Horned Owl at the Howell Nature Center

Horned Owl, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

This past weekend, I went to Howell Michigan and did a Nature Photography Workshop at the Howell Nature Center.

http://www.howellnaturecenter.org/animals/wildlifephotos.htm

The Howell Nature Center is a wonderful place to get close to birds of prey, especially during the Photography Workshop. The Horned Owl has been at the center since the '90s and is well experienced as a model. During the workshop, there are various stations with Hawks, Screech Owls, a Barred Owl, this Horned Owl, a Turkey Vulture, an Opossum and a Groundhog. The staff is very attentive to the photographers and they will attempt to adjust the birds for the best shot.

They do 3 shots a year and on this occasion, the temperature was perfect but the sun was pretty harsh. I didn't bring a flash as I wasn't sure if it would be allowed, and that was a mistake. A lot of people had big lenses with Better Beamers to give some fill light to the birds. A 70-300mm lens is about the shortest lens you would use here. I was using my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR with a 1.7x Teleconvertor to get extra reach.

I also learned a few things about the birds. It's false that a mother bird will ignore an egg or baby if someone puts them back into a nest. This owl and a vulture were examples were people rescued the babies but tried to raise them by hand. As a result, the birds "imprinted" and were unable to be re-released to the wild.

I finally have power!

Well, after over a week without power, I finally got it late last night.

I've got a ton of pictures to upload from the Cincinnati Celtic Festival and from a wedding I shot on Saturday.

I will have a review of the Cincinnati Celtic Festival and an entry from the wedding later this week after I get everything uploaded to my site.

Kristen's Sweet 16th Birthday

On Saturday, August 9, I photographed Kristen's 16th Birthday Party. Nicole, Kristen's mother, went all out and had a large banquet room reserved and a live DJ with an excellent lunch provided to the guests.

As you can tell from this picture, Kristen is a beautiful girl and one of my favorite models.

One of the most moving moments of the party occurred when Kristen received a quilt made from her father's shirt. Her father is no longer with us and it was an emotional moment for Kristen and her family.

The party started at 12;30 and went until 4:30 in the afternoon. The buffet style lunch was excellent and there were small candy gifts for the little kids at the tables and by the cake.

After lunch and gifts, there was a lot of dancing until everyone was exhausted!

This shot was near the end of the party with everyone looking on as Tabitha teaches Kristen how to kick.

Dayton Celtic Festival 2008

Saturday was a busy day with the Dayton Celtic Festival in full swing.

Friday night, my wife and I hit the festival and enjoyed the music. We met up with Larry Fortson and 9 Castle Close before their 10pm set and made plans for me to photograph them during their set on Saturday. I also got to meet the Kreellers and agreed to swing out at 11:30 for their early set.

We ended the night listening to Gaelic Storm and headed home for the night.

Saturday morning, I was looking for a parking space, thanks to the Dayton Dragons game, but got to the stage before The Kreellers performed their set. First of all, these guys were great. I loved the set and had to get one of their CDs and I've been listening to it on my iTouch whenever I get the chance.


After their set, we headed over to a cool spot I noticed on my walk in and did a few promo shots. This is one of my favorites. The guys were a blast to work with and we got some great shots against this old building.

Hey, how often can you get a guy in a kilt leaping off a ledge for a shot?

I ended up having several Guinness with these guys as we listened to several other bands play.

I took the opportunity to shoot Homeland and Gaelic Storm before heading over to the over tent to catch 9 Castle Close.

Homeland put on a great show as well. I love watching these guys play. I had some great shots of Ric from St. Patty's Day at the Dublin Pub and it was fun to give the guys some photos from that show. The first shot in this post is from the stage when they were playing.

After Homeland, I took some shots of Gaelic Storm. It's crazy when these guys are playing. You can't get in front of the stage for good shots and I didn't want to block anyone's view. I settled for shots from the side or the back of the stage.

I didn't get a chance to see Dulahan play as it was time for 9 Castle Close and I headed over to the other stage after grabbing a bite to eat.


The guys put on a nice set even though it had gotten hot and humid! I was sun burned and tired so I know the guys were hot up on stage. It was a blast to see the guys play and I got quite a few shots before they ended their set. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do a band shot as they had to head out for the Dublin Pub for the after hours party.

Military Funeral

Military Funeral, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

I received a call Tuesday evening from a family friend asking me if I could photograph a military funeral. The family had learned that John, as a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, was eligible for a military color guard and 21 gun salute and they wanted to capture the moments as there were family individuals that could not make it.

I remember when my father passed, a retired Chief as well, and we had the military funeral. It was a powerful memory that I wish I had captured as well.

I posted this image just as a reminder for the men and women serving over seas and for the retired military that served when needed.

Bee at Cox Arboretum

Bee Macro, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

I finally made it out to Cox Arboretum to check out the Butterfly House on Monday. Unfortunately, there weren't many butterflies flying around but I did get to chase a few bees around before it started to rain.

I liked the light bouncing off this little guys wings.

Far Hills Community Church Vacation Bible School

Last week, I spent my evenings at Far Hills Community Church volunteering for the second year as the Vacation Bible School Photographer. This year, the theme was Armor of God and the format was switched to evenings to allow more parents to participate.


There were about 140 kids and the weather was perfect. Everyone had a fantastic time going from craft sessions, recreation (recess) activities and group activities with theatre and music. It was a blast watching the kids jump up, dance and sing to the music as they learned about the Armor of God as John Truthfinder threw down his Belt of Lies, Sword of Hatred and armor of Sin.

Classes were split between Preschoolers, Kindergarten to 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade to 5th Grade.

To close up the week, the parents came in to the Worship Center and the students received their last lesson, received their "Knighting" in service to God and celebrated with music and singing, closing with Stephen Fee's Broadcast.

During the week, the kids had a competition, boys versus girls, to see who could raise enough money for an orphanage in India that was visited earlier this year by a Far Hills Missionary team. It was inspirational to see the kids raising money for children they had never met to help them with food and shelter. In the end, the boys were announced the winners but it was a win for everyone!

Claudia Spradlin and the team of volunteers did a fantastic job and it was a blessing to be able to participate and see the joy and happiness of the children each day!