Trees in the Wind...

It's funny to look back at my photography just 7 or so years (postcards) and to see how different I see things now (abstract? or impressionist?). It seems the less discernible things in the photograph, the more I "see" in it. I was enjoying the backyard in this very windy, yet warm, winter day with my dogs and my daughter. I liked all the movement of the trees (while hoping they wouldn't fall on the house!), so I grabbed the D70s with the pinhole body cap and tried to capture the feeling of the afternoon. This one really struck me...

Kodacolor VR

Hmmmm... Just finished the roll out of my new Yunon and I discovered this little gem inside. When I purchased the camera I had opened it to look inside, discovered the film, and immediately closed it. I knew it was Kodak because of the yellow, but I had no idea it was old. According to the wiki it was discontinued in 1986. There is no date on the canister, but this thing could be more than 20 years old???

I need a project...

Seriously... For this last year, my husband and I have been trying to get a business going and I've really put off any serious projects. My last big project was my solo show back in May 2007. I just cannot imagine another year of a little of this, a little of that, with nothing significant to show at the end. I am a goal oriented person, too. I am really not motivated without one. I cannot just go out and make a coherent portfolio with no "end" result. So, the next few days are going to be used to figure out what that goal is. In the meantime, I'll be shooting with my toys, enjoying flickr, knitting, and taking a metal clay jewelry workshop... See? No direction...

And all this has nothing to do with these two cute critters...

Fall...

Well, fall was here and now is nearly over. Our trees in the yard seemed to be quite uninspiring this year. But, as I explored a little further, I noticed this tiny fire red maple in the woody area of our yard.

Driving Rain...

Well, I have arrived home from lovely (and warm) St. Pete Beach, Florida safe and sound. The drive was long and very boring. I am notorious (at least to my family) for my car sickness and my inability to sleep in a car. I am rarely ever a passenger and I NEVER ride in the back seat of any vehicle (unless I have an unobstructed view of the windshield). But, a 13 hour ride does mean down time. So, to entertain myself, I just took long exposures through the rainy windshield of the car. And from about 100 shots, I actually liked one.

Long lost trip to DC

I made a trip to DC quite a few weeks ago with the hubby & daughter. Reminder to self... Never take daughter downtown after bad night sleep. We were there for almost an entire hour! Seriously, I think the travel time in & out were longer than the time spent in town. So, my pictures were SERIOUSLY lacking even though it was a PERFECT sky that day. Many clouds and cool shadow & light play. Ah well. I did get a nice pinhole shot of the Washington Monument.

Dedication

I'm sure I've mentioned this before (and I'm sure I'll mention this many times more from now), but there is this amazing painter, Steven Walker I met while working at the FCCA. After admiring (and drooling over) his work for nearly a year, I finally acquired not 1, but 2 pieces of his work. Now that I'm writing this, I feel like I need to post an image of those 2 pieces, but I'll save that for another post. Right now I dedicate this "big sky" to him...

Vacation

This was the last big "hoo-rah" before school starts in September. My daughter and I made a whirlwind tour of the grandparents (my husband's and mine) this past week. With all the sleeping I've been doing (the joy of having doting grandparents), I have hardly time to check my email! I did get out today to enjoy the rural scenes in Parsonsburg, MD with the moody skies and all. Lovely!

Those tall trees...

I was out in this beautiful unusually cool August day (76 degrees!!) making some images with the digital pinhole. Funny, how you go out with an idea and end up coming back with something completely different than you started with. I started playing with panning the camera up while looking at the many pine and tulip trees (two very tall types of trees) in our back yard. I like the vertical-ness (hmm... maybe I should have held the camera vertical!) of the image that wasn't planned...

Back to the Lensbaby

I had a friend out to the country today for a visit with her daughter. She's also a photographer in the Fredericksburg, VA area. So, while she was out here I showed her some of my cool toys, including the Lensbaby 3G. She loved it SO much, she left with the intention of buying one for herself. So, since it was on the camera, I decided to take some shots this evening. I've been taking SO many pictures of pretty flowers, I decided it was time for a change...

I need a cleaning person...

When I graduated college, I had my own place (rented apartments & owned a townhouse) for 7 years (until I got married). I had very clean, neat places. Then I got a dog (Dinah), then a boyfriend (now husband) with 2 dogs (Bubba and Danielle), then another dog (Rusty), then another dog (Jack), then a HUGE house, then another dog (Buckers, yes 6 dogs now), then a daughter (Alexis), then slowly 5 dogs, 4 dogs, 3 dogs, 2 dogs, 1 dog, and lastly 2 dogs (now Dinah & Moose). It is tough being the only neat freak in the house. I've spent the last 3 days cleaning, neatening, and otherwise trying to control this mess I've got growing around me. I'm tired...

Snapped on the Pinhole...

Well, after playing "macro" with my compact point & shoot camera for quite a few days, I decided to snap on the NO DUST digital pinhole bodycap from Pinhole Resource on to my D70s. So, the past few days have been full of blurry flowers and mushrooms instead of crystal clear ones. Ha, ha... I'm having fun and that is all that matters. Here is the blurry picture of the day!!

Ah... The Beauty...

My father has again purchased a Harley Davidson. He's had "quite a few" according to Mom... But, I got to go with him to the dealership to pick it up today and while I was waiting, I snapped a few with my Lensbaby 3G of some of the show bikes. This is one of my favorites and it is when they brought his bike out from the back.

The Apple Tree

I have been documenting the first appearance of apples on a tree that I planted nearly 6 years ago. I have 7 that have survived. The tree is nicely "netted" to prevent the many birds & squirrels out here in the country from tasting them. I just hope I get to take one bite of these beautiful things. Here is a slideshow of their progress.

I am old.

Yes, at the age of 35, I am officially old. You see, here I am in Charlottesville, VA for the Festival of the Photograph and it is just after 9PM and I am in my tiny little dorm room with a glass of wine and soon a good book. There is a huge event with dancing, drinking, and a slideshow of up and coming photographers tonight that goes until 2AM. 2AM? Yikes, I am only up at 2AM if my 3 year old wakes me up. This afternoon, I listened to Sally Mann speak of her current work and she showed for the first time 2 new bodies of "works in progress". She is one amazing woman. She is the reason I came to this event this weekend.

It was a nice 96 degrees and humid today. Lovely for strolling outside weighed down with camera equipment. It's funny seeing SO many people carrying cameras or camera bags all over this little historical downtown mall. Oh, and these cool tags that everyone is wearing. It's like a being in a not-so-secret club.



So, off to bed for me. Tomorrow is a documentary film about Sally Mann's photographic process and probably some shopping.

11 more days!

Well, the next 11 days will be spent cutting acrylic (husband is doing that!) and framing, framing, framing. Also, I hope to have a couple of collages (rose petals and daylily stems and lots of black) to show as well. Funny, how the "fun" goes out of art when you HAVE TO GET IT DONE!!! Ah, well. This is my only "hu-rah" this year. Husband is quiting job, starting a business, and well, we'll be basically income-less (except for that nice home equity loan to live off of) for the next year or so. Ah, to live like a starving artist... :) I'm still shooting and LOVIN' CS3 (once it finally installed correctly!).

Hello, world!

I'm here and ready to blog.