February 29,2012

Just having some fun with Photoshop Elements.  The hand is my grandson, Ben and the fallen tree was on the Big Creek Greenway.

February 29, 2012

No, I am not on the set of "Swamp People."  This is on the Big Creek Greenway, which is not so green this time of year, near the McFarland Road end.

February 28, 2012

This is a picture of part of a window display showing the difference between vinyl and fiberglass, which are used in making windows.  Ultrex is a brand name of the fiberglass.  A 25# weight was put on 1" square rods; the top is solid vinyl and the bottom is solid fiberglass.  It is obvious as to which is stronger.  The advantages of fiberglass over vinyl are great except for pricing.  Generally, the adage, "You get for which you pay" is true in purchasing windows.  Oh! the picture...

February 27, 2012

I rented a lens (Nikon 70-200 2.8mm VRI) for the past ten days and it is fabulous.  Expensive, but fabulous and that is why I rented it.  This is the last picture that I took with it before returning it this morning.  Even in low light situations it does a great job.  This is First Redeemer Church in Cumming around 7:00 am.

February 26,2012

"From Service Station to Visitor Center"
 The following is an excerpt from Architect Magazine:

"A former Sinclair gas station in Cumming, Ga., will soon become an information center for the city. NorthFulton.com reports that the $1 million project will restore the building to its 1930s appearance, when it was the first service station in town to have electricity."

The link is:

www.architectmagazine.com/.../from-gas-station-to-visitors-center.aspx

February 25, 2012

Even the trees are starting to bud.

February 25, 2012

It is great to have flowers blossoming in February.  These are in our back yard.

February 25, 2012

I think that what I like about post processing photos the most is the learning of what the software can do.  Some of my ideas come from photos that I would say, "How did they do that?" and then try to replicate the process.  Who says that you cannot teach old dogs, very old dogs, new tricks?

Thus, ...

                                         

                  
                                                          

February 24, 2012

That's me!  I voted already.  I am not positive, but I think that early voting ends tomorrow, February 25.  The primary is a week from Tuesday, March 6.  Apart from voting in the Presidential Primary, there is one question on the ballot for which to vote.  The question is regarding liquor sales in Forsyth County on Sundays; Yea or Nay.

February 23, 2012

Do I look like a terrorist?  When I have my camera and taking pictures at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont Roads in Buckhead I must look suspicious.

I was taking pictures this morning of some buildings and the exterior decorations and a very , very nice security person exited one of the building and asked for my name, which I gave and told her where I worked.  I then told her that I was not a terrorist!  She graciously explained that I was on private property and that they do not want pictures taken of it.

I said, "No problem" and left.  I understand why someone with a camera taking pictures may look suspicious, but what I do not like is that our country has been put in this position.  When I told Linda about it, she said, "I am glad that I did not have to go down there to bail {me} out."

Anyway, here are some pictures from this morning.

February 22, 2012

Much like the Republican Presidential Primary, Linda and I are not in agreement as to which picture of the goose we like best.

Not far away was the Herron and it took off quickly as I tried to get a little closer.

February 21, 2012

The yellow plant flowers are in the showroom in Buckhead.

I took the picture of the bus, which was traveling about 25 MPH on Piedmont Road.  I rented a lens to see if I would like it sometime in the future and have been taking most of the pictures as of late.  I am impressed with the sharpness, noting the red "Watch Your Step" sign inside the bus (click on the picture) as well as other objects.  Apart from the cost, I think that the lens would be a keeper.

February 20. 2012

I took these on the way to work this morning.  The first is from the end of our driveway, the reflection of the trees on the water was in Alpharetta near work, as was the picture of the Robin flying away after I tried to get closer.

 

February 19, 2012

For those who 'bark up the wrong tree'...

February 19, 2012

This is about my fifth try to capture a drop of water as it hits flat water.  Working at the kitchen sink is less than ideal.  My next try will be to start the drop of water from a higher point, which should be more dramatic due to the longer length of the drop.

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

Pterodactyls in Cumming???

February 18, 2012

Here are two old buildings that probably have an interesting history. 

February 18, 2012

Here are a couple of early morning shots in the center of Cumming.  The clock tower on City Hall and one of the street lights nearby.

February 17, 2012

I took a short walk on the Big Greek Greenway this afternoon.  The foliage is still quite drab, but that will change soon.  I have walked parts of it but need to set a goal to walk it entirely.  Not necessarily all at once.  An alternative is to ride a bicycle.

This picture leaves me the impression of walking into the unknown.  What is around the corner?

February 16, 2012

I arrived in Buckhead at 6:30 this morning and decided to take a walk around the area to see if there was something of interest to capture on the camera.

