Monday, April 20, 2015

Wiped Out

Boy, oh boy, was it a whopper of a weekend! First, I volunteered with my friend to shoot the Active for Autism 5K Run/Walk. It rained the entire time we were there. But, I am so blessed to have B for my friend, because she set me up with rain gear from head to toe, including a custom-made wrap for my precious camera and lens!

We were each given a list of things the organization wanted photographed. I traded with B because she wasn't happy with her list which contained subjects like trash cans and porta-potties. Yeah, not a glamourous job, whatsoever! I hurriedly got everything marked off the list so I could wander around and practice photographing smiling faces. It was so much fun, y'all! I hope I have another opportunity to do it again.
That's me in the mirror. :)

One of the items on my list was "bananas." Yeah. I know.
So I asked this pretty girl to model for me. :)

I *think* this is a character from Frozen. Anybody know?
I'm so out of the loop.

The children were captivated by the Frozen character, and were singing all the words along with her.

A Fire Chief/Lion? Cute!
That same day we had the HOA social at our house. We served 130 lbs. of crawfish and hosted about 20 people. It was so fun! Double D prayed away the rain and God answered. True story. :)

Poor Double D. This was his 3rd boil and he has not quite mastered
the peeling. He has another opportunity next weekend though!
The next day was beautiful so we made a quick trip to Bluebonnet Swamp. The birds were all hanging out at the mulberry tree, so the shade and thick leaves made it a challenge to photograph. This is a first of season Catbird. The image is not as crisp as I like, but I loved his pose with the berry in his beak. Sometimes perfection just needs to take a hike!

Hope everyone has a great week! I will be by to visit your blogs throughout the day and tomorrow. I'm a bit behind, sorry.

40 comments:

Debbie said...

me too....your title was so revealing! i am exhausted as well, from a wonderful weekend....the best possible way to be exhausted!!

mine involved zero running ;)

eileeninmd said...

Sounds like you had a fun but busy weekend.. I enjoyed the photos, especially love the cute kiddies.. I have never tried crawfish.. Love the catbird, I am waiting for one to show up in my yard.. Have a happy week ahead!

Melissa said...

What a great photo opportunity for you! I love all the shots, and I'm sure they are happy with your work. Very cool,shot of the cat bird too. I like it soft. The light is really great there.

Merisi said...

No wonder you are exhausted, who wouldn't be? You harvested a great many pictures!

Doubl DD's travails made me smile. It will get better, I'm sure. ;-)

Love the Catbird image! One of my teachers taught us that crispness is not all that important, your picture is a fine example, perfect in any way. I love the dreamlike quality, and catching the bird with the raspberry is just out of this world!

Wishing you a beautiful week,
Merisi

hootnonny said...

Oh Gail, you have to let it go!

That said, I LOVE the bird in the canopy!

Starla said...

Whew! I was tired just reading about your weekend!!
I love the little guy in the Fire fighter gear and face paint!

Stephanie said...

Looks like you had a great time!

renae said...

hahahahaha! Gail you are so funny.

I love this photo if not as crisp as you like, man, I think it is gorgeous as it is. I love the layers of green that fades out.

Hahahaha, you are not getting old!

No body gets old. They just all of a sudden ARE old; like around 87. lol

♥renae
renaesrepertoire.com

Michelle said...

It looks like you made the best of your weekend, despite the rain!

DeniseinVA said...

Well Gail, you documented this beautifully. Those photos are incredible and really bring everything to life. Must have been quite an event.

Pallavi said...

How nice of you to help out and photograph the autism walk dear Gail . The photographs depict so many emotions and along with your friend D you have done such a great job! Well done :)

Shug said...

Sounds like a very interesting and fun weekend. I'm with Double D when it comes to the peeling....I like the mud bugs, but I'm just not too good at peeling em'. I'm proud of you for the run and of course, your photos are lovely.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Love the bird shot, Gail! Soft and artistic feel to it. I'd also be interested in learning about your setup for keeping your camera dry in the rain!

Susan said...

Hi Gail, the photos of the autism event are precious, especially the little lion firefighter. The crawfish look delicious, but I too have difficulty peeling them- I do much better with shrimp. I love the pose of the catbird and softness of the photo. Wishing you a wonderful week!

Irma said...

Good morning Gail
It looks like a very busy weekend.
You've made great pictures, especially of the children.
You're a very good photographer.
Best regards, Irma

Anonymous said...

