120/365-2 Uplifting

"Uplifting"

A new bra is uplifting in many ways!  Especially when it is pink and lacy:-)

This is what happens when you wait until nearly 11pm to take your photo of the day.

Sorry!

119/365-2 Buzz

"Sweet Music"

118/365-2 The Number Four

"Four Inches"

I had hoped that on our trip home from Delaware we would either depart or arrive at a gate with the number 4 in it or that our seats would be in a row with a 4.  No such luck.  

After I got myself squared away for school this week, I sought something for today's photo.  Fresh out of ideas and inspiration,  I was counting on the muse and the muse seemed to have already gone to sleep for the night.  With the plane trip still on my mind, I remembered the sock that I had started knitting as we took off from Philadelphia.  I wondered just how much I had knit on the cuff of that sock...

  Score! It was exactly four inches long!

By the time I took this shot, the muse had indeed gone to sleep.  That was OK because her work was done during the three and half hour flight home.

A few more flights like today and I have should have this sock done.  And, this is sock number TWO!

117/365-2 Square

"Welcome To The Party!"

My dad lives in the first town in the first state.  Needless to say, history abounds.  I love to walk through the old churchyards and read the markers on the graves.  I took several shots of interesting headstones today, but when all was said and done I liked this one best.  I think this is because the shallow DOF and bokeh make it look like there is confetti falling, like there is a big party going on.  

The prompt "square" has to do with the square crop of this image.

116/365-2 Thoughtful

"Thoughtful"

Today was a good day.  We slept until 9:00, making up from the three hours of sleep the night before. We had a leisurely breakfast and talked with my dad for awhile.  He had a friend coming over so we made a quick trip to the outlet mall and the grocery store.  After bringing the groceries home, we walked up to town and I did a little more shopping while Weber people watched from a bench outside.  He did get a caramel latte at the local coffee shop before we headed home to fix dinner.

Despite the cup of coffee, today was not really Weber's lucky day.  First he went bra shopping with me.  Then more clothes shopping.  I also needed him for today's photo prompt.  Today was portrait day, one of this year's monthly repeating prompts.  Once we got home from taking pictures, he ended up watching a baseball game on TV with my dad.  I don't think he has ever watched an entire sporting event in the 56 years of his life.  Of all the un-fun things he had to do today, modeling for me may have been the least objectionable for him.  Poor guy, but he has been a good sport all day.  He is the most thoughtful person I know, both inwardly and outwardly.

We went to the beach this evening to take the photos.  The prompt suggested that we do a black and white portrait, which I love.  Usually I shoot in color and then convert my photos to black and white. Today I actually shot in black and white.  This made a huge difference in the shots I took.  I was more aware of contrast and lines and textures, things that often are of a secondary concern when shooting in color.  I got several shots that I liked.

I was also hoping for a pretty sunset.  Though the sky was full of gorgeous blues and oranges, I didn't get any photos that truly did it justice.  This is my favorite and it was taken after the sun had set.

We also stumbled upon this on the beach.  I wish I knew the story that goes with it.

115/365-2 At Last

"40 Years In The Garden"

This photo is of a statue in my dad's garden, which was my grandparents' garden. I have been looking at it for over 40 years. I was really too tired to carefully think through the photograph, but I learned several things from this photo. 1. Check your camera settings. Somehow my camera was set on VIVID, thus the bizarre coloration. 2. Though we don't always know why, every shot we take is done so for a reason, often through the subconscious. As I looked at this on my iPad, I realized that the stance of this figure is where I want to be this weekend. 3. Though I was happy with this shot on a personal level, I wasn't sure photographically. I started playing around with iPad apps. I put a frame on this just for fun. Suddenly the photo become something completely different. This made me realize that I really need to have prints made, find mats and frames, and hang some of my photos.

114/365-2 April Showers

"Late April Shower"

This has been a __________ week.  I'm not even sure what word or words to put in that blank; and frankly, it is probably better that I don't try to figure it out.  I suspect it would not be pretty!

Obviously this entry is being posted a day late.  Let me explain why.  We are in Delaware again this weekend, having left Dallas early this morning.  When we got home from school yesterday we had to do the supply run for The Hoot And The Howl.  (Please leave me a loaf or two in the freezer!). Then we had to pack.  Somewhere in there we had homemade spinach pizza. For dinner.  And I dumped a whole bunch of photos off of my memory card.

