I got a little bored the other night during a lacrosse game and decided to take a photo of the light standard against the blue sky. After looking at it I now know why white balance can be a nightmare at stadiums. Look at the different color temps of the the actual bulbs. Supposedly they are looking into improving the lights at our stadium which would be nice and not so nice all at the same time. Nice because we could actually get photos without a flash of a running back making a dive into the endzone and see his face, or capture that very common airborne catch in the corner of the endzone. Both photos are near impossible with the light dropping off at about the 5 yard line causing the endzone to be pitch dark. The reason the coaches have gotten behind this is the receivers say they can't see the ball in the dark endzone.
I have been trying to turn over a new leaf and keep the house clean but today I found a bonus from being a day or too late to toss what was some beautiful tulips. The bonus was I found them to be absolutely gorgeous as they were shrivelling up. They appeared to me at least to look like art created with broad brush strokes. You just never know where beauty will appear next. 
Well I suppose you could say this place has gone to the dogs but I just couldn't help myself, so I am posting this image because I like it and it sort of freaks me out. Enjoy!
Playing around the other day and found myself trying odd things. The dog was running wild due to the airsoft gun just out of the yard being shot by kid. The dog refused to sit still anywhere near me but I caught her standing still and shot her through a bush. Not the basic photo but I think I like it, throw in there the special lens I used to keep only the dog in focus and everything else is softly thrown out of focus. Didn't have too much else to post so her she is, my wild dog.
I know I keep hammering this home but details are all around us and in general we never notice them. There I stood at a fairly exciting softball game with beautiful light and all of the sudden I noticed the ball that had been thrown down after a third out. It wasn't so much the ball but the whole scene that caught my eye. 
I love poppies, there is something about a flower that is so bright and cheerful and yet so dainty. Poppies have that crepe paper look about them and yet as the wind blows they dance with joy.
I spent most of yesterday cleaning out a cabinet and countertop in the kitchen, yes it took me most of the day. Actually truth be told, I spent about two hours cleaning off the countertop and purging old meds from a cabinet only to be told by my daughter I had not done a very good job. She then took over and began to toss everything in sight. To appreciate the depths of the mess around here I must give you a visual, there is a little plastic thing that you can screw between two 1 liter plastic drink bottles. You fill one before you attach it to the other. You then swirl the bottle in the air and it creates a tornado effect in the bottle with the water as it drains into the other bottle. During my clean sweep I deemed this little plastic piece to be of the utmost importance, seriously you just never know when the mood to make a tornado with left over bottles might hit ya'. My daughter on the other hand, tossed with total disregard for the entertainment value the little plastic piece held. Such a sad moment in my day. I have no idea what other things went in the trash but I am sure my funtimes will be a lot less fun without all the things that have disposed of.
ph
ed. 
Taking photographs is a lot like life, there are always different ways to look at things and depending on your view you might have different feelings. I am including two photos of the exact same scene just seconds apart. The lighting is pretty much the same so that doesn't really affect it but the perspective and the composition of the two frames leave you with a different feel. The one on the left surprises me because I am not at first sure of what I am seeing, it also leaves me with an uneasy feel but I keep coming back to it. The one above (horizontal) has a nice diagonal line pulling the viewer in and it is a little more clear what it is and has a much more peaceful feel about it. I am not a huge fan of tilting photos but in this case it sort of works. It doesn't hold my attention as much as the vertical, maybe because I can more readily recognize what is going on and move on from it, not sure. Bottom line is both photos have merit but the one that make me more uncomfortable actually holds my interest since I don't really get it at first. Maybe that is why we can't help but rubber neck while passing an accident on the other side of the highway, why we can't get enough of celebrities doing stupid things like getting dwi's when they have drivers to take them where ever. Maybe it is just me because I have a curious nature and want to know more about things I don't understand. Sorry for getting a bit deep there but I am about to commence on cleaning out major sections of the house and am looking for a distraction to put the whole process off for a while. Happy Tuesday!
There is something that has been missing in our culture's make-up. It is slowly creeping back into our lives courtesy of our slow economy. The movin' and shakin' has slowed down because all of that keeping up with "the Jones" cost money. People are playing more board games, using their hobbies to occupy themselves. The gentleman in the photo is one of my all time biggest heros. He is always there for me and that is pretty amazing since he is a very, very busy person. He really has important things that take up his time but some how he always finds time to help me out, even during very critical times in his life. He loves to garden and takes great pride in his yard. The fact is that he has so many huge things going on that gardening gives him an escape. I suddenly realized that seeing him in his element doing what he loves is really a photo I needed to make. I would have liked to work some beautiful light in to the image but I had to work quick so I just slapped the flash on, dialed it down and let the ambient do its thing in the background. Basically I am reminding you to stop and capture the important moments and people in your life. With the simple fact that everyone has a camera and is really getting caught up with photography don't forget to catch those moments that will have importance down the road.
