Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Photography

Summer Loving, Photography and Grease?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twittter@  WarriorTales)

Some of my best summer kid memories are staying outside late playing when the weather was warm and the air smelled like endless time. Those days seemed to last forever.

Summer sunset in the park with John Travolta singing "Greased Lightning!" Damn!
Summer sunset in the park with John Travolta singing “Greased Lightning!” Priceless!

Even riding in the bed of my Dad’s pickup to go watch the fireworks with family and friends was a big thrill. Yes, current safety concerns aside, many of us boomers did survive the attempt to perhaps thin the herd when we were young; no bike helmets, no air bags and no seat belts for a while. It may also explain a lot about some of us, come to think of it.

This past Friday I joined family and friends and went to see a free movie at the park, “Grease.” I always have my camera with me. After I plopped my butt in my fold up chair, I took a couple of pics of the pink sunset.

Now I didn’t move, mind you, I just clicked away. I like this one the best of the lot, given I was using telephoto to block out fellow movie goers and buildings, the scene might be in a forest. Think fairies and unicorns.

But to prove I am true to my word, here is the rest of the Friday night movie going herd waiting for the fun to begin in the second photo. One of my favorite scenes in another movie “The Wedding Planner,” is when they are watching black and white movies in the park. How romantic! Us real people can actually do these things, especially during the summer.

Used telephoto on this pic too, since we were back in the cheap seats on the hill. This is what America means to me! Outside free summer movies and people watching!
Used telephoto on this pic too, since we were back in the cheap seats on the hill. This is what America means to me! Outside free summer movies and people watching!

So check your parks and library folks and see if there might be a fun free outside movie in your future. In downtown Portland they even show them on top of parking garages. Maybe it’s just us West Coasters who enjoy the outside movies, but I doubt it. Enjoy summer and be a kid again!

Grab your folding chairs, blankies, hoodies, snacks and get outside for movies! Don’t forget your camera too. Magic might happen!

Are There Hidden Photo Gems On Your Computer?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Drove out to the Columbia River for a car picnic with my Mom this past weekend. We packed a lunch, enjoyed the sun and river sights and stayed in the car. Unusual warm weather for January. (Sorry East Coast blizzard people)

We talked about photography and how much I enjoy it, plus the fact my current home computer must be replaced since it is out of memory and eight years old. Obviously the Windows self destruct program hasn’t activated. Yet.

Photo stalking the wild chipmunk in his native habitat. A true test of photo skills. Especially when they appear ready to charge!
Photo stalking the wild chipmunk in his native habitat. A true test of photo skills. Especially when they appear ready to charge!

Back at home I decided to print out a couple of my favorite vacation photos to take to the day job; scenic memories to give me a mini-vacation sun break time out. I focused on recent trips to Sisters, Oregon, with my friend Joann, one of my top five favorite places.

I rediscovered fun memories and a few good pictures I’d forgotten about. When I switched from film to digital photography in 2007, the whole “I can’t see my pics” problem began. It’s so easy to forget the fabulous pixels we have stored on our hard drives, which I also back up three other places since I’m paranoid.

Half of my digital photos are organized by date and the other half by topic. The goal is to switch all the pics into topic groupings, but I keep taking more pictures and not finding the time to sort, and now the computer memory problem.

Two of the crafty camera shy sprinters in one picture. Miracles do happen.
Two of the crafty camera shy sprinters in one picture. Miracles do happen.

But it’s time to take action soon and get a new computer with enough memory to last a couple of years. Then start the transfer and sorting of photos, video and stories. (This will require tons of peanut M&Ms to accomplish, just saying) Since I haven’t loaded new photos for the past couple months, who knows what wonderful photo gems I’m missing. Or not.

So here are a few pictures from one of my Sisters, Oregon trips to encourage you to frisk your computer hard drive and find some fab photos. Enjoy the trip!

