That was a great conference. We always have a big physics demonstrations show and this year was no different. Although much of it was planned ahead, much was not. There was no time to practice. We only got to move stuff to the stage the afternoon of the show and then had to leave because a talk was scheduled there. Talk about winging it. But to be honest, this is how it is done almost every year. If you combine this situation with about 20 physics demonstrations people from around the globe, you get very interesting and fun results.

This years show had a bit of a twist. We did much of it to music. Normally, we are just showing old experiments in new ways and adding a little humor here and there (yes, physicists can be funny). But this year it was more of a theatrical show. Too much fun. The final act was all pressure demos and was played to David Bowie’s song in the background. I put these photos and a few others to music if you prefer a short slide show to David Bowie.

So I am in Edmonton at a physics teacher’s conference this week. I do love what I do. I also love these people. I talk with them all the time, but once or twice a year, I get to see them at conferences. We are all great friends and it is like we never missed a day. The jokes start immediately, then the talking work then the going out after all the talks. We really do have a great time.

Each year there is a two day workshop before the conference dealing with physics lecture demonstrations. A group of physics demo types selected the top 200 demonstrations that are commonly used several years ago. They are presented each year at this conference. It is a great time for us all to get together, have fun and teach others how they work. After the workshops, there are bunches of talks and then a large physics demonstrations show. That is coming up fast and I am helping with that so I am not sure how many pictures I will get. I promise I will get a few though.

So here are some pics of my friends and partners in crime from Minnesota, Iowa, Brown, Syracuse. There were also friends from many other places (Utah, Rutgers, Michigan) and several other places there.

What a relaxing vacation! We have nothing on the schedule other than what we want to do at the moment. If nothing else is there, we hit the beach. This afternoon we hit the aquarium. Turtles, sharks, dolphins and manatees. BTW, my daughter had a manatee swim by her at the beach today. Lucky Duck! Oh and we also saw Jellyfish at the aquarium. Yikes. I was stung by one as a kid growing up at the beach and still fear those things!

We are currently on vacation (thus no new updates from shoots). The sun is strong here in Siesta Key, Florida but the water is clear and really warm. I really thought I would hate the summer heat here but it is so nice on the beach.

Fireworks were tonight. They were really great over the beach but what I really enjoyed was the people watching. There were people as far as the eye could see both ways on the beach. There were thunder clouds giving lighting shows to the east over the mainland and small fireworks shows were everywere. I can only imagine how much money the country of China made tonight from fireworks sales on Siesta Key alone. Later the main show started. We kicked back in our beach chairs with the fine sand between out toes. Here are a few photos I snapped during he presentation.

We are on vacation this week and next. The first part of the vacation is at home goofing around before we board the train for Tampa Monday. We have paddled boats in the park, I have been sunburned at a lake and now, the day has come. My daughter beat me in a game of bowling.

The only thing that made the swallowing of my pride easier was the look on her face. She was so excited. Not only did she score her personal high score, but she beat her brother (I seriously think that is what she was most excited about).

We then bowled a second game and the universe realigned. I beat them both and she lost to her older brother. He was happier with those results but she did not care. She was too busy basking in her glory from the previous game.

Yep, we hit 100 degrees today. Hot as all getout. We may have gone a couple of degrees higher, but does it really matter at this point? I think not. It’s hot as he!!

So how do you beat the heat? WATER! We started the day at Falls lake and then worked our way to the YMCA pool.

Early this morning we headed to the rink. It was the last weekend and there were two hockey games. These kids are so passionate when they watch each other as well as when they play. You would have thought they were playing for the cup. The parents were clapping and cheering them on, but the kids were screaming…. “I’m open”, “Clear it!”, “We need somebody to play Center!”. Yep. When you talk to them on the street, most want to play center .. score the goals .. be the hero. When they are actually playing, they realize that this sport takes energy. Those kids were so gassed towards the end of the game that they would just clear it and take a breather until it came back. My son took his helmet off after the game and I could not help but laugh a little. Water was actually dripping off of his brow.

But, the game soon ended. The kids all said goodbye and talked about the next season coming up. Soon the only thing left was a puck on the floor and the line of people wanting to use the rink for a general skate.

Three years ago! I can’t believe it. It hit at least 98 degrees here today with a heat index of about 108. It was hot and there was no other way to explain it. I am getting ready to shoot a hockey game in the morning (no, hockey season is not over for everybody just yet). My kids went separate ways tonight. My daughter hit the pool with friends and my son hit the movies with his friends. Both cool places and I got stuck in between. So with the A/C cranked up high, I was sorting pictures while getting ready for tomorrow.

I found these pictures from 2005. I took them at the end of May in 2005 during a family trip to the mountains of NC. Yep, that would have just been a couple of weeks ago and then three years. It hit 98 here today yet we were wearing jackets and honestly freezing when these shots were taken. Now the northern mountains of NC are generally 10-15 degrees cooler than the piedmont but wow. 10-15 degrees cooler than what we have now would have still been hot!

Still, old pictures are great! These are just snapshots for sure, but I still love them. They are my kids…

I had to post a few more pics from this session. It was a load of fun. The girls were a little timid to begin with. We were shooting adjacent to a park with many homeless residents. There was a character there who was preaching the word to anybody who would listen. Actually, he was yelling the word at those who would not listen. When we arrived he was standing over a young couple having a picnic. How for the love of God they were able to ignore him I do not know, but they did. We watched from a distance while waiting for the girls to arrive. Eventually he got tired of preaching to them and moved on to a group of homeless. Soon he was on the other side of the square. Then the girls arrived.

They heard him first and then saw him on the other side of the square. They rolled their eyes and I know thought this guy was not playing with a full deck. The mom leaves and we begin with some shots to get them used to the camera. They start having fun, doing some silly shots and are starting to relax. Then in the distance we hear the sound of God getting closer. I look over to see that we have been selected as this preachers next audience. He is literally screaming at us so loud that you could not distinguish what the man was saying. The girls looked over and turned white. They were out of the park and across the street in seconds. I could not help but laugh. He must have had one of those wireless collars like I have for my dog at home because he got to the edge of the park yelling and then went away never crossing the street.

The girls relaxed and we got some great shots.

Yesterday we worked with two young ladies. BFF (best friends forever) I was told. Talking to them I learned they have been best friends since the first grade. It really showed because they fed off of each other all day. Sometimes one would start a sentence and they both would start laughing before anything was said. I’m sure it had nothing to do with me sweating or my balding head….

This shot started at 2pm in downtown Raleigh. It was very warm and the sun was REALLY strong. Very hard shadows were being cast everywhere. This time of day is often referred to as the worst time of day to shoot portraits. I could not disagree more. It does present a few new challenges but nothing that can’t be handled. Finding a tree to shade the face. Maybe the shade from a wall for fill and using the open sky as the key. When you stop and look, there is always great lighting.

I’ll upload a few more from this shoot tomorrow.