bubble bliss

bubble bliss, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

warm enough for soap solution and the bubble sword!

Penquin graffiti (iphone)

Penquin graffiti (iphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

is it art?
not just graffiti but the taking a picture of graffiti?
or is it just funny?

****
thinking about photography as art - reading about taking pictures of children in this book - Photographing Children Photo Workshop: Develop Your Digital Photography Talent by Ginny Felch - and really enjoying it and learning more and more.
posted a photo of a seagull (with every feather crisp and clear agains the snow swollen sky) the other day that I used and understood shutter speed (tv setting on my canon) and that thrilled me too...
must move to establishing a website and business cards and other things...

overlooking the pond (iphone)

overlooking the pond (iphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

long bike ride
in the river valley
in the ravine
looking for frogs
in the creek
in the little ponds
found the golden light
in the budding trees
against the chilly blue sky

stilled

stilled, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

calendar dog

calendar dog, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

she was...
a purina calendar dog -
back in her showdog heyday
today
she was doing her best to do what her girl asked of her -
literally jumping through hoops
and running through tunnels
at dog agility,
pausing for a minute
she looked over at me
and then the light fell on her
*********
today I was trying to learn how to stop action and moved from the aperture priority setting to the tv or shutter setting for the first time.
I was happy with how it worked out, it really did stop the motion, only now, I have to learn how to use it with a flash - because it was way too dark to catch much, even with the iso pushed as high as it good go.
I am trying to learn and put into action as much as I can - I am also watching all the tutorials I can stand on Aperature, the photo management software that I downloaded today.

Eek!

at the comic con

at the comic con, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

many were dressed in
costumes
with much pain staking attention to detail
look into his eyes and see

willows at the zoo

willows at the zoo, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

yes there were animals too
but these were so pretty
in spite of the snow

by the side of the road

by the side of the road, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

I pulled over to take a few shots of horses pulling mouthfuls from a hay bale
and was very surprised when they all turned to look at me
and then slowly lumbered over to the barbed wire fence
and stretched their necks out
to meet me

lampost (iphone)

lampost (iphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

outside the library
just dark enough to see the light is on
but not dark enough to need it
sometimes that is what life feels like

farm fresh

farm fresh, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

many jokes have been made around here,
since discovering the eggs with the green tinged shells -
about needing green ham to go with,

yes they are supposed to be green,
goat herding woman says,
I guess she is also now egg gathering woman too,
anyway,
she says that she likes the chickens who lay these better than the ordinary kind,
that are kind of stupid,
the chickens that lay green eggs aren't so stupid and...
they have feather puff cheeks too

we talked about all this
as I was boiling water to poach all the eggs,
brown and white too...
when my oldest daughter said,
her nose slightly wrinkling:
are these eggs fertilized?

cupcakes are goooooooooood!

cupcakes are goooooooooood!, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

she is three
and strong
and fast
and bright
and really likes the frosted tops

a view from a road trip

a view from a road trip, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

making time as best we can
pushing the speed limit a little
rolling across tarmac
that shines like water in the distance
still hours to go
but when I make that sound
that sudden intake of breath
he looks at me
"you want to stop?"
...
"no" I say, "we shouldn't"
he smiles and finds a turnaround on the busy highway
and then I am running through the stubbled grass of the ditch
camera in hand
capturing the old buildings
that sink slowly
into the yellowed sea of the prairie

light of mine

light of mine, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

today I was lucky enough
to do a photo shoot in a church
the light was soft and full
and glorious

birthday party at the acreage

birthday party at the acreage, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

spring here is brown for the longest time
I am waiting for the sudden greening
but that did not dampen the spirits of the birthday boy or his guests

car park

car park, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

busy day
paid a visit
(in more than one way)
to my photoshop guru
downtown
learned a lot and
found this place
to park

frothy

frothy, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

don't like coffee
the flavour
or the beverage
but this looks good even to me


******
this past weekend
saw me sliding
the wrong way
down the learning curve...
things I wish I had already known
when shooting a large group of people:
-take at least five minutes to set up the shots, making sure people are not obscured by others and are in tight enough. Touch the people if I have too! Set up with computer too!
-keep one person with me who knows everyone’s names to help with herding and posing!
-check shot for faces being obscured -for focus in right area and for lighting bouncing off of glasses
-keep other people with cameras away from behind or beside me, instead offer them a turn after I get my shots in! This keeps eyeballs focused on me.

NOW I know.

what can be made to look beautiful

what can be made to look beautiful, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

if it sparkles
I will shriek noisily and pounce on it
my magpie heart rejoicing

his mum

his mum, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

daffs always find their way home with him
it is the time of year for them
they brighten the dining room
sitting in a jar
or a vase
especially when snow is still expected
from grey, overcast skies
and it is expected
but more than that
they make him think of
his mum

through the harp strings

through the harp strings, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

early morning at church
greeted by beautiful music

outside the camera store

outside the camera store, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

is not a place I expected find a picture
inside the camera store
is a great place for me
but not for the kids
waiting in the cars
or in this case half out of
the car
for photography struck
adults to return
at least it is warm enough
to add art to the spring dust

straight and narrow

straight and narrow, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

poplars before the greening
frame the spring blue sky

the easter bunny is beautiful

the easter bunny is beautiful, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

spring is coming
a little like it came to Narnia
as the winter queen's power waned

my magical friend
The Running Woman
hid chocolate eggs
in the trees on her acreage
high enough that her very large dog could not reach them
but low enough that our kids could -

she is beautiful
and doesn't know it
and I love her

baby's got stars in her eyes

baby's got stars in her eyes, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

and today she put a decade behind her,

laughing too hard to blow out most of the candles on her first and second and third tries,

a good birthday she said
If we have our way child
they all will be

graven

graven, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

sometimes
I wish I were carved
from stone

tears would not affect me

but even stone
can be worn away
by drops of water

the world is a wonderous place

the world is a wonderous place, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

that is reflected in the wide gaze of new eyes

the happy dance

the happy dance, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

I am getting a lot of practice in trying to capture action shots,
in low lighting
at the agility course that my oldest daughter and her dog are participating in,
some of the photos,
if they are good enough,
will be posted on the teacher's website.

this dog was being rewarded with a few moments of tug of war for a job well done

the princess is thinking

the princess is thinking, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

about sparkly tiaras
and never outgrowing
wanting to wear them
even if only in the privacy of
the royal boudoir

home made cookies

home made cookies, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

served fresh
at my friend's table
in her warm, yellow kitchen

x marks the light

x marks the light, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

no matter the season
or the day
everything seems more beautiful
out on my friend's land

Bending the Golden Grasses (Iphone)

Bending the Golden Grasses (Iphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

a walk in the river valley
with wonderful friends
a memory to remind me
how lucky I am