Who doesn’t love a long weekend?  I sure do and I’ll never take one for granted!  Even though I’ve been on a M-F schedule for over a decade, years of working nights, weekends and holidays have me appreciating 3 days off in a row.

This Labor Day weekend gave me the chance to work on my photography while having a great time with friends.  It began with a day on the lake with Donna, Sheila, and our “boatboy”, Jon. Photography can be a challenge when on the lake because of the constant movement of the boat, the threat of water on the camera and the brightness of the midday sun.

My new camera has a “sports” function that allows for shooting continuous images of a moving object.  Even though I was the one moving in the boat and the camera was moving with me, I was able to capture some really nice images of the water and the sky.  I could be using this function wrong, but the pictures weren’t blurry so I was happy.  The one of Sheila shows the challenge of midday lighting.

  

I struggle with taking decent pictures of people.  This is an area where I have a great need for improvement.  Even still, the pictures reflect the fun of the day.

  

I’m getting better at editing a picture so that the colors and the subject shine through.

    

Nature always provides for beautiful shots …

  

… even though I need to figure out how to better shoot the moon’s reflection on the water.

  

The threat of rain was constant on Saturday, yet I took the bike out anyway.  A spontaneous ride by  Lane Stadium in Blacksburg and an open gate gave me the chance to photograph a favorite place.

  

    

I wasn’t real happy with these, but I loved being able to wander around the football complex when almost no one else was there.  The pictures from the ride home turned out just fine.  How beautiful SWVA is!

  

While watching a pouring rain out my front door later that afternoon, I saw the sun shining through and ran outside with the camera.  I was really happy with these pictures.

   

The rain came and went all weekend long and threatened to doom an annual labor day party.  Liz and Wilson’s gathering at the cabin on the Little River has become the traditional way to end the summer and we always enjoy good food, good friends and plenty of time in the water.  This year we huddled under tents while it rained, but thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the rain free time.

  

    

The bike ride home felt great and I was able to shoot a couple old buildings and a beautiful farm.

    

It’s a wonder I make any progress on the road as I am constantly stopping to take pictures!  What a fun, fun new obsession / hobby this is! Perhaps I should take a class …