Because our flight boarded ar5:50am, I decided that I would shower and wash my hair last night.  As I headed to the shower at 9:45, I remembered that I had not taken a photo.  It had been a beautifully sunny day; not a shower in sight.  And by this time it was a really dark night, not ideal for photography. I was clueless as to what to do.  I thought about skipping yesterday and "making up" the photo "later."  As I stood in the shower enjoying the warm water running down my back, I came to the realization that I would feel bad about skipping a day.  Let me clarify here that this is a self imposed guilt trip.  The CY365 community is quite understanding and supportive when life's circumstances get in the way of our daily photos.

So, this photo is a desperate attempt to not miss a day.

It is April and this was a shower, right?

After taking a shower and a photo and drying my hair, I headed to the computer to upload my photo, write a blog post and print our boarding passes.  My computer was not on board with me.  It had been temperamental earlier in the day; now it was 100% non-compliant.  Weber ran some diagnostics only to discover that it's hard drive had irreparable errors.  Translation:  my hard drive crashed.

At 10:45, Weber wiped the hard drive and started a reinstall from the time capsule back-up, an eighteen hour process according to my computer.  We finally went to bed at midnight so that we could get our full three hours of sleep before heading to the airport.

The good news in all this is that the process went more quickly than expected.  At 4am, when we left the house, my computer seemed to be up and running.  We did not have a chance to do much so whether or not all is well has yet to be determined.  The other unknown in whether or not the pictures that I dumped off of my camera card made it into the most recent backup.  I'll have to wait until I get home to see.

Except for beginning too early, today has been much better 

*I am posting this from my iPad using the Blogger app and I don't know how to enable comments.  I will try to figure that out!

113/365 Peaceful

"Peaceful Heart"

I had a pretty crappy day at school today.  Well, actually, it was really just a pretty crappy thirty minutes, but those thirty minutes clouded my perception of the whole day.  Funny how that happens.  It was redeemed, however, by my very last private student of the day who brought me these gorgeous orange flowers.  She knows that orange is my favorite color.  And I had the perfect vase for them.

I had to laugh at the "peaceful" prompt for the day.  Peaceful was not at all where my head or heart were when I got home from school this afternoon. The challenge of finding and taking a photo that was peaceful brought me be back to center, to a place where I was at least within reach of the possibility of finding a peaceful heart.  I tried to let go of the unpleasant part of my day and focus on all that was good.  Upon reflection, I realized that the positive moments throughout the day really did far outweigh the bad.

And, I have a question.

What does it mean at the end of a day like today when you go out for Chinese food and you get a fortune cookie with no fortune in it?

And one more question.

Should I be worried that Weber was in the pantry feeding the dogs and asked me if I needed my lunch packed for tomorrow?

I think I need to go to bed and wake up to a brand new day.

112/365-2 Barbed

"Barbed Beauty"

I have become a huge fan of my Lensbaby lenses.  Fan may be an understatement; addict may be a better term.  And, my husband is an enabler.  He ordered me the Edge 80 lens, ostensibly for Mother's Day.  It came last week and he gave it to me.  Sadly, I did not even take it out of the box until this afternoon.

I think the fact that I am a musician, and therefore understand too well the discipline of practice, is what is allowing me to be patient with the steep learning curve surrounding my ability to take decent pictures with these lenses.  

Today's picture taking can best be equated to playing scales.  I was concerned purely with technique.  Any sense of creativity or artistry is totally absent.  I wanted to to "play" with the lens, but I didn't have time to go in search of any real subjects.  (I actually took today's POTD a week ago.)  I was relegated to photographing whatever I could find out in the yard.  I did notice that our kind of pathetic looking rose bush is blooming.  It worked just fine as a subject for practice.

Compositionally, there is nothing spectacular about this image, but it does represent the learning process.  I need a lot more practice "playing scales" before moving on to "repertoire," but I'll get there.  At least photography can be practiced outside amidst God's beautiful creation.  There is nothing beautiful about the tiny practice rooms in most music buildings.  Just saying...

Happy Earth Day everyone!

111/365-2 Colorful

"Philo-sockical"

Considering how exhausted I was yesterday, today was a pretty good day.  This may be due to the fact that I wore my "happy" socks this morning.  How can you not be cheered by rainbows and smiley faces?

