~ Please Note ~

Unless otherwise noted, all photographic images in this blog are the sole property of Kim L Branson and therefore may not be copied or used in any way without expressed permission by the owner. Thank you.

Welcome to CLIQUE!

I can trace my love of photography back three generations, to the early 1900s and my paternal great-grandfather, Henry Mattson. I have a really cool photo that he took of the old family homestead in Minnesota, sometime before 1910. According to family history, Grampa Mattson frequently took photos of his world - the people and places that he loved.

It warms my heart to know that this love of photography didn't skip any generations as it passed down to me! I am blessed to have such a legacy and I hope to pass it on to my own children and grandchildren some day.

I experience a physical and spiritual thrill whenever the Lord shows Himself in His marvelous creation around us and in the people I meet. My dream vacation would be to spend a year or two just traveling around the US, stopping at little out of the way places and photographing the interesting characters and the beauty of nature to be found along the way - those things that draw me closer to GOD and help point others to Him, too.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

"Psalm 8:3, 4" and "Happy Girl!"

Captured this shot of the moon and the planet Venus last night (Nov 26). I had my camera on the tripod and took a couple dozen shots using each mode and a few scene positions. Was soooo pleased to see that one turned out this well! I love this shot. I love this camera :D!



I took this cute shot of Cully, while we were visiting at DD Jen's home today (Nov 27). She is such a little character :)!

TFL - kimB

Monday, November 26, 2007

Sunday Photos

The Lord prompted me to take this photo (below) during the worship service...

This is Keyanna, daughter of our youth pastors, Zach and Saige. I spotted her swirling in worship to the Lord and my heart melted. The Holy Spirit told me to grab my camera and I did! This isn't the best quality photo, but it's lovely to me, because the Lord is in it. I sent a copy to her parents and her mother called me this morning, requesting a copy on CD so she can get it printed for their home. I took the shot in color, changed it to B&W, then added "cool color 1" filter. GOD gave me the text, too - fonts are DiMurphic ("ME" and Scripture reference) and Tempus Sans (actual verse).

This photo (above) was taken on Frontage Road, as I was driving to the grocery store around 3:00 pm. Eagles gather on this tree each winter and I've seen as many as six birds here at one time! My kids think it's "lame" that I get so excited, as they are quite common here in Eagle River, but my heart and spirit thrill each time I see one! I cropped and enlarged the photo and used the oil paint filter to add interest.

TFL - kimB

Saturday, November 24, 2007

P*S*B - Nov 23 - 29 ~ Macro Photos

Here are a few macros I've taken in the past day or two:

Bits of Mountain Ash in the Melting Snow
10:22 am; F3.7; ISO 100; macro mode; 1/130 sec

Leaves Under Ice

10:31 am; F3.6; macro mode; ISO 800; 1/109 sec

Mossy Fibers on the Stone Firepit

10:42 am; F3.1; macro mode; ISO 400; 1/50 sec

Size comparison of Mossy Fibers

1:18 pm; F2.8; macro mode; ISO 200; 1/75 sec

TFL - kimB

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Just some recent shots...

Here are some photos taken last week... I haven't included the settings, so if you are interested, just let me know and I'll get them to you. TFL -- kimB

Stripes on Poppy Lane
image was taken in B&W and "cool color 1" filter was added

Four o'Clock Sunset

Spotted this view while cleaning in our bedroom one day


Windows at St Andrews

This is a catholic church a few streets up from our home; I take a lot of sunset and mountain shots from their parking lot

Sunset on the Chugach Mountains

Taken from the St Andrews parking lot

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

P*S*B - Nov 13 ~ Nature Shots in the form of Weather

Most of our day was blue sky and fairly sunny, but around 3:30, I spotted these storm clouds rolling in from the southwest. In less than two hours time, we received 6+ inches of snow - it came quickly, snowed quite hard and left just as quickly, revealing mostly cloudy skies, but still clear enough to see stars. At one point during the storm, I headed out to the grocery store and took some pics on my way there and back. Expected weather for the next few days is "a chance" of snow for tomorrow (Wednesday) and snow likely on Thursday. The word, "storm" wasn't mentioned!
*tripod was not used for any of these photos*

Taken from St Andrews parking lot where I often get my sunset pics
3:26 pm, F5.6, landscape mode, ISO 100, 1/56 sec

