It's Spring!

Early this morning (yes, VERY early!), I was awakened by an obstreperous thunderstorm! It had dime-sized hail, lightning, thunder, heavy rain... the whole nine-yards! Minus a tornado, though, which I wouldn't have been able to see anyways because the sun wasn't even up. But it was amazing nonetheless, because it was our first REAL thunderstorm of the year! and I absolutely love thunderstorms.

But anywho, that's just one sign that Spring is finally here. Another sign are these pictures I took this evening as the sun was setting. Enjoy. :)

A Dandelion!

Another one!


A leaf amidst voluptuous spring grass.


And this picture really has nothing to do with Spring. I just liked it. It's our deck. :)

Sad day!

I suppose it goes without saying that it's been awhile since I last posted. I just haven't been in a very "photo-happy" mood recently. Maybe it's because of school. Maybe it's because I just haven't realized that winter is actually over now so I can get outside more and take pictures. Either way, I plan to be taking more pictures soon, although something tragic happened to my camera the other day.
I was coming home from a homework marathon at Dunn Bros one night and as I was going through the entry way on my way to my room, I bent my shoulder down to slide my backpack off my back, but I narrowly missed it with my hand and it crashed onto the floor. Luckily, my computer was okay, but my camera (which was in the front pocket) wasn't. I unpacked my bag and inspected my camera and found that the little viewing screen on the back had been cracked! :( Fortunately, the lens was unharmed, so I can still take pictures with it; but, I was (and sill am) really disappointed.
And to add salt to my wound, my dad totally rebuilt my computer over this past weekend and I forgot to tell him to backup my "picture" file because it contained all of my pictures that I have ever taken on it. So, now ALL of my pictures are completely gone! Well, at least the ones that aren't on this blog. Oh, what a sad day! *sobs* ah, well... Nothing lasts forever, but God does! And this has been an awesome reminder to me of that... Although it has been a big disappointment, I don't intend to dwell on it. However, I do intend to let God to continue to remind me not get too attached to earthly-material things because they will never bring me everlasting satisfaction! They're only gifts that He has graciously given me and I am extremely thankful for them, and I will enjoy them while they last.
Anywho, that's whats been going on! Enjoy the weather, and I'll try and take some more pictures soon. :)

Forlorn Referee

The other day, I was leafing through my photos, both old and new, when I stumbled on this one. I thought it was interesting, so I decided I would post it. =D

A Dynamic Night

Last night was an amazing night. I spent the whole night with friends going ice skating, watching a basketball game, eating free pancakes at iHop on National Pancake Day, and then coming back to our house to watch the Olympics. I took pictures pretty much the whole time, but I only got a few good shots. Overall, a very dynamic night with a myriad of happenings.

This the only good shot that I got at the basketball game after about 50 tries. It's really super hard to catch these lightning quick guys at just the right time, especially from the bleachers. I had to zoom in quite a bit.

This one is a bit grainy and has a bit of an orange hue to it, but I like the placement of the main subject, Ryan, and his surreptitious look. =P

A candid shot of Ryan!

The place that we ate our free pancakes at. We got a grand total of 3 free.

I think saying that Seth looks "eccentric" here would be an understatement. :P

Ice Skating

Photographing people usually isn't my greatest asset. I guess that might be because I haven't really pursued that avenue of photography that much. Regardless, I find it difficult to capture a photo of a person that's dynamic, shows expression, and has good composition. Anyhow, we went ice skating the other day and I snapped this shot of Bethany while I was skating... A fortuitous shot, to say the least. ;) It's a little grainy, but I like the overall atmosphere that it captured.

Dell

I was messing around with my speakers the other day, taking random photos, and this one actually turned out halfway decent, I thought.

Birdie

The other day, I was doing math when my bird decided he needed to give me some helpful tips.

"Need help?"

"You can count on me."

He's just so cute. And he lets me do practically anything to him. :)