First attempt at using the DJI Mini 2 drone midmorning with diffused lighting. I think we’ll have to resort to auto settings until some ND filters can be purchased. It’s a little nerve wracking since we don’t want to lose or crash the drone! Tips, anyone?
Tag Archives: Joyce Meyer
Gate City to the West
People in small towns, much more than in cities, share a destiny. ~Richard Russo

Gary, SD is a small community (population 224) nicknamed “Gate City to the West” located along the SD/MN border.

Kudos to graphic designer, Diane Swenson, Canby Print Shop, Canby, MN, for her stellar design work on the 2019 Gary Rodeo poster (which features my image as the background). Canby, MN is a small, southwestern Minnesota town of just 1700 people located 14 miles east of Gary, South Dakota. Our communities may be lacking in size, but we know how to get things done.

You’ll find the Gary Rodeo grounds located on the northwest edge of Gary, SD, in a natural setting with the quaint prairie community of Gary, SD, as its backdrop.
Maybe it’s time for you to take a little trip and experience the life in Gary, South Dakota!

“Tis the Season
Guess what I’ve been doing lately? Yep, designing grad cards. Graduation will be here before we know it!

Two images blended using Photoshop CC and topped off with Topaz Studio “Dreamy Day” action.
Miracles
Don’t believe in miracles? Try planting a garden and see what happens.

Gateway to the West
It takes a little bit of crazy to ride those bulls!

Image captured during the 2017 Gary Rodeo located on the west edge of Gary, South Dakota.
Photomerge…
Can’t back up enough to catch the entire image? Photomerge is your friend.
Line up the left side – click – hold level and move right with at least 25 per cent overlap – click.
In Photoshop CC 2017: file – automate – photomerge – browse and select your images – check blend images together – I also checked perspective and content aware fill transparent areas – click O.K.
This gave me the background images. I then used select – select and mask to bring in the foreground subject.
Finished it off with Topaz edits and some lightning using Photoshop brushes I found free (Brusheezy!?).
BOOM!! GO LANCERS!
Casita Bonita Adventure ~ North Shore of Lake Superior
Short video of our hiking adventures along the north shore of Lake Superior.
Yep…Randy experienced yoga along the beautiful shores of Lake Superior, kind of sort of.
Sunset on Lake Cochrane
Available light photography is a perfect way to capture many portraits, but sunset is not a time to utilize this option. Without flash you either have a silhouette or muddy skin tones along with a blown out sky. Solution? Add a flash to bring out the details. On this portrait I used a Canon speed light 580ex2 flash off camera, a cybersyc flash trigger along with a Canon 580 ex2 with a Gary Fong diffuser on camera for a little fill.
ISO 100/ F8 aperture at 1/250th shutter to maintain detail and color in the sky.
Once a Wildcat…

Nostalgia was the theme of the day for me on August 15, 2017. For 26 years I drove this route from early August until the end of May as I prepared and taught a new group of students each year at Grant-Deuel School located in Revillo, South Dakota.
Cheer, cheer for GDHS!
Wake up the echoes cheering their best,
Send the loyal cheers on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky,
What though the odds be great or small,
The blue and white will win over all,
While our loyal sons are marching forward to victory, Fight!
Blessed be the memory…


