All the Pages Are My Days

It's been many years since I first thought about setting up a miniature studio to be used to photograph small items such as knick-knacks, jewelry and other similar sized subjects; until now I've never made a serious effort towards putting such a studio together. I've dabbled with ad-hoc setups in the past, but nothing that I could easily re-use as needed.

After this Christmas I have a great foundation for a small, flexible, table-top studio, based on a kit from the Table Top Studio store. The EZCube light dome is the centerpiece of the studio, and the bright, low power compact flash lights provide ample illumination. The main Table Top Studio site has many useful links, including pointers to detailed small object photography lessons.

The shots below were taken with minimal setup or preparation. They turned out well enough that I'm looking forward to some serious table top photography in the coming year!

A few more photos from this session are available on Flickr.

Posted by mike 1:44 AM | Comments/Permalink (0)
Categories: Personal | PhotoBlog | top of page

It was a nice day in Lindsborg today.

It was nice having morning coffee with my dad, a rare treat as he lives in Lyons; he's staying with us till power is restored at his place.

It was nice having the kids here, playing video games and IM'ing each other on their laptops as they sat side by side on the couch.

I took a few pictures during the day and early evening and am very pleased with two of them (the nuthatch and the Christmas lights). Some of my other favorites are shown below, and there are a few more on my Flickr site.

Enjoy!

We begin with a squirrel, a nuthatch and a cardinal. They were feeding in our backyard, along with a couple dozen other birds.

::

Next is a tour of our snow-covered backyard, softly decorated with a good 6 inches of snow.

::

Oh oh! I spied this branch resting atop the power lines that feed our house. The good news is that all power has been restored to Lindsborg, so the city utility crew was able to come out and take care of the problem right away. That was very good considering we have family staying with us due to the lack of power in Lyons!

::

Next we head over to the river for a shot of the lit for the holidays Smoky Hill bridge as well as the Old Mill.

::

The sunset was nice today, and we finish with a couple of shots of our front yard, decorated in style for the season by Sheryl.

::

Posted by mike 11:33 PM | Comments/Permalink (0)
Categories: | top of page

Here's a few photos of the icy aftermath, beautiful in the bright sunlight:

The storm had an impact days after the initial hit; see my updated posting about day 1 of the ice storm for details.

Posted by mike 8:23 AM | Comments/Permalink (0)
Categories: Lindsborg | PhotoBlog | top of page

If you or one of your loved ones is having a hard time coping with life's issues, I strongly recommend you read this article, written by someone who's been there, and is much happier being here. Read it, think about it and then, do something; you don't have to suffer!

Especially during the Christmas holiday season, with both the seasonal loss of light and all the pressures the holidays bring, it's important to remember that you don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders; help is available.

Posted by mike 4:00 PM | Comments/Permalink (0)
Categories: General | top of page

UPDATE 13 Dec 2007:

Though not severe in terms of visible damage, the storm's effect on the area's electrical infrastructure has been severe. Parts of Lindsborg have had had intermittent power since Tuesday, and some of the rural areas have been without power for 2-3 days.

40 miles from here the town of Lyons is almost completely without power for the 3rd day. My brother's kids and my dad are staying here tonight as a result (and we're glad to have them, it's been a lot of fun!)

(Original article)

We had a bit of an ice storm last night and today. Though not severe, a number of branches and limbs have come down around town. In addition, parts of town were without power for a while; our power was intermittent in the morning, but was steady during the afternoon.

I took some pictures around our house this morning, and a few from around Lindsborg later in the day. The full set is visible at Flickr, and a few are shown below:We had a bit of an ice storm last night and today. Though not severe, a number of branches and limbs have come down around town. In addition, parts of town were without power for a while; our power was intermittent in the morning, but was steady during the afternoon.

I took some pictures around our house this morning, and a few from around Lindsborg later in the day. The full set is visible at Flickr, and a few are shown below:

Posted by mike 8:49 PM | Comments/Permalink (0)
Categories: Lindsborg | Personal | top of page

The beautiful candles are from Juliana:

::

The song is a video of an interesting acoustic version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door, performed by a group of young Swedes known as CHiP-CHoP:

Click to watch the video: Knocking on Heaven's Door

It's been 5 years already since we lost mom, and I'm sure I speak for the rest of the family when I say I miss her, sometimes more than words can tell.

Posted by mike 12:44 PM | Comments/Permalink (1)
Categories: Personal | top of page

Visitors to this site may have noticed a new menu bar at the top of the page. I added this bit of navigation, which provides links to various sites I maintain, to make it easier for folks to find those sites. The new menu is shown below (slightly adjusted to fit):

All the Pages | Luminosity | Mike & Sheryl | Little Sweden, USA | Midsummer's Day | Glowrocks

All the Pages is this site, my personal journal where I share photos, recipes, travel reports and much more.

Luminosity is my photoblog, where I post one large photo about once a week. For its first year of existence I posted a photo every single day! A thumbnail of the current image is posted in the upper right corner of All the Pages.

Mike & Sheryl is our old, pre-blog, home page. Photos, recipes, and more. Not much in the way of new content, but still worth checking out.

Little Sweden, USA is a blog about Lindsborg. I post articles related to Lindsborg, with an eye on events and celebrations; postings are often accompanied by photos.

Midsummer's Day is the host site for Lindsborg's annual Midsummer's Festival. Here you'll find information about past and (soon) future Midsummer's celebrations, as well as photos.

Glowrocks is my site dedicated to fluorescent minerals. Photos, articles and links to related sites.

I also post photos at Flickr, but for now haven't included that link in the top menu bar.

I hope you enjoy my other sites, and for those who live in Lindsborg (or wish they did), please help spread the word about my Lindsborg related sites.

Posted by mike 7:49 AM | Comments/Permalink (0)
Categories: | top of page