Just a girl and her camera

To say 10 weeks has gone by fast would be an understatement. I started my last weekend in Des Moines on an adventure, because anything less would have been a waste. My friends and co-workers joke that I am the Iowa expert, despite only being here for a few weeks. There in lies my advantage. I didn't want to miss out on experiencing Des Moines, and my mission has been successful thus far!

I skipped the cartoons Saturday morning, and instead headed north to Ledges State Park. Because of the recent volumes of rain, the road is blocked off, so with my Chaco's strapped on, my tri-pod and camera in hand, I hiked in.

Because my friends were also on adventures of their own, it was up to the self-timer on my camera to capture snapshots of me! This was a challenge in and of itself. There's an art to figuring out the distance,  the poses, and then all the technical aspects to actual photo itself. While I got many odd looks, it was surprisingly fun perfecting the technique.

The fun didn't end there, a good friend was having a house-warming cookout, which turned into Val eating four ears of corn on the cob (with no regrets). Yard games, card games, and a midnight swim made for a pretty great night.

Speaking of adventures, today was the perfect day to get my photography website and Facebook pages started. While it was a good learning experience, it isn't hard for me to see how some of these "easy to use" websites frustrate people.