Calm Reflections Photograph photos accepted in the Charlotte Hall Veteran's Home Exhibit

Two of my photos will be on display and for sale at the Charlotte Hall Veteran's Home Art Exhibit running from July 3, 2019 to January 25, 2020.  Awards ceremony tentatively planned for Saturday January 25th in the afternoon.  My photos are called "Two Bald Eagles Squawking" and "Butterfly and Bee".

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Sunday, 10:00am-8:00pm in the E-Wing on the far southern side of the Veteran's home.  (The northern side is in the photograph.  Continue past this building all the way around to the left.

The exhibit is in a hallway to the dining room where the local residents can enjoy the art on a daily basis.

Annmarie Garden Exhibit Ebb and Flow

Save the Date:  Friday, May 24, 2019,  5-8 pm. Enjoy the evening when they announce a few winners of the main summer exhibit.  Usually there are light refreshments and music.

The Ebb and Flow Art Exhibit at Annmarie Garden will include my lovely photo of a Michigan Beach at sunset.

The exhibit will be on display from May 24 through September 2nd.  I plan to be there to meet the other artists and my friends on May 24th.

http://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/content/ebb-flow-power-water

St Marys County Fair Photo Exhibit Winners

I was just at the County Fairgrounds with the St Mary's County Camera Club.  The club supports the Fair photography exhibit.  We are always excited to see all the talent from our neighbors.  Thank you to all participants and all helpers from the club.

This year's top purple ribbons went to:

Childrens ribbon Lillian Johnston for ballet shoes photo

Junior ribbon Jillian Waxman a colorful  peppers photo

Adult ribbon Lew Kosich for a Celtics photo

Last years County Fair Barbara Sue Nelson for flower exhibit photo

Life in St Marys County by ? for an Amish plow photo

(We made a judge's corner for those of us who don't get to share our photos)

Dog Bath August 22, 2019

"Uh Oh.  Another bath for the me".  Shake, shake, quiver, quiver.

I can almost hear her brain thinking.  I was once again practicing my pet photography on my own dog, Sarita, a rescue toy poodle. Her expressions are adorable!   This bath is two weeks after her last one.  She has dry skin, so oatmeal shampoo was gentler on her skin and we can't bathe her too often.

I do pet photography in St. Mary's County, MD at your house or a nearby park where your pet is comfortable.  Most likely your pet wouldn't be getting a bath, but it would still be fun and the owners need to participate. I also like humorous photos, so I might try one or two.

Mostly, I just hope you will enjoy my photos.  I had to crop out parts of the shower, but it was handy that our shower is white, which adds in a little extra light. 

 Just getting used to the water.

 Drip, drip

 "Feels pretty good."

Shake, shake, shake

Check out some of my other pet photos at http://www.calmreflectionsphotography.com or visit my Facebook page.

St. Mary's County Fair Photography Exhibit Sep 20-23, 2018

Please enter the St. Mary's County Fair Photography Competition this year.  We love to see your photos!  The St. Mary's County Camera Club supports the exhibit.

Take your entries to the Fairgrounds on  September 19th, 2018 1-8 PM  Pick up your exhibitor number first at the Old Fair stage Auditorium.

Find out more from the County Fair catalog at 

http://www.smcfair.somd.com/resources/printversioncatalog.pdf

Spectacular Skies Art Reception Feb17th

Local folks:  My milky way photo with a meteor will be in the next Annmarie Garden juried exhibit in Solomon's Maryland.  The theme is Spectacular Skies.  You are invited to the After Hours reception on Friday, February 17th , 5pm-8pm.  The exhibit will be on display till July 23rd.  Light refreshments served.

http://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/content/spectacular-skies

13480 Dowell Road

Dowell, MD  20629

Hours

http://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/node/105

My Winning photos from the End of Year St. Mary's County Camera Club

Last week we had our end of year competition.  The monthly winners are competed against each other.  I am still waiting for all the results because I prefer to congratulate everyone instead of just sharing my winners.  I will post all the winners names when I receive it.

For now, here are my winning photos.  