Taken from our back porch, looking east

4:35 pm, F3.1, portrait mode, ISO 640, 1/45 sec


Our back porch, facing north; the little light at the bottom is actually a tall streetlight on the block behind us

4:35 pm, F3.8, portrait mode, ISO 640, 1/64 sec


Frontage Road; taken through my windshield. Hard to tell from the pic, but the snow was falling sideways from the strong breeze that was blowing at the time

5:43 pm, F3.7, MACRO MODE!, ISO 1600, 1/14 sec


Rush Hour Traffic on the Glenn Highway - These are the folks who commute between the Mat Su Valley and Anchorage; traffic speed on the highway is typically 65-70 mph but, due to the storm, was slowed waaay down to about 35-40 mph. The snow had stopped by this time; took this out the rolled down window in my driver's door

6:26 pm, F3.3, MACRO MODE!, ISO 1600, 1/7 sec

TFL - kimB

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

P*S*B - Nov 13 ~ Nature Shots

Photos from my yard. Anybody know what kind of plant this is? We don't have thistles here and it isn't a clover... I have no idea what it is, but I really LIKE it!

1:10 pm, F3.2, macro mode, ISO 100, 1/352 sec

1:10 pm, F2.8, macro mode, ISO 100, 1/304 sec


1:09 pm, F8, macro mode, ISO 100, 1/136 sec

TFL - kimB

P*S*B ~ Nature Shot from Nov 12

Not a spectacular shot, but I just thought the new snow looked so pretty on these dried weeds in our yard.


F2.8, ISO 100, macro mode, 1/158 sec


TFL - kimB

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Winter has Arrived!

So... we had our first real snowfall of the season yesterday and, as happens every year, people forget how to drive in winter conditions. Typically, the first snowfall results in 100s of "fender-benders," dozens of "ditch divers" (as seen in the following pics) and, sadly, a few truly serious accidents.

The road shots below were taken today while traveling to and from church on the Glenn Hwy. Thankfully, it doesn't appear that there were any serious injuries, but not everyone is so blessed. A tragic death happened yesterday in downtown Anchorage, when a pedistrian got caught under the back tires of a large semi-truck and was dragged 10 blocks before anyone discovered what had happened. News reports say the weather was not a factor, but with the foggy/snowy/rainy conditions and very slushy streets, I don't have the same opinion.



Traveling northbound on the Glenn Hwy this morning, around 10:30 am


Came upon this scene on the way to church


(we had passed another before this and a couple more afterward, but didn't have the camera ready in time)




" Oops!" x 2 -- on the way home from curch; south-bound on the Glenn



ABC's new Alaskan-themed TV program: "Van in Trees"
*groan...*

Snow Bunny Cully

Looking up our street from the end of our driveway.

TFL ~kimB

P*S*B ~ Nature Shots from Nov 9th & 10th

I think only one of these truly qualifies as a "nature photo," as the first two are more like "landscape" or "scenic" photos and the last one is more of a "Huh?" photo.

Talkeetna Foothills from the Glenn Hwy, northbound
1:31 pm, Landscape mode, F8, ISO 100, 1/80 sec; added "teal" tint

Amazing Sky, looking SE from the Parks Hwy

1:41 pm, Landscsape mode, F8, ISO 100, 1/350 sec

My usual leaf shot - with SNOW; Nov 10th

9:52 am, F3, macro mode, ISO 400, I/64 sec

First Snowman of the Year! (glasses for size comparison)

11:32 am, macro mode, ISO 100, 1/267 sec

I'll post more, later ~ TFL

kimB

Trinity Alessandria at 4 1/2 Months Old

Not many people know this outside of our immediate family, but we have a granddaughter and her name is Trinity. This is the third time I've seen her and I don't know when I'll be able to see her again. Without going into detail, let me just say that this little girl is a treasure to me - to us - and we pray that one day we'll be able to have a true family relationship with her. TFL - kimB





photos taken Nov 9, 2007

TFL ~ kimB

Friday, November 9, 2007

Point *Shoot* Blog Challenge November 8-15, 2007 ~ "Nature"

I will be taking nature shots during this next week, but for now, here are three I've taken in the past few days...

