For Christmas this year I was able to pick up 2 refurbished “Game Cameras” at a very reasonable price. I gave one to my Mom and Dad and one to Tracy for Christmas. Cue the excitement as we wait and see what we can capture with the cameras. We stuck our camera outside at the beginning of February and aimed it at our bird feeders and birdbath water. We caught deer photos the second night the camera was out there. The night mode is pretty good. So far, the deer seem really interested in it, as we have captured a few pictures that appear to be the deer looking right at it or sniffing it. One photo even has one of the cat’s two eyes watching out the sliding glass door. Should provide fun for months to come. Here’s a few photos.
Tracy and I visited Gwen and Mike and the kids in State College for new Years this year. We had a great time. The kids enjoyed playing with their presents, Mike made a great warm fire, and Gwen and Mike both made delicious food. It was nice and snowy too, I like the snow. We went for a few walks, and also went to see the ice sculptures being made downtown as part of the New Year’s celebration. Gwen snagged herself a swell sculpture of her own!
Then after that we went to the Penn State Michigan State NCAA Basketball game. Penn State played really well in the first half, and was up 47-40 at the half. But then #5 ranked Michigan State rallied going on a 10-0 run to start the second half and never looked back as they won the game. Still fun though. After we went home and played Cards Against Humanity for New Years. Then sleep.
Friday and Saturday we went to Frontier field to watch the outdoor hockey games. This year they set up an outdoor rink at the baseball stadium in downtown Rochester. We bought tickets to the Friday night AHL Amerks game, and the Saturday night RIT Hockey game. With the tickets bought back in October, we had no idea what to expect weather wise in December. We were fortunate to have a cold snow weekend that Tracy and I were both hoping for.
Friday night’s game of the Amerks vs. Lake Erie was great. It was 18 degrees out, and we saw a great game. Lake Erie tied the game up at 4-4 with 0.1 seconds left to go. Then after 5 minutes of overtime it was still tied, so on to a 5 round shootout. Lake Erie took a 2-0 lead after three rounds of the shootout meaning Rochester had to score the next 2 goals without letting any in. They did, and won the game on the 6th round of the shootout, then we even got fireworks! The attendance was 11,000+, and we actually ran into a few friends we knew from playing hockey. It was really cold, and I decided to add more layers for the game Saturday.
Saturday’s game was even more fun. At 16 degrees and in the middle of a snow storm, there was much excitement. Announced attendance was 4,000+, and we were treated to a downright snow bowl. It was snowing so hard the Zamboni could not lay down new ice and was left to try and collect snow off the ice between periods. There were extended commercial timeouts during the game while an army of skaters with shovels tried to keep the ice clear. The game itself was slowed by the snow on the ice. Players were taking shots and sending out poofs of snow. I wore three layers of socks, pants, and fleece, while Tracy went for 8 layers. It was quite cold, and you needed to walk around during the intermissions to keep blood flowing in your toes.
Here are a few photos from Fridays game, and some cell phone shots from Sunday…
The “fun” wasn’t trying to get down to Florida, but back from Florida, when a giant snow storm crippled the east coast. I was able to get home but mom and dad had to stay in Florida one extra day. The difference? My flight left an hour and a half later than theirs. When we did make it back to Rochester we were greeted with over a foot of heavy wet snow that remained in the trees for a few days after. It made for fun photography, and quite a change from the 80 degree weather of Key Largo.
After being bumped 4 weeks due to unseasonably warm temperatures, the Finger Lakes Snocross event finally happened on February 24th. I was planning on going both days, but Saturday I had plans to go see the RIT hockey game, so I could only go to the snocross Friday. What a day it was! I left work at 4pm in a total downpour. By the time I arrived at the track, the sun was out. Then another downpour, followed by more sun, a rainbow, and finally, rain sleet, snow, and 40-50mph sustained winds topped off the night. It made photographing the event even trickier than last year. It was interesting this year, because the track was made entirely of man made snow, surrounded by grass and dirt. By Saturday though, a blizzard swept through bringing freezing temperatures and significant accumulation. Here’s some photos from the event, and as always, those that couldn’t get enough, there is more in my snocross flickr gallery.
This past Saturday we attended the AMSOIL Snocross Eastern Nationals at the Finger Lakes Racetrack in Farmington, NY. Its snow mobile racing and jumping at its finest. A lot of guys from the X-Games from ESPN were there too. I had gone last year, and it was pretty fun, so I decided to go again this year with Craig and Tracy. Last year it was around 15 degrees with 25 mph winds and quite cold. This year, forecast was for 32 degrees and cloudy, but a storm came in the afternoon and dumped at least 2-4 inches on us. It was really neat, but made picture taking quite challenging. I still got some great shots. You can view a few here, and the rest in my flickr galleries: Finger Lakes Snocross 2011, and the Freestyle Show gallery.
I just got done freezing my fingers off at the Finger Lakes Snocross ISOC event in Farmington. It was pretty neat, and really packed. I hope to get out there again next year and dress a little warmer. I wore some pretty weak gloves, and my finger sure did suffer. Pretty tough shooting conditions with a temp of 19 degrees, and winds of 10-15mph. They did eventually die down a little, and the flurries slowed too. Pretty neat racing.
