Birthday Cruise

Yesterday was Dick's birthday, so to celebrate we drove down to St. Michael's for crabs.  They were yummy.  Afterwards, we took a "cruise" on the Miles River.  It was a beautiful day and the waters were calm and peaceful.  The ship left the harbor and we were out for about an hour.  We say lots of osprey nests and some really gorgeous homes on the waterfront.  Got lots of shots.  Here are just a few.

The Crab Claw Restaurant

You'd never know there was anything wrong with the economy!  Look at all the boats .  Tons more behind me that you can't see and each one bigger than the last.  

Osprey on the Nest

This osprey was a little annoyed that our ship got so close.  The Captain said that the eggs hatched about a week ago.  I'd love to get down there to see them start flying around.

Sailboat with Dingy

We can maybe afford the dingy.  Maybe.  I'd love to go sailing some day.  We did see a charter sailboat and I took a picture of their sign with the phone number.  Hmmmm.  Anybody out there wanna go?

CLASS PHOTOS...over for now

OK, class photos are over for now.  I'm still working and will post more in a week or so, but there are two more photos i'd like to show you.  Two things that I always think of in May.

My Mommom's favorite flower was the peony.  When I sold her house I moved all her peony bushes to my house.  They are about 80 years old and they had more blooms on them this year than I have ever seen.  I brought three bunches into the house because I just love their perfume.  They are as big a part of my growing up as Mommom was.  We used to go out and pick them together when I was a young girl.  They will always remind me of her.  

MOMMOM'S PEONY

And the last picture I will post tonight is of OLD GLORY.  May she ever wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.  Nothing symbolizes FREEDOM to me more that our flag.

I would like to wish you a very happy Memorial Day holiday.  Enjoy your picnics and family celebrations.   And while you are celebrating, please remember those who have paid the price so that we may live free.  We honor these men of our Armed Forces today and everyday.

AND MORE CLASS PHOTOS...

The next assignment is to photograph Office Art...Ok, so how can you photograph paper clips?  I struggled for about 1 minute, then I just started emptying my drawer.  I found wonderful photos with things I use everyday.  I took about 50 photos.  Some were very successful, some not so much.  Here are the best and one of the worst.

Look Familiar?  That's right STAPLES!

I had some fun lining them up and slanting them into a 45 degree angle.  Then I started shooting, holding a red envelope next to them to get some color into them.  I liked this effect.

Keyboard, of course.

You can't not shoot your keyboard.  Again I held the red envelope up there to give some dimension tot he keys and make them stand out.

VIOLET CDs...

OK, I resorted to photoshop on this one.  Had fun playing around with the flash on the CDs.  Then I added some violet color to make them sparkle.

MOUSE PAD

Just to add some color, I shot my mouse pad.  I liked the carpety texture and loved the colors.  Can you just look at these photos and imagine that they are office supplies?  This was a great exercise.

I did have one moment of creative bliss...I made a gold paper clip necklace and shot it on a black velvet jeweler's stand, but I just don't have the knowledge to do this as professionally as I'd like to.  I didn't submit if as class work, but here it is.  I thought it was a clever idea, but couldn't pull it off.  Some day I will be able to!

GOOD CONCEPT...BAD RENDITION

Better days are coming.

MORE CLASS PHOTOS...

The next assignment was to take a walk around the block and photograph what you see.  


Well, I don't live on a block, but I tried my best.

Bronze Bell Detail

I managed to find a bronze bell with this detail on it.  I liked the colorations in the bronze. The oxidation has caused parts to turn green, like a verde gris finish.  I liked also, the way the early morning light was hitting it.  One down.

Japanese Helicopters

I walked under a Japanese Maple tree and found a million helicopters.  You know, this things you used to stick on your nose in the school play yard.  I love the way the background sparkles using limited depth of field.  This is probably one of my favorite photos.

PLEASE TURN ME OVER...THANKS!

I thought this rock was so cute.  When you turn it over, it says "Thanks!"  The fact that it was nestled into a bunch of red verbena was a bonus.  

OK, Walk Around the Block is completed.

CLASS PHOTOS...

Well,  seems I've been away for awhile again.  I've been busy with my new classes.  there have been many challenges to overcome, but I've learned a great deal.  I'm am going to post some entries from my latest class...Developing Your Creative Edge with Carol Leigh.  Carol is a great teacher with many great ideas for getting the creative juices running.  This class has been all about seeing and translating what I see.
So here are some entries for the class.


WINDOWS, WALLS DOORS AND THE OCCASIONAL ROOF...

This photo counts as a double header...it's both a window and a wall.  The picture is painted on a piece of plywood in the Trompe L'oell (fool the eye) manner.  There are actually 4 paintings in this group.  The wall is about 30 feet long.  But I especially likes this picture.  They were painted about 10 years ago and are starting to show some wear  now.    The wall is crumbling.  it's a shame because it was a nice neighborhood addition.  

This one took me all the way to Avondale, PA to the VaLa Winery.  It was a hard job, but someone had to do it.  Another wall.  Not doing too well finding windows or doors.  But I liked the texture of the rock and the mica shining through it.  The fact that the sign announced that you were in the Tasting Room was a "good thing", as Martha would say.  We were there for the photographic angle, but the tasting part was pretty good, too.

Ahhhh, yes...the occasional roof!

So we went to Media to get some doors, windows and walls, but only found the occasional roof!  Such a quaint old town, but everything in it was modernized.  No rusty old hardware, or cute windows with window boxes.  Just the occasional roof.

THE PROJECT...

I can't believe I've been away so darned long.  Looks like it's really hard to keep up with a daily pic. I've had a lot going on.  Arizona finally sold...New computer = learning curve (PC to Mac)...and photography classes.  I will try to post more regularly, but can't do the daily.  No sense promising, when I just get too caught up in other things.  

So here goes.  I will begin posting a project I've been working on during the month of April.  The class was called Parts is Parts and the concept is to take one object and take 10 really good pictures of it in all kinds of situations.  I worked really hard on my object.  It's hard to pick one.  It has to be really photogenic and have good bones.  I narrowed it down to three and finally chose this one.  Can you guess what it is from this picture?

STICKS




Scroll down and click on OLDER POSTS for the entire project.  I believe it's 6 pages long. Stop when you see the Skyscraper...Reflection Building

STRINGWORK

HALF-OPENED

RIBS

TIP

STRINGBOWL

OUTSIDE FLOWER

Fan 2

Fan 3

OPEN - CANDLELIGHT

BIRDS - FLASHLIGHT

OPEN STICKS

OPEN - FLASHLIGHT

OPEN - DAYLIGHT

MY FAVORITE SHOT OF THE WHOLE PROJECT -

 I CALL IT SQUARE FLARE

TA-DA!!

BEHOLD!  THE PARASOL