Houser Photography

Thank God we live in such a great country. With many beautiful places and great people everywhere. No matter how we are attacked, whether by those who wish to destroy us from within or outside our borders, as long as we realize that we are Americans and if we stick together, no enemy shall prevail.

It is time for us to find common ground and instead of hating one another because we can't agree on some issues, let's find out what we can agree upon and move forward.

As Abraham Lincoln said in his 1858 acceptance speech for nomination of the Republican US Senate seat in Illinois, "A house divided against itself cannot stand" is as true today as it was back then.

God Bless America and long may our flag fly over our great nation.

Mark

It has been a busy couple of weeks here since the trip up to Shatley Springs. Lots of beautiful things to see like this sunset over the South Mountains. Looking forward to relaxing this weekend. Hoping you and yours have a safe Labor Day weekend!

Enjoy,

Mark

It has been a long time since the wife and I went up to Shatley Springs, located near the Virginia border with North Carolina in Ashe County and today we decided to head up there and eat supper.

It seems that the latest rage in the early 1900's was to drink spring water. There are many locations around North Carolina and the country where the water is believed to hold beneficial properties to those that consume it. Shatley Springs like many other healing springs, had camps spring up (pun intended) around the water. Eventually the site housed a restaurant and rental cabins which both are very nice!

I have drank from the supposed Fountain of Youth in Florida (didn't work... bummer) and many other magical and just plain old water from the ground springs in many different places. However, Shatley Springs in my opinion is one of the best tasting water of all.

I took along my camera gear hoping to capture some sweeping vistas, long exposures on a overlook or maybe a pretty sunset but as we climbed our way up the mountains it began a slow and steady rain. In these mountains, when it rains fog is soon to follow and it did.

After a family style meal, my Daughter and I walked out to the pond to look at the water. When we got back we found that my Wife and Son had found a room that had all these wonderful old antiques. I probably spent half an hour there just snapping pics and marveling at all the old items on display. This was the highlight of the trip for me. 

My Daughter who is taking piano lessons hopped up on one of the old pianos and started playing a tune. Converting this to Sepia really fit with the theme of this room. Of course my son who does not take piano lessons had to try and prove he could play as well as his big Sis!

The Wife and I reflected on the way back home of how much we enjoyed just jumping into the car and going on a small road trip. It is something that we will have to do again soon!

Mark

Before I went on my trip to the lovely Western Caribbean, I just had to have an underwater camera. All the reviews pointed to the Canon Powershot D10 as the go to camera for underwater pics in the snorkeling to 30 foot deep range. I usually try to get gear that is designed for more extreme conditions than I plan on encountering and for a camera, 33 foot was deeper than I planned on going snorkeling.

Of course when purchasing a very specialized piece of gear, you wonder if you can use it for other things. The images I saw from the Canon D10 above water looked to be great as well. So off to the mountains I went and saw these Rhododendrons in bloom and the red flower and decided to see what the Canon D10 could do. Seems to take pretty good pics but don't expect as quick a focus as a DSLR.

It seems the Canon D10 is a great little point and shoot that works well in an out of the water. Also, it is nice to have a camera that you can pull out in all types of weather and get the shot!

Mark

Content from Tuesday July 27th, 2010:

We wound up today anchored off of the coast of Belize. We had planned going to Goff's Caye a little spit of sand located on a beautiful coral reef.

After a 45 minute boat ride, we wound up at the island.

After a safety briefing we heading out to do what we came to do... snorkel!

As you can see, there was plenty of coral and fish to see under the water, and with the Canon Powershot D10 underwater settings, it captured the underwater world remarkably well.

After playing in water for awhile I decided to explore this cool little island and snap some pics. My nephew found a barracuda head and I saw a Fritos bag so we decided to compose a little scene. Don't worry we threw away the trash in the proper place when we were done.

We left Goff's Caye and took a different route back. It was neat watching the ship looming larger every minute until we got back onboard. After a quick lunch, we decided to take the tender to Belize City and check out the scenery.

There was not a whole bunch of stuff to take pictures of in the hour we had before the last tender left but this bar was really colorful.

There is a river that flows into the sea here and makes the water muddy. The Dream was located quite a ways off shore.

As we headed back out into the gulf there was some pretty large storm clouds in the distance. Being you can see for a long way since you are a sea level, you could watch some beautiful cloud formations. I could have spent the whole trip watching the weather, which I did spend a fair amount of time doing.

Again the sun sets on another wonderful day!

Mark

Content from Wednesday July 28th, 2010:

Today we wound up at Coxen Hole, Roatan.

Since this was my Daughter's first cruise and was going to be her first airplane ride, why not make it a seaplane ride? We had heard great things about Bay Island Airways located at the Fantasy Island Resort on Roatan and they are true. This is the best way to see Roatan and the views, water and scenery are breathtaking!

I love the little white church right on the shore, the old shipwreck on the reef, and the North end of the island!

These shops are what you see when you exit the ship at Coxen Hole, the real Roatan lies beyond this area. It is a beautiful place and this shot turned out really well in my opinion!

As it does every day the sun sets, and another unique day comes to a close only to begin again with new opportunities.

Mark

Sometimes we just feel like another brick in the wall. Snapped this as I was working today looking for something that caught my eye. This retaining wall did.

Mark

Howdy Folks,

I now am hosting my pics on Flickr to ensure that the images will load faster in your browser. I will be reworking the trip to Roatan as well as soon as I get the pics uploaded to Flickr. 

So from now on, you can expect Houser Photography's website to load much quicker from this point on. Thanks to you folks who have visited and a special thanks to those that still visit.

As I said at the beginning, this is the first time I have had any experience with my own website and things will only improve from here on out.

Thanks!

Mark

From July 29th, 2010 Kohunlich, Mexico:

Today we arrived at the Port of Costa Maya, early! My Nephew, Daughter and I were the first 3 passengers off of the boat. It made for some beautiful shots of the Carnival Dream in the dawn.

After about a two hour bus ride, we arrived at the Mayan ruins at Kohunlich, Mexico. I have always admired the Mayan's structures and I really wanted to see the "Temple of the Masks"

Since we only had one and a half hours at this site, and we wanted to take in all the structures, we parted ways with the tour guide and large tour group. I purchased a map of the site and we took off to see Kohunlich without the distractions and slow movement of a large group. This also allowed me to take pictures of the structures without people in them unless I specifically wanted them there. Just be sure to keep an eye on the clock, know where you are at, and how to get back to the bus when it's time to go.

Not the most spectacular Mayan ruins in height that I have seen, but one of the most interesting and artistic I have seen.

Sometimes the great views are not on the map!

After a two hour ride back, it was time to get back on the Dream and hit the Lido deck for the Mongolian Wok for some much needed chow!

It seems mini me has developed a taste for lemonade!

And so ends another day...

Mark

Wow what a fixture! No I am not in the red light district! Lol

Mark