Beautiful day

I hope everyone gets out and enjoys the beauty of this day. 

Spring is here!

Today I will remember that spring is here.  I will remember how I wanted the rain to come when we had a beautiful February and was concerned about the already browning hills.  I will remember that April showers bring May flowers.  I will remember that spring is a season of transition with sunny days and rainy days and combination days.  I will remember that spring is perfect the way it is.

Danger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost missed getting a picture up today. 

I'll spare you the details on why this is the perfect picture for me today.  All I will say is that the sign says it all.

I'd rather be outside with my camera

I am just not good at sitting inside for long periods of time.  I am not good at sitting any where for long periods of time.  All of this rest is getting to me.  I know my body needs it, but I would rather be running around with my camera.

Let me know what you think

On my quest to improve as a photographer I am going to continue to ask for feedback on my photos.  This one was taken during the last photography workshop I went to.  I felt very free that day.  John Ater said something that gave me the freedom to point my camera in directions I don't usually point it.  This was the first one of those "free" pictures.

Wondering. . .

I am laying here, in a medicated state, trying to recover from surgery and stay ahead of the pain.  I started to wonder what makes a good picture.  There have been a number of discussions in my home about my photos.  I asked for feed back.  I got a lot of questions.  The only one I currently recall is, "Why did you place the subject to the left instead of in the center?"  As I lay here I wonder what makes a good picture.  How much of it is subjective?  What can I do to improve?  I think that I need more feedback.  Please take a moment and give me feed back on my photos when you have a comment.  I am not looking for praise.  I am looking for feedback to help me improve the skills I am trying to develop.

I love this photo.  I captured exactly what I wanted to capture.  I don't know if anyone else thinks it is good or not but I love it. 

Lesson Learned

Last Friday I went to another photography workshop.  I got a bunch of good feedback on the pictures that I took.  I was just thrilled and left feeling good about what I learned.  Then I went to class and didn't want to show my photos for assignment 2 because I knew they were not at the same level as the pictures I took that day.  I got some good feedback on one picture but I mostly got constructive criticism and that was a bummer.  I am grateful for the constructive criticism.  I just wasn't up for it on Friday because of my emotional state that day.  After a few days past I was able to think about the difference in the two days and what was different for me.  When I took the pictures for class I took them all in manual mode.  When I took the pictures during the workshop I had the camera in automatic mode.  I have learned that I can not yet focus on both the camera settings and the art.  I guess I'll just have to work on each and at some point I will be able to do both.

Sorrow and Grief

For my second photography assignment I had to go to a place I've never been before.  A new friend and classmate took me to this old cemetery in Hayward last week.  It is a sad little cemetery.  Many of the headstones have been knocked over or broken.  It was sad to think that someone might have done the damage.  I prefer to think happier thoughts and have decided that they must have been shaken out of place by earthquakes.  My friend and I both liked the headstones with the pictures on ceramic disk.  They seemed to be popular in the early 1930's.  I was extra sad when I saw this headstone.  This little girl was just 2 years and 3 days old.  I thought about the parents and how sad it must have been to loose their precious little girl.  I don't know why my emotions were flying so high when looking at the picture of this little girl.  Maybe it had something to do with the recent funeral and burial.  Maybe it had something to do with being in the first trimester of pregnancy.  I never planned to share this picture and I don't really feel like posting anything but I am posting because I must post once a week as part of my homework. 

This is the only picture I could post today.  I am having the worst day of my life.  I should be 9 weeks pregnant but the fetus has died.  I now know a little of what the parents of this little girl must have felt.  A mother's love is like no other.  It is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.  I am grateful for that experience.  That love is the root of this pain.  My heart aches for the little one I will never hold.  My heart aches for the delay of my dream to be a mom.

Magical Mornings

During my early college years I discovered early mornings by necessity and how wonderful they are.  My love for mornings began during the summer between my second and third years of college.  I was working full time and taking two summer classes.  I struggled to get my homework done after a day of classes and work.  One night I was just too tired to do any homework and decided to go to bed and get up early.  It worked so well I continued to do it for the rest of the summer.  I loved the quiet of the morning.  I started getting up early on weekends too.  I had a few hikes that summer and would watch the sunrise over Lake Tahoe. 

Last Saturday I woke up at 5:30.  I just couldn't sleep.  I got up and paced in my dark hotel room trying to be quiet.  I decided to peek through the curtains after a few minutes to see if I might want to head outside for a few minutes.  I was pleasantly surprised with 6 inches of fresh fallen snow on the deck.  It was still snowing and I couldn't resist going out to it.  I took my camera and captured a few pictures (the picture above isn't one of those pictures - it was still too dark).  After a several wonderful minutes of taking in the scene, feeling the cool air, hearing the snow crunch under my shoes and the feel the snow melt in my hair I went back inside my room and climbed under the covers.  I didn't fall asleep and so I got up again a little after six to see how the sky had changes.  This picture was taken then.