Cityscapes

A few months ago I bought a Groupon for a photography workshop from The St. Louis Photo Authority. I redeemed it this weekend for a 3 hour walking workshop called Cityscapes in downtown St. Louis. It was me and one other guy who was having back troubles so for the last half I had the full attention of two professional photographers. It was pretty amazing. After we walked and shot for over 2 hours we went to a coffee shot and they critiqued my work and answered all my questions.

The top shot is one I liked a lot. I set an artistic filter in Elements and then there is the original. You can see the old courthouse and the arch in the background but the focal point is the flower.

Edward Crim does mostly commercial and architectural work now, and his partner Don Love specializes in portrait photography. He told me the story of how he did his first wedding when he was 14 years old. I couldn't have asked for two better resources. Edward is starting a meetup to do walking tours once a month around the city. This will allow me to learn more from him for $10 a year, and I plan on taking Don's portrait workshop in his studio which will be a great learning experience.

I took the class because I thought it would help me be better prepared for my trip to New York City which it definitely did. I think the most important thing I took out of the class is the need to slow down and think more about my shots. I tend to shoot hundreds of shots and hope that a few good ones pop. It works for the most part but that means I have to wade through thousands of images and my work flow is getting out of control. Edward explained how he handles his work flow in Aperture on Apple and also showed me how to use Lightroom from Adobe, which I will definitely be investing in.

The biggest critique they had for me dealt with camera shake. Because I am constantly moving towards the next shot this is a real problem. As an amateur it's not a problem but if I want to sell my work it is an issue. Of course I need to get into the habit of bringing my tripod with me but that's not always realistic for me so I need to slow down and focus more.

They also got me thinking about exposure a lot more. If I want to go entirely manual I will need to learn to trust myself to set the exposure and not just take the camera's opinion. I'm going to experiment with a grey card and see if I'm able to figure it out. They also encouraged me to take the black and white photography class I was talking about as it will teach me about exposure and lightening as much if not more than a digital class.
This one was my favorite shot during the 15 minutes we had of good light.

This was their favorite shot of mine. It's of one statue through another statue at the City Gardens. There were about 3 of my shots that they actually said, "I missed that" which made me feel good. Here is their gear which they were dragging through the city. I definitely had lens envy. Especially the lens on the black tripod. It was 400 mm and you could literally see every detail through the viewfinder with crystal clarity.

I will probably be keeping my 55-250mm on my camera most of the time in the city. I would have relied more on my 18-87 mm if I hadn't gone to the class but after looking at my pictures with both I think the telephoto will be best for architecture. I will also have my lensbaby handy to try to get the unique perspective it gives. I'm not putting any pressure on myself for getting the perfect shot. I just want some nice picures that I can blow up to put on my walls.

Portraits

I've been thinking a lot about where my photography journey is taking me lately. As I've gotten more and more into photography I've been spending less and less time knitting and getting ready for craft shows. I don't know why I can't do both but I have a hard time being super passionate about more than one thing at a time. I will start focusing on building up my scarf inventory so that I can do at least a few shows this fall after I finish the baby blanket I'm working on for a colleague. But it just doesn't hold the same thrill that it did in the beginning.

I really wish that I could find a photography mentor to help me explore my options and learn some new skills. A student I was working with a few months ago put the idea into my head. He said that he had been lucky to have a mentor that helped him along his photography path. I was almost hoping that he would offer to help me but in my professional capacity I can''t approach him myself. I am thinking about joining the St. Louis Camera Club and will try to make it to some of their workshops. Perhaps I can meet someone there who could take me under their wing.

I'm also thinking about taking a real class here at the college but unfortunately the only one I could do in the Fall is for Black and White Photography using 35mm. This could be fun too but I don't know how practical it would be in this digital age.

I really enjoy doing portraits as you can see from the above shots of my nieces. I have no formal training but I've read a lot of books and taken a beginning photography workshop which helped me learn about composition. I really need to learn more about lighting and photoshop as well as upgrade my equipment before I could actually charge anyone for portrait work but it is something I'm thinking about in the back of my mind.

We have a screened in porch that is rarely used which I could convert into a studio if I decide to go in that direction as well as plenty of parks that I could use for natural light work in the area. I really don't think I will be quiting my job anytime soon but if I could make some money on the side doing something I love how cool would that be?

