2010-01-31 The River of Grass

On my way back from Fort Lauderdale, I passed through the Everglades' Alligator Alley. It's a strip of I-75 from the east coast to the west coast. There is nothing there. For about 2 hours, all you see is the Everglades swamp and the occasional rest stop. (Back in the day, they didn't even have the rest stops...you had better hope you had hit a rest room and a gas station before you attempted the alley)

I took as few shots from my car and then decided to pull over because a lot of birds were congregating near the boat ramp.

The Everglades are called "The River of Grass" and if you drive through, you can see why.



It's kind of dry looking because it's winter. And its filled with critters. I didn't see any gators that day, but I did see a couple of egrets and a wood stork (center):


I might have to try this again with my nicer camera next weekend!

2010-01-30 Baby Acrobatics

Was in Fort Lauderdale visiting a friend this weekend and we decided to venture over to the Galleria for lunch and some shopping. Right in front of the valet area I saw this statue, and is the weirdest statue I think I have ever seen. And I have seen some weird ones...its just that I can't explain this one. I googled with all my might but there's no info on who did it or why. I just dont understand why they have what is seemingly a family, balancing each other like a circus act. Oh well. The statue was weird but PF Chang's was delicious.

2010-01-29 Camera Dancing

One of the other things we tried in our class this week is Camera Dancing. This means you lower the aperture (I think) and then shake it in front of a light source in order to make shapes with the light.

I suck at it.

This is nothing to write home about. The fact is I dont know enough about this camera to do it right. But I'm working on it. My class mates got some amazing shots, and when I tried, it was a bunch of straight lines. This shot was done by shaking the camera at my street light. Got a weird ghost effect, but it wasnt what I wanted. Work in progress...

2010-01-28 Gels!

We had a super-fun photog class last night. We're starting to use gels! Gels are colored pieces of plastic that you can hold over your lens to create more artistic effects on your photos. Our next assignment is to bring our 5 best gel shots. I'm getting started today by just walking out and trying to get some shots through the trees.

2010-01-26 Oh Yes Its Ladies' Night

Well this week is full of evening outings...when it rains, it pours. Tuesday night we had a bit of a group Junior League meeting. All of the Committee Chairs got together for a bit of a mid-year review. We had it at our President's beautiful house, which she moved into 10 days before Christmas.

10 days before Christmas!

And she had everything done before New Years.

I would still have boxes. In fact, I've lived here 5 years and I DO still have boxes. (frowny face)

Oh well. Here we are:

2010-01-25 Pizza Night

Tonight's dinner provided by "Pizza Fusion!"

A bunch of people got together for a little organic pizza tonight at Pizza Fusion (it's a chain, so if there's one near you, try it). They have a special Monday night -- when you get a large pizza, you get a free cheese pizza to take home. YUM! So I shared my pizza with a friend and took home a free cheese pizza. Sweet -- no cooking tomorrow!

My yummy appetizer


And now I've got this waiting for me tomorrow.

2010-01-24 Stony Kiss

I went to the theater on Sunday with a friend who had tickets to a series of concerts. This Sunday I saw the opera "Carmen." Lots of really famous music in that one.

Outside the theater, there is a little courtyard with statuary and gardens. Here's the Romeo & Juliet statue. Romeo seems to have some kind of a bowl cut. This is the full-size version!

2010-01-23 Typical

It's a typical winter day in Florida...a beautiful blue sky. People enjoying the water...Sometimes driving over the bridges are reminders of how lucky I am.

2010-01-22 Tea n Things

My brow lady has lovely organic teas brewing in her office, which makes it smell all lovely!



She's also not ready to give up Christmas, by insisting it's still winter and therefore OK so keep the lights up. I guess I can accept that.

2010-01-21 Pants

I have nothing to say, so I'll just say "Pants on the Ground" -- and if you don't know what that is, then please watch American Idol. And if you do, then please also watch Jimmy Fallon, as Neil Young, singing "Pants on the Ground."

2010-01-20 Tiny Bubbles

Today we worked on shooting through oily water in an effort to distort images. You put water in a bowl with a few drops of oil and then put objects or materials under the bowl. This is a scarf.



