenery in the middle of the city!

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..." (16 of 365)

For the first day of spring it does not feel much like it. But in a way, it is kinda nice to still see the snow trying to stick around a bit longer. I have all kinds of fun stories about being out in the snow. Sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, slipping, and sliding. All good times.

This was taken shortly after midnight this morning when the snow was starting to fall faster and heavier. About an inch has stuck to the ground so far, but one would find about three inches on the side of an unmoved car about now.

This was taken using my XSi and 18-55mm lens with the flash. I also grabbed a few other snapshots without the flash and I was able to capture some neat shots where the street lamps gave a sepia effect to the pictures. I might have to post those up sometime or add them to Picasa sometime, hmm.

Left Handed Guitar (15 of 365)

"...I blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots..."

Ah Garth, with classic songs like that and his impressive stage presence, it is no wonder how he has achieved so much! I was even lucky enough to be one of the thousands to see him perform on his nine night comeback performance in Kansas City, MO. He is definitely one who has inspired me with the guitar.

The other is my grandmother. She started teaching me when I was young and boy was that a challenge. Being left handed, I was learning to play the guitar upside-down! "But the years went by and the rock just died..." Basically my family moved and I was not receiving lessons anymore. I started to pick it back up after college, but it is one of those things you have to really sit and put a lot of time into. Time that I do not have much of, ha!

This was taken with my XSi using the 18-55mm lens and flash. The guitar was sent to me from my grandmother when I mentioned I was wanting to get back into playing again. I'm trying grandma, I promise!

No Problem (14 of 365)

"I don't have a drinking problem. I get drunk, fall down, no problem"

Thanks for this quote goes out to a shirt my dad has from his college days. I still have yet to even have him loan it too me, ha!

A meager collection, but all are very much to my liking. Surprising as I have access to a "package store" within walking distance too.

This photo was taken on my XSi using the 18-55mm lens and using the studio lighting that came with my place. The plants are two of many I have around my apartment. Yet another one of my hobbies, a green thumb.

Which Way To The Mine? (12 of 365)

Another photo taken on my westward trip to Arizona. This was taken on the side of the road in Jerome, Arizona. Now just a monument to the history of the town, this cart used to haul rock and copper out of the mines. Jerome, now the largest ghost town in America, used to be home to the largest copper mine in Arizona. At one point in time, this mine was producing 3 million pounds of copper per month!

A very steep and winding road led my family and I through Jerome. The road was so steep that several times we had to pull to the side of the road to let the brakes cool off!

This photo was taken with my XSi on 11.27.2009. It seems I have been posting a lot from this trip, but I have so many great photos! If you want to catch a glimpse of America's most vertical city, take a look through Google Maps.

Tree Stars! (11 of 365)

Yes I brought up a movie reference from the late 1980's. Was a very interesting movie until they had to go crazy and make another 80 or so sequels. Well enough about The Land Before Time and back to the picture of the day.

This is another one from my trip to Arizona last year. I was able to stand just right to get the effect of the Sun being a star peaking through the branches of this tree.

This was taken with my XSi on 11.27.2009 just outside of Sedona, Arizona. Did I happen to mention I like pictures of trees? Ha!

Happy π Day! (10 of 365)

Happy Pi Day!

For most everyone else it's 3/14, which really does not have much of a meaning. But to us nerds, today is Pi Day! So in celebration I made a Triple Layer Classic Turtle Pie. The pie has a 1/4 inch graham cracker crust with a layer of turtle, turtle mixed with whipped cream, and then a thick layer of whipped cream to top it off. Yum yum! Having the three layers and 1/4 inch crust, I was even able to fit 3.14 into the recipe!

The photo was taken with my XSi. To see more photos of the making of the pie, you can view my Pi Day 2010 album.

The White Rock (09 of 365)

Worth a thousand words...but I will only use a few...

For some reason the photographs I have sitting around my place have little color. What can I say, I like black and white photos and they tend to be of trees. I picked this little number up at Wal-Mart on the cheap. I have it sitting on one of my bookshelves along with this white rock.

The white rock cost me an international round-trip plane ticket but was totally worth it! I found this rock while walking around in Northern Ireland. The trip was a blast and don't worry I took plenty of pictures and got to do tons of fun stuff! I might just have to post some of those pictures someday.

This photo was taken with my XSi using the 18-55mm lens. Ya I know I missed out yesterday, but plan on posting this and another today to keep up!

Never Roam Alone (08 of 365)

Think you can cure this guy's cabin fever?

Catchy commercials huh? I grabbed this guy up a couple years ago back when I was going to career fairs and job interviews, just to be sure I had something setup for when I finally graduated university. Luckily I showed up at a career fair I was not even signed-up for, and found a great place to work!

This photo was taken with my XSi , the 18-55mm lens and no flash this time. Oh and just to clarify, that is not a mess you see behind him. It's my bookshelf and movie collection, plus many more things that are hobbies or that I collect...same thing? Ha!

Day Lapse (07 of 365)

All in a days' work!

One of the views off of the patio on my apartment. Typical Kansas with the cloudy skies, especially this time of year, but I wanted to grab a progression through the day of the scenery. I would have added one from the middle of the day but that would have required me to make it home for lunch. It's not that far of a drive but one that you do not want to make more times than necessary, ha!

These were all taken with my XSi using my 18-55mm lens and the standard, on-board flash. The three views were taken at: 7:50am, 6:05pm, and 11:23pm.

November Moon (06 of 365)

Sooo... probably breaking the rules again, but its my photo challenge right? So I figure as long as I have taken the photo on either of the two cameras mentioned at the start of the challenge, it counts.

A cloudy November night last year inspired this photo. The clouds were moving by so fast I had to time this photo just right to find a break in the clouds to capture the moon barely peaking through.

This photo was taken on 11.03.2009 with my XSi. Isn't it so weird how our eye interprets the size of the moon so different than a camera? Just one of those thoughts that keep one awake all night huh?

Winding Road (04 of 365)

Bending the rules yet again, but this is another one that was too good to pass up!

My family and I went to visit more family down in Arizona for Thanksgiving last year. On our way back to Kansas we made a slight detour through Sedona to see the sights and scenery. The poor GPS (or Eva as it was dubbed on the trip) seemed like it was about ready to go nuts with the switchback roads that cut through the mountains!

This picture was taken with my XSi on 11.27.2009. Don't worry I got plenty of other shots of the sights than this one, ha! If you are curious and want to see what this road really looked like, see it on Google Maps.