First Advanced Digital-Michigan Beach Sunset

Second Advanced Digital- Gerbera Daisy

Third Advanced Digital-Eagle Pair Flying

First Theme-Rosé Wine (Adult Beverage theme). All themes are competed together with advanced, intermediate, and novice all together). I can thank my sister for this one.  She gave me the black plexiglass for Christmas 2015.

Community Bank of the Chesapeake Photo Exhibit Reception Friday

You are invited to meet the St. Mary's County Camera Club photographers showing their work in an exhibit at 

The Community Bank of the Chesapeake in California, MD.  The reception will be held Friday, November 18th, 10AM-12PM.  This show runs from 

October 5 - January 1, 2016 and is accessible during bank hours.

I have about 8 photos on display, and my friends have some of their best photos too.  Most photos are for sale, but we'd also love to see you just enjoy our work.  Please share this information with your friends.

 

22730 Three Notch Rd

(north of Chipotle Restaurant)

California, MD 20619

301-862-1900

My Photos on Display at the Community Bank Art Exhibit

Some of my photos will be on display as part of a Camera Club exhibit at the Community Bank of the Chesapeake through January 1st in an office.  

22730 Three Notch Rd

(north of Chipotle Restaurant)

California, MD 20619

301-862-1900 

Lobby Hours:

9:00 - 4:00 M-Th

9:00 - 6:00 F

9:00 - 12:00 Sa

Please stop by to see our work.

A reception will be held in November.

http://www.stmarysartscouncil.com/cb-camera-club.html

St. Mary's County Fair Photography

I was once again a judge for photography at the St. Mary's County Fair.  It is lots of fun to see some future photographers and possible Camera Club members.  Please visit the exhibit to see the wonderful photos.

Congratulations to the following winners!

(Please pardon me if I misspelled any names and please make corrections if you see any)

Champion purple ribbons (all are First place also)

Adult Brett Prucha girl with umbrella

Adult Life in St Marys workboat by

Mary Fearns

Adult Fair moment girl petting horse by Duane Woodburn

Junior flower water drop by Rachel Prucha

Childrens doll portrait by Daisy Chesser 

First places

Adult color 

Still life Rolls Royce reflection by Beth Fabey

Pictorial grand tetons by Beth Fabey

Nature white bird Colin Gilyeat

Adult Black and White

Portrait night kiss under umbrella by Caitlin Stanish

Sports horseback rider by C Wight

Still life hibiscus by Beth Fabey

Pictorial cat with steaming kettle by Beth Fabey

Nature bee by Chris Hess

Junior 11-17 color

Sports Softball by Anabel Eschenbrenner

Portrait girl with orange hair by Hailey Higgs

Still life toy photographer by Mac Quilliam

Pictorial Lovenborg castle by Jack Mulqueen

Junior St Marys Life pier by Madeson Manfield  

Junior 11-17 black and white

Still life dandelion by Noah Mansfield

Portrait teen boy by Rina Segesdy

Nature hyacinth by Emily Imhof

Pictorial falls by Ryan Cord

Children 10 and younger color

Sports 2 girls hanging by Hailey Bytella

Pet cat by Laura Munoz

Pictorial mountains by Joe Grossmon

Nature pumpkin by Leo Eschenbrenner

Childens Helicopter by Grace or Corice Tucker

Winning photos for the St Mary's County Camera Club

I got 5 winners this year!

Congratulations to all the End of Year photo winners from the St.Mary's County Camera Club! 

