A Secret Smile

When we were in Sedona earlier this year I found this statue setting in a corner of a courtyard. The artist provided the young lady with a special smile. Enjoy the image!

Cisco Sunset

This sunset was taken at Cisco, UT. Cisco is a ghost town in Eastern Utah. We visited the town as part of the DLWS class we took back in May.

If you are a regular visitor, then you know the changes that have been taking place with the blog. This image is the background image you are seeing behind the blog entries.

I'm also started a learning curve for the new CS5 Photoshop. I'm just starting to learn both the Photoshop tools as well as the new CS5 features. Content-aware fill can do amazing things!

A Quiet Weekend

It's been my first weekend that felt a little 'normal' since Debbie and I went on vacation to Utah. I still have to take off early one more time. I'm flying out to Pennsylvania this afternoon. I couldn't get the better connection so I'm routed through Atlanta.

Only photography was a few family snaps from our morning outing yesterday. So nothing to post there.

It has been a great weekend with family together and just relaxing, some small outings, cooking together. Melanie is home for the summer and Alan is wrapping up a week off from his work. We've shared stories of work and school and recharged to get ready for the coming week and the summer.

Bryan is the only one not with us. He is out in Pennsylvania with Michelle and her family. We are going to take advantage of my being out there this coming week. It is too far for me to travel to see him and make it back for work. So he is coming down to hang out one evening and will stay with me at my hotel.

I hope that everyone has a good week!

Thunderstorms

On Friday I traveled home to Kansas City from Manchester in the United Kingdom. The trip was good, with much accomplished both for work and personally. But it was definitely time to be home.

My transfer point once we reached the US was New York - JFK. As we flew west from there the pilot warned that there would be thunderstorms along our route all the way to KC.

There were clouds and bumpy air along the route, but once we crossed into Missouri the late sunlight and our route along the north side of the front exposed us to some dramatic views. Fortunately I was on the proper side of the aircraft, and my window featured clean and clear glass. Enjoy these images of the magnificent view !

Images captured with Nikon D90 and 18-105mm VR. PP with CS5

The Memphis Belle

After stalking the landscape of western England I was ready for a change. I took the day and drove to Duxford Aerodrome. The Imperial War Museum - Duxford is England's equivalent of the US Airforce Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB or the National Air & Space Museum in Wash. DC. Duxford has major displays of both UK and US military aircraft. There is a big emphasis on WWII, especially with the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain being recognized this summer.

The big surprise and special treat was seeing a B17 Flying Fortress. This plane is the only operational B17 based in Europe, and it operates out of Duxford. While I was there the crew fired up the engines and took her out for a flight. They were gone for about two hours and returned later in the afternoon.

The plane carries different nose art on the two sides of the plane. One side is painted as the Memphis Belle. This plane was used in the shooting of the movie of the same name.

This image is of the plane on takeoff from Duxford. I hope you enjoy it !