110/365-2 Gathered

"Happy Easter"

This year's Lenten journey was a meaningful one for me, filled with much opportunity for prayer and reflection.  That makes the Holy Week liturgies all the more meaningful and the celebration of Christ's resurrection a time of pure joy.  All that said, by the time I had sung the seventh service in five days, three of which in a period of sixteen hours, I was exhausted.  

We did have a family gathering for lunch after the second service this morning.  Brooke prepared a tasty brunch - baked eggs, roasted asparagus, salad and homemade biscuits that did double duty first with butter then with strawberries. Yum!

The energy level amongst us was quite low.  Not only was I tired, Erin was dragging after spending her morning in the church nursery with sugared-up kids and so was Brooke after all of the meal preparation.  I had hoped top take a photo with all of us, but it was happening today.  When I am too tired to take pictures, I am really tired!

After everyone left, I took a nap, a several hour nap.  I awoke with just enough daylight to snap a few quick shots.  Because we were all so tired, we didn't even touch the Easter candy, not that I bought much.  So, these ignored chocolate eggs were gathered up for today's photo.

Happy Easter, everyone!

109/365-2 Welcome

'Welcome

Not much time for picture taking today, but part of our house now is clean!  We are off to church for the Easter Vigil.  It is a beautiful service though long.  It feels even longer knowing that I have to be right back there tomorrow morning for two more services.  Come the Monday after Easter, Christ is risen and church musicians are dead.

Easter blessings to all!

108/365-2 Optimistic

"Optimism"

As with yesterday, there was not a lot of time to work at my POTD today between school and church.  Though I don't teach on Fridays, I do mentor at the middle school.  Today should have been a school holiday but because of bad weather days taken earlier in the school year, today ended up being a make-up day.  I sure could have used the day off!

I struggled with what to photograph.  Optimism should have been an easy one, but it wasn't.  As is often the case when I am stumped by the day's prompt, I went for silliness.

107/365-2 Starts With B

"Lots of B"

Something strange and wonderful happened today.  This is my Big Baby (aka my oldest daughter), the one who hates having her picture taken.  During lunch today I texted her and told her that I had fifteen minutes from when I got home from school and then had to leave again for church to get today's POTD done and she was it.  Why?  Her name is Bethany Brooke.  And though my last name is Baker, hers is nut; but, she is a baker by profession.  The letter B just surrounds.  I told her that she could call the shots (literally) regarding what kind of photos I took.  

I was pleasantly surprised when I got home from school and she was ready to go.  She was dressed cutely (in black), had braided her hair for a little extra "B" in the photo, and had her props.  Since she works at the public library, her current stack of library Books added a little more "B-ness."

I am happy to have gotten several fun shots that are truly pictures of her, not the goofy angry expressions I usually get when I point the camera in her direction.

I let Brooke decide which photo would be the official POTD.  Big surprise that she chose a black and white.  That's OK with me.  I am a fan of black and white photographs and truthfully, she is more the black and white kind.

There were even a couple of color images that Brooke said that she liked!  Miracles happened today!

I'm fairly sure that today was my lucky day!  I don't get a real photo session with her very often.  Ever?? The extra photos beyond my POTD are Bonuses - another addition to today's begins with B.

Now I'm going to Bed!

106/365-2 Where I Stand

"To-and-fro"

Today's photo prompt is one of the recurring monthly prompts for 2014.  Its goal is to encourage us to literally look at the the places in which we stand during the day.  

Though my week started off chilly, it is finally beginning to look and feel like spring in Dallas.  This makes my walk from school all the more enjoyable.  I like seeing the newly planted gardens along my way and marking their progress from week to week.  I enjoy looking to see what new colors of blooms I will spy along my way.  The birds are chirping.  The squirrels are playing.  We even have a pair of ducks that has taken up residence, if not a permanent residence at least a frequently visited vacation home, in our yard.  New life surrounds me.  Though I have to confess that fall is hands down my favorite season, spring holds a close second.

As much as I enjoy my walk, I am always happy, at the end of my day, to reach the sidewalk leading up to the front door at home.  For some reason, I seem to be overly tired this week.  The fact that I was standing at the end of today was an accomplishment in itself.

