Is it really almost September? Already, the white anemones in our front yard are in bloom, the last of our plants to flower before fall and winter come. Other than the heat wave we had recently, the summer has been pretty mild. Too mild, maybe, since our tomatoes plants are still only laden with green fruit.
This has been an unusual month for me. I guess something is out of whack with my system, and my body is letting me know it. Usually I feel fine. Hopefully it is nothing to be alarmed about, but the advice nurse at the clinic scheduled some tests and an appointment early next week. At this point, I’m happy to go.
I inspect the garden every day. Although we were sad to loose our backyard trees earlier this year, the garden is flourishing. I’m often surprised by even the day to day changes, and especially the details. Take a look:
Have a great weekend!
I was looking through our recent Lake Quinault camping photos again and noticed that I didn’t include any of the detail shots. It’s easy to be bowled over by the big picture (so green! giant trees! lots of rain!), but a lot of what makes the rain forest such a special place are the little things – the carpets of clover, the furry mosses, the delicate unfurling of a fern frond – all those tiny lives being forged out of the clouds and mist. It’s amazing. I think its worth a second look, don’t you?
Good thing my husband owns a water camera! As part of my goals for 2010, I am posting a weekly self-portrait “plus.” See the entire set here.
Check out the Cloak Bag. The photographer in me is really tickled by this, but if I saw someone actually shooting with it I’m sure I would think it strange. However, it does partially fulfill my desire for a small, lightweight bag to conceal my equipment when I didn’t want to be so obvious (which is often). That is one thing about dSLRs. They are so in-your-face when I’d rather they be as discreet as point-and-shoots. I guess that’s the price we pay for better quality and control.
What do you think? Would you carry this bag? via
As part of my goals for 2010, I am posting a weekly self-portrait “plus.” See the entire set here.
Check it out! My photograph made the cover of the The Living River art exhibit postcard! I smile just thinking about it, and can’t wait to see the full exhibit in person. You can download a pdf of the postcard which includes accompanying events like a documentary film and speaker series here. Does this mean that I can call myself a real artist now? 
This is posting late, but was taken last week of the reflection in the mirror of Chloe’s art class. As part of my goals for 2010, I am posting a weekly self-portrait “plus.” See the entire set here.
I’ve been feeling a little bad about the last post. Some days are just harder than others, and I realize that there are a lot of people that would happily exchange their problems for mine. So today I’m just concentrating on happiness and I’m finding a lot to be happy for.
Happiness today is…
- Chloe going back to sleep after waking up early
- Spending that extra time snuggling with my honey
- Watching Chloe’s happily explore during her art class
- Driving downtown to pick up my professionally printed photo for the Living River juried art exhibit. Can you believe it?! My photo was one of 80 works (from textiles, sculpture, photography, paintings, etc) selected out of over 350 submissions. I’ve never “shown” my work like this before, which is kind of thrilling.
- Treating myself to a mocha and bressane from the Pearl Bakery.
- Chloe falling asleep on the way home, and then taking a second nap later in the afternoon.
- Finding out my mother-in-law is coming for a visit!
Just a round-up of some pretty snazzy camera bags available. I own the Crumpler, a gift from my husband, which is a good fit for my lifestyle right now (aka camera/diaper bag). However, in a perfect world, I’d love to be able to design my own. If you feel the same, check out KATA’s Dream Bag Challenge. You can submit your own original idea for the chance to have your bag hand-built, and to win a professional photo kit worth $5000 (including a Canon 5D Mark II DSLR body, 2 Canon lenses, Gitzo tripod kit and Litepanels Camera Light).
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Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home
Acme Made “Stella”
ORKIO Cafe SLR Bagz
Jill-e Medium Chocolate Brown Suede
Acme Made “Bowler”
Emera quilted bag
The Kelly Moore Bag
KaTa 123_GO_10
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Clik Traveler
From top to bottom: crocus, plum blossoms, camellia
Just thought I’d share some of the blossoming signs of spring that Chloe and I found around the yard a few days ago.
Published on
February 17, 2010 in
Design, Photos, Reading and Things to Make.
Tags: Book, build, camera, cd, diy, Fun, handmade, make, paper, photography, Photos, pinhole, template.
I found a very interesting book on the new arrival shelf at the library yesterday. A book called Build Fun Paper Cameras: Take Eye-Catching Pinhole Photos
. My first thought was Hmm, those look pretty cool! My second thought was They still make 35mm film?! It is almost hard for me to believe that everyone just doesn’t use digital these days. I love the instant satisfaction of seeing an image onscreen (especially handy when I notice a detail that needs fixing). Film cameras don’t give you that amount of control, and that idea is… intriguing.
So, I’m curious. I decided to check the book out and experiment. What if I had to physically rely on myself to manage the exposure (and not just tell my digital camera how long to do it for me)? I mean literally open and close the shutter by hand, and not with the press of a button? What would it be like to manually make my own equipment? And wind the film myself? I’m guessing the worst that can happen will be that none of my photos come out, but even so I’ll have made some pretty nifty little paper cameras. So, if you’ll excuse me – I have a Coke can to cut and pierce, film to find and purchase, and 8 sheets of freshly printed card stock to cut, fold and assemble.
To be continued…
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(1) Maple leaves in the forest (2) White flowers, Smith Rock
(3) Indian Paintbrush at the grandparent’s (4) Miniature Rose in our yard
I’m thinking about putting new photographs in the four gallery frames hanging in our living room. Over the years they’ve held illustrations, photos, artwork, magazine pages and right now they’re displaying fabric. However, you’d think with all the photos I take, I’d easily fill those four frames with new photographs. But, no. The issue? Finding four vertical shots to make a set. Since I don’t often photograph vertically, there is a limited number to choose from. Choosing a matched pair is easy. A set of three, fine. Finding four that look good together? That’s a challenge.
I briefly considered doing four shots of Chloe, but it seemed too shrine-like in our little house. Then I considered texture shots, but now I’m thinking about the four nature scenes above. I think what ties these together is the sunlight and glow of color, plus the combination of crisp foreground and softer background. I also like that Chloe and David are represented in one of them, but not overly so.
Someday I’d like to shoot a set of nice black & whites – maybe architectural in theme – bridges, buildings, cityscapes. I like the set of three France photographs donated to Craft Hope’s Etsy shop (they sold!), but they are all horizontal, too. Or maybe I just need to scrap the current frame layout and turn them all sideways. Hmm… there’s a thought.
Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a maternity session for a friend of a friend (see more photos). I tried to capture her gorgeous shape the best I could, but I know I have a lot to learn. On top of my list is focus, photo-editing, and how to better use my speedlite. This past week I attended a Canon Intermediate Discovery presentation and am excited to practice all I’ve learned. Sadly, it has already been several days and I haven’t once cracked open the workbook. Just where does all the time go?
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