Frosted Leaves & Grass
F3.4, Macro mode, ISO 100, 1/195 sec

Dreary Winter Morning

F8, Landscape mode, ISO 100, 1/425 sec

Winter Raindrop

F3.8, Macro mode, ISO 1600, 1/124 sec

TFL - kimB

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Hannah Rose

This is my friend's Rhonda's granddaughter, Hannah Rose, who is about 18 months old. She's a real cutie but also quite shy. Sometimes she'll give me a smile, but mostly...

...she looks like this when I'm around!


What a little doll-baby!

TFL - kimB


P*S*B - Nov 2-8 ~ "A New Animal Portrait"

Tink Farabaugh



My friend Rhonda's cat, Tinkerbell -- she's very cute and loves to come up and rub against my legs, but she can turn evil in an instant! I've learned how to be friendly, yet wary at the same time. In this shot, she is glaring at me because I've been taking photos of her and she's getting annoyed!

TFL - kimB



Tuesday, November 6, 2007

My Prayer

I took the sunset photo the evening of November 3rd, the day which would've been my parents' 51st wedding anniversary. I added a stanza from an old Platters song from the 1950s - "My Prayer" - which was their song. Mom & Dad were married 37 years, 3 months - until my mother passed away at the age of 55. Their marriage wasn't always easy, but it was filled with unconditional love and a lot of laughter and joy. Although I miss my folks a lot, I rejoice in the fact that they finally got to spend their anniversary together for the first time in 14 years.

Happy Anniversary, Mama & Daddy ~ I love you both so much...


TFL ~ kimB

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Another Animal Portrait

Ohhhh, Buggly!!

Jen explained that this is usually what happens when she tries to relax and watch TV...
If it's not Bugsy, it's Bob.
Or both!
TFL - kimB

P*S*B - Nov 2-8 ~ "Animal Portrait"

Here are my first two submissions for this week's challenge --

Puppy Dog Eyes
This is the look Cully gives me when she wants my attention...
F3.7, ISO 400, 1/74 shutter speed, focal length 17mm


Bugsy and the Remote

Took lots of photos of Bugsy while visiting Jen today - this is one of my favorites!

F4, ISO 1600, 1/67 shutter speed, focal length 36.1mm

TFL - kimB


Thursday, November 1, 2007

P*S*B ~ Group Portrait

Tonight, our company - Integrity Roofing, LLC - had our "end of the season" dinner at the How-How, a Chinese restaurant in Anchorage. Our company did real well this season and consider ourselves blessed. Pictured below are, left-to-right: Ed, J (our son), Jared, Mike, Patrick, Chris and Rog (DH). Although winter has arrived (somewhat), there will still be small jobs trickling in during the winter months, but not enough to keep the entire crew busy. Most will find other employment until next spring (April), when we'll start up full-force once again. There is a conference we'll all be going to (spouses, too) in San Diego in January, which will be fun (once the meetings are over)!


TFL ~ kim

Oct 31 Photo Shoot

While I was in Anchorage running errands yesterday, I decided to do an impromptu photo shoot ~ there are several pics here, so if you manage to make it all the way through to the end, I admire your patience and your friendship!

UPS Jet coming in for a landing at the
Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage.
Photo taken from Point Woronzof.

Anchorage skyline taken from Earthquake Park


I spotted this eagle as he/she landed on the utility pole at Spenard Lake. I wasn't too happy to see the other birds picking on this poor eagle, but it did make for interesting pictures... In the first small photo, you can see the raven that kept dive-bombing the eagle; in the second, if you look closely behind the eagle, you can spot the little magpie tht was going for his/her tail feathers. Right after I snapped that photo, the majestic eagle flew off for calmer digs - I managed to get a quick, though blurry, shot as it flew through the trees.


Sweet vignette of a bench at a float plane slip, overlooking Spenard Lake and the airport.

Bear sculpture outside the Boney Courthouse in downtown Anchorage


Whale sculpture located across from the Boney Courthouse on K St

A pair of authentic totem poles, created for exhibit at the entrance of the Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage. The one on the left is titled, "Raven Stealing the Moon and Stars;" the smaller totem is titled, "Eagle and the Giant Clam"

Closeup of "Eagle and the Giant Clam" totem



Profile of "Eagle and the Giant Clam" in B&W


"Raven Stealing the Moon and Stars"

The following photos were taken later in the evening from the St Andrews Parish just up the street from our home in Eagle River


St Andrews Parish

Alpenglow on the Chugach Range


Sunset Glow in Eagle River Valley

Flags in the after-glow