Monday, June 28, 2010

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Our final assignment for Photography Level I was a photo scavenger hunt. We were given a list of 19 items & had to find at least 15, shoot, print & present to the class. There were 2 lessons I already knew before taking this class: [1] the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know anything. [2] there's a story behind every picture. Everyone had wonderful photos to show & they all had an interesting story to tell, too. So here are a few of the shots I presented & a bit of story about them.
Something Purple: aren't you impressed by this Marc Jacobs purse? I have a Prada also. Just love saying that. They were presents from my dear friend who spent about 2 years in China. You guessed right - they're well done knock-offs. Heavens, you know me - I would never pay more than 20 bucks for a purse!A Yard Ornament: just a little something from my front flower bed (actually, rock bed - it's so shady, nothing grows there). She's reading a book; an angel after my own heart. I really like the meloncholy tone of this shot. A Feather / A Reflection: ha, I got a TwoFer with this one. I really shot it two different ways; one with the reflection in focus & one with the feather in focus. I thought about trying to pass it off as a ThreeFer since it's also purple!A Tall Building: The building complex formerly knows as City of Faith, shot from The Riverwalk shopping center. The instructor thought this was the "reflection" picture. It was her favorite out of my portfolio and she said it should definately be included in any future portfolios I may do. However, it's not my favorite at all. I think it's kinda ho-hum.Moving Water: This is a waterfall at the entrance of the above-mentioned Riverwalk. One of my favorite lessons was how to photograph water. Sure would've come in handy when we were hiking to all those waterfalls in the Smoky Mts.A Time Piece: My husband has a collection of clocks in his office. Since he's the Missions Director, one wall is covered with an oldworld map motif. This is the first picture I shot & in the preview window, it looked terrible. I arranged the clock in various ways with the map-wall behind it; but when all was said and done, it was the first shot I liked best.Athletic Equipment: Conveniently for me, all I had to do was walk down the hall to the school's gym for this shot. A Neon Sign: According to my linear-thinking brain, we should go thru the entire course, learn everything she had to teach us, then do the scavenger hunt! Which I did and which caused me to spend a weekend trying to get everything, process & print it. Gee, did that bring back high school memories of doing last minute projects! Fortunately, my workplace provided at least 3 of the required shots, this neon sign being one of them. It's in the kids' building Soda Shoppe.Mechanical Equipment: Every time I pass this company on 51st St. I think what a fun picture those things would make. This assignment gave me the motivation to finally stop & snap one.A Penguin or Buffalo Statue: You remember my luck finding buffalo last summer? Forget that! Penguins are a-plenty around here! These statues were part of a Zoo fundraiser campaign a few years ago. Companies bought the plain penguin, then painted them however they wanted. This one stands in front of a cell phone co. I liked the vivid colors of this one better than the Empress Penguin from my previous post, so I chose him for the presentation.An Animal: Hellooo, not just any animal would do! Of course I would choose my Blu2!! And did he ever have fun this night. I was bribing him with chicken to stay put in the chair. After each shot, he would jump down & run to the kitchen, and we'd repeat the process. He thought it was a great game. During the critique of my presentation, he got the most comments & questions. And while I enjoy showing him off, that was not particularly encouraging, ya know?


The next class was already full when I tried to register, so I have to wait til August to do Level II. But that's ok; I need some time to absorb all the info from this one. More adventures to come!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Simple. Logic.

If there are Emperor Penguins...Then there must be Empress Penguins!

Don't you know how I must love this discovery?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Of The Laiquendi

I believe this Elf-maiden is of The Laiquendi, also known as the"Green Elves" of Ossiriand, according to Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Ossiriand is the Land of the Seven Rivers and is said to be full of light and music in the summer. You've never seen a Tolkien Elf with wings, you say?

Dost thou indeed think Peter Jackson is the final authority on these fair folk, beautiful and mysterious as they are?According to The Silmarillion, the Green-elves were of the Teleri, the third and greatest of the three hosts of the Eldar on the westward journey. They called themselves Lindar, the Singers. As they approached the Misty Mountains on the East, a group decided to remain in Middle-Earth. The Quendi are rarely seen anymore, now we are fully in the Age of Men, and the times are of anger and darkness. But a rare sighting does bring a moment of beauty and joy and remembrances of a fairer age.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

It's MY Studio, so There~~

My "studio" or if you will, my Room of Riotous Creativity is located at the end of the hall where you make a right & continue to the guest bathroom and master bedroom. In other words, it's quite visible to visitors. I put forth the great idea of replacing the white door with a glass-paneled one. I could just picture the morning sun shining through and how pretty that would be. My husband said, "well, you'll have to keep the room cleaner than you do." Clearly the man does not understand the Creative Process.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Life is Just...



Is life really just a bowl of cherries? Let's see...
Cherries - sweet / Life - for the most part, yes
Cherries - crisp / Life - does have crisp moments
Cherries - juicy / Life - uh huh
Cherries - have pits / Life - yep, has pits, too
Cherries - expensive / Life - can I get a big AMEN!?

But they were soooo good.

And life is too :)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A Look Inside...

...the fridge. Can you tell we're on a diet?

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Together at Last

My first doll, Eve, has been waiting so patiently for her dance partner. Quite a long time actually. But it's not his fault he's so late. Poor guy has been dressed & ready to go, but needed me to get him a base to stand on. May I finally present: Evian.
He is posed as a gentleman bowing to his lady as he asks her to dance. The pattern is Pas de Deaux, by Barbara Schoenoff. The morning sun was so pretty streaming thru my sewing room window today. A perfect time get a snapshot of these two. He's looking at her so adoringly :)
And so here they are, Eve & Evian ~ together at last.