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.