Tip of the Hat!

A month or so ago the girls had a very quick trip to the farm for Spring Break. I got to see them for a few hours. I had just gotten my new favorite lens, the Lensbaby 2.0 that week. I got it on e-bay for a only $50 which was a great deal. I really want the Composer but it cost more like $250 so I had to be satisfied with the older model for now.

The lensbaby gives that cool bokah effect with a sharp sweet spot, which is manually set with the lens. You squeeze the lens until you get the sweet spot where you want it. The nice thing about the composer is that you can lock the lens in place instead of holding it there while you shoot. It definitely has a learning curve which is why these relatively good shots I got the first time I shot with it are some of my favorites.

I'm really thinking about changing the name of the blog to Lenox Knits and Pics. I know that the focus has totally changed from my knitting ventures to more photo centric, which is one of the main reasons I had trouble getting myself over my blogger's block. I felt like the blog had no real focus and I was unsure of how to move forward. I'm still unsure but I realize that is not as important as simply going forward. I figure things will come back into focus if I just keep working at it, just like the Lensbaby!
The girls were having fun modeling for me in Nana's old hats. I have a lot more shots with my new lens that I will probably share later this week.

Opening My Eyes

I was checking out the Huff Post Arts page yesterday and found a really inspirational article I just had to share. It's called Relish the Art That Surrounds You by Agnes Gund. The main premise is that we should take time to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us wherever we are. This line sums it up nicely, "I'm talking about the ubiquitous examples of the lift, the alert, the surprise and small thrills that come from acknowledging the loveliness that is both momentary and constant in the every day, ordinary encounters of our lives."

I was actually thinking about a post like this for awhile but just didn't have the foundation until I read this article. She says exactly what I was thinking far better than I could so I do hope you check it out. Ever since I took up photography as a hobby/new obsession I really feel like I've begun to see the world differently. A day doesn't go by that I don't frame an image in my mind as I'm walking down the sidewalk or driving down the street. I used to be so much more in my own head, not noticing the world around me as I do now. I see the world in images now and am constantly amazed at the beauty I encounter in my own little world.



She talks about places that she goes to explore beauty where she lives in New York City. I don't have the diversity of this local but I think I have just as much beauty to explore in my own neighborhood. So here is my own list of places in St. Charles, MO that I have photographed and can go back to time again to discover more beauty:

• St. Charles Frontier Park. This includes the docks and riverfront views in the top shot. There are also countless festivals and gatherings held throughout the year that are not only great photo ops but just lots of fun.
  
• St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery. This old cemetery was founded in 1856 and has some of the most important residents of St. Charles buried in it. It also has lots of really cool old statues and headstones that I love to photograph. I caught it right at sunset with the big cross for one of my classes earlier in the year.
• Busch Wildlife Conservation Area. This is only 20 minutes from my house and is a wonderful opportunity to explore nature and discover beauty anytime of year. I definitely need to get out there soon to capture the season change and some fall colors. The goose in flight is one of my favorites that I've shot there.
• Lindenwood University campus. This is my alma mater and is one of the oldest schools this side of the Mississippi. I can practically walk to the campus from my house and there is some amazing architecture and walking paths with beauty to explore right next door.
• Frenchtown. This is the old Main Street of St. Charles and in addition to great antiques shopping there are also beautiful old buildings, a working trolley, horse drawn carriages, and other seasonal opportunities with people dressed in costumes.

These are just the ones that came to my mind this morning. I didn't include anything on the other side of the bridge which opens up a whole other world of possibilities.


I know it's a cliche, "to stop and smell the roses", but I guess that is what I'm really trying to say. I'm really thankful for all of the beauty I'm lucky to have around me. I love our little corner of the world and as much as I wonder about what else is out there beyond my neck of the woods I really wouldn't change things one bit.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

My Photoshop class is half way done and I've learned a lot so far. I thought I would share some of my homework assignments from the past few weeks. You can see the original image of the first one here. It's from the Sandia Peak Mountain at sunset in New Mexico. I added an artistic filter, I think called Cutout.

