Chuck Grimmett

Here is another shot from the outdoor jazz concert two weeks ago. Click on the photo to view it at a larger size.

My grandparents, aunt, uncle, two cousins, parents, and I rented a boat and spent the day on Tellico Lake, one of the TVA lakes in east Tennessee. We had a wonderful time. We also bought along my kayak, and almost everyone tried it out. The weather was wonderful, and we had a full day of water, sun, and fun. Here are some photos. As always, click on the photos to view them at a larger size:

Today, my family and I went to Bass Pro Shops and the Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, then through Gatlinburg, and part way through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

There was once a dream that was America. And friends, this is not it. This is not it.” –Robert Hawes

My parents and I are on our way home today, so here are some photos I took yesterday. I suggest viewing the photos at a larger size by clicking on them.

As many of you already know, HTML 5 was released a few days ago. Say goodbye to XHTML! (Finally!)

I have only had my kayak out four times since I bought it a little over a week ago, but I am really enjoying it! I took it out tonight at the Wellington Reservation. Here is the view from where I sit:

I thought I would give you all a look into what I listen to. If I could take only 5 albums with me on a very long road trip, this is what I would take:

Tonight I took photos at my cousin Hank D’s kickball game. Below are some photos form the game. View the full gallery. Also, check out the kickball team’s website.

A week or so ago, I received a comment from David at freeofstate.org on the post I wrote about Jeff Knaebel. Here is what he wrote:

I follow the Digital Photography School‘s feed in my RSS reader. They have weekly assignments for their readers to complete. Though I have never submitted any photos to their contests, I occasionally do the assignment for fun. This week’s assignment is A Mistake: a photo, originally thought of as a mistake, which turned out better than expected. When I read this, I immediately thought of this photo I took of Liz and Andrew dancing at a jazz performance at Hillsdale. I forgot to change the settings on my camera, and the shot ended up being a long exposure. Luckily, I had the strobe on rear-curtain and a steady hand, so the ‘mistake’ shot ended up as a photo which froze Liz and Andrew in place, but still showed their motion. I miss Liz and Andrew. I can’t wait to see them on August 27!

I spent last Friday evening taking photos at an All-Star Girls Softball game (middle school/junior high league, I think) at the request of one of the parents. I gave my CF cards to someone who edited and printed the photos, so I just got them back today. Here are some of the photos:

I am on my way to Midland, MI to Northwood University for FEE’s Young Scholars Colloquium. I will be back in Amherst on Saturday, July 18. This wonderful man, Dr. Birzer (pictured below) is speaking there tonight. (He was my history professor this last semester.) I am excited to see him!

I am having a wonderful time at the FEE Young Scholars Colloquium seminar at Northwood University. Here are some shots from today:

There were some wonderful lectures today, including an immigration talk from Ben Powell, in which he destroyed every argument brought up against open borders. Another highlight of my day today was that I spent some time having a discussion with Walter Block. Also, Brad and I went to an asian restaurant for dinner, and I ate my first Korean meal: Bibimbap. It was very good, even with the fried egg on top!

Today was another great day at FEE’s YSC. Among other things, Walter Block talked about privatizing roads, which he recently authored a book about. I also got to participate in a discussion over lunch with Block, Ben Powell, and some other students about the legitimacy of fractional reserve banking. I also went out to dinner with a group of pretty cool people from around the world and discussed various liberty-oriented topics. In addition to all of this, the weather was beautiful, so it was a wonderful day. Two photos:

Today was the last day of FEE’s YSC in Midland. I had a wonderful time this week! I met so many wonderful scholars and defenders of liberty here. Tomorrow, Brad and I are driving down to Hillsdale for a little while, then we are driving home.

“My goal is to confuse you at a higher level about more important things.” – Dr. Wenzel

At 4:00 today, I met a friend of mine at the Amherst Townhall to take some photos. He is in an intro photography class, and he needed to use a SLR for this week’s assignment. After he finished the assignment, I let him try out all of the different lenses I have. To show to what extent a wide-angle lens distorts things, I let him take a photo of me holding out my hand in front of me:

Tonight, Amanda came over for dinner with my parents and me, and I made muffalettas! The sandwiches had capicola, salami, pepperoni, provolone, and a freshly-made olive tapenade. They were delicious!

A heavy rainstorm came through right after dinner. Luckily, it ended quickly and the sun came out, so I went outside to take pictures around my yard. Which one do you like best? I recommend you click on the photos to view them at a larger size:

I got a few comments on the Black Eyed Susans that were in the back ground of the photos in yesterday’s post, so here is a photo of them:

A few years ago, I did a major photo edit for a lady in my school district. The original 4×6 photo had 5 people in it, and she wanted the guy on the far left taken out, but there was a problem: the guy next to him had his arm around him. So, I spent about two hours putting the guy’s arm back in and fixing the back ground. Click on the image below to see the before and after at a larger size:

This evening, my Mom’s friend and her son from Seattle came to visit. They are in town for a wedding, so they stopped by for the evening. My Mom and Terry have been friends for 28 years. I first met her son (his name is also Chuck) in 1998 and again in 2000. He has lived in Seattle, Vancouver, and around Australia, where he worked at an Apple store! He is studying to become a dentist. It was nice to see him again!

Tonight, I went out and took a few night portraits with my friends Shelby and Josh. Shelby was the model and her boyfriend Josh helped me with the lighting. Below are a few shots. Click on the photos to view them at a larger size:

Early afternoon today, I went and shot four rounds of trap to try out the choke tubes I just bought and to continue breaking in my over & under for the shotgunning course I am taking when I get to Hillsdale in a month. Here are a few shots my Dad took while I was shooting:

Here is a shot I took a few days ago. This sign was put up in front of my town’s city hall during the Ohio Bicentennial in 2003. The sign is commemorating my town’s heritage as the Sandstone Center of the World.

Today, I spent the afternoon and early evening with David Wagner. We went all over the place–Huron, Sandusky, and Castalia. Here are a few photos from our adventures. As always, click on the photos to view them at a larger size:

On Tuesday, I went out and took some photos that will be part of the set of the local Amherst cable station. They told me they wanted photos that exemplified the uniqueness of Amherst, and they all have to be horizontal. Here are some of the photos I am submitting to the station:

Today, Amanda and I spent the day at Put in Bay. (For those of you not from the Ohio area, Put in Bay is South Bass Island out on Lake Erie, off of the Sandusky/Catawba area.) After canceling because of rain twice, we finally had a beautiful day to go and hang out on the island. Here are a few shots from our adventures there:

I took this photo outside the Castalia Fish Hatchery on the Cold Creek in Castalia, Ohio. The hatchery raises rainbow trout, and these guys are the ones that got out. They live freely outside of the hatchery where people like me can come and take photos of them. Click on the photo to view it at a larger size.