Learning from my last post I drove by and came back to capture this picture of a new foal and it’s mother.

What are you looking at?

So today I decided to change from dark to light. For a long time my blog has has represented my dark side for the most part. It all started as a rant against the right and the injustices that perceived and being levied against the United States. Occasionally this rantings might enter in from time to time. But for now I will be concentrating on my art as a story telling form.

The Journey Through my Life theme will continue with views of my daily life. My street portraiture will continue and my new love of video and timelapse photography should be strongly represented.

I hope you will all join me and enjoy the change.

Today I did something unusual.  I was no my way home at the end of the day when I saw the above scene as I was driving by.  This time I turned around and grabbed a couple of shots and once again thanks to Topaz Labs I was able to get these results.

Today was the Northeast Regional Gymnastics trials. My 9 year granddaughter competed and found herself on the top overall in her age group. It is amazing how this little package can contain so much poise and ability. They were all an amazing group of young women.

Ready to Compete

Libby on Top

Tied for 6th

Since my return from Israel I have been trying to put together a slide/timelapse show.  I prepped everything great using LRTimelapse and Lightroom and then it was time to combine all elements together into something presentable.  First I tried Adobe Premiere Elements.  Nothing worked smoothly.  Next I turned to Cyberlink Power Director 11.  This is some great software for special effects and many channels of audio and video but a huge learning curve.  So I finally got smart and used Windows Live Movie Maker.  This is a very robust for the total price of zero.  Expect more from this product.

The first night we were in Jerusalem we visited the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) in time for Shabbat.  I used a time lapse to accentuate the hive of activity that takes place there.  This is a brief portion of what will be a longer slide show of my trip to Israel

This panorama was taken at Kfar Nakhum in Israel.  I am not 100% sure of the location so if someone can enlighten me that would be great. 

We are at Ben Gurion Airport waiting to depart from Israel. Let me see if I can accurately describe what security was like. First upon entering the grounds we went through the first check point which entailed a quick check of the cab and a view of the passengers, my wife and myself. The bus next to us was more complete the cargo area the underside was scanned. Next was the interview which was questions, when did we arrive, what was the purpose of the visit, where we landing on the states, did we ever study or could we read Hebrew? Since both of us had been to Hebrew school as children she asked if we belonged to a congregation back home and it’s name? The questions were delivered quickly. All the time the interview was taking place there was complete eye contact. These are trained professionals.

After the interview the luggage was put through a scanner and tagged. Next was check-in with United followed by another scan of the carry on luggage. Throughout the entire procedure eye contact was maintained. Never once was I asked to remove my belt, my shoes, my eyeglasses, my pen, my wallet or my spare change. No little children or old ladies were body searched and no body scanners were seen or used. I am sure however that I am being observed as I sit here writing and enjoying my cappuccino. By the way if you should be in Ben Gurion I highly recommend the poppy seed yogurt.

This is shalom from Israel. This is my last post before heading to Ben Gurion Airport for wheels up at 11:45 AM. This will not be the last post from Israel. I will come back as soon and as often as possible.