Tag Archives: SD

blended photography, graduation from high school, Grant-Deuel High School, Reflection of life, SD, Uncategorized

Reflections

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Blended image by Joyce Meyer

Excitement punctuates the air this time of year as optimistic young adults go  separate ways to pursue their ambitions in life. One thing this particular group will always have in common is the ability to reflect upon their past together as students and members of this small rural community in northeastern South Dakota. Each has experienced their own kind of history which will affect how they react to the world ahead of them. Good, bad or indifferent… to each their own. Always know that your time spent together has been time well spent.

Best wishes to the Grant-Deuel class of 2015 and may your lives be blessed.

 

 

Brookings Marathon, joyce meyer photography, marathon, photography, relay marathon, rjmeyerarts, running, sports, sports photography, Uncategorized

Meyerathon 2015…we thought they said “rum!”

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_MG_8283dmvwebOur family get-togethers tend to NOT involve sitting around and visiting.  Let’s run a marathon!

Meyer2015-8288plReady and waiting for Randy to complete the first four miles as runners sprint by…

Meyer2015-8290plweb…and waiting. We notice the crowd has diminished.

Meyer2015-8297crwebHooray!!  He made it with his knees intact.

Meyer2015-8299dmvwebBryon takes off and appears eager to attack his five miles.

Meyer2015-8302plwebWhat a perfect day for a run in Brookings, SD.

Meyer2015-8311plwebThis hand slap appears to be choreographed as Julia begins her three mile section.

Meyer2015-8317plweb…hand slap and Angela begins her five mile challenge as the temps are climbing.

Meyer2015-8322plwebI. Am. Ready!!!!

Meyer2015-8323plwebI hear the theme from Rocky playing through my mind… Go, Joyce!

Meyer2015-8328plwebI complete my three mile challenge and the temps continue to rise.  I did it!!!

Meyer2015-8332plweb Liz is ready to rock on with the last six miles as the temps hit 80’s. Go, Liz!!

Meyer2015-8341dmvwebAs we wait for Liz, the seniors with their daycare walking/training buddies walk the last bit of the path to the finish line.

Meyer2015-8364dmvwebWhat a super idea to pair young kids with elderly seniors to include them in the training and this event.  Family members walk with parents/grandparents and the smiles are priceless.

Meyer2015-8371dmvwebHere she comes!  Here she comes!!

Meyer2015-8374dmvwebThe anchor of our relay team has made good time and we complete well before noon which was our goal. We all join in to run across the finish line together. I was hoping they’d play “We are the Champions” by Queen for us, but I just play it through my mind.

Meyer2015-8376fp20kp20pl20webKudos to the Brookings community for a well run event.  Brookings, SD has been hosting the marathon since 1970 and I notice finishers from all over the country. What a fun morning and we’ll be back…

unnamedNow to celebrate our 48th out of 52 team finish and rehydrate…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

digital photography, GoPro camera, GoPro Hero 2, HDR photography, joyce meyer photography, rjmeyerarts, turtle races

GoPro, HDR and the Easter shark… why not?

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A frugal nature has come to fruition with the annual appearance of “The Easter Shark.” No bunny costume?  No problem. Just dig out an old Halloween costume purchased for $1 on clearance at least 15 years ago and you are set. Apparently, we don’t believe in sheltering our grandchildren from the scary elements of the world, either. Things usually are not as scary as they seem… lesson learned.

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Perfect time to try out a Hero 2 GoPro camera purchased used on Ebay. My first idea was to attach it to our one-year-old grandson’s head as he crawls towards his prize eggs, but we did not come up with a good method of attachment. Duct tape was one suggestion, but I don’t think removal would be pleasant. Plan B involved the hubby holding it on the stick attachment and using various angles.

2015Easter-8hdrcrwebAlways plenty of “selfies” with the GoPro as you access the menu and settings with the lens facing you. Oops!

2015Easter-6rHDRwebWith no playback or viewfinder, you never know what you have until you download the images.

2015EasterHDRcrwebI had a little too much fun with the HDR process on Photoshop CC 2014. It’s always fun to play and experiment.

2015Easter-9HDRcrwebTook the GoPro inside to see what it would do. Some were blurred and this one is a little soft. I think I’ll reserve this little toy exclusively for outdoor images.

Upon viewing these results my husbands assessment of the experience with the GoPro Hero 2 was… “Well, it takes pictures.” Yep, it does.

Goal for 2015 includes duct taping this GoPro Hero 2 camera to a turtle participating in the Gary, SD July 3rd turtle races.

Hmmm… who’s going to let me use their turtle?

Stay tuned…

basketball, Grant-Deuel School, Grant-Deuel Wildcats, school, SD, small town, South Dakota, sports, sports action photography, Uncategorized, youth sports

The Last Wildcat “Swish”

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It was a warm, summer day as my mother accompanied me on a trip to a little South Dakota town just across the border from Minnesota.  A job interview was scheduled for a teaching position and the day resulted in a job with a new life living in a small, farming community.

Yeah, I can see myself doing this a couple of years…  which stretched out to 26 years plus additional substitute teaching years.