This is a church in Taos, NM. The assignment was to apply all of the different adjustment layers and come up with something cool.
This is a bug in my backyard. The assignment was to turn the picture black and white and then bring one thing back to color. The last one was a silly card I made for my sister's b-day. It's a shot of her dog Boozer that I took.
I still have so much to learn but I'm starting to get a handle on how layers work finally.

Here comes the bride!

I have only had one photoshop class so far but it has vastly improved my understanding of how PS works and what it can do for my pictures. As I said yesterday, I didn't have much time to take hundreds of pictures as I wanted to of Chris and Tif's big day so I had to get the most out of the few shots that I did get. I finally understand why my teacher has been preaching to me about shooting in RAW format instead of JPEG. I shot some in RAW and was actually able to salvage a few shots that I would have had to throw away in JPEG.

I spent the bulk of the day focused on Tif and making sure her needs were met so that is why most of my pictures are of her. The top shot is the first picture I took of her after she had been completely made up and dressed. I was close to deleting it since the exposure was off, when I went ahead and opened it in PS to see if there was any way to save it. Because I had shot it in RAW, which means that the camera doesn't make any of the final decisions about the exposure, I was able to fix the White Balance and and I lowered the clarity to get that cool hazy effect.

The next shot was one of the last I took and it captures the festive mood of the reception. It actually looked under exposed but I was able to fix that in PS and I think it makes a nice compliment to the first more serene shot at the very beginning of the day.

Now for an example of how I was able to use PS to create multiple images from one exposure. The first is the full image with just a few adjustments in color and saturation. It's kind of busy with the trees, boat and flowers at her feet but I like how it reflects the beach theme of the day.

In the next image I cropped everything but part of the tree which helps to frame her. I also flipped the rotation since I think it read better that way. I think it makes a nice, traditional bridal portrait.


In this final image I really put my meager PS skills to work. I cropped it down to a head shot, turned it into black and white with a lot of contrast, and then added a filter which gave it a watercolor effect. It is one of my favorites but without my new experience with PS it would have never been created.

I can't wait to learn more about layers in my class and how to get the most out of my images. I can now say that I'm a RAW convert and will never go back to shooting in JPEG after this experience.

More Picture Questions than Answers...

I'm having a hard time photographing my scarf/hat sets for some reason. You have to get both of them at their best and finding a unique angle with everything clear isn't easy. I don't know whether I prefer the torso shot with the hat stuck on the top or the head with the scarf wrapped around the neck better as a first shot on Etsy.I understand that someone browsing online wants to see exactly what they are getting before they make a commitment to buy. But I wonder what causes someone to click more, a straightforward shot like the second one or something a bit more creative like the top one. I cropped more of the hat than I wanted in order to get a square in the first shot but I think you still get the idea a lot more clearly than the closeups from yesterdays post.

I've decided to focus my energy photographing and listing on Etsy with the sets. I am much more confident that I will be able to sell my reasonably priced scarves at my craft show so I'm not going to waste time photographing them. I would love to hear which of the two shots above would most likely cause you to look further and click on the listing.

Aperture Survey

I did a quick aperture test on a hat/scarf set this weekend and I would love to get some feedback. I shot on a tripod in every possible aperture to see what my favorite would be. There is a definite difference in mood as you get higher depths of field and more of the hat in focus. I chose three to share that I think reflect the different depths of field and the different moods.

The first is a the the smallest depth of field of any of my lenses with an f stop of 1.8. It is Mike's favorite and the most arty of all of them with just the front of the hat in focus and the rest blurry. I think it would make a good 2nd or 3rd shot in an Etsy listing but then again maybe it would catch someones eye as a first shot.
The next one is at 5.0 f stop which is a pretty typical setting for me. Since learning more about the different settings on my camera I usually have it set on Aperture Priority and depending on lighting conditions I tend to have it set around the 5.6 stop. It's a good middle ground spot as whatever you are focusing on is nice and clear and just the outer limits are out of focus. This would probably be my choice for a first shot on an Etsy listing I'm thinking.

The last shot is at the largest depth of field this lens shoots f stop 22. Everything is in clear focus and I think the eye doesn't really know what to focus on. I would probably use this more for a full shot of both the hat and scarf but I don't think it works for the closeup on the hat. Especially for this wild hat with all of the colors and textures as I think it all is to much to take in but I could be wrong.

