Steven Helmer Publications

It has been quite a while since my wife's last photoshoot, with some being scheduled but then cancelled. She had an opportunity to work with multiple photographers at the Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha yesterday though, for a goth/steampunk/cosplay shoot and in addition to serving as her chauffer, I tagged along with her for part of it, getting some more behind-the-scenes shots with my phone . My youngest daughter was also there doing some modeling as well and I got a few behind-the-scenes photos with her too. However, being a dad, I won't share those. You can see her knee or elbow in a couple of the shots I am sharing though.  Model: Cynthia Helmer

My trail camera seems to be having some issues recording at night again. I know it was active in my back yard because some discarded hard rolls were gone by this morning but there's nothing on the camera from when it was dark. However, I did get quite a few squirrel videos yesterday evening. Here are some of them.

It's too dark to search for my trail camera first thing in the morning now so I just left it on the tree from yesterday evening until this evening. I thought I had it set on video but apparently it was in camera mode instead, forcing me to contend with glare from the flash. I did, however, end up with a few photos anyway. Here's the best of them.

Synopsis: After former Director of the CIA, Keegan Barrett, is elected President of the United States, he decides to attempt a power grab using two of his loyal CIA agents, Liam Grey and Noa Himmel. While they are sworn to carry out the president's orders, the agents find their loyalties tested as their orders are in direct violation of the United States Constitution. Review: While I'm not a huge James Patterson fan (or really a fan of the spy thriller genre in general), I have at times read some of his books, mostly because they tend to be given to me as Christmas or birthday presents. In fact, the only reason I have Blowback in my library was because it was given to me on my 49th birthday last week. Since it was a gift and because I was between books at the time anyway, I did give the book a read. Overall, while still not really my thing, it turned out to be decent. I think the thing that stood out for me was it really wasn't all that farfetched which, in itself, is a

Synopsis: After a riot breaks out in Cairo, Egypt in 1902, a team of British soldiers led by Captain Storm is tasked with retrieving a group of archaeologists from the Valley of the Kings while being accompanied by the American wife of one of the men they are to rescue. They meet a strange woman, Simira, in the middle of the desert. She claims her brother is helping the archaeological team and as she follows them to the dig site, she warns them of the urgency of getting there before a sarcophagus is opened. Storm ignores her and when they arrive at the dig site too late, find their lives in danger from a reincarnated mummy. Who's in it? The movie stars Mark Dana , Ziva Rodann , Diane Brewster , George N. Neise and Alvaro Guillot. Review: I was flipping through movies on Amazon Prime Video last night and when I came across Pharaoh's Curse , decided to add it to my list. I wound up watching it early this morning and while I normally enjoy movies from this genre, it wasn't

Synopsis: Writer William Magee, attempting to win a bet he can write a book in just 24 hours, rents a room at Baldpate Inn, where he believes he will be alone because it is the off season, and the groundskeeper gave him "the only key." Soon after, however, a gangster enters the inn and places an envelope in the safe. Soon after, a woman claiming to be an actress in hiding and several other guests, also carrying keys, show up. All of them seem to be interested in the locked-up envelope. Who's in it? The movie stars Gene Raymond , Margaret Callahan , Eric Blore , Grant Mitchell and Walter Brennan . Image Courtesy of Pixabay Review: I've heard of Seven Keys to Baldpate , or at least the book and play that inspired several movies just like it, but never took the time to watch any of them. However, I came across this version a few days ago and decided to add it to my library. I finally watched it last night and this morning and it turned out to be a good choice. At fi