It was an emotional ending for the last Grant-Deuel High School sporting event held in the Revillo, South Dakota gymnasium. I listen for that memorable roar of Go, Big, Blue!,  smell the fragrant concession stand popcorn and gaze at the sea of blue and white filling the stands… now merely memories of days gone by.

https://animoto.com/play/ABcOOnGDRvH0ITNaMwkOEA

Blessed be the memory…

 

 

 

 

 

art, Christianity, creativity, metal art, South Dakota, Uncategorized, wall art

Buen Camino via Kaiser Kreations

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Shout out to the wonderful custom artistry of Leon Kaiser of Kaiser Kreations hidden away near the historic Gateway to the West – Gary, South Dakota.  Thank you, Kaiser Kreations!  You are a gifted artist and we appreciate your talents.

kaiser-6408dmvcrThis piece of metal art is 12″ X 12″ of 1/8 inch metal and will hang on our wall along with our enlarged photos from this adventure.The lines make up the scallop shell which is the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, a backpacking pilgrimage across northern Spain dating back to the Middle Ages.  I asked Leon to also include three crosses  to symbolize our Christian faith. The words at the bottom are the common greeting among hikers along the Camino de Santiago and means good path or good journey.

This 500 mile walking pilgrimage  allows for unique life experiences while exploring history and culture and has become a personal favorite experience for us.

Take a peek at their designs at Kaiser Kreations on Facebook. (Click on link)

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.  ~ I Peter 4:10

 

art, photography, senior portraits, senior portraits at the lake, Uncategorized, Vietnam

A lifetime ahead of you…

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I start uploading this image and gaze upon the flyer notifying me of my 40th year high school class reunion.  Where did the years go?

  • I was in pretty good physical shape in high school, but now parts of me jiggle when I walk.
  • In high school, when I appeared to have confidence I was probably faking it.  Now I just admit it when I’m lacking.
  • While I’m not attending a formal “school,” I still enjoy learning and growing in experiences and knowledge.  It’s just that now when I learn something new, it takes longer and something old has to go.
  • As a senior in high school, I thought it would be an eternity until I would be old, like 30-year-old people.  And now here I sit at 58 and it doesn’t feel old at all. (Today, anyway)
  • Now I realize my parent were much smarter and “in tune” with the world than I ever gave them credit for at age 17.
  • In high school I was afraid of the end of the world, which I attribute to growing up with the Cold War and Vietnam Conflict featured every night on the one channel that came in clearly.  American body count and Viet Cong body count were the leading statistics. Guess the last domino didn’t fall, after all, since we are still a democratic society.
  • But, I really would like to visit Vietnam now…

The last year of high school… a-h-h-h-h…

RJMeyerArts
Photo by Joyce Meyer

…and a lifetime ahead of you.

 

 

 

 

Buffalo Rose Band, photography, reunion, SD, Uncategorized

The bonding of music…a reunion on so many levels.

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The band rehearsed all together for the first time in 30 years. Can they pull this off?

The crowd begins to trickle in early to get a seat or requested reserved seating like they did back in the day. Many walk in, stop, gaze across the old Legion dance floor, smile and say, “Wow, it looks the same.” I begin to see other types of reunions unfolding before my eyes as the hugs, handshakes and slaps on the backs commence. Back together again.

The Buffalo Rose Band takes the stage, the crowd cheers, and the music starts to more cheers and applause. Ahhhh…they sound wonderful… just like in our youth. Yes, everything is clicking into place and the night is playing out to be an event to remember.

The Legion dance floor is packed with dancers and smiles radiating throughout the darkened room. For one night we are young again.

A gentleman comes up to me and says, “You know, Buffalo Rose played for my wedding dance 34 years ago. This is a great thing here tonight.”  I could tell by the sentiment in his voice that he is just as in love with his bride after 34 years as he was the day they married. And the music was a memorable part of that day.

Music is an interesting phenomenon. We connect with it emotionally to such a deep level that it seems to touch our soul. It can tug at the heart, whether happy or sad, bringing us up or helping us work through the down periods of our lives.

Close your eyes and listen to the music. Yes, music is just what the doctor ordered to get us through life.
BuffaloRoseCollage
Click on image for a larger view.

Local bars, Meyer's Rec, photography, SD, small town, travel, Uncategorized

Meyer’s Rec in South Shore, SD

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In May we did some photography in the small, NE South Dakota town of South Shore and stumbled upon Meyer’s Rec…a small town bar on a typical Friday night.  Looks like my kind of “down to earth” establishment and we were fortunate to find some friendly models to brighten up the exterior.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to investigate the interior or get to know our new friends.

I am intrigued by “off the  beaten path” types of places  with their interesting  characters and have often wondered if this could lead to a photographic project with written commentary and/or poetry.  Hmmm…?

I think my crystal ball shows a motorcycle ride to Meyer’s Rec to check out the inside.  The name is kind of catchy, too, don’t you think?

Fun on a Friday Night!
Fun on a Friday Night!

(Click on image for a larger view)