I would love to get some feedback. You can see more of the detail if you click on the picture to zoom in on them. Which of the three shots most catches your attention? Which of them would you use as a first listing shot on Etsy, if any?

Back to Knitting!

Since getting admitted to the Strange Folk Festival again this year I have been knitting my fingers to the bone. It was exactly the motivation I needed to get my business act together. For some reason my knitting has been on the back burner this year. I guess my enthusiasm for my new DSLR and learning more about digital photography has caused me to be distracted. I used the shot above as one of my texture shots for my Image Within Class a few weeks ago. It's a lacy mohair blend scarf hanging on a little mannequin.

It's funny because I initially wanted to learn more about photography so that I could take better pictures of my knitting but before I knew it photography had overwhelmed my free time leaving little time for my knitting. I know I'm going to have to strike a better balance next year. I didn't realize how much I had missed my knitting time until I started doing it full force about a month ago. I never really stopped knitting but I didn't have the passion that allows me to sit and knit for hours at a time almost in a meditative place.

I'm also getting excited again about trying new stitch patterns and coming up with new designs for the first time in a while. I'm really enjoying creating my hat/scarf sets which is something new to my collection this year. I'm having trouble with the pricing issues but that is for a whole other post. This weekend I plan on getting a lot of pictures taken of my inventory before I start tagging things for the show. I hope to have my Etsy shop back up and running with all new pictures by the beginning of September.

Old Farmer's Advice

At my photography class last night I showed the shots from yesterday's post from Dad's barn as well as the one above. I said that they were all from my Dad's front yard and that got everyone's attention. I think one guy was ready to take a field trip until he found out it was a few hours away.

One person asked if I had a picture of my Dad which got me thinking. Next time I'm home I'm going to have him wake me up when he gets up at the crack of dawn to go check the cattle and photograph him doing what he loves. He has such a distinct look and character which should make some damn good pictures especially in the early morning light.

My Mom sent me the following forward this week which I thought had some very good advice from an old farmer's perspective. I particularly love the last one.

"Life is simpler when you plow around the stump."

"A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor."

"Words that soak into your ears are whispered.....not yelled."

"Meanness don't just happen overnight."

"Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads."

"Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you."

"It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge."

"You cannot unsay a cruel word."

"Every path has a few puddles."

"When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty."

"The best sermons are lived, not preached."

"Most of the stuff people worry about, ain't never gonna happen anyway."

"Don 't judge folks by their relatives.

"Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer."

"Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time."

"Don 't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none."

"Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance."

"If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'."

"Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

"The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'."

"Always drink upstream from the herd."

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment."

"Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in."

"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."

"Live simply, love generously, care deeply,
speak kindly, and leave the rest to God."

"Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."

And........................................

Is it Friday yet?

This week is literally the most insane week of the year at my job. Monday was the last day to pay for Fall classes. Tuesday we dropped over a thousand students for non-payment and yesterday we saw close to 500 students in my office between around 10 counselors re-registering or reworking their schedules. When I got there at 8 a.m. there was a line all the way down the first floor, up the stairs, down the second floor, up the stairs, and all the way down the third floor hallway. There was a constant stream of students until I left at 7 p.m. I have been up and down on my ankle around every 15 minutes and I can totally feel it tonight. My head has been in a total fog. Tuesday night was the second week of my latest photography class from the photo resource center. This one is called the Image Within and it focuses on advanced composition and design. Our assignment for the week was to photograph at least 5 subjects in our backyard every day and to bring in our favorite shot from each day. I actually completed the assignment, spending at least 15 minutes in my backyard for 6 days at different times each day. I spent several hours going through my shots and editing my favorites. I created a file and named the shots, put my flash drive in my hard drive and went to class. When she pulled up my flash drive the file was no where to be found. All that work for nothing.

So I'm sharing some of my favorites here. Our assignment for next week is to focus on texture, patterns, and lines and bring in 6 shots. I will probably use the Buddha shot and maybe even the spider web so I will get some use out of them after all. I have another scarf with really cool lines that I'm planning on photographing this weekend.

My brother is healing nicely. Thanks for all the well wishes. He and his girlfriend made it back to Miami this week and he is still planning on going on another business trip next week. My job may be pretty stressful this time of year but at least I don't have to worry about traveling to BFE while I'm healing from major surgery. Ham just can't seem to slow down.

