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.