Happy Boxing Day!

Wow. Christmas is over for another year! I got a hug and many smiles from my nephew, a bellyache from laughing so hard, and what seems to be a pulled muscle from several victorious rounds of Wii boxing. I think I have discovered a new talent and pastime.

I didn't pick up my camera as often as I wish I had, but it is hard to entertain and photograph at the same time. Not impossible, just a challenge that simply means when you are doing one, you are neglecting the other. Such is life. But at least I got this shot that shows our Santa Pumpkin, along with a few others that make me smile....

Things started off with Max like this, but quickly turned into..

... this. Let's rock&roll, it's Christmas!

And this...we are a family of out-loud laughers.

Gift Opening Gone Wild:)

Pete and Max laugh at how hilarious they just were.

As usual, may family came over to our house where we mix old traditions with some of our new ones, and spend a lot of time laughing, eating, and tearing into presents. We ate a late breakfast with some favorites from my childhood - Monkey Bread and Cinnamon Rolls in the shape of a tree with green frosting. How my brother and I used to fight over the 'filet' as kids! Now he doesn't have to worry about me snagging the prized cinnamon roll since I am too busy making and eating my own Gluten-Free baked goods, and sometimes wrapping a final present I somehow forgot. Christmas 2008 will go down in the books as one with lots of laughter and joking and the year my nephew Max showed up with red ink stains all over his hands, arms, and neck. Seems he and his Uncle Pete thought it would be cool to build a snowvolcano (as opposed to a snowman), which would naturally require some red lava. Turns out red food coloring is permanent, a detail previously unknown to Uncle Pete. I laughed every time Max put his hands anywhere near my line of vision.

Later in the day Max is happily licking chocolate batter off his face. What he doesn't know, or doesn't care about is the fact that it's Gluten-Free chocolate batter.

And, so today on this day after an exhausting and fun Christmas I have declared Boxing Day as the day where sleeping in is allowed, guilt-free. Staying in pj's, reading books, playing with new toys, and feeling no pressure to go anywhere are also greeted without guilt and with great happiness. That's sort of how I have spent the day, especially the sleeping in part.

Thank Goodness...

...today isn't trash day. We still have some digging out to do.






We'll get to this pile, among other things, after all the holiday madness is over. For now, I'm off to finish my letter to Santa. Wonder if I've been good enough for him to bring me a 70-200 zoom lens that opens up to F2? Hmmmm....

Ladies Night

It occurred to me the other day that I have been posting an awful lot of photos of the twigs in my backyard, and not much of the people and life that I claim to photograph in the title of this blog. That made me think two things. One, my yard must be photo-worthy, and Two, I need to get out of my own backyard! Here are some fun photos from a night spent with friends. And, yes, the song 'Ladies Night' by Kool & The Gang is playing in my head as I write this!

The centerpiece on our table. Pretty.

Some of my high school gal pals and I have been getting together over the last few months to have a ladies night out, or 'mommies night out' as I like to call it behind their backs and to everyone on the world wide web (all 3 of you who read this blog). The mommies show up eager for adult conversation and perhaps some adult beverages. While I, the friend without kids, show up just hoping for a meal without gluten and a chance to laugh at my friends while they celebrate a few hours of freedom. Different worlds but with strong ties...

I was wondering how much, or actually, how little focus I could get away with. Funky light, delicious food, and great company at Local 188 set the stage for some artsy photos. I'm not sure if you heard, but when a photo is not in focus, you (the photographer) have license to say things like "I meant to do that - it's art!" I took a lot of artistic license in these photos. But I think they still convey a certain feeling.

I sat facing the window on purpose because I really liked all the lights in the background. And, if you are hoping to pick up technical tips along the way as you read this here bloggity blog then just know that I shot these images at 800 ISO, with a 50mm. I had a very shallow depth of field, at times only 1.4. It is my opinion that the 50mm is one of the most under-rated lenses. You can get your hands on them for very little money (even those that open up to F1.4), and this kind of flexibility is really a necessity if you like shooting in low light/natural light situations. Perhaps opinions on lenses would be better used on a different day with a different post! Stay tuned..

Mary Lou plays up to the camera. There is a light around her finger that looks like a glowing ring. I dig it.

Hanna the Happy Lawyer laughs her way through the meal, attracting all sorts of attention. It's hard to hold a camera still while laughing.

