summer – ScaredyCatFilms

Saratoga 2012

This was a banner year for Saratoga trips, as I made it out for 4 of the 7 racing weekends. I had a great time and was able to stay with my friends Mark and Melody in their camper at a nearby campground. Saved a fortune on hotel rooms. There was a lot of great racing, and although I didn’t win money by the last day of the meet, I did place a lot of bets, and only ended up down $40. Not bad for 8 days racing.

All of my photos are up in my flickr gallery, but I’ll post one photo from each week to keep you interested. Jim Dandy day started out nice, but then rain moved in, and by the 5th race it was pouring out. Hiked the camera back out to the car only to have it clear up a few races later for some really nice races later that day. We saw a lot of great horses this season, Fort Larned (eventual Breeders Cup Classic Winner), Alpha and Golden Ticket battling to finish in a dead heat in the $1 million dollar Travers Stakes. Mucho Macho Man and To Honor and Serve in the Woodward. A really great season that I will remember fondly for a long time.

2012 at the Spa	Bernard baruch winner Dominus
Travers Dead Heat	Mucho macho Man with To Honor and Serve

All the photos from this years Saratoga meet are on my flickr page.

Geneseo Air Show 2012

Mark and I went to Geneseo this summer to see the air show again because we had so much fun 2 years ago. This year, despite almost no chance of rain, we were treated to a full day of overcast and rainy weather. Despite the 2+ hour rain delay, we got a pretty good show and met some of the re-enactors as well. It was a pretty fun time. There are a few more photos in my flickr gallery. This year I made a bigger effort to try and improve my photography by trying to get the propellers in motion, with not so good results. I ended up with most of my attempts over exposed, and blurry. Live to try again I guess. Here’s a few photos from the day.

Canadian Harvards	Jell bean Team
Paratroop Drop	Stearman Training Aircraft
The Stearmans circle the field.

As always, more photos in my flickr gallery.

Stuart Horse Trials 2012

This summer I made the trip across town to Victor, NY to photograph the Stuart Horse Trials on a hot Saturday morning. The event schedule was actually moved up because of the heat expected that day. Despite my camera acting up, I got a lot of neat photos and saw a lot of beautiful horses. As always, here are a few photographs in the blog, and there are more in my flickr gallery.

Jumping into the hazard.	Spotted horse in the water hazard.
Into the water hazard.	Across the water hazard.
Coming Right At You	The splash zone!

There are, of course, additional photos of many of the competitors in my flickr gallery of the 2012 Stuart Horse Trials.

Washington DC, July Trip

On one of my business trips to Washington, I took the time to visit The Mall and view the monuments and museums in the Capital. I hadn’t been there since I was young. The mall was really long, but I walked up and down it. Saw the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Capitol Building, White House and more. It was hot, but I had a good time walking around and taking photos. Unfortunately, The Mall was all torn up as they were doing drainage work this year (thanks to Federal Stimulus money). On a later trip I would visit the air and space museum as well. As always there are additional photos in my flickr gallery, and a few here as well.

US Capitol Building	US Capitol Building in Infrared
Construction on the Mall in DC	Three Servicemen, in Infrared.
Washington Monument Infrared

And because everything looks better in Infrared, you will be sure to find plenty of IR photos in my Washington DC gallery on flickr.

Cape Cod 2012

This summer we made a couple trips out to Boston to catch some Red Sox games, and we visited Tracy’s relatives Margaret and Franklin. The first night we went to Fenway where I surprised Tracy with Green Monster seats. The view from there is totally awesome, and I suspect we will be back again some time soon. We went to see the Washington Nationals play the Red Sox, and got lucky enough to see Stephen Strasburg pitch, which is a little unlucky I guess because the Sox ended up losing. Also a bummer was a rain storm before the game ruined batting practice, which I wanted to see from atop the Green Monster.

After the game we went to visit Margaret and Franklin and see their house on Cape Cod. It was a beautiful day, and we shared lunch, walked along the beach, and had a late snack and beers. The beach was really close to their house, and their property is really close to a State Park. While walking along the beach we saw an Osprey nest, and since the tide was coming in we saw a seal playing in the water near where the water was flowing into a marsh. It was a really fun day.

Green Monster Seats	Fenway Park after the rain.
Steven Strasburg from the Monster	Osprey nest near the beach
Beautiful Cape Cod Beach	Beach Crab
Seal between Margaret and Franklin

Charlotte Beach

This summer I took a walk around Charlotte pier and beach on what turned out to be quite the stormy day. Temps were high when the sun was out. I managed to drive up in the rain, walk around in the sun and clouds, and then leave right when a fierce storm approached. Got some great infrared and regular photographs. My plan was to return again later in the summer a do a ride down the river trail. Haven’t done that yet. These photos were taken June 3rd.

Charlotte Pier	Coast Guard Station
Beach Infrared	Male Mallards are Drakes
Charlotte Lighthouse	River Channel Infrared
Bridge with clouds	Bridge Infrared

I’ve got a full set of the photos I took on my flickr site in the Charlotte Photo gallery.

Memorial Day Critters

When my parent’s invited us over for dinner on Memorial Day, I knew it was time to bring the camera for some bird shots. I got a funny one of a male cardinal all kinda puffed up, and we were treated to some baby bunnies that were’nt that shy at all. My outdoor bird and wildlife photography can be seen in my outdoor gallery on flickr. Here’s a few shots from Memorial Day here.

Male Cardinal	Female Cardinal
Baby Bunny Chowdown Party!

Summertime Fun

Finally getting back to posting a few picks on the ScaredyCat site. Its been a busy summer, with most of my photos going directly to flickr. But with a little time on my hands, I’ll try and post a few here. So to start, I have a few photos I took around the yard this spring/summer. These were taken at the end of May. The cottonwoods were in full effect.

Blueberry Bushes	Lupine Plant
Patio Picture	A viola plant
Lilacs	Backyard

A Wonderful Day at Winterthur

We went to Winterthur Gardens and Mansion this Spring as part of the Celebration of Life for Jay Powell. It was a beautiful day, and the gardens were spectacular. The Azaleas were in full bloom, and the grounds around the estate were beautiful. It was a wonderful day, a fitting way to remember Jay, and a day I hope not to forget.

Pink Azaleas	White Azalea
Purple Azalea	More Azaleas
Salmon Azaleas and Mansion	Brick Work at Winterthur
Chipmunk	More Azaleas
Row of Azaleas	Stairs and Azaleas
Tons of Azaleas	Walking Path
Koi Pond	Anne looking for a prince
Sundial	Winterthur Mansion and Sunroom
The Mansion	Azaleas Everywhere