105/365-2 Siesta

"Dog Daze"

Our four-legged family members were able to indulge in a siesta today.  The rest of us had to work.  I got home a little earlier than usual and a nap definitely crossed my mind, but I was afraid that if I had gone to sleep, I would have slept until morning.  Though that might have felt good at the time, tomorrow morning when I was not prepared for the day, the goodness would have come to an end very quickly!

104/365-2 The Chicken Or The Egg

"Knowing What To Ask"

I'd like to say that this photo is the result of being tired, but in all honesty it can only be attributed to a  warped mind.

103/365-2 Comical

"Art Imitates Life"

Nothing more needs to be said here...

102/365-2 Shadow

"Goat Cheese"

We went on an adventure today.  The Heart of Texas Franciscan fellowship had our monthly meeting at Heritage Homestead just outside of Waco.  We shared a meal together at the restaurant there; most of the food is grown by the community right there on the property.  We then moved outside to a picnic table under the trees to discuss the business of the day.  Once we were done with that, the real fun started for me.  We wandered around looking at the handiwork of the woodworkers, potters, blacksmith and fiber artists.  We then strolled through their garden and the barnyard.  For me, this was picture time!

I could not resist the adorable face on this goat.  I did take some better photos than this one, but in an effort to stick to today's prompt, I am posting this one because it has at least a hint of a shadow.

For some reason I was taken with the barbed wire wrapped around the fence.

The further south we went from Dallas, the thicker the spring wildflowers got.  I have never photographed the Texas wildflowers so I was looking forward to that opportunity today.

I love the orange Indian Paintbrush.

And of course the bluebonnets.

I had that wrong lens on my camera when I noticed these cow birds in a sprawling field of wildflowers.  I did the best I could with what I had at the time.

Though I didn't take many photos with it, I am trying to use my Lensbaby a little bit each day in the hope that I will get better with it.

On our way home this evening we stopped in West and got kolaches and a cinnamon roll for sustenance on the long journey home:-)

Today was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the sunshine and the wildflowers.  It was also nice to spend some time with friends whom we haven't seen in a while and have some new scenery to photograph.

101/365-2 Cling/Hug

"Tree Hugger"

If I had been born a few years earlier I would have made one heck of a hippie except maybe for the drugs part.  Instead, I guess I'm just a tree hugger.  

I needed to get today's photo taken this afternoon because we had plans for this evening.   The only things around to hug were the dogs and the cat.  I knew that there was no way that I could get a shot of even one of the dogs and me by myself.  They are too wiggly and way too uncooperative when it comes to photos.  I decided to give the cat a try.  She is purely an indoor cat.  Every now and then she'll sit outside on the patio in someone's lap, but she never goes outside any other way.  I thought I might have half a chance of holding on to her and getting the auto timer on my camera to work.

I like the the high contrast in this photo.  The sun was a little too harsh for "good" photos so I figured I would just go all out with the high contrast.  The cat and I had the same issues with our white hair:-)  

When Weber got home and before we left for a prayer service this evening (about 20 minutes), I managed a couple of shots of the two of us.  I didn't even look at them until we got home.  Weber was happy to help with a photo that involved hugs though he thought rather than clinging, embracing, or grasping, that groping as the prompt would have been much more fun.  And everyone thinks that he is so sweet and cooperative...

100/365-2 A Perfect Duo

"Grow Old Along With Me"

Today's photo was supposed to be food photography, a perfect food duo.  If I had done that, my shot would have been pizza and beer, which is indeed a perfect duo; however,  we ate late tonight so the light would have been no good.  And, there is nothing more unattractive than poorly lit food.  Bad food photography is the absolute worst kind of bad photography.  

If you think a little outside the box, this shot could be consider "food."  These two are actually salt and pepper shakers.  Spices are food, right?

I originally set about photographing the salt and pepper shakers so that I could practice with the Lensbaby.  I though that it would be easy to focus on them out in the grass.  When I looked at the images on the computer, I decided that they are kind of cute.

I bought this back when Weber and I were in the midst of all of our wedding plans.  They were a joke, a possible cake topper:-)   Don't they remind you of us?  A guy in a hat and a woman knitting?  They were just too cute to pass up at the time.  They do still make me smile.

I did manage a couple half way decent, more serious, shots with the Lensbaby.  I need to start practicing with smaller apertures.  One step at a time...