What a fun event - nice shots too. And now it's time to rest? ;-)

Hootin Anni said...

Oh so much fun had...even if it did rain. It left behind some great memories for you. And the photos, all of them Gail, are super.

Hey? If you have time....I'd like to invite you to Hootin' Anni's to view a special post of nature's thrilling day for me.

Hootin Anni said...

Ps....I forgot to send along my sincere thanks for sharing the link to this post at I'd Rather B Birdin'.

TexWisGirl said...

the last shot is awesome! jealous on seeing a catbird! :)

the crawfish boil sounds like a lot of food and fun with lots of folks. glad you had a great time at the 5K!

Inspired By June said...

I absolutely *love* your catbird, Gail! What a great capture! This shot, with the bokeh, the shades of green and grey with the red berry and of course the perfect pose - to me, it is perfect! Your weekend events sound fun, but I can see why your tired! Glad the rain has passed. Have a great week, my friend!

Anvilcloud said...

You have very high 'crispness' standards.

'Scuse me. How many lbs of crawfish?

nookworm said...

Love the berry nice bird picture. Unusual to see a pose like this. Please don't ever let the rain stop you because it is part of nature and you depict the mood of the day well with your skills.

Anonymous said...

Great shots of the event, but I LOVE the catbird shot.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

love your mulberry shot :)

Evelyn S. said...

Curious about the photo list...a banana? I'm thinking I might need to work up some rain gear for my camera and lens this weekend when we go to Portland. We'll arrive Thursday night...showers on Friday and rain on Saturday. We can go to Crystal Springs on our own, but the kids were taking us to the Japanese Garden(s) on Saturday. Of course, the weather all this week has been beautiful. :-) So glad you had such a great time on your weekend...and glad you captured the bird and the berry!

21 Wits said...

Yes, she's playing the part of Anna, Elsa's sister! I just adore that little tiger firefighter too. Priceless memories of great fun, and lovely captures, all of them. Life was certainly full for you, in happy style!

A Colorful World said...

Wonderful event for such a great cause! And I love the catbird photo!

Kerri Farley said...

LOVE your Catbird!!!! and LOVE your attitude! -- "sometimes perfection just needs to take a hike"

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful images. I can sense your excitement as I read this post.

Bethany Carson said...

Awesome shot of the catbird!!! 130 lbs of crawfish is quite a lot! I enjoyed your photos.

Anonymous said...

Whew! That was a busy weekend! Love your shots from the 5K and what a great shot of the Catbird!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a busy and fun weekend. I thought everybody peeled their own crawdads at a boil. I'd like 'em better if Double D or anybody else in the world really would do it for me though. (I did love eating them, but I am terrible at doing the hard part.)

EG CameraGirl said...

You were smart to go through the list first so you'd be free to do whatever you pleased for the rest of the day!

Helma said...

Beautiful pictures. Your friend was less than thrilled but you could enjoy your tasty on the colors and themes:-) The girl with the banana has become a beautiful picture and also the shrimp are very nicely. Cute colored portraits of children and your last photo of the birds is great.

Anonymous said...

Well I love the catbird. Ours have not come home yet.

Wally Jones said...

Terrific event coverage! We are seeing fewer and fewer Catbirds here as they all migrate back north. (You probably don't consider yourself in the "North", do you?)

To quote a Cajun friend, "there ain't no wrong way to eat a crawdad". He pops them whole into his mouth and spits out the peeling because he says it's the best way to all that flavor.

Very nice photographs, Gail!

Indrani said...

Great series of your weekend activities. The last pic is fantastic. Great timing in it!

Joke (Joke's Camera) said...

It's a pity it rained all the time, Gail, but nevertheless your photos are fantastic again. I love your pictures with the happy kids. Good work! Greetings, Joke

Petra Pavlátková said...

Gail, that must have been quite difficult shooting with all the rain but you've got some great captures. I love the singing children and the "banana lady"! :)

I noticed that this year there were also some actions organized in the Czech Republic at the international day remembering autism. It is good that people get more information as we fear what we don't know...

Suzan said...

What does autism look like???
Brilliant poster!! Will have to share this at school!
Sweet children photos!
The red head girl singing didn't look real!!! Assuming it's the make up!!
Boy - that's a mess of crawfish!!! I was able to indulge last weekend at my nephew's high school graduation in Bossier City, outside of Shreveport!
Great weekend for you!!