Single Photo Friday:: Sock Monkey

Happy Holidays everyone!



Well, the holidays are in full swing and I know that not because I have a calendar in front of me but because the sock monkey has made its way out of a box and onto our tree. I'm giddy.

And note the blue lights in the background - a throwback to the Christmases of my youth. Big blue bulbs that overheated and matched the blue/green shag carpet of our home. I'm happy to see they have made a comeback, only now they are a little safer, less chipped, and seem to go nicely with the wood floors and orange walls. Oh, and of course they look great next to the Sock Monkey!

What kinds of things do you do that help you get into the spirit of the holidays?

...

Single Photo Friday:: Graveyard Walk

Many years ago, while attending Ithaca College as a photo major, I learned about a style of shooting known as 'shooting from the hip.' It is safe to say that this was a turning point for me in falling more in love with photography, and learning about my own personal style.

I can clearly remember doing the assignment with one of my classmates. While I got more and more excited, she got more and more frustrated. I had walked into my comfort zone, she was very far from hers. I would say it was a pivotal moment for both of us in that sense. She turned more and more to the lighting studio after that, while I kept my camera at my hip and took to the streets.

Shooting from the hip can literally happen with your camera around your neck, dangling at your hip and very far from your eye. Push the shutter without looking through the lens, develop your black & white film, and find 36 surprises. Or, so it would go back in 1990whatever. The element of surprise was part of what I loved about it.

The other side is how much it teaches you about your equipment. You start to see things in terms of whatever lens you are using, which is crucial for a photographer anyway. It almost seems to speed up your ability to learn about and make that piece of equipment work for you. Almost 20 years later and I'm still using the technique, though it varies and is often not dangling at my hip (except when it is). Lately, my camera strap gets wrapped around my wrist (just in case..) and that camera is put on the ground or into a bush or on some hard surface that has caught my eye. Pavement, rock and brick walls, rusted fences, piles of leaves... there are just so many places to try out!

So, the other day there was frost on the ground and an electrician in my house. When he shut the power down my camera and I went for a walk. I have often shot with a wide lens when shooting from or around the hip, but this time I put on the 85mm and walked through the graveyard. Yes, my camera went on the ground, into the frosted leaves, next to someone's grave, to get that shot you see here. It is my favorite from that day's photo excursion. And yet another reminder of why I love my 85 so much!


...

Holiday Warmth

This year's wrapping scheme: recycled brown bags with accents of orange and turquoise.

Step aside, Martha Stewart. There's a new craft queen in town!

I get into Christmas. Every year has a color scheme with fun bows and crafty accents. My family will come over tomorrow and we will eat, laugh, and enjoy our day together. Sweet Potato Cranberry soup is simmering on the stove, and cornbread (both gluten-free) is cooling as I write this. My sink has backed up and The Weekend Warrior is tearing things apart and trying to get everything in working order. Things are somewhat hectic, and yet the air is filled with yummy smells and happiness that can mean only one thing: Christmas is almost here!

My mantle. Books are placed by the chimney with care.

Home.

No matter where you live, what you believe, or how you celebrate, I hope you all have a holiday season filled with love, laughter, creativity, and inspiration!

...

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.

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.