Pumpkin Carving

People all over the world have been carving pumpkins during the Halloween season for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." The story goes, "Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years." Soon after though Jack died and God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. People soon then started to create own versions of the Jack's lantern by carving scary faces into pumpkins. They placed them near doors and windows to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering spirits.

Snow Oct. 23, 2009

On Friday Oct. 23, northern Wisconsin received the second snowfall of the year. Earlier in the day and a few days before we had received rain. As the day went along that rain turned into sleet. Then around 2: 00 pm, I tried around from working on my computer and realized huge snowflakes falling from the sky. The snow was very wet and heavy, and accumulated fast on the ground. The snow continued to fall through the remainder of the day and night. I think in total we received about 5 inches of snowfall. Early on Saturday, I decided to go take pictures of this new snowfall, for everything was white, though by the end of the day it had all melted away by the suns rays.

35 mm Camera

For the past couple of months I have been learning how to use my dad's old 35 mm camera. I am still not completely good at taking pictures with it and have had some issues with the film. When I was younger I also took pictures with the camera at a garden in Missouri and they turned out really nice, but the disk with them on it is kinda missing. The pictures displayed have been edited with a photo editor.

Murray Grey Cattle

Jeff's grandparents run a dairy farm in Tony, Wisconsin. While helping out his grandfather fix up the barn for winter, I decided to take some pictures of their cows. The cattle taken in these pictures are Murray Grey Beef Cattle. The breed originated in Australia and has spread to New Zealand, Asia, North America, and Europe. The first Murray Greys were bred by chance and were an embarrassment when they appeared in a herd of of Black Angus cattle in the upper Maurray River Valley (Australia) in 1905. They learned though that these cattle grew quickly and were superior converters of feed. Local cattlemen were attracted by the breeds size and appearance and began developing the breed.

First Snowfall of the 2009

On Monday October 12, the northern part of Wisconsin received their first snowfall. During this time I was driving up from Mukwonago, WI (southeastern WI) and as the trees started to become filled with snow I pulled off on the side of the road. When I got back to Sheldon, my boyfriend Jeff took me out for a drive to take pictures of some streams and the snow on the beautiful colored leaves.

Boerner Botanical Gardens

The Boerner Botanical Gardens are an internationally re owned horticultural showplace in Milwaukee County Parks that offers visitors to take in the color and smells of a variety of plants and flowers. During my visit with my family, they also took me here to take more pictures of the flower landscapes and I was also able to take pictures of my sister for her portfolio. I also took a photo added in this collection of my dad and sister peeking out behind some bushes. It was my dad's idea and is a great photo.

Mitchell Park Domes

The Mitchell Park Domes has been part of the Milwaukee scene since the first dome was built in 1898. The original dome exhibited flowers in a greenhouse setting and served the public until 1955. It was demolished later on because it was thought to be unsafe and impractical to repair. Donald Grieb designed the three beehive-shaped glass domes that offer 15,000 square feet of growing space for plant display, that are placed there today for visitors to come view. Each dome has a distinct climate and exhibit plants in a natural setting. The two domes that never change are Arid (Dry, Desert Like) and Tropical. The Floral Show dome changes with the seasons and also has special shows for holidays and musical programs. My family and I visited the domes earlier in October, where I was able to take beautiful pictures of the variety of flowers.

Mukwonago Homecoming 2009

My sister this year is a Senior at Mukwonago High School. For here memory I decided to take nice photos of her and her friends on the night of their dance.

Trimborn Farm

Greendale, Wisconsin is located in southeastern Wisconsin. While doing some shopping in the downtown with my mother, we came across this historical spot with beautiful buildings. This spot is known as Trimborn Farm.

Werner Trimborn acquired this Greenfield farm in 1850 and it proved valuable not just for the richness of the soil, but for the vein of limestone which lay underground. The farm was soon producing 200 barrels of lime daily with the assistance of forty laborers and at least fifty horses. After Trimborn’s death in 1879, his sons August and Leonard continued the business until the development of Portland cement made lime production unprofitable. The fires in the kilns died out and in 1935 the Trimborn property became part of the federal government’s Greenbelt project.

Fall Colors

When the days get shorter and the temperatures drop in proportion to the diminishing sunlight the chlorophyll levels drop, triggering a chemical reaction that stops the flow of sap. When the green pigments of the chlorophyll are gone the orange and yellow of the carotenoids show. With all the changing colors, I find this time of year, to be perfect to capture mother natures colorful side.

New Works

While talking to a good friend the other day about photography, I became inspired to play around with settings on my photos. I slightly would change the color, temperature, contrast, and exposure. With some of them I edited them with special features; for example making them black and white, sepia, or adding a light border to enhance the picture.