One of the most of many wonderful things about Flickr is when you come across a photo that simply stops the world for a few seconds while you look in amazement at the beauty people can create with their cameras.

I don’t know anyone connected with this photo, but it is one of the most beautiful photos I have ever seen. The photo, the color, the title. Wow. Just wow.

Claire Goes Swimming

More of Ed Fladung’s photos here.

Technorati Tags:
digital photography

I received my first of many Flickr posters in the mail today. The quality of both the images and the paper is excellent. Each of the pitcures is crystal clear and the poster paper is thick and glossy.

One small caveat: some of the photos have to be cropped in order to be inserted in the poster. The ordering page informs you of this and allows you to preview the poster to make sure the photos meet your approval. I didn’t preview mine so a few of my photos (4-5 out of 135) have heads cropped off. Even so, the poster looks very cool, and I highly recommend this service.

I expect to order 4-5 posters a year and at least one photo book a year.

Technorati Tags:
flickr, qoop, digital photography

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The origins of the American Labor Day can be traced back to the Knights of Labor in the United States and a parade organized by that group and held on September 5, 1882 in New York City.

The US Department of Labor’s web site has this to say about Labor Day:

“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Today, Labor Day is generally regarded as a day for picnics, barbecues, water activities and other family activities.

The Veldmans, LeFevers, Clarks and Carlsons came over today for a cookout. The kids swam and played in the new yard. We had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. It was big fun and we are blessed to have such a good group of friends.

Flickr and its publishing partner, QOOP have unveiled Flickr’s new book printing service. This wonderful and affordable service allows you to order glossy, laminated photo books and posters made up of your favorite photos from your Flickr account. I’ve already ordered a poster of my Summer 2005 photos and plan to order at least one book a year, and probably more.

The prices are $9.99 for a 13.5 by 19 inch poster (with many pictures in rows- it looks very cool) and books start at $9.99.

The possibilities of this service are endless. Not only can you order professional looking books and posters of your own photos, but just imagine the fund raising possibilities for schools, etc. If my kids’ teachers took one picture of classroom activites every day during the school year, I’d pay 3 or 4 (or 10) times what it would cost the school to have these books printed. Other parents would too. Think about all of the old family photos we all have stuffed into boxes somewhere. A nice book of the best ones would make a super holiday gift.

My friends all say that Flickr is great, but complain that you can’t order prints from your Flickr account (you can’t order covered wagons from a Toyota dealer either). Now you can order an entire book of photos, which is much better, not to mention easier, than ordering and organizing a bunch of prints. Luddites fear not, however, because Flickr representatives have stated on the record that they are looking into print ordering as a future option.

Google changed the internet search world for the better. Now Flickr is changing the photography world for the better. I can’t wait for my poster to get here!

Technorati Tags:
flickr, digital photography

Aunt Anne (my sister) came to visit us this weekend. We had a fun time, as we always do. The girls have a blast hanging out with their “Aunt Ants.” We went to Joe’s Crab Shack with the Friday night dinner crew on Friday, saw a great movie on Saturday, shopped unsuccessfully for patio furniture and went to Tokyohana for dinner tonight. We played Contract Rum last night, and Anne won again. We quit playing Trivial Pursuit with her because she always won that too. Now she always wins at cards. We’re going to think of a new game before her next visit.

Anne lives in Tennessee. We love to spend time with her and wish that she could come see us more often. She is a social worker and raises thoroughbred horses. Best of all, she is a great sister, sister-in-law and aunt.

At long last our landcaping project is finished. We bought the house next door in May. It took us weeks and weeks to get a demolition permit from the City of Bellaire. Then we demolished the house, brought in some fill to level the ground and hired a landscaper to build two play areas, a deck, a fence, a sprinkler system, lights, flower beds and grass. The job was finished earlier this week. We are looking forward to enjoying the new yard, and it is a treat to look out of the kitchen window and see grass and plantings instead of a fence and the top of an old house.

Pictures of the work in progress and the final result on my Flickr Page.

Technorati Tags:
landscaping

Gigi and Jumpy at
Star City in Moscow with
Astronaut Doug Wheelock

Cassidy and Delaney’s grandparents, Gigi and Papa, are world travelers. They recently went to London and Moscow. Jumpy, one of Cassidy’s bunnies, went along with them and had a great time. Jumpy got to see some neat places and even got to visit Star City and hang out with Doug Wheelock, one of America’s top astronauts! You can see some more photos of Jumpy’s trip here.

Jumpy is the newest in a long line of Cassidy’s “Traveling Bunnies.” Here’s a picture of the original Traveling Bunny on the cover of Money Magazine.