Thanksgiving week-end we went to the Rhema Bible Church's Christmas Light Show. They have a terrific display with millions of lights and up to 200,000 visitors a years. It was a "light" junkie's dream. Instead of shooting the displays - I was too, too fascinated with the potential to play with the light. Here is my version of the light show.

Of course if you love light like I do, you can buy individual prints from my online gallery.

Should you want to go check out Rhema Bible Church, Broken Arrow, OK between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Visited the WW I Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, MO today. Across the street was the 10th day of the Occupy KC protest. A few infrared photos from the day.

Ahhh. Therapy. Cooking can be so comforting. Mushroom salad for dinner tonight. Quick and dirty photo of this evening's appetizer. 105mm Nikon Micro, lighting was provided by flash bouncing off a near wall.

Jenny Leanne Smith (Marilyn) from "Sellout." Performing at the Velvet Creme Popcorn Festival. More photos: Velvet Creme Popcorn Festival on Mingle.

The sign describes what this is, Country Club Plaza's 80th Annual Art Fair in Kansas City. Our trip out was on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Not a optimal time for photos. Good chance that many shots will have too much dynamic range. To avoid blowing out the highlights and losing shadow detail, I brought along a flash. The D300s and SB800 combination can do high speed flash beyond the normal sync limit of 1/250. So fill flash can help here. Where possible I encouraged folks to move to open shade - avoiding shooting in the direct sun as much as possible. You can see more from the day at the Kansas City Star here.

Dick Cunningham closes the deal. This fan of his work took two pieces...

Mary Andrews works in ceramics. She has created an interesting cast of characters... The next photo is one of her works...

A teapot. There is definitely an edge to the work.

Some of the browsers going down one of several streets filled with 240 displays of artists showing their work and several pubs, eateries meeting our more basic appetites. I had a bag of Topsy's Popcorn. Before filing my order, my server asked, "Would you like extra butter on that?" Of course I did. The popcorn was GREAT! Why? It tasted fresh, light, melt in your mouth texture and of course, it was buttery.

Many folks appreciated the art. But really this was an "event" a time to get out and mingle... see and be seen...

One of the darker images at the art show. More on the commercial side, there was great intricacy as characters from popular culture were pulled together in several pieces

These were the last images I took in the current spider series. For these I used a Nikon D300 with 105mm macro stopped all the way down. Lighting was the same set-up as I used for the shot with the Canon G9. Main benefit of the 105mm lens is that I had more room between the camera and the subject so I could get more light on the subject. Of these two images - the same photo but different treatments - the lighter version added some defocusing with minus clarity and desaturated the color.

This shell of a spider was sitting outside my office door. Over the years I have had an interest in shooting these critters with varying success. For this shot I used a tripod mounted Canon G9, a sheet of white paper and two white envelopes to bounce some light in to soften the shadows. The set-up was basically like this \ . /

The benefit of shooting static subjects - they certainly don't move...

Visited the Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO. Really enjoyed it. Spend two afternoons with the critters. Highly recommended if you have an interest in butterflies.

I went to my first radio controlled air show today. The event was called the KCRC 3D Poker Fly In. It was for "Giant Scale" planes. By giant scale they mean either an 80 inch monoplane or a 60 inch biplane or bigger. The measurement is for the wing span. You can see more photos here.

These planes can do things I did not think planes could do...

Babie Steve does not have the best seat on the plane...

Babie Steve was the only passenger that flew today.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 8 - 10, 2011 was the Great Mid-American Balloon Fest in Olathe, KS. Too bad for Bob and Francie that it was a bit windy Saturday night when we went. Only three of the balloons went airborne - the rest however, put on a light show at dusk.

Francie was checking out the jewelry and so was Billy. I noticed that he "liked" rings, perhaps an under-statement. He was kind enough to let us get a photo of his rings.Here is a shot of Billy and his family.

Funny hats were in season too. Francie found a few folks who were eager to pose for her.

We came late to the game "Angry Birds" at our house but we know that the birds and pigs aren't on friendly terms. So I asked on of the pig lovers at the fest how she felt about the birds - she doesn't give them any mind. They're not real. :)The Farmers' blimp did a fascinating exhibition of radio controlled acrobatics. I was impressed when it flew overhead and then went straight up a couple of hundred feet. Whoa!One of the three balloons that went airborne last night.One of the vendors at the event. He is selling guns that glow. Looked neat at dusk.Some of faces in the crowd enjoying the show.

What type of camera was most evident? Why the camera phone of course!

Spider and June Bug... Predator and prey...

Went to the ballgame last night between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago Cubs. My first visit to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Here are a few shots of the stadium as I took a walk around the periphery.

Visited the Kansas City Chalk & Walk Festival today down at the Crown Center. It was really sunny and hot. Not very good light but it was a very good time.

Here is my album from today's shoot. Lots of artists putting together some great work - temporary but very nice. Kids hula hooping with some pretty big hula hoops. And lots of kids enjoying the water. Throughout the afternoon there was a drum ensemble who had some nice rhythms -- dancing to the beat... The Crown Center area is a great feature in Kansas City where people can congregate an enjoy the day.