Digital – Novice

1^st – “Socks At Loch Buie” – Steven Thoman

2^nd – “Back In Black” – James Kwong

3^rd – “Bryce Sunrise Pano” – Steven Thoman

HM – “Niagara Falls” – Kimberley Tomlinson

 Digital – Intermediate

1^st –  “Lisa” – Warren Salmon

2^nd – “Vintage Silk” – Katherine Norris

3^rd – “Angel” – Dave Briggs

HM – “Landscape” – Dave Briggs

HM – “Strawberry” – Dave Briggs

HM – “Chapel” – Dave Briggs

Digital – Advanced

 1^st – “Baby Gorilla” – Joanna Macaulay📸

2^nd – “Windansea Sunset” – Anh Nguyen

3^rd – “Bald Eagle Pair” – Joanna Macaulay📸

HM – “Boardwalk” – Jack Goodman

HM – “Brooklyn Bridge” – Anh Nguyen

HM – “Halawa Beach” – Joanna Macaulay📸

HM – “Niagara Ice” – Emily Baldwin

Digital – Theme

1^st – “Fire Orbs” – Dave Briggs

2^nd – “Pink Waterlily” – Joanna Macaulay📸

3^rd – “Rick” – Nikki Goodman

HM – “TIMEs Square” – Stefie Bartley

HM – “Snow Mail” – Tonya Freed

HM – “Taking a Ride” – Dave Briggs

HM – “Night Bloomer” Joanna Macaulay 📸

HM – “Sand of Time” – Anh Nguyen

Print – Advance/Intermediate

1^st – “TJ Memorial”- Stefie Bartley

St Mary's County Fair Winners

I was one of the judges for the photography exhibit at the St. Mary's County Fair.  Please see my Saturday Sep 26th Facebook page if you want to see some of the winning photos from the Fair.

Congratulations for the winners and a hearty thank you for all the participants!

https://www.facebook.com/CalmReflectionsPhotography

Raiders and Invaders "Attacking" Soon in Leonardtown

Come enjoy The Raiders and Invaders Festival on Saturday, June 7th from 12-6 pm at Leonardtown Square and Leonardtown Wharf in St. Mary's County.  The event focuses on the War of 1812 in Southern Maryland and also includes many of the historical attractions in the area.  This is a one time special event.  There will be lots of opportunities for fun, music, artisans, old time crafts, theater, storytelling, wine, rum and cider tasting, cars, kids events and more.  The full event takes place Friday through Sunday.  For more information visit http://www.raidersandinvaders.com

We will be a vendor in Leonardtown Square, so please stop by and say hello.  We will be featuring our photos and photo crafts of St. Mary's County.

Fair winners Sep 19-22, 2013

Congratulations to the photography winners at the St. Mary's County Fair photo photo exhibit. Adult champion was Beth Fabey for a bicycle on a street, pictorial photo.
Life in st marys champion went to Cindy Pastorius for a corn photo.
The previous County Fair champion winner was Rose Guyther with a photo of goats and sheep.
Junior Champion was a still life by Dana Schwalbe of a "Love" shadow on the sand.
Kids Champions were Halei Long for a mosaic photo with a embedded heart shape and Kaia Ganzell for a photo of a female street vendor with a child. Great job!
I was one of 3 photo judges this year for the contest.

Show Us Your Moves Contest Photo

I had some excitement on Friday night.  I got a phone call that I won one of the 6 prizes for a local photography contest with Fit and Healthy St. Mary’s, sponsored by St. Mary’s Hospital called “Show Us Your Moves”.  The photos of friends and family were about people doing healthy activities to encourage the local community to live a healthy lifestyle.  The category for my winning photo was called Nature and Fitness (which wins a park entry pass for summer 2013 to Myrtle Point/Elms Beach County Parks and a full day kayak visit to Colton’s Point Marina near St. Clements Island).  My winning photo was sort of an afterthought, since I thought my other photo was better.

The photo was taken on Black Rock summit trail on short hike we love to take in Shenandoah National Park.  This trail used to be easy for my husband, but it was quite challenging for him this last June, especially with all those rocks!

I read a little about Fit and Healthy St. Mary's.  Some of the statistics in the Community Health Assessment from 2010 were eye opening.  It seems that an estimated 29.5 % of St. Mary's County residents exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week and we have one of the highest death rates for stroke in the state, Age-Adjusted Death Rate due to Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke) were 44 per 100,000.   They are trying to reduce the numbers.