Well sort of my grandchild. You see my son is taking a family consumer science class, formerly referrred to as home ec, or home economics. This particular project made me laugh a little. Each student was assigned a plant for a week, a few lucky chaps got twins. The students were to care for the plant as if it was their child, taking it where ever they went, watering it and basically being its parent. My son made sure his plant got plenty of sun and water and he kept the plant with him at all times except when he had to attend a campout in freezing temperatures, he made arrangements for a responsible party to "sit" his plant during his brief absence. The part of this project that made me laugh is that some of the plants were boys and some were girls. The girls had not budded while the boys were in full bloom with magenta petals. That in itself confused me and I believe my son's poor little plant to have left our home with serious sexual identity issues as I referred to him as Priscilla, seriously between the multiple blooms and their color she was totally a Priscilla. By weeks end my son had admonished me multiple times for referring to his boy as Priscilla and then he made the slip, referrring to her as Priscilla, catching himself he smiled and quickly corrected his statement with a "HIM" instead of a "her". So I would like you to take a look at my grandchild and see if you think it is a her or a him.
As you can read from my previous post my week was a bit hectic, the reason being I was on my way to a little R and R. Not the best traveler in the world but here I am on a sunny beach. The last time I went south to the beautiful beaches of Central America, I was much younger and much cuter and I lived on coca cola and tried to not get sick. This time the food is more edible and I am still trying to hit my vacation stride but I did spend the first seven hours today on the beach, the first few under the shade of this wonderful tree.
What a week it has been! I have to tell you I have done some self discovery this week only to find I live a very disorganized life. Being disorganized takes it toll on you too! I think if I was only responsible for myself, I would be fine, it is all of these other folks that seem to think I have it all together. I have come to a decision that it is time to get off of the crazy merry go round and get my act together. I haven't always been a mess, but I find it easier to be a mess, no one really counts on you to be responsible. Some where in the last ten years I changed gears and forgot to really worry about the small details. Give me a project and I am terribly organized, it has a place and a time line and I know where every part of it is. Give me a life and whoa, it takes a lot more time to keep all of the pieces in place. My March resolution is to limp through the spring while trying to get my act together so when summer comes and time is more free I will have a head start. Hopefully by next fall when the wheels come off again I will have it all together. Only time will tell. Today I am taking a deep breath as I seem to have caught up on current projects and have a brief window before the pace quickens again. 
I found myself the other day taking the time to stop and notice the world around me, what I saw once I slowed down was some real life people interaction. It was very interesting to witness how people watch over each other and genuinely enjoy each other's company. I first noticed a parent driving their teenage son to school, they were sitting at a red light as I turned past them. What a great time to catch up with a teenager when they are almost held captive in the car. I use to gather maximum information from my teenager during an hour drive to and fro soccer practice. Inside the car I saw at the traffic light the young man was smiling back at the parent, seriously that is big time for a teenager, they usually just grunt and shrug. I then noticed two women at the grocery store, they were either sisters or good friends. They were making joint decisions on their choices of groceries and generally having a great time just going through the mundane task of grocery shopping. Another moment I watched unfold was between some high school kids, one is a player on the varsity basketball team and one is the manager. The manager has overcome the challenges of down syndrome, all of the kids are very protective of him and in this case the team had just lost a playoff game, ending their season. The player protectively placed his arm over the disappointed manager's shoulder. It is refreshing in a world of over eager, negative often down right mean spirited people that there are actually nice folks out there who watch out for each other. With the "E" (can't bring myself to say the actual word) in the tank, maybe we as a culture will get back to what is truly important in life and that is people instead of things. I challenge you to take the time to brighten someone's day or just listen to them and give them a smile every once in a while. You would be amazed what a simple smile can do to brighten their day.
Not that anyone noticed but I took a few days off figuring a few days of silence from me would do you all good. A quick review, we celebrated my baby girl's 18th birthday, watched a lot of sports with one underdog winning a big game and only went to one meeting.
81 degrees outside today. My winter legs made a brief appearance, I can tell you it wasn't pretty. Much motivation to get back in shape. I was inspired by the weather and created a little photo combination.
I love lacrosse! It is finally lacrosse season and that usually means nice weather, fast paced action and games that have a running clock. I enjoy a lot of different sports but lacrosse is still fresh. I had never seen a lacrosse game until about seven years ago. I was asked to be one of the team moms for my son's seventh grade team. Sure I figured I could line up families to bring the gatorade for after the game. I had no idea what I was getting into. First off the internet was standard in most homes by then, not fast and not terribly reliable but would speed up communication. That was the smallest part of the job. There were two of us that served as team mom and we were responsible for paying the refs, keeping track of the stats, the penalties, the time, the penalty time and blowing the horn which doesn't happen except for specific times in the game or specific calls by the refs. One game I found myself painting the field which was never intended for lacrosse and was really a field of mounds of grass, try to paint a straight line going up and down clumps of grass. One of the kids asked what idiot had painted the field and when I responded I would be that idiot, they quickly changed their tune and told me what a fine job I had done. I learned a lot about the game in its simplest form, most of the kids on our team were first year players so play was a bit slow and predictable but the rules were different and the sidelines were quiet since most parents didn't have a clue what was going on, they couldn't yell instructions to their kids or insults to the refs. Those were the days. Any how I have moved on to having the distinct priviledge of trying to catch an amazing move or play with my camera. I love it, every game is different and every kid has a different style. On top of all of that the jerseys are usually colorful and the sticks and heads can add to the photo. I enjoy girls lacrosse too and they have really colorful sticks but not as much brain crunching action. Tonight I share with you my excitement over the fact that it is finally lacrosse season and that means delightful evenings at the stadium are not far behind.
