Betts Park | The Beauty Around Us

Marge and Linda’s Adventure

These are the two pictures that started it all. Marge posted a couple Bitstrips comic, starring herself and me, on her Facebook page.

It was my idea to combine a lunch date with a nature walk.

We met at Betts Park, here in Warren, at 11:00 AM. It was a good thing we dressed warmly, to include several layers and gloves. The temperature was only 10 degrees, when we set out on our walk.

We weren’t the only ones at the park, braving the cold temperatures.

This sheepdog was taking its owner for a walk.

How cold was it? I believe these photographs will give you a shiver or two!

I took this photograph of Marge, as we were finishing up our walk.

After our walk, we went to Chido’s Restaurant for lunch. We each ordered beef stew and a side salad. The stew was a good choice, after such a cold walk!

An Afternoon at the Park

Stacey, Harper, June and I spent a couple hours at a local park.

The girls enjoyed crawling in the grass, having a picnic lunch and exploring the playground equipment. I didn’t get any photographs of the girls swinging, sliding or bouncing as I was participating in their play.

Michelle B.’s Family Photo Session

The month of August was a photograph intensive month for me. It seems all I have done is click, edit and upload!

On August 11 I conducted an engagement photo session at my brother’s camp near St. Marys, Pennsylvania.

On August 12 I conducted a family photo session at Allegany State Park near Salamanca, New York.

On August 18 I photographed a wedding.

On August 26 I conducted a second family photo session. This photo session was held at Betts Park in Warren, Pennsylvania. I finished editing and uploading the photographs from that photo session last night. I created a collage this morning and am sharing that collage with you in this blog post.

Michelle B.’s Family Photo Session

Such a lovely family! I enjoyed photographing each one of them.

A. Family Photo Session

On October 9th I photographed a friend’s three children in their football / cheerleader uniforms. The photo session was held at Betts Park, in our hometown of Warren PA.

Blake and Ryan weren’t too happy about having their pictures taken.
Kendall was OK with having her picture taken.
The ground, though, was wet and she had to do a split!

“Do I really HAVE to smile, Mom?”

Now, that’s the way to do it!

Looking good, Blake!

Looking good, Ryan!

Kendall’s friend, Katelyn, came to the photo session too. I took photographs of Katelyn and Kendall in their cheerleader uniforms.

Kendall and Katelyn

Flying High

This photo session was very enjoyable.

Low-Flying Geese

As Stacey, Mike and I were saying goodbye at the end of their engagement photo session, we heard a lot of honking. As we turned to our left, I held up my camera and snapped this picture. I had been using a prime 50mm lens, while taking pictures of Stacey and Mike. I didn’t have time to frame the picture, let alone change any camera settings. The camera was in aperture priority; the f-stop was 3.2; the shutter speed was 1/500; and the ISO was 200.

Geese Flying Low Along Allegheny River

This photograph of low-flying geese turned out good, considering we were quite a way from the edge of the river and the picture is heavily cropped!

Engaged!

My stepdaughter became engaged on October 30th. This past Friday afternoon, I took pictures of Stacey and Mike at a local park in our hometown.

Mike and Stacey

Stacey and Mike’s wedding is planned for late September 2011.

New Tripod and Time Spent with Friend

I recently purchased a new tripod, the Manfrotto 190XDB with Manfrotto 390RC2 Pan & Tilt Head. This is a very nice tripod and head outfit that feels rock solid. I am quite pleased with my purchase. Previously I had been using the Vivitar VPT-120 tripod, which is ideal for compact point-and-shoot cameras and camcorders. When shooting with a digital SLR, especially while using a telephoto lens, I believe that the Manfrotto tripod is a much better choice. I can relax now when using a tripod. I no longer worry that the weight of my camera will cause my tripod to fall over or that my camera will snap off the head!

I put my new tripod to good use today. My friend, Linda, and I visited two parks in our hometown of Warren, PA — Betts Parks and Crescent Park. I used the tripod to take pictures of Linda, as well as one picture of the two of us.

Betts Park, with Allegheny River in background
I like Linda’s butterfly necklace and earrings.

The Allegheny River and the multicolored buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue create a beautiful backdrop at Crescent Park.

One of Crescent Park’s attributes is the fountain in the middle of the park.

Linda and I both liked this expansive hydrangea at Crescent Park.

From Crescent Park, we went to Applebee’s Restaurant for lunch. I enjoyed the few hours that I spent with Linda. It was good to catch up on each others’ lives. We haven’t gotten together much since early Spring. We had a good day together and agree that we should get together more often, as we enjoy each others’ company very much.