Capturing the Action!

Oh to have Jessica's ankles even though they are blurred out above. Look how high she is flying. These are from a quick trip to the farm last weekend to visit the girls. We spent the majority of the time down by the lake were they enjoyed the cool water and I did my photography assignment for the week, which was playing with shutter speeds.

The top shot was my best panning shot and my teacher told me that I should enter it into the upcoming Photography Society of America's competition on movement. This is like the highest compliment she can give and since she is often a judge of their competitions I am seriously considering doing it. Panning is when you set a slow shutter speed like 1/30 of a second and move the camera with the action. The person/thing moving doesn't have to be crystal clear which is what was bothering me about some of my attempts but just needs to be relatively clear, like Jess is. The background should be blurred and show the movement.The second shot is also with a slow shutter speed which shows the water as one silky entity rather than the individual droplets that you see with a normal shutter speed. It helps to have a tripod for sure when using slow shutter speeds but when dealing with moving kids you have to just hold the camera as steady as you possibly can.

I had an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon the other day to check things out before we go on vacation. As I mentioned I've felt like I've regressed the past 3 weeks and have been having lots of weird pains and tenderness. My suspicions were unfortunately correct. There are actually two things going on in my ankle. For one thing I have a screw loose. I've gotten a kick out of using that line but I guess it's not a laughing matter. I can feel it moving around down there but it's not where the pain is coming from so they are going to leave it alone for the time being. If it starts causing problems or if some of its pals also start leaving the plate they will have to go in and take them out.

But the real problem is something that occasionally happens when there is trauma in the bones. My ligaments in between the two fractured bones are turning into bone which is called ossification. The x-rays from 6 weeks don't show anything but the one from this week has all kinds of white bone growth were there shouldn't be any. There isn't really anything they can do to stop it. If it gets worse they will have to do surgery to remove it. It obviously can be painful and he said to use Ibuprofen and call him if it gets more painful.

Mike said that he never should have told me that there was something actually wrong. I have a tendency to make excuses when I'm feeling lazy He said he can hear me now saying, "Can you get me a soda, my ossification is bothering me." The one good thing is that there is nothing to stop me from going and enjoying my vacation. My doctor said to just bring an ice pack and end the day with some Ibuprofen and a glass of wine. I think I can follow those doctor's orders!

Random Updates

So I'm making a very quick jaunt down to Dallas for the weekend. It's Kate and Savannah's birthday week and Kate has her first communion this weekend also. I'm riding with my parents and Uncle Jack which should be quite an adventure. I love each of them dearly but being in a car with the 3 of them for 10 hours is clearly too much of a good thing. I'm very sure that they would say the same about me.

Mom and Jack will be staying for another week but Dad and I will be heading back on Monday. I got us a book to listen to on the way home called A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail which I thought Dad and I would both enjoy.

I ended up buying my telephoto lens off of e-bay as I discussed here. I had to let go of the idea of getting a 75-300mm with IS for under $300. I settled on the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Lens and I am actually pretty happy with it. It was a refurbished by Canon with a UV filter for a very good price. It has a great zoom and is incredibly lightweight. It is actually lighter than my 18-87mm. If I could do it all over again though I would definitely go for a single lens that covered all of that range like the Tamron AF 18-250mm. You live and learn and I'm happy with both of my lenses so I'm not going to complain.
The above shots were from last week, prior to the new lens, when I took Ani out for a little adventure. She was a bit scared of the old cemetery which I was surprised by. I think of it as a really cool place to photograph and forget about the creepy factor. When we were leaving and I was apologizing for making her uncomfortable she said, "sometimes I think you forget that I'm only nine Aunt Paige." I laughed and said that she was probably right. The other two shots are from driving around some back roads. The little orchard I caught right at the "golden hour" of dusk as my teacher calls it.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell from the trip when I get back.

And now for some knitting

For class this week we are supposed to bring in our best 8 shots of the week. That is double what we normally do and forced me to do some serious work this weekend. I know it doesn't sound like much but when you know that they are going to be blown up to life size and analyzed it pushes you to do your best. I decided to do some shots of my knitting for fun and practice.