The first is The Buckhead Diner.  Great place to eat.  Always busy.  Not a diner like BB's in Alpharetta, which one could say is an understatement.  That is not to say that I do not like BB's; "Oh, contraire!"  Love the Corned Beef Hash and the Energy Bagels.


The second caught my eye with the irony of the signs of the emergency clinic and the DUI clinic together.  Do they know something???

Click on the picture to enlarge.

February 15, 2012

You have to look closely to see the Turkey Vulture in the tree.  There were five of them drooling over a dead animal.  The second picture is of the wingspan of one of them.  I venture to say that the vulture has at least a six foot  wingspan.

February 14, 2012

This is my second try (see January 10) and there will be a third in the future.  I learned today that I should try keeping shutter open manually instead of with the camera set at a specific time.  The road was a little wet; not as much as I would like, but the green traffic lights add a nice touch.

February 14, 2012

My Valentine.

February 13, 2012

I first saw the clouds, which were like cotton balls and then, walking past the tree, I thought of a Cloud Tree.  There is absolutely nothing as magnificent as God's beauty.

February 12, 2012

This painting was done by a very dear friend, MA Butler, who died in Australia in an auto accident.  He and his wonderful wife, Kay, were there as missionaries.

MA painted this 42 years ago and it is the story of Linda's and my life together up to that point.  The details will be below the picture.

                                                         Click on the picture to enlarge it.

 

I met Linda while I was in the Army and had just returned from Turkey.  I went  to A&W Root Beer after playing golf with some of her classmates and guess who was our 'carhop?'  No roller skates, but a great smile and personality.  There she was, Linda Taylor,

After six weeks of asking for a date, she finally said yes and we went bowling.  We dated on and off for six years and the 'off' came after she went to Word of Life, a Christian camp in upper state New York.  While there, she met some 'College and Career' campers from Chattanooga, TN, who encouraged her not to date someone that was not on the same page spiritually, because I was an unbeliever.

When she came home, we we on Musquash Road and it was raining hard that day.  It was there that she told me that we were not going in the same direction and she told me that she wanted to move to Chattanooga.  Yes, she dumped me.

She did move and I would like to say that we kept in touch, but, in reality, I kept in touch with her.  A year or so later, I visited her in Chattanooga.  She took me to church (Highland Park Baptist Church) as the annual Bible Conference was in progress.  On New Hampshire terms, it was a very big church.  Never seen anything like it.  A lot of preaching and I left the same as I entered.  The next day, a friend of Linda's invited me to go to a Christian Business Mens Committee luncheon.  I had nothing to do, as Linda was working, so I went.

I remember it as it was yesterday.  It was the first time in my life that I heard a grown man speak the name of Jesus without swearing.  He was Tom Pilosi...I doubt any relation to the one from California.  Nah!  No way!  He shared how Jesus Christ had changed his life as a result of being born again, he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.

After the meeting, Ted DeMoss, the one with whom I attended the luncheon, put his hand on my shoulder and asked me, "Ray, have you ever made a decision to accept Jesus as your Savior?"  I cannot explain it, but his hand felt as if it were the hand of God.  It felt so heavy.  I said the I had not, to which he responded, "Would you?"  I said yes, but I did not know how.  There in the restaurant on Market Street, I asked Jesus Christ to be my Savior.  I accepted His payment for sin on the Cross as the payment for my sins.  In effect, when I accepted Jesus Christ, I accepted His payment for sin as payment for my sin, which I was obligated to pay someday.

The Cross in the center of the picture is there because Jesus became the center of my life.  The asterisk next to the Cross is for all the people that Linda had praying for my salvation.

I had no background in the Bible and felt the need to know more thus I enrolled at Tennessee Temple College in Chattanooga a year later.  Another year goes by and we went back to New Hampshire to visit our families.  We had not dated for some time because we were 'just friends,' but that changed as time past.

On the way back to Chattanooga, we were joking around about marriage and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I said, "If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?"  YES!!  We were married and MA says that the future was behind the tree yet to be told.

The rest is His-Story.

February 11, 2012

This is the steeple of First Baptist Church in Cumming, GA.

February 10, 2012

Linda was introduced to the caulk art medium by her friend, Lucy Ceraso.  I am amazed at the talent that my wife and daughters have.

February 9, 2012

It must be Tuesday or Thursday...  This is what it is usually like as I go down the ramp from Lenox Road in Buckhead to get on to Route 400.  Yes, I was stopped when I took the picture, however quickly.

February 9, 2012

I took the picture of the old Ford Truck about 3 years ago in Highlands, NC.  It was raining and I held an umbrella in one hand and the camera in the other as I took the shot.  The picture with the green mat is how it looked that day.  The other picture, with a black mat, has been altered.