Italian Chili

At the Benton County Sheriff Foundation's Chili cook-off, one of the competitors had an Italian theme. I wonder if it's what they ate on all those spaghetti westerns? Here's one of the chefs posing for a quick portrait.

 

Aerial Photography

I took photos for the Benton County Sheriff Foundation's Chili Cook-Off yesterday at the Benton County fairgrounds. I had a good time and enjoyed some good food. I had an opportunity to go up in a small, open cabin helicopter that they were offering rides in for donations. I have my pilot's license but I've only flown in closed cabin, fixed wing aircraft. So, this was a new experience for me. It was great for taking photos because I didn't have to shoot through any extra glass or plastic that could cloud up or distort the image. I'll post more shots here and on Flikr later in the week, but here's a shot I took of Oregon State University's Reser stadium. This was just a day after they upset the Wisconsin Badgers at home, 10-7.

 

Thirsty Sculpture

I was shooting a volunteer appreciation event for the Corvallis Fall Festival in Central Park last week. The ballerina sculpture had acquired something new since last I'd seen her. Someone hung a canteen from her left hand. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab a few shots of it.

Balloon Disappointment

The Albany Art and Air Festival is a big event every August that kicks off with early morning hot air balloon launches. The festival lasts three days, Friday though Sunday, and this year it happened to be my birthday weekend. We planned a camping trip to the coast so we were unable to attend much of the festivities. However, we got up at the crack of dawn on Friday morning to catch the balloon liftoff before heading out on our camping adventure. Dozens of balloons and support teams, plus hundreds of spectators covered the field at Timber-Linn Park. The first balloon to go up would carry a US flag into the air. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and due to winds that were slightly outside of the safety envelope, none of the balloons were able to take off that morning. They continued to fill the first balloon and monitor the winds right up until the decision was made to stay on the ground. The crowd began to disperse. We were certainly disappointed that we could not come back the following day, but there's always next year. I took this shot shortly before leaving. I sympathized with the young lady's expression.

Furniture Share BBQ and Auction

I went to Tyee Winery south of Corvallis Saturday evening for a Furniture Share fundraising event. It was a Texas Style BBQ and Hoedown with a live and slient auction. There was some live music, a magician and other entertainment for the whole family, plus the food and adult beverages of course. Linn County commissioner, Will Tucker, acted as auctioneer for the live portion of the auction. Here's a shot I grabbed. More pics available on Facebook and Flickr!