Southern Maryland Balloon Festival Aug 26th

Just a few photos to share from the balloon festival in Prince Frederick, MD.  I have lots more, but I'm busy getting ready for the Artwalk in Leonardtown square tomorrow 5-8 pm.  More later.

     Inside a balloon

      Tethered hot air balloons

     Jennifer Cooper, singer

      Don Stapleson, saxophonist

Another Eclipse Photo

One more eclipse photo, the first one I took.  A little overexposed, but I liked the star effect.

Eclipse Photos from St. Mary's County, MD

My husband had a solar filter for his telescope.  It was bigger than my 150-500 mm lens, so we just let gravity hold it down.  We had a scary moment, when I almost let it fall off the end.  Yikes!  The eclipse was about 80 percent or so here.

Jim remembered seeing interesting crescents on the ground through the trees when he was younger, so I photographed that too.

Winning Photos for July from Camera Club

I had two honor photos from July 2017 at the St Marys County Camera Club.  The special theme was Destruction.  I'm not too keen on photos of destroyed cars and buildings, so I used a little creative thinking.  I asked Jim to make me some huge bubbles with a bubble wand.  Using a fast shutter and my hand holding a gadget to pop the bubble, I finally caught a half popped bubble.  It won first theme digital.

I also got Advanced second place for a sunset reflection in my new neighbors window.  The judge liked the interrupted pattern.

Recreation boat demo at the SMBC 2017 Summer Regatta 2

Jim was in the recreational antique boat afternoon demo at the Southern Maryland Boat Club 2017 Summer Regatta on July 30th too.  Approximately 2 PM.  He was thrilled to be participating with his Centurion barefoot ski boat called "The Rocket", since it can go around 55 mph. 

All the noise in the background is caused by wind and boats being trailered in for the next demo.

SMBC Regatta video 

Recreational Boats show off at the SMBC 2017 Regatta on July 30th-1

Recreational Antique Boats show off at the Southern Maryland Boat Club 2017 Summer Regatta on July 30th.  My husband,  Jim was part of the demo in his Centurion Barefoot ski boat (White with gray stripes) The Allison boat created a little excitement after a minute or so, right after you hear "Jim Macaulay is coming up on the inside". 

Morning heat around 10 AM.  

Video in bright sunlight is always challenging with my camera, since it is difficult to see through the live view screen.  

Boat demo video

Tunnel Hull boats 2 SMBC Regatta July 29

Second video of the Tunnel hull boats, really powerful race boats running a demonstration.  These boats can drive over 100 mph.  They are all vintage boats owned by the Southern Maryland Boat Club members at the Leonardtown Wharf.  This was the third club Regatta, where the owners and drivers could show off their boats to the public in a much safer situation than a race.  There were no winners, just happy club members.

Tunnel Hull boats at the SMBC Regatta July 29th Part 1

Tunnel Hull boats at the Southern Maryland 2017 Summer Regatta July 29th.

The weather was miserable, so after one run of each type of boat, they cancelled for the rest of the day till the weather improved on July 30th.

A short Video, Part 1  The Texaco boat was Rayner Blair zipping by.

Southern Maryland Boat Club Regatta July 30th 2017

The weather on Sunday was beautiful and sunny for the 2017 Southern Maryland Boat Club Summer Regatta. The day began with a mandatory driver and crew meeting, followed by Karen singing National Anthems.  Each boat was in a morning and afternoon demo run, with 2 parade laps and 5 laps to show off their skills.  There were no winners, since the purpose of the regatta was to have fun and show off your antique boat in a safe manner.   Food was provided and visitors could visit "the Pits" during lunch and after the race to meet the participants.  The club members had a blast!

Jim and the Rocket getting trailered into the water

 Driver Crew Meeting

 Karen singing the National Anthem and the Canadian Anthem.

Our boat was parked next to this one, which ran with the Switzer boats.  I liked the words on the side of the boat. " Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up & Hang On"

 Recreational vintage boats on display

 Jim

 Patrol boat to the rescue.  These guys were fairly busy.  Vintage boats engines are sometimes unreliable.

 Parade Lap

 Buoys

 Signal Flag shadow

 Tunnel Hulls

 The Crowd

 I didn't know this guy's name, but he sure worked hard putting the boats in!

 Photos by Jim Macaulay from here to the end.

 T  Class Switzer Wings