I had the opportunity to help out a friend today by taking photos of some of her paintings and drawings. She is very talented and I was in awe of her work. The coolest thing was her studio behind her house. Wonderful daylight streams in through two high windows, one east and one west. The walls are all white but not pristine white, workable white. She has artwork she has created all over the walls, just taped up. No fancy frames, very accessible and all over the place. While she was putting a piece of her work on the wall I snapped a photo of her making a last minute adjustment to get it straight so the photo would work. Using available light and a slower shutter the photo was happy surprise.
Anyone who has every been a parent or a very involved aunt or uncle or family friend knows that parenting you very own child or one close to you has its ups and downs. That said the last week has been a roller coaster as to parenting. A trip to the orthopod confirmed we may or may not have a fractured wrist. Of course rather than get a full fledged cast, a partial cast was placed on our arm all the way past the elbow. With the arm in a cast, hanging in a sling we instantly become one handed. Fast forward five days and the ordinary morning wake up became not so ordinary when my one handed child couldn't move his neck. After a day of watching him writhe in pain and his neck lean more to one side we headed out the door to the pediatrician. Did I mention we just started going to this pediatrician this summer and haven't seen him since a basic check up. Oh and he can't put a shirt on because the arm in the cast can't bend and the other arm couldn't move due to the muscle spasm preventing him from lifting his arm or moving it all for that matter. I wrapped a coat around him and off we headed for the doctor's office with his head all bent over to one side. We got a lot of strange looks but ultimately we discovered he was suffereing from a really bad muscle spasm. So you are wondering what the photo means. Well today we got up, after a dose of muscle relaxers he could hold his head somewhat upright and we sat on the couch eating chocolate kisses and watching tv when he was comfortable or just sat when he wasn't . To me this photo says so much, a day with my youngest, eating chocolate and being a mom.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love my tennis shoes. I have a size 2 D foot, so needless to say my balance is suspect and tennis shoes are a no brainer for me. This photo makes me scratch my head and wonder out loud. It was taken at a walk-a-thon to raise money for a fellow student who needed a medical procedure and a donor of sorts. Kids walked for over two hours around the track, some ran. This child preferred to wear flip flops instead of nice cushy tennies. If I walked for a little bit in this kind of shoes (can we really call these shoes?), first I would trip since my feet don't work in flip flops, then my calves would begin to ache from shin splints and then I would sit down and complain. Not this chick, she kept walking in her stylish flip flops as all her classmates were zipping around her in more suitable shoes. All in a day of being stylish and functional and mission accomplished the classmate did get the procedure.
Ever have one of those days you just know people are looking at your backside? The lady in this frame speaks to me, don't know why. Perhaps because she has the best view of this reflection pool that leads to a lake on her left and all she has to do all day is sit there. Or maybe because while she sits there enjoying the view, oblivious to everyone walking around her, she is actually flashing a flattened out rearend. Haven't we all been there! I once had someone send me a photo of myself working on the sideline of a football game. Fortunately for me it was out of focus but you could still see my wide backend in what I thought were some awfully cute khaki shorts. Needless to say I burned them soon after viewing the photo. Seriously why would you take a photo of someone's backend? It became very clear to me that my backend needed some work and in the meantime I would limit the view to my backend as much as possible.
Happy Valentines to all! 
you had an ordinary day with no terrible surprises like these people did when they woke up one day like any other day only to find out their life would never be the same. Afterwards some of the top models in our here parts did actually strut their stuff. I am including a couple of photos to brighten your day and to remind you to partake in your upcoming Valentines' Day chocolates with some self discipline so you too can strut your stuff if you get a call from Top Model.
Going through each day without much thought is so easy, never really stopping to think of others in our daily rush as our day zips by turning into night. Today I share with you one of my favorite photos I took years ago. I did use a tripod and put some thought into how to achieve the photo I imagined in my mind but honestly it was pretty much dumb luck without a lot of effort. I live literally one block from this statue but never noticed it until one night when I turned the corner and there it was, sitting bathed in light under a starry night. One of the most beautiful things I had ever seen sitting just one block from home. The irony here is that it sits on the corner of a small park which many people walk through every day and probably never realize the park is really a memorial to neighborhood children who have moved on to heaven leaving a grief stricken family behind. The walkway is lined with bricks engraved with names of children whose lives have been cut short for some unimaginable reason. Ignorance is bliss to most people who walk through this beautiful little park, I still find it hard to walk through the park without being sad despite being surrounded by the park's beauty.
