Monthly Archives: September 2007

a Road Trip by the Numbers

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Catherine and Nonni driving
3 eager travelers
1 car
4 tanks of gas
1930 miles
$19.08 in highway tolls
31ish hours of driving
5 overnights
3 overnight locations
1 blushing bride
2 handfuls of crayons tasted

It has been a busy few days for Catherine, my Mom and I. We went from home to Buffalo, NY; Buffalo to Mount Vernon, Ohio; Mount Vernon to Springfield, Ohio…and then turned around and drove the same route in reverse.

My dear friend, Heather, was a beautiful bride and Jeffrey, her husband, a fine gentleman. Mom, Catherine and I had a lovely time celebrating with them.

We spent a long time on the road, but had a great time traveling. The weather was warm and sunny and we enjoyed watching the leaves change color along the highways.

One down, three to go

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So I’m back from Katybeth’s wedding in Pennsylvania. I had a very good time at the wedding and reception, and Aunt Chris and Uncle John were hospitable as always.

The wedding itself was quite different from my usual wedding experience. Though I’ve taken photos at weddings before, this was the first time I’ve been “the” photographer at a wedding (well, for everything except the formal photos). It was definitely a challenge, especially since it was a family member’s wedding and I tended to gravitate toward photos of my family members. It was also somewhat bittersweet since, although I was present throughout the whole wedding and reception, it was my job to focus on the photography. If I stopped to listen to someone speaking or watch someone walk down the aisle, I’d probably end up missing a great shot. All in all, though, I’m glad I did it. I think everyone will be happy with the results.

I’d already deleted a lot of the photos I took before I got home, but I still have quite a few to process: touch-ups, removing red-eye, cropping, etc. I’ve done 125 and there are 351 to go (most of which are from the reception). I have a lot more thoughts on the experience of wedding photography, so hopefully I’ll be able to get those up here at some point.

In the meantime, I’ve got more work ahead of me; [Becca’s wedding](http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?coupleid=7734082101622115) is this weekend, and I’ve only got a few more days to practice my cello music for their prelude and processionals! Phew! At least this time I’ll get to sit back down after that’s done and enjoy the rest of the wedding. 🙂

Wedding Mania!

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In the span of 15 days, Rebecca, Catherine and I will be attending four weddings!

This weekend, I’m heading down to Pennsylvania for my cousin Katybeth’s wedding, which is on Saturday. I’ll actually be doing some of the photography at her wedding, which should be fun as well as a learning experience. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Catherine, along with Dianne, are on a road trip out to Springfield, Ohio for her friend Heather’s wedding, which happens to be on the same day and at the same time as Katybeth’s wedding! We’ll all be reunited on Monday when the ladies get back from their road trip.

Then, the next weekend, we’ll be trekking up to Bennington, Vermont for my friend Becca’s wedding. I’ll be helping out at her wedding, too, except there I’ll be lending my musical talents as I play the cello part in some cello-piano duets for the prelude and processionals. The last time I played for a crowd was at [Jeremy and Angela](http://thebiggspicture.org/)’s wedding, so I’ve been practicing up a storm to get ready.

Finally, the weekend after that, we’ll be at Rebecca’s cousin Matthew’s wedding. No duties that I’m aware of for this wedding, just to be there and enjoy! Of course, I’m sure I’ll take a photo or two. 🙂

Anyone else got a wedding we should know about? 🙂 We’ll do our best to get photos and reports up on the blog for all of the wedding madness!

D80

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I’ve had my [Panasonic DMC-FZ20](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/) for a little over two and a half years, and after gaining more confidence and experience with photographic technique, I decided to take my equipment to the next level. I purchased a [Nikon D80](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/) digital SLR camera a few weeks ago, and I’ve been having a blast learning how to use it and taking photos with it. The FZ20 was a great camera, but the D80 is just… excellent. It’s certainly not the highest end digital SLR, but it blows away every other camera I’ve used in terms of speed, image quality, depth of field, flexibility, and customization. There’s a [great review of it at DPreview.com](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/). I was initially thinking about going with a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, but while reading the [review of the XTi’s](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/), the D80 was mentioned in a favorable light, and after reading the D80 review, and trying one out in person, I was convinced! The only things I’m losing compared to my FZ20 are optical image stabilization (which is somewhat compensated for by the ability to shoot at high ISO with very low noise) and light weight (the D80 is pretty heavy, but I’m getting used to it).

Hopefully I’ll be able to put together a little showcase of some of the photos I’ve taken with the D80, but for now, here’s a self-portrait I shot in our bathroom, handheld, room lighting only.

A photo of the old camera from the new camera, and vice versa, can be found [here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/geekiness/d80/).

rPhotography

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Peter is the dedicated photographer in our little family. That doesn’t mean that I don’t wield the camera every once and a while. And occasionally, I get a great shot or two!


catherine and a peach
During a snack break on our hike through Bradley Palmer State Park, 9/6/07


surprised dad
I love the look on Peter’s face!

A Poem from two views.

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Wingaersheek- 9/13/07

I

Almost autumn
The sand is cool, the air is crisp.
I walk along the beach alone–almost alone.
Peeking out of a backpack
a baggie! a snack!
Woman, do not chase me, I claim this snack as mine!
I try to fly, I try to run
In the end, the prize is lost.

II

Almost autumn
We frolic in the icy waves
Wet clothes and cool breezes do not mix.
Dry diaper on–wet diaper tossed in a bag.
Carry in, Carry Out!
Seagull, That is not a snack!
We chase him down, we scare him off
One dropped bag, one diaper won.

NPDITC, we barely knew ye

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It only has five posts, but I’ve decided to bring Nobody Puts Daddy In The Corner to an end. I had started out hoping to be an entertaining and insightful ‘daddy blogger,’ perhaps along the lines of Dad Gone Mad, but without the profanity. As it turns out, it takes a lot of time to think up and write good posts, and even more work to build a blog into a success. At the same time, I’ve posted very little on this blog that we already have. So I’ll soon be taking down NPDITC, and integrating its posts into this blog. Hopefully I’ll be able to devote some more time to our regular blog. Thankfully, our blog has two authors, and I’m glad that my wife has been holding down the fort for both of us.

So here’s to my short-lived daddy blog. Maybe some day when I’ve got more time and more interest, I’ll try something similar. For now, stay tuned to World Wide Wood!

John Leslie Wood, Jr.

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No sooner had Becky posted her previous entry about Human Fun Day, when we received a terrible phone call. My uncle, John Wood Jr, who had been at that party just ten days earlier, had just passed away. He was just sixty years old, and on the evening of August 28, 2007, he died suddenly in his home of a heart attack. It’s hard to believe that just ten days earlier, he had been in our own backyard with his wife, brother, sister, children, grandchildren, niece and nephews, laughing, chatting, playing bocce and enjoying a cookout, I remember how his son was taking a toronto first aid training because he wanted to be there for his dad if he ever needed him. It makes Becky and I all the more thankful that we were able to plan that get-together and get such a large group of family together, just in time, as it turned out. What’s even more amazing is that I was able to convince everyone to sit for a series of family photos during the cookout, so we have a wonderful memory of that time we spent together.

This weekend we attended memorial services for John, and while it wasn’t the happiest occasion for us all to be together again, I was glad that we had such good recent memories to think of when we got together to remember his life.

We’ll all miss John sorely, and we’ll surely remember the good times we’ve had in all of our future family get-togethers.


John, left, with my father Stan and my aunt Joan

John’s obituary can be found here.