36/365 Nap

"A Long Week Ahead"

I thought today's picture would be a piece of cake.  There is always some furry four-legged critter napping around here somewhere.  Harley is usually asleep on the couch.  Adidas is usually in Weber's chair and Frankie is usually curled up in the divot that she has created for herself on the back of the chair in our bedroom.  I figured Frankie would be the easiest shot because she enjoys an afternoon nap with the sun shining in on her.

Just in case, I took the above picture at school this morning.  As I was walking through the student union, I saw this poor boy napping on one of the couches.  I'm not comfortable taking pictures of strangers and I'm not a stealth photographer, but this image was just so perfect for the prompt.  I had my iPad in my hand.  I quickly snapped the shot;  I didn't want to look like some crazed stalker or anything like that.  It is not a great picture technically, but it definitely conveys the idea of a nap.  You know it is going to be a long week when you find yourself this way at 9 am on Tuesday morning!  

The truth is that I didn't think that this would end up being THE picture of the day.

When I got home, I grabbed my camera and went hunting for my intended subjects.  Frankie was not in her typical spot.  She was on Brooke's bed - not really asleep.  She gave me this look that said, "I might be napping if you weren't in here with that **** camera."

 Adidas was having nothing of a nap.  Quite the contrary.  He was wide awake and gave me his sexy old Lab look as I headed toward him with the camera.

Harley, always wanting to be the one to please me, finally settled in for a little snooze, just long enough for me to get a picture of those scrunched closed eyes.  Harley may be sound asleep, but the ears never rest!

Naps of one of those awesome luxuries in life that I wish I experienced more often.  I definitely don't have enough of them!  Oh to be a cat or a dog . . .until they sound you out in the back yard to pee.

35/365 Beat

"Lifted Drum"

"We lift our drums confidently
or cautiously
and begin to play loudly
or softly
Wildly
or with reserve
From the heart
or from the head
Knowing our place in the song
or doubting ourselves."

34/365 A Splash of Red

"Grading"

I had  lot to do today to get all my ducks in a row for the upcoming school week.  I had told myself that I could not work on today's photo until all of my real work was done.  I was OK with that because I wasn't sure where I was going with the "splash of red" idea.  I didn't want one of those trite Valentine's Day candy shots like I have seen way too many of already.

As I was finishing up my grading, the above is what was in front of me.  It doesn't get much redder than that!  The funny thing here is that I almost never grade in red.  I prefer purple, but could not find my purple pen when I started this process.  I was more interested in getting it done than searching for my "real" grading pen.

After I got home from Resounding Harmony rehearsal, I played around a little with red.  This shot was just for fun.  

33/365 A Shadow

"Flying"

I am envious of many of the folks on the Capture Your 365 forum because they have little ones at home to provide endless photo opportunities.  So when Erin came over with her rollerblades, I decided to take advantage of the situation and grab my camera.  

Though the shadow is not the predominant feature in this picture, I love the angle that it creates with her body.  In fact, this image is all about angles.  I shot this on the diagonal in an attempt to de-emphasize the less than perfect background.  I don't know if that worked, but I do like the overall effect of this one.

Here is another shadow image.

Erin and her skates also gave the opportunity to practice taking action shots.  I was shooting for clarity. Next time I'll work on motion blur.  This girl is serious about her skating.

In between laps around the circle, we talked about how kids used to spend weekends at the local skating rink, about how much fun that was and the exercise that it provided.  Now kids sit on the couch, drink soda and eat chips and play virtual sports. No wonder today's children are plagued with health issues.

She did lighten up and smile.

There were moments when the expression on her face emanated pure joy.

Even youth tires.  She took a break and offered me the opportunity to take a spin on her skates.  As an adult, I owned a pair of rollerblades and I actually used them, but that was a long time ago.  Without giving it much thought, I kicked off my shoes and buckled those skates around my ankles.  Off I went . . .sort of.  Suddenly I realized just how long it had been since I was on skates.  Suddenly I realized that my shins hurt.  Suddenly I realized that I had to play a gig that night and if I fell and broke my arm I was going to be in a world of hurt both literally and figuratively.  If that all wasn't bad enough, I suddenly realized that my beloved child had picked up my camera and was documenting all of this.  That was enough to make me determined not to do a face plant in the middle of the circle.

All things considered, I did pretty well.  I was reminded of how much I like to skate and how weak my ankles have gotten.  I did have fun and I managed a smile as well.

Erin is trying to convince me to get a pair of rollerblades.  Doing so will either keep me young or accelerate the aging process.  Once I figure out which of those is more likely, Ill make a decision on whether or not to buy some skates.  

We both had a good afternoon of fun.  Hopefully there will be more like it.

Am I too old for this??

32/365

"Words of Wisdom"

One of the nice things about teaching at the college level is that you can become friends with your students without being fired or arrested.  When this happens, I find that the learning is a two way street. One such student brought me this quote this week.  As someone who has been married longer than I have been alive,  I am going to trust her and Twain on this one!

31/365 On the Thirds

"My Boots"

Today's task was to create an image that clearly illustrates the "rule of thirds."  If your frame is divided into nine equal blocks, the interest in the photo should be at the intersection of a vertical and a horizontal line.  With a little imagination, this one works.

As an added bonus, while shooting for today's prompt, I also accomplished the second assignment for the online class that I am taking, which was to photograph "half".  What's up with the fractions today?

This image may be pushing the parameters a bit.  One boot divides the frame in half vertically and the other one divides it horizontally.  I suspect that if I am held to the letter of law, I will be told that this picture has too much in it.  We'll see.

I have always been one to push the limits.  I don't see that changing any time soon.

30/365 Faceless Portrait

"Evening in the Park"

I love silhouette shots though I have never taken any.  When I first saw the "faceless portrait" prompt earlier in the month, I decided that I wanted to try to take a silhouette.  What I failed to do was figure in some time to learn how to do it before today.  So, armed with little knowledge and little time, we headed to the park to give it a try.  I can say two things: 1) I tried. and 2) I have a lot to learn.  On a positive note, I am a sucker for just about any image of this guy in his hat so I'm OK with this first attempt.  Everything worth doing in life has a learning curve.