Pumpkin Picking

October 2009 - Chesterfield, MO. Jake's second field trip was a pumpkin picking trip to Rombach's Pumpkin Patch in Chesterfield. Jake enjoyed it, but it was cold. Either way all the kids seem to have a good time and I got to enjoy a field trip with my son.

Diving, Driving and Drinking the Keys 2009

October 12, 2009 - Florida Keys, FL. Well the title says it all. A friend, Eric, and I left the crazy schedule of work for a few days to dive and drive the Keys (with some occasional drinking along the way).

The trip consisted of four main stops. The first night and day of diving was spent in Key Largo. We did four daytime dives with Horizon Divers. The four dives were pretty good an pretty much memorialized by Eric being groped by this grouper.

After all the diving I've done in Key Largo, I finally got to dive the Dry Docks and see the Christ of the Abyss. I personally was not disappointed - especially from a photographic perspective.

After the four dives on the Checca View, we packed the rental car and headed down US-1 to Marathon.

Rather than check into the hotel and get cleaned up, we did what two guys do after a day of diving. Found food and drinks. We did dinner at the Keys Fisheries, perhaps one of the best seafood restaurants to be found. Spent the night at the surpisingly nice Sea Dell Motel and finished a bottle of Red Stagg. At the recommendation of the night manager at Sea Dell, we had a much needed breakfast at the Stuffed Pig before heading to Tilden's Scuba Shop in Marathon for the day of diving.


Having dove with the Tilden's at Duck Key, I was expecting a pleasant day of diving. I was surpised by the small overcrowded boat and the less than stellar boat crew. But as they say a bad day diving is better than a good day at work. It wasn't a bad day, but it wasn't great. Still better than a day at work. The boat, however, was too small for the camera so no cameras. When we got off the afternoon boat, we packed the rental car and continued down US-1 to Ramrod Key.


The next day of diving was scheduled for Looe Key with Looe Key Resort. Looe Key was good diving and the resort and dive shop were great. I can't say enough, so I will simply say that I highly recommend them.


We finished the trip with a night in Key West. That's all I need to say about that :)

-T

Coco Key

Well I really thought simplifying life would lead to more posts.  I was wrong.  

I've got pictures from Coco Key but need to figure out which ones I want to post.  The water park was nearly perfect for little kids - my son and his friends loved it.  The slides and pools were not too big or too small.  The park itself would probably be too small for anyone over 6 or so.

While the park was good, the hotel (a Sheraton) was surprisingly poor.  To say that they survived on the convenience of the water park and the nearby sports complex (Arrowhead and Royal Stadium) is an understatement.  Elevators only arrived it you pushed the up button and the hotel restaurant was staffed by people who didn't want to work - hence the fact that they never bussed tables.

Regardless of what went wrong we had a very good time and I would highly recommend the water park if you have kids between 2 and 6 years old.   I would just pay the premium and stay at the Drury Inn across the street.

-T

A little update...

Its been a while since I posted anything. As any followers can see, the blog itself has changed. Its no longer Terry Cordes Photography. There's a good reason for that. There's no longer a Terry Cordes Photography. I've decided that 2009 is a year of simplification and a third job shooting pictures for people (most of which were really nice, but enough were incredibly challenging) didn't fit into that plan. So away with that.

Hopefully that means that this blog will actually be more active. Entries will be shorter with more interesting content about more (probably random) content.

My next post will be about the Coco Key Resort in Kansas City. We've just returned from a weekend with some friends and I have a few interesting things to say about it.

Later,

T

Interesting assignment

October 21, 2008 - St. Peters, MO. In stride with the season, the Turtle class from Kids R Kids went pumpkin picking and I went with them. Not much too report, just a few hours at Lakeview Farms picking some pumpkins.


You can find the entire album here.


October 20, 2008 - Troy, MO. Finished the Troy Tigers assignment with their team photo. Had all the girls present and accounted for.

Busy Couple of Days

October 15, 2008 - Ladue, MO. I capped the last run of assignments off with a PADI Digital Underwater Photography (Level 1) class. The class was taught through Y-Kiki Divers, like all SCUBA classes that I teach. It was a nice personal course, as there was only one student. Having only one student also allowed use to complete course requirements quickly. This in turn allowed us to play in the water with the camera's for a while.

You can see the entire album here.


October 12, 2008 - St. Peters, MO. Returned Sunday to shoot a Kindergarten Soccer game for All Saints Catholic Church in St. Peters, MO. This game was not nearly as close as the girl's game on Saturday. Alright it was a downright blow out. But at least it was All Saints that blew out the other team. Provide for plenty of action.

You can see the entire album on my PhotoStockPlus site here. As with all my kids' albums its password protected. Contact me if you want the password.


October 11, 2008 - St. Peters, MO. Had some fun Saturday shooting a Pre-K Girls Soccer game at All Saints Catholic Church in St. Peters, MO. It was one of the most evenly matched girls games I've seen in quite a while. All Saints won, but not by much. And I got a goal shot. Always a delight when that happens.


You can find the entire album on my PhotoStockPlus site here. As with all my kids' albums its password protected. Contact me if you want the password.


October 9, 2008 - O'Fallon, MO. So I did some birth announcement portraits for some friends today. They say you're art won't shine until you've found your own style. You can model it after others, but it must be your own.

I remember reading about a portrait photographer who would talk with her subjects for hours. Take one picture and be done with the session. I think I've begun to find my own style. Nothing too unusual. I don't like to direct subjects. I talk to them. Play with them and when I see something I really like... step back and take the picture. You really begin to capture the essense of the subjects not just their likeness. Best part is you don't need to tell them what to do :)


I personally liked this one because my subject was just being herself... nothing posed, just her.

Later,
-T

Store front updates and new products

October 8, 2008 - O'Fallon, MO. I believe I've now spent almost two weeks attempting to sort out fulfillment and online storefront issues. A very special thanks to all my customers who were patient and tolerated the changes and inconvenience.

I am now back to PhotoStockPlus.com as my online store front service provider. A number of changes have been made, however and I'd like to take a moment and describe them.

First, the product listing has been greatly reduced. My primary product is, as always, the digital image. Digital images are now available as downloads or on CD/DVD. The downloads will always be cheaper since there is less overhead (isn't digital great?). Digital images are delivered as full size JPG files and include the appropriate copyright release so that you can make as many prints as you want, where ever you want. You are also welcome to share those images (electronically) with immediate family members. I really encourage everyone to take advantage of this, it is without doubt the best value.

Color prints are available, but with less selection than before. Standard print sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, etc) are available but nonstandard sizes (ie. 16x40) have been removed. Also print fulfillment is now being done by a local professional lab. They no longer need to be shipped (no shipping charges - yay!). Prints can be picked up or dropped off.

I hope to have B&W prints available soon, however, I need to evaluate local labs for B&W print quality before I make them available again. In the mean time, if you have a desire for a B&W print, the best option is to purchase the Digital Image as a download and take it to your favorite lab.

Again, many thanks for your patient it has been greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Terry