Life in Miniature

Soccer season is now in full swing. The high school girls junior varsity played three matches last week. This week is spring break, so there will be no sports activities for me to photograph which means I will have to go into recent archives to find appropriate post material. One fact that is sometimes overlooked about the game of soccer is that it is a contact sport. There is a lot of bumping, pushing and shoving going on while trying to gain control of the ball. Here are a few examples.

Cutting off your opponents path to the ball with a little shoulder action is perfectly acceptable. The ref in the background does not have a problem with this level of contact.

Sometimes you just have to split the difference when you have the ball. Two defenders fail to stop this Tiger on her way to the goal. (Note; I submitted this image to a website called Pixoto. They put your image up against others in one on one duels and people vote for their favorite. This image was the No. 1 sports/soccer image of the day!)

A face to face close encounter with the goal keeper is just part of the game when you’re a forward. Play on!

If you lose your balance, you’re likely to get run over.

Going to the ground too early to block a shot can result in the ball flying over your outstretched arms and into the goal.  Have a blessed week.

It’s been a while since I last made a concentrated effort to capture some good sunrise or sunset images. This image was taken in September of 2009 while the header photo was captured in August of the same year. My access to these locations is much more limited these days since we moved about 15 miles from this lake and fighting the rush hour traffic is just not my idea of a good way to spend an hour in the afternoon. No, we don’t have Dallas, LA, or NYC traffic, but we have enough to make getting around at certain times of the day more of a headache that a retired person wants to deal with. So, enjoy a blast from the past. Have a blessed week-end.

One Image

Two Filters

Three Crops

Saturday there was a model train show at one of the local hotel ballrooms. I love trains. I grew up with trains because my father worked for the Frisco Railroad over 40 years. I love models. I used to build model ships, planes and cars as a kid and I would still do some of it if space and budget allowed. I am always amazed at the level of detail of some of these miniature locomotives.

Of course the level of detail displayed on some of the structures is also quite impressive.  I found this model to be quite nicely done.

There are several different sizes of model trains. “N” gauge is typically the smallest size for most collectors. The most common size is “HO” gauge. The largest size that most of us non collectors know about is the “Lionel” size trains. The model above is about twice the size of a Lionel train. Notice the amount of detail in the landscape and that trestle.

This Southern Pacific train is HO gauge. The engine is about 7″-9″ long and abuout 2-1/2″ tall. There are hundreds of engines and thousands of cars to choose from. Next time I will try to photograph one of the vendors inventory. It will boggle your brain. Again, notice the effort made to make the presentation look real. I love this stuff.

Okay, who knew that Lego’s had a complete line of model railroad kits? It is pretty close to the size of the Lionel trains of my youth, but everything here is from Lego.

Of course Lego would have Elvis pulling up to a 50’s diner in his pink Caddy!

These models are beautiful, coming and going. I will probably post a few more images very soon. Have a blessed week.

While photographing a high school soccer match I heard a noise and looked up to see this spiffy little private plane flying over the field. Red, white, and crystal clear blue sky.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, the battle raged for control of the ball. Have a blessed week-end.

 

 

GOAL!

GOAL!

Meanwhile, back at the track. Last Thursday was the first high school varsity outdoor track meet of the season. There is a lot going on at the same time during an outdoor meet, so it is nearly impossible to get photos of every event. I will try to photograph different events next time out and catch some of the same events from different angles.

Hurdles is always an interesting event. It takes speed, timing, and skill. I never liked having obstacles on the track when I raced, in the last century. Today’s tracks are paved with a type of textured asphalt, and if you trip and fall, you’re going to leave a lot of yourself on the track…literally.

One event that has captured my attention recently is the pole vault. This event requires some speed, very good timing and superior upper body strength. It is a very graceful sport when done correctly, but things can go very wrong in a hurry.

The relay races are always fun to watch, especially the shorter distances where the passing of the baton is just as important as the speed of the contestants. In the 4×100, each contestant runs 100 meters then passes the baton to a team mate. Two of the baton transfers take place on the corners of the track and many a race is won or lost in the second or final leg of the race. This event is best viewed from the stands where you can see all four legs of the relay. It’s best photographed in the corners where you get a real sense of the competition.

Track meets are long events. This one started at 3:30 p.m. and went well past 8:00 p.m. One reason for this lengthy time frame is that there are men and ladies competitions in nearly every event. I pulled my high school year book out and there were no female track athletes on my stone tablets. Times have changed and sometimes for the better. Have a blessed week.