When I answered the phone, I heard, "I was told to speak to you. Can you help us x-ray a mummified dinosaur in sandstone?" After my fog cleared, I responded, "Tell me more about it and let's see if we can help."

Leonardo was discovered in 2000 and since then a technology has yet to determine its contents. Its amazing state of preservation made it one of the most significant finds ever for paleontologists. Kodak was brought into the research through a customer, the Nondestructive Testing Group of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They felt computed radiography, typically used to determine the integrity of airplanes and other structures could help them safely document the unique fossil's anatomical features. To test the technology, scientists sent a sample of a similar fossil to Rochester to verify the radiographic technology could delineate bone from the stone that encapsulated it. With high expectations, a team of experts from Kodak and NDT Group transported mobile equipment to Montana to begin three days of imaging.

Malta, population 2,400, where drivers still stop for pedestrians, and an occasional prairie dog finds its way into the local restaurant. Not a big town, but big enough to boast of the only intersection with a traffic light within 100 miles. They knew we were coming and had the welcome mat out. It's no wonder we were already making front-page news even before our arrival: "Historic new era of high tech paleontology is born in Malta." And for thoroughness, a film crew was there to document every move, for a future Discovery Channel special documentary.

That task had some unique challenges including a limited workspace. Leonardo is in a small chamber under special environmental conditions. Placement of the cassettes was a delicate operation. One slip could easily have damaged some of the bones protruding from the rock. Penetrating the thick sandstone around the fossil required a strong radiation source so a perimeter had to be set up around the field station to ensure safety. The speed of and ease of use of the Kodak's Industrex Digital System provided the ability to capture and analyze images quickly.

Ultimately, the imaging team rose to the challenge to produce a variety of images across the fossil. Some images have verified what researchers had expected; others have been surprising -- raising new questions about Leonardo's life. The research team was able to see things in Leonardo that had been only imagined by many generations of paleontologists. Word is already spreading through the paleontological community, and a new era of nondestructive research is beginning.

The enthusiasm of the entire team; seeing their excited expressions as they frantically pointed at each successive image as it appeared on the monitor; the hospitality and outpouring of the local community; being a part of the imaging team that helped open a window that's been closed for 77 million years; and meeting Leonardo; these experiences are difficult to describe, so visit my gallery.

Wish you were there? Take a tour!

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I love taking fun pictures and I also love doing stuff with those pictures. So I am really excited about this blog. Here is the kind of thing you can expect from me.

A friend of mine uses the same Kodak V550 that I do. I was browsing through her vacation pictures on the camera display when I started to notice some of the pictures were little 9-up shots in one screen. She explained that she set her preferences so that whenever she shot video the camera created these still frames. How could I miss that feature?! My mind swirled with possibilites.

The first idea was to create a flipbook (or "kineograph" if you're feeling fancy). When you thumb through the pages of a flipbook, the pictures on the pages animate. These video stills are perfect for this!

To start, I made sure I had my "video print" setting on and then I took some videos of my cat spinning in circles.

I printed two video capture stills out on an inkjet printer, cut them out and stapled them together. It worked! I think if I printed on heavier paper it would have worked better because the paper tended to stick together.

Everyone is getting a flipbook for the holidays this year!

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You don't plan on having a preemie. But sometimes you don't get to plan anything. After an emergency c-section, I woke up in the Intensive Care Unit, there had been major complications, both with me and the baby, but she was holding steady in the Neonatal ICU. Lauren had arrived 11 weeks early, weighing only 2 lbs 2 ozs, but obviously she was a fighter.

I wanted to see her and hold her, but I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. My first chance to see my baby girl was in a picture. And wow, what a picture it was! I was relieved to see ten very tiny fingers and ten very tiny toes.

When you think of Kodak products in hospitals, you probably think of Kodak's Health Group. But Kodak digital cameras and printer docks are playing an important role too.

A nurse from a hospital's NICU recently wrote to thank Kodak for "great products and great service." The unit had a Kodak camera and printer dock that was a "giant leap forward in our ability to provide quality prints to our parents."

The nurse wrote, "...imagine you are that mother. Your baby is born early, possibly struggling for life and you cannot be with him/her. Our digital camera provides an opportunity to at least take pictures to give to the mother so she can see what her baby looks like, how her baby is doing."

Now that is a priceless picture.

Lauren is now nearly 14 pounds and doing great. I have since taken hundreds of pictures of her, sharing them with friends and family so they can follow her progress. You can see more (MANY more!!) pictures of Lauren in this Kodak EasyShare Gallery album.

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