I haven't taken any product shots with my new camera yet and probably won't be doing too much for a little while. On-line scarf sales are non-existent in the summer months but I may try to get some things ready for the fall as time goes on. I feel much more confident in being able to get shots that really showcase my knitting now. I may try to set up a little studio in my basement with some lights I bought a long time ago but never figured out how to use. My teacher told me to diffuse them with cheese cloth to get that soft lightening effect.

I took these on my sun porch with a white standing board for science fair projects ($3.99) for the backdrop. I used a low aperture to get the shallow depth of field that gives them an artier effect. I always wanted to be able to do that with my old camera but now I finally have the proper equipment and knowledge to put it to use.

Mike and Ani both hate the mannequin head in the above shot (one of the few things they actually agree on). They say that she is cross eyed and creepy looking. I don't think that is so apparent in pictures but what do you think? She is handmade paper mache and I got her second hand for a very good price.
This one is a hat and scarf set that I really like. I used organic wool which is super soft and has a nice subdued color palette.

Obsess Much?

Ever since my photography class last week I've been absolutely obsessing about having the proper equipment for our trip to New Mexico in June. Our teacher was telling us all the different types of lenses we should have, when to use them, and everything else that is a must for an aspiring photographer. I went home and immediately bought a few things that I could afford right away including a travel tripod called the Tiffen Voyager and a filter set for my main lens which includes an (UV) Filter, Circular Polarizer, and 812 Warming Filter with a Pouch. I have a nice tripod that a friend gave me which I use for photographing my knitting but I needed one that is lightweight and that I could carry with me. Mike said that I'm going overboard which is probably true but if we can afford it why not.

She also told me that I must have a telephoto lens which I am now searching frantically for something I can justify buying. I don't want to spend much more than $200 after just buying 2 lenses not too long ago as I discussed here. This means that I will have to buy a used lens which doesn't worry me too terribly much since my teacher says she buys used all the time and most people treat their lenses like their babies. I've been stalking e-bay to try and find one in in the 75-300mm range which should be fine for me right now. I'm well aware that I will probably be replacing it in a year when I can afford to buy one for $500-600, which I'm finding to be the price range of decent lenses.

I just hate waiting for an e-bay auction to draw to a close. There are a few of them that I've been obsessively stalking. One has 2 days left and the other 7. If I don't win one of those I'm afraid I will have to lower my expectations and either buy one without Image Stabilization or a smaller range.

I don't exactly know where this photography bug is leading but I feel the need to follow the passion wherever it takes me. One of the biggest advantages of being childless is that we have the time and some disposable income to spend on our flights of fancy. The pictures above were taken with my favorite little lens the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 last week at St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery.

Camera Regrets

Remind me to never listen to Mike again. He convinced me to leave my good camera at home last night and to just bring my Point and Shoot. I was kicking myself the whole time that I wasn't able to capture the randomness of the night. We went down to 2720 Cherokee in South City to see a friend's folk band play. It's a warehouse type venue with large art installations everywhere and lots of interesting people that would have made cool shots if I'd had the proper equipment.

Upstairs there was a fashion show going on when we got there for Vixen's Wardrobe, a St. Louis based designer who makes very urban and flashy clothes. There were lots of bright colors and I could have gotten some great shots if I'd had my fast camera. The purple dress was my favorite from the show, although to be honest I was definitely not the target market for her collection. It was funny to see the hippies wander in from the downstairs, and I got annoyed when some of them were eating up the food that the designers had obviously put out for the potential buyers.

It was supposedly The River City Buskers last show together so we figured we had better get out and see them before it was too late and we were not disappointed. Mike went to high school with Ryan Spearman and we've been to a solo show of his before and really enjoy his folksy sound. You could tell that the group had been together for many years and really enjoyed playing with each other. I'm sure it will be hard for them to let go of that comradery but life does get in the way. Ryan is the only person I know that actually makes a living off of his music but I know it can't be easy as you reach a certain age to keep living the dream. This is the only halfway decent shot I got of Ryan and it's really grainy because I had to have the ISO so high.

The one thing I will say is that I was a little bit grateful that I didn't have my good camera as were were walking to our car over a block away after midnight in a not so nice part of town. But I sure would like to see what pictures I would have gotten if I'd had my good camera cause I'm pretty sure it would have been worth that few moments of unease.