Gone Fishin'

Last week, JJ had Friday off from school. You know, one of those teacher workday thingys. Why they couldn't use that day as a snow make up, instead of doing nothing at the end of June, I don't know! The boys planned to head out to the river that day and spend the day fishing. Gene bought a new canoe for them to use. We named it Knife. Why you ask, because the first knife in the JJ's series is called the canoe. So I said your canoe has to be called knife. Get it!??! Nevermind.... I wasn't able to enjoy this day of male bonding, but I did get to hear all about it when they got home. They were lucky enough to have caught some fish. 3 Bass, 2 crappie, and a brim, maybe?

They decided we were going to cut up the fish and have a fish fry. It was late and I didn't feel like making a mess in the kitchen, so we cut up the fish and delayed the frying until Saturday. This fish reminds of me of that singing fish, Billy the Big Mouth Bass, remember that annoying thing! There was a lot of cutting A lot of meat And a whole bucket of guts. (JJ made me take this photo) The fish were photogenic

As were the fishermen

JJ was excited to get his hands in the kitchen and help. He really enjoys helping in the kitchen. He's not afraid to get messy. And he often apologizes when he does make a mess. The fish got a good breading before they hit the heat... Its not a fish fry with out a fryer right!!! Yummm... Everyone had fun and there is interest in doing it again. I may even get in on the catching action. I do have my own fishing rod.

Time Away

I promised I would post the rest of the photos from our trip to Brevard. I sat down with the computer this weekend and made myself work in Photoshop. I learned that it comes with a companion program, Adobe Camera Raw, that is a little more user friendly for basic photo editing.

It was a breeze to use, and then I just needed to import my photos into photoshop for little tweaks (mostly to watermark). I also figured out how to create and action, so I don't have to type in my watermark every time. That felt awesome to accomplish. Making a brush watermark is my next step. I also downloaded some free actions, but haven't had the chance to try them out on anything yet.

Overall I'm pleased with the photos from this trip. Most were taken with my Tamron. That seems to be my go to lens. I really like being able to zoom. I've said it before, I'm a wallflower and I hate being all up in the biz-nass, so being able to step back its great. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the 50mm, mostly the 1.4 and I for see many portraits with this lens. But, for family activities the Tamron is my companion.

Ok, so you made it through all my mumble jumble here are some photos....

JJ was ready and eager to try out fly fishing. He was up at 6am, dressed and waiting for Gene to get up.

This was one of the beautiful lakes, the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Trying to untangle the line...





You gotta watch out for the rebound

Gene really enjoyed getting back to a long lost hobby. I enjoyed watching him and seeing the pleasure on his face.

No fish were caught and Woody refused to sit nice for the photo

There was a canoe available and JJ asked if they could go out. Gene thought it might be a good idea since he's looking into buying one. I also tried out being at a fixed focal long lenghth. I stuck the 55-250 on and locked it at 100mm. I'm not sure that 100 is long enough for me. I wasn't super impressed. I tried that trick again at soccer (eekk... those photos coming later!!!) and I didn't like it at all.

Here is what I got at 100mm

I couldn't take it and I zoomed in

Look how happy they are!

Ok, just a few more. After fishing, we went into Brevard and walked around. Its a quaint little town. We stopped at the soda shop for lunch and a snack.

On the way home we stopped at Ceasar's Head State Park. Gene and I had never been to the look out. The landscape of our state is amazing. Its impressive that you can have so much so close.

I really encourage you, if you feel you need to get away for the weekend, just do it. Don't hesitate. Its the boost you need to make it through those long, boring, repetitive weeks. We hemmed and hawed about when and where to go. We finally decided and just did it and I don't regret a bit of it.

Sneak Peek: we went fishing

This past weekend, we decided we needed to get out of town. We rented a house in Brevard, NC, packed the car and took off. It was only an hour and a half from our house, so it was a quick drive, straight north. Although the map says its a straight line, the winding roads told my stomach otherwise.

I haven't had much time this week to sit with photoshop and work on the photos. I've been trying to cut back on my picnik use. I follow a bunch of blogs of women who just participated in an adobe lightroom workshop weekend. All expenses paid to San Fran. I wonder if Picnik does something like that?

I took a ton and I'm pleased with how they look, just needs a little tweaking here and there. I hope yo get sometime soon to clean them up.

But, I wanted to particpate in Black and White wednesdays, so I thought I would share a little sneak peek. The house we stayed at was on a small lake. There were 5 lakes in the neighborhood. JJ got the chance to try out fly fishing for real. You can tell by the expression on his face, he's not in love yet.

They didn't catch anything. We weren't sure the lakes were stocked yet. But, they enjoyed themselves. They even got to go out in a canoe! (can't wait to share those photos!) Woody was fascinated with the fishing rods. You could watch his ears perk up everytime they would cast. He desperately wanted to chase the rod. But, I was mean mama and made him stay on the dock with me.

It was a much needed get away. Soccer season starts this Saturday and goes until late April. It felt good to get away from the ruts of everyday life.

More photos coming soon. Promise. But probably not tonight because I've got a mound of laundry to fold.

Sharing

Gene has always had a love of fishing. Him and his granddad (Big Daddy) went a lot, as did Gene and his mom. Gene has enjoyed taking JJ fishing since he was old enough to hold a rod. Its mostly been pond fishing with Gene doing most of the work and JJ looking for tadpoles. I tag along every once in a while.

After college, Gene moved to Colorado for a while and fell in love with fly fishing. Its a hobby he's enjoyed, but hasn't been able to do much because its too hard with a small child. JJ is finally old enough to try it out. He received a fly rod kit for christmas. This weekend they took it out in the yard for some lessons.

I'm dabbling here in some black and white. I'll be honest and admit that I haven't used photoshop as much as I should. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to sit in front of the computer and edit and the weekends are about the same. I'm still becoming the master of picnik!

This was share for Black and White Wednesdays over at The Long Road to China (and Back!)

Check out more Black and Whites, including a great self portrait of Lisa!

Flash Back Friday

My friend Ashley has a great photo blog that I follow. She listed a bunch of links today, or maybe last night, to some other great blogs. One of those is Christopher and Tia. They have flash back friday, where you can post an old photo for everyone to see.

I searched back through my photo files and I came across this picture.





This is Gene and JJ about 4 years ago. This is one of JJ's first "catches". We have some friends that have a fantastic pond thats stock slap full of this huge brim. JJ was enthralled at the size of his catch.


Gene loves to fish. He grew up fishing in small ponds. He spent his graduate school days out on the lake after class. He was really excited to share the joy of fishing with JJ. JJ loves to fish now. He's still skeptical about touching the fish, but we're working on that.

I love that my boys have this to share with each other, and as they grow older, they have something they can do together.