We enjoy going to Carmello’s in Manassas for a nice “date night” dinner out. When we were there last, I took a picture of the place setting with my iPhone 4. We got a glass of champagne and the menu was there too so it seemed perfect.

The image was edited in Snapseed right on my phone to give it a whole different feel. Even though I can’t or don’t take my camera everywhere I at least always have my phone!

Enjoy the photo – and if you are ever in Manassas be sure to check out Carmello’s!

We took a long weekend trip recently to the Charlottesville, Virginia area and had a lot of fun visiting some local wineries, Carter Mountain Orchard, Monticello, and a few other places. Below are some of my favorite shots, the rest can be found on my Flickr. All images were shot with a Nikon D300s and 17-55/2.8, post-processing in Adobe Lightroom 3.

Stone Mountain Vineyards, Dyke, Virginia

Wine at Stone Mountain Vineyards

Thomas Jefferson's home - Monticello

South Pavilion and fish pond - Monticello

We went to the Prince William County Fair today and these are a few of my shots.  Mostly shots of my son, but these were some that were ‘fun’ enough to share All were done with the Nikon D300s and 17-55/2.8, post-processing by Adobe Lightroom 3.

Enjoy!

I got my Nikon 17-55mm a couple years back from someone on Craigslist.  It is a great lens, but was one of the earlier models out.  Took some time to clean the focus and zoom rings (the rubber was a bit dirty) and sent it off to APS in Illinois to have it cleaned and checked.  Fast forward to a month or so ago, and I noticed the zoom ring was starting to slide off the body of the lens.  Found a seller on eBay who sells the rings separately and ordered one.  The fix was quick and painless, and the zoom rings is now brand new. Should probably have gotten the focus ring too, but that one doesn’t get as much use (the AF on the Nikon D300s is so fast and precise I pretty much use the AF all the time).

Here are a few shots of the surgery.

The old zoom ring, slipping a bit.

With the zoom ring removed

Like new again!

Yesterday we spent some time touring the different Civil War sites here in Manassas for the 150th Anniversary of the first battle at Bull Run. Had a lot of fun though it was crazy hot (at least 100 degrees, even in the shade!).  Here are a few of my favorite shots – all of these were with the Nikon D300s and 17-55/2.8 combo.  The rest are on my Flickr site, and the tags will indicate which lens was used in those. Also, if you’d like to see more from the events, be sure to check out Jeff’s shots.

Had the chance to get out today and take some real shots, without my primary camera being the iPhone! My sister and I headed to the US National Arboretum in Northeast DC. The Arboretum has been on my list since I learned that the original columns from the US Capitol are there – such history!  There’s some real fun stuff to see there – will definitely have to take another trip back. Enjoy

The D300s is bulky compared to the iPhone 4 and I always have my iPhone with me, so more often than not it tends to be my go-to camera anymore. With a little one at home, the opportunities to get out and ‘shoot’ are slim at this point but with spring here I’m hoping to get out more. Here are some of the recent shots from my iPhone, taken with the instagram app. A few of them have some Pic Grunger applied as well.  The rest of my instagram photos are on my flickr.

I’m a big fan of Sam Adams beer and last week I picked these glasses up from Total Wine while I was there making my own 6 pack for the NFL championship weekend.  Not sure about the whole science behind the shape, and I used them for a variety of beers, but they look cool.  I have them in the freezer, ready for next weekend’s Super Bowl where my Packers will beat the Steelers.  Sorry, Kim!

Been having a blast with the Instagram app [app store] on my iPhone (the second also uses TiltShift Generator app [app store].  I’ll be adding more to my Flickr which you can view at this link.

Enjoy!

I know, exciting title, eh?

Took my sister out shooting around Manassas to try out her new camera.  We stopped at Manassas Confederate Cemetery on Church Street, then headed to the Old Town part of Manassas for some more.  Here are a few of my favorites below (the rest are on my Flickr site here). Karen’s can be found on her Flickr site.