An Experiment in Photography

Today was the first time that I have attempted moving water shots with a slowed shutter speed. I have learned some valuable lessons in moving water photography. Namely that 20 and 30 second shutter speeds are too long, and the time of day is important. I am going to go back at sunset and try again. Wish me luck... Here are the results of my first attempt... I hope you enjoy.

Baby Mel's Wedding

Let me first start by saying how much I hate weddings.

There I said it!

I know it is not a popular statement but it is my trouth!

Having said that let me also say how much I love my family. Yes they can be crazy and taking the trip up north to spend time with them is often extreamly nerve wracking. ( Picture 40+ people crammed into a 3 bedroom bungalo.. With only one bathroom... Yep nerve wracking) But some of them are amazing people.

Take my uncle Ronny for example... This man would give anyone (yes anyone) the shirt right off his back if they needed it. This man gives and gives and gives and never askes for anything in return. He has saved me thousands of dollars in car repairs (as well as everyone else im my family who have had the misfortune of car troubles) He bought my grandparents home from them for two reasons. 1. So the house would always stay in our family and 2. To ensure my grandparents had enough money to live on month to month. He was my positive male rollmodel as a child. There is a big happy place for him in heaven when the time comes. Today was his middle child (and the one most like him) Mel's wedding. He was proud as a peacock to share in this event with her.

Shhh dont tell anyone I told you this but Mel is his favorite. Anywho, Mel fell in love with a young man named Mario and they desided to sign over ownership papers to eachother, and well there were moments in the whole event that even had me choked up. Primarily the moment that my uncle Ronny handed over his baby to this young man, I can just imagine how hard it was for him to "give her away", to give away his little girl. Yet he seemed so happy and proud.

Mel has always been very much her own person. She never thought twice about doing exactly what she wanted. If she wanted a mohawk she got a mohawk (we will leave out who it was that gave her that mohawk) the point is Mel is a unique person and this fact was evident at her reception too. IN true Mel form there was a nicly decorated package of M&M's for each guest in attendance. Along with bags upon bags of miscelanious decorations.

Standing for her in her wedding was her two sisters her two best friends, her nephue and my niece. Is there anything cuter than little kids dressed up in formal attire??

Meet Justin. Justin is the six year old son of my cousin Crystal and Mel's nephue. He stood for her as her ring berrer and did a fantastic job of it.

He was attentive and patient, he didnt squirm or fiddle and he was right on que for the whole ceremony. This kid is the most gentle carasmatic six year old I have ever met. And cute to boot!

Let me tell you a little something about my niece Emily. She is a princess. No really, just ask her! She will tell you when she grows up she is going to be a princess and there is no convincing her otherwise. She romantisizes everything. In her little mind and heart the world is a fairy tale and some handsome prince will be coming by shortly to whisp her off her feet. Having said that, the fact that she was the flower girl at Mel's wedding was like a day in her future kingdom. She is just 3 months older than Justin and she also did very well, although she did do periuettes in the aisle while the ownership papers were being signed. As far as Emily was concerned this was HER day! During dinner Justin asked his uncle David if Emily might want to dance with him after they finished eating so Shannon leaned into Emily's ear and said "what would you think if one of the boys wanted to dance with you?" To which Emily replied with a bright smile and gleam in her eye... "That would be perfect!"

All in all despite my feelings for weddings and their utter lack of necessity and cost and well you got the point with my numberous references to "ownership papers" the day was good. Everyone had a good time and everyone behaved.

The night after the wedding however is another story for another time!

Canada's Wonderland

A Canadian right of passage for all kids living in Ontario, is a summer of endless rides at Canada's wonderland thanks to their ever popular seasons passes. I remember the year my sister and I got seasons passes and litterally wasted the entire summer away on rollercoasters. Braving the stand up multiple times in one visit. Days upon days standing in line ups for over an hour at a time surrounded by teenagers who took the opportunity of a place sans parents to make out while waiting to get on the rides. Followed by 45 seconds of a thrill and on to the next.

After almost a decade Shannon and I desided on a whim to go to wonderalnd and take in some rollercoaster fun. We hopped in the car and drove for what seemed to be mere minutes and arrived at the gate.. (why do I remember it taking so long to get there when I was younger??)

Canada's Wonderland has gone corporate! Holy Moley, The place hardly looks as it did in my youth. There is a dairy Queen on every corner and well you know Coke has to get in on it too.. you can visit the Coke Oasis where you get sprayed with a fine cold mist while you make your Coke purchases... Frakly I think this is Cokes way of keeping you "cool" while you are depositing your $4 for the pleasure of enjoying their cool beverages!

On to the rollercoasters....