I heart this photo. In focus or not, you know exactly what is going on here.

Stuffed and paid up. Time to head out into the cold...

Yard of Glass

Snow day = YAY! Though I guess I should really be calling it an Ice Day. No school, no work for many, no power, lights, heat, or internet for almost all. Yeah, that's right, I said no internet! No internet and no coffee on the morning of my birthday seemed adventurous at first. I bundled up and took my camera out once again to capture what was happening in my own backyard...





Shortly into the adventure of the Ice Day I was soaked and struggling to protect my camera, which for some reason I found humorous. But the beauty of what ice does to everything makes it hard to just put the camera down. And isn't it weird that while it was an ice storm, I was walking around with wet coat, hair, camera, hands, etc.? It felt almost like rain, only much colder and clearly, with a much bigger impact. As I write this, thousands are still without power and heat. Chainsaws were heard almost in unison across New England today.







And soon I realized that the beauty is also fragile. I backed into a bush while talking to my neighbors who took some heavy tree damage, and the whole thing almost toppled over. I nearly broke a bush just by lightly bumping into it! It was as if my entire yard was made of glass...





And I will admit that since I am both a caffeine and internet addict (that sounded much worse than it was intended), after my little camera adventure I hopped in my car and drove until I found a place with lights on that would also have heat and the two things I was craving most at that moment. The coffee was great, the stolen wireless signal - not so much.

Magical Morning

What scene was outside your window this morning? I awoke to white ground and lazy falling snowflakes. All these years of living in cold places, the first snowfall still excites me, still feels a little magical.


I'm pretty sure I couldn't live without it.

And how great that it happened on a Sunday, which makes sure that the snow is enjoyed and appreciated by many. It may not have amounted to much, despite its efforts to keep drifting and doing a slow dance towards the ground, but it was just enough. I think I'm finally getting into the spirit of the season!

Get up and Go-Go

Rock & Roll Diner - Scarborough, ME.

'Tis the Season for parties and gatherings and craziness AND the Bakery Collective's annual Photo A Go-Go. So, if you are in the Portland Maine area and wondering what you should do on Friday, December 12, the G0-Go is the perfect party.

Plus, it's your chance to get amazing framed photographs at unbelievable prices. While you are there you will be entertained, fed, and liquored up (if you so choose). You may even find yourself shmoozing with talent that comes from all over the country to support this annual festive fundraiser.

The image above is my donation this year, the first time I have ever donated a color print. A sign of my times, perhaps, and how my work and vision are shifting somewhat.

I just happen to work directly below their space, so I took a peak around yesterday as they were hanging the show and I have to say there is amazing work to be seen/enjoyed/purchased. Click here to see an online sample of the work submitted. Get ready to be inspired.

Look What I Can Do!

Before.

After.

This is what today's technology is offering me/us. Well, this is only a small piece of what we can get away with using today's technology. A shot that I would have tossed aside in the past while making a comment to myself about it not being good enough, is now something I decided to put on my website! This is also the argument for shooting in RAW.

I come from the land of splashing around in chemicals, hours upon hours spent in rooms of darkness dodging and burning until my shoulders ached, pouring hot water on sections of prints while processing in trays that were agitated by hand. I come from a land that by today's standards is incredibly old school. For years my wardrobe consisted of clothes that I wore with the intent to ruin. Chemical stains on t-shirts and old jeans and cheap shoes. And now, well now I'm supposed to sit in front of a computer and click buttons and slide around color adjusters and contrast increasers, then brush off my clean hands and call it a day. It feels weird, and yet liberating. And honestly, my shoulders and back still hurt after a few hours of this more modern day way of creating my images. And I don't really get to walk away with a handful of prints. I do, however, have a sense of accomplishment from figuring out yet another way to perfect my craft.

And I would call that an almost even swap.

Above photo is Brian Patrick of the band THE LOMAX. They are a Portland, Maine based group with a fun sound and I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance. Be on the lookout for more posts to include Brian and the other band members....

Reasons to be Thankful...

Family, Friends, and Food!

The famous Bennett Turkey done on a Webber Grill... Yum!