99/365-2 Makes Me Smile

"Makes Me Smile"

I am blessed to have many things, situations and people in my life that make me smile most days.  This guy makes me smile 24/7; he can make me smile even when I am convinced there is not much to be smiling about.

98/365-2 Pull Over/Slow Down

"Say Cheese!"

Life seems so busy right now.  I feel like I am pedaling as hard as I can and am still behind the pack.  So when I read that today's prompt was pull over or slow down and notice the things around you, I just laughed.  Deep down I know that slowing down is not only important but also absolutely necessary to maintaining a healthy body and a healthy spirit, but I can't always make myself do it. 

Case and point: Weber and I did take about 30 minutes this evening to go spend some time together in the hot tub.  It was wonderful except that I still had about an hour of work left to do before tomorrow. I also wanted to post here.   As I sit here writing,  I keep thinking of things that I should have done.  I have two tests to write before Thursday.  Tomorrow I teach straight through from 9-4:30 with only a thirty minute break for lunch and then a rehearsal from 7:15 until???.  I should have written the tests tonight, but I didn't.  Needless to say, I am still behind.  It seems to be a perpetual state for me these days.

We picked Brooke up from work and then went out for a lovely Italian dinner.  Everyone was too tired and too hungry to cook.  On our way home we stopped at the grocery store because we ate dinner out so there were no leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  We are kind of a weird family.  One of our favorite things to do together is go to the grocery store.  Don't judge us!  While we were there, Brooke "pulled over" into the cheese section.  She was happy to find these two little wedges of a gourmet cheddar.

When we got home and were unpacking the groceries, Brooke was still smiling about her purchase.  She was happy enough that she actually WILLINGLY let me photograph her.  This is the kid that usually addresses the camera with words and gestures that are not appropriate for most audiences.  Since she was in such a good mood, I quickly seized the moment before she changed her mind.  Consequently, my camera settings are a little wonky.   That's OK; at least I got a decent picture of my oldest baby.

I challenged myself to get at least one good photo of each of the girls every month this year.  That is an easy task to accomplish with Erin, not so much with Brooke.  It feels good to have the problem subject's photo done on the 8th of the month!  Who knows, maybe I can sneak in a bonus shot of her before April is over.

97/365-2 Macro Monday - Fill the Frame

"Drops"

"No Creative Energy"

Today was a good day generally speaking.  Erin spent the night here last night because she and Brooke had a catering job today.  This meant that this morning I got to have breakfast with my baby.  That was a nice treat.  School was OK too; my Monday classes are fun and not too taxing on my brain, which is a good thing because my brain is really tired right now.  In terms of photography, however, the day was a dismal failure.

Today was "Macro Monday."  This is one of the repeating monthly prompts that addresses various aspects of macro photography.  Usually I love macro shots.  They allow me to see things that I certainly cannot see on my own.  Macro shots open up a whole new world for me.  Most of the time I don't even really know what to expect from the shots i take because I literally can't see what I am photographing. The beauty of macro photography is the revelation of all of the minute details that are visible with these closeup shots.  For me, looking at the images on the computer is like opening presents on Christmas morning; I never know what I am about to see.  

Today, however, was a complete failure for me as far as taking pictures that I liked.  I started with flowers in the yard.  I took many shots, but all of the flowers looked kind of scraggly and uninteresting.  With that lack of success, I took a break and had dinner.  Then I did some work for school hoping that I would be struck with even a little piece of inspiration.  No such luck.

I began wandering around the house looking for something, anything, that would pass for today's photo of the day.  I felt this weird sense of desperation.  I think this was because I had no clue what to do.  There are days where I have a vision and can't make it happen right away.  I am OK with staying with the process until I have something with which I can live; however,  I don't know how to handle not having any ideas at all.  And this is exactly where I found myself today.

I finally ended up with a lightbulb.  This makes me laugh since lightbulbs require energy and I have none tonight, creative or otherwise.  I played around with a couple of shots of the lightbulb; nothing spectacular came from that.  I then reached for a flower that had fallen off of a plant in the kitchen window.  Again, I tried a few different things.  Nothing was making me happy.  I finally gave up and decided I would just have to make something work.  

So here you see the fruits of my desperation.  Oh, and I didn't even come close to following the prompt's direction to "fill the frame."