The bat is one of my favorites from my younger days. /this rollercoaster brings you up 80- 100 ft and drops you through two upside wown twists and a loop before catching the cars on the other side and releasing you backwards through it all again. its a really wild ride! I was more than surprised to see kids as young as 7 braving this ride as I did not work up the courage until I was a teenager.

Next is the Fire Fly... A classic ride. This is most Canadian kids first Loop to Loop rollercoaster. It is quick and fun but hold your head back tight against the headrest or you are sure to go home with a bit of a headache.

If you ever have the nopportunity to visit Canadas wonderland you have to wait in the line up for the Top Gun. Trust me It is well worth the wait! The Top gun is a wild ride, you are suspended from the track above your head with your feet dangling below you. When you go over the loops all you see are your feet and sky. This ride has stolen the thunder from the Bat for me. The bat will forever have a place in my heart but my new favorite is Top Gun.

If you are coming by remember to bring a lunch and keep it in the car you can exit the park and return after you have eaten. The food available in the park is gross to be polite and will cost you enough to put a serious dent in your wallet. Other than that Wonderland is amazing it offers both an amusement park and a waterpark in one and I will guarantee you will have an amazing fun filled day!

Tale of a pound pup

Meet Marley. After 7 wonderful years with our Chinese Crested Hairless dog Scoop we desided it was time to get another dog. We had to put Scoop down because he had gone blind and developed a respratory illness. That was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. But it was all in an attempt to stop our poor little puppys suffering. After the deed was done I proclaimed that I never wanted a dog again. I never wanted to have to do that again! But it wasn't long before I started to crave the company of a lovable pooch. So after many discussions Shannon and I desided we would check out the Humaine society. Before heading out I checked out their website and there was a story of this little black pomeranian pup who was ready for a good home and i fell in love he was so cute. In true Humaine sociey form when we arrived it turns out that pup was not ready to leave and we would have to find another dog.... So we walked around for a while and Shannon fell in love with this little guy with a bandana around his neck. So we filled out the paperwork and were told to come back on monday because he was a stray and they wanted to give the oeners a few more days to claim him. Shannon was depressed and disapointed. I desided to go back the next day to see if he was still there and sure enough he was gone.

So started the search again. I must have walked around that humaine society for a good hour looking at all the dogs and determined to find the right dog. I wanted to come home with a nice dog for Shannon and one that would fit well into our lifestyle. That is when I came across "No Name" no name was in a cage with unfinished paperwork. He was a stray with no birthdate, name, breed etc.. but he was so cute. When I kneeled down beside his cage he stuck his nose between the bars and licked my hand then he was so happy to see me his tail was wagging so much he was making music on the bars on either side of the cage. I HAD to have him. So I enquired. I have to mention that the day before we delt with this weird guy who gave us nothing but the run around. Guess who I got to deal with again? I took weirdo over to no names cage and said this is the dog I want. Weirdo began giving me all the reasons he thought I could not have this dog and went to talk to someone named Will. Finally after some further run around I left weirdo where he stood and walked directly over to Will. Will seemed to be the only one with answers. He walked with me over to No Name's cage and we began to talk. Will also started telling me that he had only been in the humaine society for a few days etc etc... So I changed the subject to discuss why I thought No Name would be perfect for my family. We are campers and hikers we are always out in nature and this dog would be perfect. After more discussion like this Will seemed to have warmed up to me, saying I seemed like a good candidate for No Name, however because he was a puppy they needed more than one application and had to pick the best candidate. He took my paperwork and once again sent me home empty handed but this time told me to sit by the phone because I MAY (Wink) get a phone call by the end of the day. So off I went back home empty handed. I told Shannon all about little No Name what he looked like, that he licked me through the cage etc... Then it happened the phone rang and it was Will! He said come pick up your dog! OMG We got him! Shannon and I sprinted to the car and I could not drive fast enough for Shannon. When we got there I showed Shannon where our dog was and went over to find Will to complete the adoption process. shannon was in love! She wouldnt leave No Names side.

As I was filling out the rest of the paperwork a young family was trying to get No Name ans Shannon told them he had been adopted, they were not impressed! Will left me and went to get our dog. As we were sitting at the table with our new dog the above mentioned family passed and the dad yelled out to his kids "say goodbye to your dog kids... " How rude. I had payed the adoption fee and driven back and forth 3 times. He was our dog!

No Name is now Marley, and he is a great dog! He is fun and loving, he is great with kids and for a puppy surprisingly patient. He is part black lab and part pointer hound which poses a problem when we take him off his leash because the hound in him likes to follow his nose. But we are working on that. He loves to camp and had a great time hiking. It is nice to come home each day to a wagging tail and licks. There is nothing in the world like the love a dog gives you. And Marley is the perfect match for us.