The beautiful table awaits us

Feeding the twins, Landon and Payton, before the big meal

Max shows us drawings of what he's thankful for

Unstuffing the bird

The Thankful Tree, hung with last year's leaves of thanks

Bailey and Max find something hilarious

The twins, fat and happy

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Still Crazy After All These Years

Beth, Shari, and I in the parking lot on our way to see Kelli

The internet has a crazy power over some of us. And, after going twenty years without certain people in your life, the internet seems to have the power to bring them to your door. That is what seems to be happening in my life lately.

Well, more accurately, I have been on a roller coaster ride down memory lane for the last four years. The ride honestly started while working a god-awful waitressing job at a hideous chain restaurant. I would tie my apron on before every shift, try to muster up my strength, and wonder "who will I have the pleasure of seeing/waiting on tonight?". Because every shift at that god-awful job was like an episode of 'This is Your Life' playing out for me in the dining room. It was, at times, painful.

Then, the roller coaster ride sped up. With the horrible chain restaurant job behind me, my family was walking through the minefield that comes with a loved one battling cancer. People appeared and offered to help. When my father's battle ended, even more people appeared and one familiar face after another offered support. And then, I found myself living in my hometown again. Running into people from my past seemed pretty likely.

After staying clear of the town I went to college in for almost 14 years, I found myself there twice in the span of a few months this past year. And since then have had many welcome reappearances and connections with the long gone college crowd. High School pals and acquaintances were resurfacing with more frequency. Then, in what I have to assume is the final stop on this crazy ride, the faces of Middle School and Junior High were in front of me. One day Kelli emailed and said "I'm coming to Maine in November, and would love to see you!"

So, it's like that. Well, ok. And I started to scheme.
I thought it would be great to see Kelli after all these years, but then I thought it would be EXTRA GREAT if I could track down our other pals, Beth and Shari. For these are the friends of that time in life when boundaries and rules were to be tested and experimented with. The people who I shared first attempts with booze, smoking, sneaking out of the house, and other random acts of bad behavior (if my mother is reading this, then that last sentence was just for show). There is a definite bond with the people who helped you figure out which paths you felt like you could handle walking on or not.

My hope was that Kelli would never see it coming. And she didn't. It's safe to say that we surprised her.

Before I ramble on any further with the story of an amazing day, I should remember that this is technically a photo blog- a blog about photographing life! SO, I came armed with camera. I shot these images on a 20mm lens at 800 ISO. I didn't want to use a flash and hoped a few things would be in focus. I also wanted to see how much noise was happening with my camera. Some of the colors are a little funky, which I like. Besides being a great day with old friends, this was a good exercise with my equipment. I guess I was doing some modern day testing of boundaries, trying to see how much I could get away with...


And this, well it's the face and the smile I hoped we would see.









Here Samantha and Jonah (Kelli's son) watch us loud ladies. I love the colors.

So, here we are ..

(this photo is not by me)

We spent the day erupting in fits of laughter and disturbing the peace. Similar to how we spent most of our days together so many years ago. I'm looking forward to our next get together...

An Award! For me?

Yep, it's true. A fabulous fellow blogger nominated me for a Blog Award. I am humbled by this mainly because I am so new to this arena. And also because, well... I guess what I said before. That's enough reason to be shocked by a blog award.

Part of what I get do in order to accept this gorgeous award is mention six things that make me happy, then I need to nominate 6 other creative people in the blogging world to receive this award. Then they will, if they want to, say the six things they are happy about and then also nominate 6 people to get this blog award. A bit of a 'pay it forward' in the blog world. Here are 6 things that are making me happy:

• My pruney fingers. I spelled that wrong, but I'm relaxed enough that I don't care. My fingers are pruned from time spent in my hot tub, also known as my thinking tank. It rids me of sore muscles and gives me a place to slow down and watch the clouds move, listen to the wind in the trees, or stare at a starry sky.
• My brother. This week we celebrated my brother's 40th birthday. He may not be that happy about it, but I am. He is a cancer survivor and every big life event reminds me that he is here and healthy. And that is a very happy thing. Plus, his birthday party was a lot of fun!
• The Weekend Warrior. My better half started MAKING a very cool and unique and thoughtful Christmas present for a family member that he seems so proud of. I'm excited to see it take shape, and I like watching his eyes light up.
  
• Socks. My mother makes these great knit socks and I wear them as I sit with my computer (and this blog) in my chilly house and take great comfort in them. I can't wait to get another pair at Christmas!
  
