Messin' with the Family

A photograph captures an instant in time that will never happen again.  From that moment forward it's history.  It's what happened ...

For years I fought the industry standard of juicing pictures such as replacing a washed out sky for a nice one, changing backgrounds, colors, adding things that aren't there, etc.

I take pictures because it was a moment in time I experienced ... not a made up thing.  I finally caved in and started playing with Photoshop and may take out power lines or enhance a washed out picture BUT I keep it simple.  

I do like joking around with my family and poking fun at them.  This is a casualty of me being their dad.  I may see an event or look for a photo to mess with my family.

From Cigar Guy to sports, I may change something or add a head or two where they may not have been.  It’s all to poke fun.  I like a good sense of humor.  I can poke fun at myself like I do in some of my blog posts, and poke fun at family and friends like I may do in my blog posts. 

I am not a Photoshop expert and on my best day can't compete with the likes of an expert. 

I didn't have a blog post to place said pictures ... BUT NOW I DO ...

Two Christmas Tree Hunt and Kill Family pics ... New England Patriots ... Hunting ... Olympics ... Cigar Guy ... Chara - Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins ... Gronkowski ... Starting my own family "Duck Dynasty" show ...

Some of my former profile shots ...

I change my profile pictures occasionally to mix it up.

New England Patriots Players

We met some New England Patriots players last weekend. 

This is Kate with Danny Woodhead (currently a running back on the NE Patriots).  He is a fan favorite rushing for 5.6 yards/carry in 2010. 

I looked up his pre draft 2008 stats, he ran the 40-yard dash in times of 4.33 to 4.38 seconds which would have been the second-fastest among all running backs at the NFL Combine in March 2008. He posted the best pro-agility time of 4.03 seconds, the second-best vertical jump 38½ inches and the best 60-yard shuttle time 11.2 seconds. 

I am confident I could post similar times in the woods of New Hampshire if I was running down hill, had a tail wind, and a bear was chasing me. 

David Thomas (former NE Patriots, currently New Orleans Saints) is a tight end.  He earned a super bowl ring with the Saints in 2009.  I took a picture of David in the Patriots/Dolphins game in my September 08 blog post. 

Don Davis was a linebacker and Special Teams monster.  He earned 2 super bowl rings with the New England Patriots.

I saw Ben Watson but Kate and Kevin weren’t around so I didn't take a picture.  He earned a super bowl ring with the New England Patriots.  And … Yes I remember Ben's HUGE hit on Champ Bailey in the Denver game.  It was the best ... Always Give 110% ... Never Give Up ...

Patriots Place

The kids had school vacation this week so we headed south to Patriots Place on Tuesday.  Snow was in the forcast and MA had school vacation the week before so it wasn't very crowded.

First we stopped at Bass Pro.  The kids split up and had a good time looking at the fish and turtles.  My migration ended in the hunting section.

They were replacing the field turf at Gillette Stadium.  There isn't much time because the New England Revolution (soccer) play their first home game here in April.  We watched for a few minutes then went inside Patriots Hall. 

There are lots of exibits and displays of New England Patriots history, Patriots Hall of Fame players, winning footballs, trophys, rings, etc.  Hannah, Grogan, Coates, Tippett, Nelson, Haynes, Cappolletti, etc ... I know I missed some ...  

There was a field goal kicking machine.  Katelyn and Kevin tried to kick a field goal.  Kevin made his attempt.  For his success he got to wear a Patriots Super Bowl Ring. 

They had lifesize players in a huddle. Most were pretty tall.  There is  a locker room area with player equipment you can try on.  Tom Brady's equipment is probably the most popular.  We watched a great movie of Patriots history which included franchise game winning plays, victories, championships, etc. 

After the Hall, more shopping at Patriots Place.  We made it home that afternoon just before the snow.

New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins' 09/21/08

My friend Doug has season tickets for the Patriots. I went to the Miami game on September 21, 2008. Here are some pictures.

Joey Porter ready to rush Matt Cassel
for one of his 3 sacks of the game.


Teddy Bruschi hurts his knee on a play.

Stephen Gostkowski kicked a field goal to give us 3 points.

David Thomas and his wife are a great Christian role models for teens and college kids. I took one of my daughters to a True Love Waits seminar and heard them speak.

Ellis Hobbs returning kickoff. Offense waiting to go onto the field.

New England Patriots vs Philadelphia Eagles 08/22/08

I went to a Pats pre-season game on August 22, 2008 with Megan. We went to the Bass Pro shop across the parking lot before the game. We had a great time at the game. It was the first time I tried out my new camera. The zoom worked out great. I had should have practiced before hand so I knew how to override the shutter speed as it was a night game. Towards the end of the gave I got the hang of it a bit more. Here are a couple of pics from the game.

Teddy Bruschi and Matt Cassel before the game.

Mike Vrabel warming up.

Bill Belichick looking at pictures of the Eagles offense.

Mike Vrabel lining up Brian Westbrook for the tackle. I was experimenting with the shutter speed.

Ellis Hobbs being tackled on a run back. Another experiment panning at 1/20 second.