Sneak attack! Or sneaker attack, you choose. Love this photo even though I had to contort myself into a pretzel to get this shot of my friend's foot when she was sitting beside me.
Sneak attack! Or sneaker attack, you choose. Love this photo even though I had to contort myself into a pretzel to get this shot of my friend’s foot ala chipmunk when she was sitting beside me.

 

Are You A Holiday Decorating Diva?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Spent Sunday putting up a few holiday decorations and getting the Christmas tree up. Each year I decide whether to go all out or pace myself. This year is a simple but classy holiday decorating agenda. In the process of putting up the three fake wreaths on my front porch, I spied an industrious woodpecker getting snacks from the tree across from my porch bannister.

Mr. red feathered woodpecker on the left side of the tree. See, he's only a couple feet off the ground!
Mr. red feathered woodpecker on the left side of the tree. See, he’s only a couple feet off the ground!

This tenacious little bird, all decked out in his holiday red-head feathers, did not leave the tree. When a car came flying by, he scurried to the other side of the tree trunk.

When the boy walking his dog strolled by, the bird circled again so he was hidden from view. I got the camera and began taking pictures of him to see how long he would last. Then I went back to work.

I put up the other two wreaths, which involves me climbing up on my three-step stool and then getting on my railing and popping the wire backs of the wreaths into the hooks.

Still able to do it and haven’t fallen in the bushes, yet. When I finished Mr. Red Bird was still eating and enjoying his obviously tasty finds on the tree.

 

Digging in for snacks on the right side of the tree.
Digging in for snacks on the right side of the tree.

For all I know he’s still out there, since he never went away and kept pecking for insects.

Seems to me this is a perfect plan for getting through the holidays; focus on food and ignore the rest of the distractions or move out of the area if things get too noisy or bothersome.

Several people walked by the tree with the bird and never saw him, right there in front of them.

Take time during the holidays to enjoy the simple things. Slow down and see if you find a holiday decorated visitor in your yard or area park. Who knows who might be Santa’s helper this time of year.

Happy Holidays!

 

My best up close and personal woodpecker pic. Maybe he was posing for me.....
My best up close and personal woodpecker pic. Maybe he was posing for me…..

 

 

Have You Taken A Pumpkin Photo Break?

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

This time of year I dread the coming of the dark season. To distract myself, besides imagining writing I can get done on rainy days and baking tons of cookies, taking pictures with Fall light becomes my passion. Trying to catch the last rays of the year and the amber light is an exercise in patience and quick draw with a camera.

Since I always have a camera with me, besides my cell phone camera with no zoom, it becomes a game to see where and when I can capture the waning golden light of the season.

A herd of pumpkins waiting at sunset to be taken home and carved.
A herd of pumpkins waiting at sunset to be taken home and carved.

This first picture I had to take last week while grocery shopping. I’d only stopped for a few things, but I couldn’t resist the golden light on the pile of pumpkins outside the grocery store.

Since I long ago got over what anyone thought who might see me taking pictures of produce, life is good. Lately I’ve even taken pics of some great displays inside retail stores, since many are works of art.

So if it’s not pumpkins, then leaves are a big deal this time of year. This next picture I snapped after work at the day job. In the parking lot! One does not have to be in exotic locations to get great photos. There are several malls and one post office where I’m always watching the trees and plants because they are great for close-ups.

Sun slipping into the night - over the parking lot.
Sun slipping into the night – over the parking lot.

So, if it were not for the dratted cross walk sign you can barely see in the bottom right corner, people might think this blissful scene was way out in the woods, not surrounded by asphalt. Look around for big and small details this season. For Pete’s sake look UP too.

We have the first big rain storm coming in today after a summer of high temperatures. So while we all huddle inside and work on our creative projects, clean things out and plan the killer list of fun baking projects for the holidays, remember to take some great pictures.

You never know what you might want to send on a holiday card or in a family newsletter. Try something out of the ordinary. Let’s all celebrate the season of photography!

 

Isn't he cute? Happy Halloween photo hunting!
Isn’t he cute? Happy Halloween photo hunting!