The SMAWL Animal Fair in St. Mary's County

I attended the 8th annual  SMAWL Animal Fair on May 12^th with my husband to see all the cute critters.  There were many visitors with every breed of dog imaginable. I saw a cocker spaniel that looked just like my 2nd dog (awww) a beautiful white samoyed, a beagle and russian wolfhounds just to mention a few.  Dog service groups abounded including Greyt Expectations Greyhounds, All Shepherd Rescue, Doberman Assistance, Northern Chesapeake Sheltie Rescue, SMAWL Cats, Golden Retriever Rescue, Snowflake Society (horses), the Tri County Animal Shelter, and even the Hedgehog Welfare Society.  Fair visitors could buy doggie clothes from Custom Dog Jackets, adopt a pet or buy candles.  Also in attendance were many of the local veterinarians like VCA St. Mary’s Animal Hospital, All Kinds Veterinary Hospital, and the Well Pet Clinic. Kennels galore were in evidence too like Chesapeake Pet Resort & Day Spa, Farmstead Kennels an Indian Bridge Kennels & Suites.

 We had a lovely conversation with a woman from Pets on Wheels.  They bring therapy pets to nursing homes, assisted living facilities and Veteran’s homes to help improve their health and cheer the local residents.  We watched Dakota’s Legacy Horse demo with several horses walking backwards and a young cart horse driver.  We chatted with the pet photographer, Gary Garcia from ImageZ Galore Photography, Inc., watched a dog fitted with doggles (dog goggles) and met a piglet.  Fun activities included a musical dog sit, an animal pet parade and woof it down pie contest and a silent auction. It was altogether a fun time for pets and their people.

Blue Angels visited Patuxent River

We recently went to the Patuxent River Air Expo in St. Mary’s County on a warm sunny day. The crowds were out in full force and the Blue Angels were spectacular (as always!). They love catching you off guard and appearing unexpectedly when the crowd’s attention is concentrating on a diverting maneuver. There were so many different planes it was really tough to pick out which ones to share. I decided to also share the Ely-Curtiss Pusher biplane, representing the centennial of Naval Aviation.


To photograph at an airshow, I recommend a zoom telephoto lens with at least 300-400mm for distance shots, the brightest lens you can afford. A polarizing filter or circular polarizer (for digital cameras) is also nice to emphasize blue skies.  It is also handy to have a more standard lens to photograph the stationary exhibits and the spectators.  I often get cute shots of kids on Dad's shoulder watching the sky or looking at the exhibit planes.

To see some official photos and get more information

Photographing butterflies

I recently went to Brookside Gardens with Camera Club friends to visit the “Wings of Fancy” butterfly display in Wheaton, MD, a conservatory in the gardens. The butterflies were very active at 10 am, making it difficult to focus on a moving target. I just loved the blue morphos, which have spotted brown wings when closed and reflected blue wings when open. The butterflies often land on people, making it great fun, but you do have to be careful not to injure them. It is also a good idea to use a macro lens with flash or a telephoto lens to blur the background.

The free gardens are open at sunrise and there is a fee for the butterfly exhibit and special programs. The gardens are well worth a visit.

Shenandoah National Park: A favorite place

We recently took a long weekend trip to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It has been one of our favorite places for years.  I was amused at the weather report.  If the prediction was rain, it was sunny.  If sun was predicted, it rained! The mountains seem to create their own unpredictable weather pattern.   We had lots of fog and mist too, which created some moody photography.  If you take proper care of your camera, rain doesn’t mean you can’t take good photos!

Big Meadows is one of the best locations on the Skyline Drive to see deer, especially at dusk.  Some of them are very accustomed to people and largely ignore you.  It is wise to use a tripod and stand fairly still to avoid scaring them away.  The wildflowers blooming along the drive and in the meadow in August added a nice touch to the landscapes.  I photographed delicate Queen Anne’s Lace from underneath the flower to produce an unusual viewpoint.

Other highlights of our trip included a van trip to Camp Rapidan, where Herbert Hoover spent his time away from the White House in a rustic camp, viewing a black bear while I was driving along the main road (sorry no photo) and a visit to see Charlie Maddox play music from Appalachia and the British Isles on hammered dulcimer, banjo and guitar in the tap room at Big Meadows Lodge.