Images from the chaos

Above are a few images from the chaos of hurricane Ike that hit our area. As you can imagine, a hurricane hitting in the Ohio Valley is a strange and rare event. The winds that blew through our region were supposed to only be about 25 - 30 miles per hour and they turned out to be 70-85 mph which is equal to a level I hurricane. Our Fair city was definitely not prepared for such an event. I would be surprised if any city on the mainland, that is landlocked , is prepared for hurricane force winds. Cincinnati and northern Ky was hit hard as well. It turns out that about 286,000 people in Louisville alone lost power. Some lost their houses when large trees fell on them. We definitely could have fared worse.

The first three images above are slow shutter shots of our trees being blown around. These trees are at least 40 - 50ft tall, so to get the kind of sway you see, requires quite a bit of force. I was also sitting down, holding onto the railing trying like hell to keep my camera steady while taking those shots. I probably should've used my tripod but I was afraid it would be blown off the deck.

The dragonfly you see, the poor thing, was holding on for dear life on the brick outside of our screened in porch. He eventually ended up plastered to the screen and I don't know where he ended up after that.

The last photo is of the generator that we were loaned so that we could at least have SOME power like Internet and TV. It was wonderful to have lights so that we could make munchkin's bottle at 6am instead of trying to do it via flashlight. Generators are VERY loud and they actually cost more to run per day than having regular electricity because of the cost of gas prices now. It was impossible to buy a generator while the power was out. There was a report that the nearest Home Depot with a Generator was in Nashville, TN, four hours away.

We did invest in a Coleman LED Camping light and that was really one of the best purchases we could've made. It was the last one left at Walmart at 6am. Walmart had lost their power as well and re-opened at 2am so we felt lucky to get it.

We finally got our electricity back last night at 8pm. I was on the way home from doing laundry and a few streets over from our Subdivision I saw about 20 utility trucks. (that is not an exaggeration, there were really that many). Some cutting down trees, some working on lines, directing traffic, etc. I called my husband to confirm that our electricity was back up, because if it was not, I was going to turn around and let the guys know! ha!

The bittersweet thing about having no electricity was that I had a lot (read "too much") of time for introspection and contemplation about what I would blog about should I ever get back on the internet for an extended amount of time.

I'd like to correct my post about the Rare Breeds. The show was actually called "The Festivale of Endangered Equines". It was organized by the Equus Survival Trust and specifically Victoria Tollman. Victoria has graciously corrected me on the labeling of some of my photos with the correct breed. I feel very badly that I got them SO WRONG! So this is a public apology to Victoria and I will update my website soon. In case you're not sure of the URL of my website, it is here: http://abounaderphoto.smugmug.com/2008%20Festivale%20of%20Endangered%20Equines

I have also realized that I have far too many pictures up on my website. I've already been paring them down. I also realize that I need some photo shop elements classes so that I can put some of the photos on more interesting and compelling backgrounds.

Actually I have years worth of things to learn about photography. I really would like to learn studio lighting, and I would really like to learn more about what settings to use in what circumstances.

I would also like to get one of the new Canon Cameras. I am still deciding between the new 5D mark II and the 50D. Both have some great features that I think I need and both are very expensive. I will need to find a new job in January because munchkin will go into daycare so I will probably have to wait till then.