To Zoom Or Not To Zoom?

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

On a recent backyard safari to another house, I brought along the Canon Powershot SX200 with the longest zoom I have, 15x. I was hunting baby robins.

The industrious pair of robins who built a nest in the crook of the patio cover really knew how to pick real estate. The location was covered with a yellow sunroof and surrounded by a clematis bush for camouflage. On top of that, the metal struts to hold the roof to the post were perfect underpinnings for the nest. These robins are engineers!

Baby robins waiting for snacks.
Baby robins waiting for snacks.

The goal was to try to get pictures of the small fry, since it was hard to tell from the occasional waving beaks we’d seen who was where and how many there were in the nest. The kids were growing up and we wanted to make sure we got a family portrait or two before they left for flight school.

Not to disturb Mom robin, over the course of a couple of hours I would pop out on the top step to the patio from the house and take pics. About forty shots later I had a few keeper photos.

Using the smaller point and shoot cameras required me to learn new techniques after using 35mm film cameras for so long. I now become a human tripod in order to steady the camera, finding someplace to lean against in order to prevent motion distortion. The sliding glass patio door and the door frame both worked great. I used to prop my left elbow against my chest while holding the bottom of the camera and lens to focus and snap the shutter button with the right finger.

The most important camera equipment to have is any kind of camera period. I’m still old school enough that I want the variety of focal and zooms length I can get from a camera, so I only use my cell phone camera as a last resort. Cell phones are hard to hold and I’m always losing a shot because I hit the wrong spot on the touchscreen at the wrong time. Simple is better.

Distance from the patio step to the nest at the top of the pole. Zoom!
Distance from the patio step to the nest at the top of the pole. Zoom!

So while summer is hard on us and the birds and bees are definitely out and about, grab your camera and venture out into the wilds.

Take a risk and explore away from your backyard and familiar surroundings and forge across the great unknown to an adventure of epic proportion – like you’re neighbor’s backyard.

When in doubt, zoom! You too might find some rock’in robins!

P.S. The birds left the nest two days later, so timing was perfect!

Can You Take Harbor Seal Photos From Your Porch?

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by Kimberly A. Cook         (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

My last photography posting had so many nice people comment and like it I decided to follow-up with another photo topic. When I worked on the newspaper and took my own photos, there was a system I learned from my photography classes in college.

This is actually a mid-range photo since I was so far away. The pulled back photo made the harbor seals look like raw tapioca.
This is actually a mid-range photo since I was so far away. The pulled back photo made the harbor seals look like raw tapioca.

First take an overall shot of the area/subject, then look for details and close-ups to describe the story. That is how I ended up with photos for my feature stories and/or photo essays. While I might not use all of the photos in the newspaper, in fact I rarely did, taking more shots saved the day when I’d need to hunt for pictures to help fill space.

Now I keep those same rules in mind for a potential blog post, article or video I might be working on in the future.

To illustrate the system, here are pictures I took on a recent trip to Depoe Bay, Oregon, one of my favorite places on the planet. Munching a leisurely breakfast that Saturday, my sister let me know the harbor seals were hauled out on the rocks.

This is what a zoom lens, leaning against a post and keeping your breathing even can do. That's not tapioca after all.
This is what a zoom lens, leaning against a post and keeping your breathing even can do. That’s not tapioca after all.

Grabbed the camera and sauntered down the porch of the condos to get an aerial view. One cannot wait when the time, tide, seals and weather all create a photo opportunity – getting all those variables together is a rare event. So I grabbed both Canon cameras to ensure I would have focal length to get up close.

Details count. Did you see the Blue Heron in the first photo above?
Details count. Did you see the Blue Heron in the first photo above?

Photographers know the sweetest light to take photos is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, but tides and seals have their own schedules. Some of the photos I took are not as color-saturated as I would like, washed out by the sun, but I’ll take it.

Always have a camera, cell phone camera or video camera with you. You never know when seals may show up to interrupt your breakfast!