You know you're obsessed when...

you pour yourself a bowl of granola for dinner and think, "Ooh, that might make an interesting photo!" (Yes, I eat cereal for dinner sometimes... doesn't everybody?) Some days nothing catches my eye, and other days everything does. The trick seems to be not to force it when it's not there and to make sure you have your camera with you when it is!

Nature's spectacular light show

How is it that nearly every sunset in the southwest is spectacular? These two pics were taken in southern Colorado on the same night, but in different directions. Amazing. Apparently there was a meteor shower later that evening as well, actually between 3 and 5 a.m., but we, like most of the other campers, were fast asleep.

Yoga in the desert

Just back from another fantastic trip to the southwest. Highlights included hot springs (of course!), camping, hiking, a groovin' concert, and just all-around positive vibes. It goes without saying that I can't wait to return.

Takin' it to the street

In the past few weeks I had begun to notice a young man busking on the streets of my hometown. This is not a common sight in this sleepy little town, so it caught my attention. I immediately thought, I must go take some pictures! So finally yesterday I did. Turns out this young man used to go to the school where I teach, and I do remember him frequently toting his guitar around campus. I also remember him being a very cool kid, super kind and upbeat. He still seems to possess these qualities and he and I had a nice chat while I took pictures. In addition to simply being an interesting subject to photograph, he also was wearing this sweet hat that cast a funky shadow on his face as he played.

Dress-up

It was Easter Sunday this past weekend. I'm not sure what this holiday has to do with bunnies and eggs, but nonetheless we had an Easter egg hunt for the under-4 crowd. The nephews and cousin had a great time, despite the chilly temps. Later on, my little cousin put on her new costume, a Tinker Bell outfit. Here's a picture of her showing it off. She sure is a cutie!

Mother mother ocean

What a bonus to live near the ocean. As I was looking through my pictures of the waves the other day I noticed how glass-like the water can sometimes appear. I'm pretty sure Paris doesn't stop much to consider the qualities of the water. Usually she just charges right in, at all times of the year. What a brave soul... I don't even go in our ocean in the summer!

Eerie beauty

When I was little, my dad used to think it was fun to stop from time to time when we drove by a cemetery, to see if any of our relatives were buried there. He and my sister and I would walk up and down the rows looking for anyone who shared our last name. I'm not sure if we ever found any, but I do remember wondering why he thought this was a fun activity. Needless to say, Dad is a genealogy buff, so of course this would be fun for him! It's quite a science, in fact, and although I don't share his passion, I do find cemeteries kind of beautiful in a haunting sort of way. I especially like the ones in New Orleans and Paris with the mausoleum-style burials. It's kind of interesting to imagine the lives of the people buried there. The other day I was driving out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere and this cemetery caught my eye, so I stopped and took a few shots. It was a cold, gray, and windy day, rather appropriate for a cemetery.

Bella luna

WOW. Normally I wouldn't post twice in one day, but as I was wandering around my apartment tonight I looked out the window and the full moon was beckoning me to come take pictures of her. So Paris and I headed to the beach. I got to use my new tripod, which I'm totally psyched I bought. I have a long way to go with night photography, but here's my favorite shot from this attempt. By the time I figured out what I was doing with exposure time and whatnot, the moon had crept up into the clouds, but it's still a pretty cool effect nonetheless.

Also, randomly, I ran into a guy I knew in high school who was also out there taking pictures with his new DSLR. He just happened to be back in town from Colorado with his wife, visiting his parents. How funny. I can tell he is going to develop a healthy obsession with photography much like my own.

Now you see it, now you don't

My polarizing filter came in the mail this week, so I've been tooling around with it to see what it can do. I've been meaning to take a picture of this bookstore door downtown, so today I finally stopped and did. Conveniently it was propped open, causing a reflection in the window of the wine shop next door. The difference is pretty dramatic! You can either keep the reflection or eliminate it completely just by turning the filter. It also seems to make the colors richer.

On the short drive the rest of the way home I was remembering something we talked about at the start of our yoga teacher training. I think it's a Zen Buddhism thing: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few." And I was thinking about how I'm just really scratching the surface of this whole photography thing... learning new things, re-learning things I used to know. It's a lot of fun, and kind of like a puzzle. I'm sure there will always be something new to learn, which is kind of how I feel about life in general.

My backyard

It's easy to get stuck in a "there's nothing interesting around here to photograph" rut, but that's often not really the case. Take, for example, my "backyard". I live in a renovated mill, so needless to say there's lots of cool stuff lying around, not to mention a raging river that passes by. When you stand at the edge you really get a sense of how powerful it is, not to mention deafening.


The view from below...


At the river's edge... a little scary.


Apparently there are other people around here who appreciate the river, enough to set up chairs alongside it.

Way way

After a failed attempt to go for a walk at the heath this afternoon, due to copious amounts of mud, Paris and I ran around behind the local middle school. Well, she ran, I walked. On the way there I stopped at the now-closed Way Way Store. I believe this place is on the national register of historic places. It's a trippy building, very run-down at this point. I'm not sure how long it's been closed, but when I was in high school it was a mile-marker for track workouts. It probably still is, but the kids today don't get the full experience. I never ran this far; I believe it was the 6-mile marker, reserved for the distance runners. But those who did would run out, stop and buy candy, and eat it there or on the run back. It's amazing the crazy things you can get away with when you're a teenager.

On a roll again

I was inspired by the lameness of yesterday's images to go out and take something perhaps more interesting today. So after the requisite walk with the dog, we went for a drive out in the country in search of farm-type stuff. Out near my grandmother's house was a pile of tree trunks dripping with sap. Later, as we neared town, I noticed that the horse was out at the doggy daycare place. Needless to say, Paris was rather confused as to why she wasn't getting out of the car there today, but I got to snap away with this beautiful blond, being careful to stay away from the electric fence, of course.

Must... blog... soon...

A friend and colleague of mine has gently reminded me on several occasions lately that I haven't blogged in a really long time. So, I thought I should post something. I haven't been taking as many pictures lately, though. There have been many times when I've thought, Darn! I wish I had my camera with me, but I haven't been seeking out many photo opps. Also, I started my photography class a few weeks ago and have been forced into manual mode, which requires much experimentation to get the image just right. So... today I went out to play with my white balance settings, which can change the effect on the photo. But then again, Photoshop can do the same thing. I've been playing around with that lately as well and while it's really cool, part of me is yearning to take out an old film camera and play around with black and white film again. There was something really magical about taking pictures and not knowing exactly what you got until you went into the darkroom...