• Creative Cheerleading. My life at this point is blessed by supportive people. Simple doses of support can take you far. Natasha, of Creative Nachos is the blogger/friend/ cheerleader extraordinaire who nominated me for this award. So, I thank her and wish I could climb through the computer and give her a big hug. And I also think that this was a good exercise for me. We should all make of list the things that make us happy on regular basis.
  
• My camera. The other night I photographed a fundraiser for an amazing organization called Project G.R.A.C.E. The event is called The Trivia Bee, and teams sign up to take part in a trivia competition. That doesn't sound all that exciting, I realize, but the event was a fun-filled atmosphere of enthusiasm where people put on costumes and got competitive and silly. I am happy that I was part of it because I felt a real sense of community, was proud to support a cause that helps so many people in need, and because my nephew dressed up as a magician and made this funny face:

Now for my six nominees. I wanted to find mostly photography or design based blogs to promote and nominate. I actually had to seek the help of others since I do not have a long list of blogs I follow at the moment. This was also a great exercise because it opened me up to a whole heap of fabulous blogs and creative inspiration. And, drumroll please, the nominees are:

Stephen Grant Photography
Featuring the work of an amazing LA photographer and former college buddy
Design Sponge
Cool, clean, and fun things to make or inspire
3191 - A Year of evenings
2 women in opposite Portlands post photos from every evening. They have already published a book from their blog photographing a year of mornings.

The Selby
Just check it out!
Pictures From the Road
Joys and photos from a couple traveling around in their airstream

37 Days
Patty Digh is a blogging veteran with many awards under her belt, but I remember being inspired by her at a time when I was shifting, creatively speaking.

There you have it! Now to spread the word and let these fine folks know what I have done....

A couple of Average Joes

How much do we know about someone just by looking at a photo? If I were to ask you what this Average Jane did, what would you guess?

OR, is it better to know nothing about the subject and therefore make your own conclusions?

Would you ever have guessed this smiling face belongs to a lawyer? Hanna the Happy Lawyer. I love this image because I think it is so very Hanna. She smiles this easily roughly 90% of the time. It's refreshing.

How about this guy?

Just another day of apple picking with Chris the UPS guy. Next time maybe I should photograph him wearing the famous uniform!

Nah. That would be too easy.


How much do you like to know about a subject when looking at a photograph? Does knowing the context and history make you enjoy the photo more or less? I don't think there is a wrong answer. A chance to draw your own conclusion or have the story spelled out for you.

At times, I do enjoy hearing people's immediate reactions to my work, as those are often the most honest. I have realized some images just don't work, where others might be stronger than I realized, just by getting that initial reaction from someone. However, as photographers we must learn to edit our own work. Feedback is important, and so is being true to your work, to yourself.


These three images are a few in a series of portraits I have of friends and family. Something I hope will be a more complete body of work someday. Images of people I share my life with, that say something about each person's individual personality. Wanna know more about them? I'll gladly answer questions...



And, sometimes it's just a simple moment between friends, snapped quickly with my camera.

..

Foggy Mind

On a foggy November Saturday I found myself somewhat overwhelmed with technical issues and needing a break. I picked up my camera and took a walk in in the fog. My head feels much clearer now...

This fence that surrounds my yard has been falling apart, but I kind of like it that way. And when the fog rolls in, it seems to add to the appeal.

All season I have loved how the yellow leaves have been landing on and making a temporary home on my little blue car.

While inside the house I noticed how this once bright red tree was changing its look. The fog surrounding it left me standing in the window staring for several minutes. That was when I grabbed the camera and gave myself a mandatory break from the computer.

I was attracted to the very muted colors of this bush against the sky, something that often goes unnoticed next to the bright fall colors.

This yellow was calming to me. There's something both relaxing and energizing about yellow. Why is that?

I was going after the water drops, and got the added bonus of that piece of spider web in the corner. There is something so great about making yourself step away from one thing so you can slow down enough to enjoy the other things. The contrast of using computers and technology and things that are meant to speed up every process for us to watching nature slowly getting through another day is pretty remarkable. It's as if my mind forgot that mother nature works at a much slower pace. Stepping out into my yard I was almost forced to operate at the same pace as these plants. Taking in one moment at a time.