96/365-2 Displayed

"Going For A Spin"

I liked the bright colors of this garden spinner displayed outside of a toy store.

95/365-2 Imperfect

"Laying It All Out There"

How do the months pass so quickly?  Today, being the first Saturday of the month, is self portrait Saturday.  The goal of today's prompt was to embrace and photograph our imperfections.   As I thought about what to do with this, I realized how much I have grown as a person and a photographer over the past sixteen months of taking self portraits.  This time last year I would have been overwhelmed by this prompt.  I would have gotten bogged down by the many imperfections that I have and had no clue how to start either photographing them or embracing them.

I have become much more comfortable in my own skin.  Instead of looking at every photo of myself and looking for what is wrong, I start with looking for things that I like.  I still have many imperfections, but I have learned to look beyond them and I don't worry as much about them.  I could definitely do without all the wrinkles here, but they too can be put in perspective.  A fellow photographer said that all of our wrinkles are well earned and that each holds a story, a memory or a laugh.  When I think about them that way, they don't seem so bad.  

So here I am...wrinkles (both me and my shirt) and no make-up.  What you see is what you get.

94/365-2 Look Up

"Layers of Life"

I am so grateful for today.  As it turned out, I have had all day at home.  This gave me the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather (much improved over last night's tornadoes) and play with my Lensbaby, which has been neglected lately. In addition to all of this, Weber had training today so was able to come home for lunch.  I could used to this lifestyle quite easily!

This photo was taken while laying down on the ground and looking up through the new growth on the shrubs at the budding trees in the background.  All of the new layers of life are so beautiful.

Here is another shot from today.

Now it is off to play for a Taize service and share a little food and fellowship with friends afterwards.

93/365-2 Where I Work

"Hard Working Keys"

I have been teaching in the same place since 1992.  I can't believe it has been 24 years; well, really 23.  I took a year off early on to teach elementary music at the school that my girls were attending at the time.  Back then, as a doctoral student, I figured this would just be a job that would give me some experience, something to put on my resume, a stepping stone of sorts that would allow me to move on to bigger and better things.  After all, everyone knows that community colleges are the stepchildren in higher education.

As it turns out, I really love this environment.  My classes are small and I have an opportunity to get to know every music major that comes through our program.  What I have learned about myself in my twenty plus years of teaching at Brookhaven is that though I am trained as a music theorist and that is what I "do," my calling is really as a teacher.  God just put in the field of music to live out that call.  I know this because I am happy teaching just about anything - music theory and composition for sure, but also knitting and journaling and study skills.  There is just something about helping people learn, learn anything, and grow as human beings that feeds my soul.

Not only have I taught at the same school all these years, I have also taught in the same classroom most of that time.  Until I began the Capture Your 365 project it had never crossed my mind to take photos at school.  I am so grateful for prompt's like today's.  How sad would it be to come to retirement (should I ever get to that point) and have not a single visual reminder of where I spent so much of my life and gave so much of myself to others.

Though I do a lot of work outside of the classroom, it is in class with my students that I feel like I do my best work.  This is why I chose to focus on my classroom rather than office or dining room table at home.  Everything that I teach involves piano playing.  This photo is the piano in my classroom with a glimpse of the room itself reflected in the piano.  The music is a Chopin prelude that one of my classes was analyzing today.  You may notice an important thing missing in this shot - students.  I did not feel comfortable photographing my students and posting their pictures online.

I feel so blessed to have a job that I love doing exactly what I want to be doing.  My students are fantastic as are my colleagues.  As a teacher, I am never going to be rich in the material sense, but there is no amount of money that can buy the kind of joy I receive from being in the classroom every day.

92/365-2 Framed

"Who Framed Who?"

This isn't the image I thought I was after, but I like it.  

91/365-2 Focus

"Feeling Low"

I personally am not feeling low, but when I looked at a stack of papers on my desk in which a piece of music was turned sideways, this poor little bass clef looked so sad.  Though I have been looking at bass clefs for MANY years, I had never noticed their "un-smiley" face before.  This made me chuckle.

Today's prompt had more to do with technique, achieving sharp focus than the philosophical ideas surrounding focus, but I had no idea what I was going to photograph so this became it.  I think that the quote is sound advice for us all.