We also did some voting. Each of us had brought 10 of our favorite pics and we were supposed to vote for the ones we would give prizes to (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc). Three of mine got selected for "awards."

People liked these:


Also, I selected 5 shots for my homework from last week (which was to diffuse light by putting pantyhose or screen over the lens:

2010-01-19 Feel-Good Days

I really enjoy being in the Junior League. I appreciate the sense of camaraderie with other women and being of service in our community. So it was with great pleasure when we awarded 3 mini-grants last night, totaling almost $10k, to local organizations with great programs.

Voices for Kids supports children who are going through the court system because of family issue. Their programs, along with the Guardian Ad Litem program, makes sure the kids have an advocate. Our dollars are going towards providing supplies for kids being placed in foster care.

Literacy Council of Bonita Springs is doing lots of programs, but we specifically funded their program to teach English skills to pre-schoolers and their moms. This way the kids aren't starting school with an unfair advantage and their moms can support their language skills at home.

The Calusa Nature Center was started by the JLFM when a group of League members created an educational program which took educational tools relating to SWFL's natural environment. Due to budget cuts, many school field trips have stopped kids from being brought to the CNC, and now the CNC can take their hands-on programs back into the schools.

I brought my "nice" camera -- but sadly forgot to put the SD card in! Yikes! So, I had to use my cell phone.

I love the feel-good days...

2010-01-18 Lazy

I almost never ask this question, but....why can't *I* be pregnant? I had to walk a whole extra parking place. Hmph.

2010-01-17 Pool Screen

The bane of my home existance is my pool screen. I have an enormous oak tree that constantly drops dead leaves all over it so that I have to periodically get out the leaf blower and remove them, lest they accumulate so much (as they recently did) that plants start growing in the leaf mould. Well. I supposed I should be happy I have a home to be annoyed with.

Anyway, in keeping with my attempts to keep "diffusing" for photography, I took this one. It's the leaves on the screen as well as the branches of the leaves on the tree in the background (leaves which will soon be on the pool cage, surely).

2010-01-16 In Silhouette

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my photography assignment for the week is to diffuse the images using different materials over the lens of the camera. The teacher also wanted us to do portraits for this assignment. I got this one of my friend, which I really like:



We were having fun taking pictures of the kids, the dogs and just about everything with a pair of blue pantyhose over my camera. Good times.

2010-01-15 Ghost Dog

I was trying sooooo hard to take an action shot of Pippin coming in from the dog door or playing with his ball, but the result was a bit unexpected. It looks like Pippin's ghost just came in the house. Kinda weird.



I got a little action shot of him playing, but the second I got on the floor, he showed immense distrust and just wouldn't play.



He's so cute.

2010-01-14 Hosiery Homework

Not much to discuss today -- this is my new homework. I need to put these cut up stockings over my camera lens to try to diffuse the image. I also got a piece of screen and some kind of cloth.

Hm.

2010-01-13 1st Homework

I went to photography tonight with my selected "best" shots from last week's homework. I felt pretty good about the outcome. I felt like my shots were "competitive" with my other classmates' photos. You know...because it's all about "winning" and all. (Apparently I can't do anything just for enjoyment.)

The teacher was happy and now I have a new assignment, but also some major frustrations with my camera. I'm going to need to dive into the manual a bit. Frankly it's something I hate to do, but I'm struggling with some settings.

Here are my 5 best:

2010-01-12 Mundane Objects

I got out today! YAY! Can't say I washed my hair, but hey, you can't have everything.

Anyway, tomorrow is my second photography class and I'm in the process of picking my 5 shots that I'm taking with me for judgment. I'm not sure I have a 5 good ones, but I still have tomorrow in case I want to make another try.

I'm struggling with the mundaneness of the objects. I know I shouldn't but I'm at a loss for thinking about what situations I can put my little paper clips in...paper clips at the beach, paper clips go to town, paper clips go to the park, paper clips suspended in Jello. I just don't know anymore. GAK!

I sat at my dining room table today for a change, too. I love my chairs.

2010-01-11 The Challenge of the House-Bound

I work from home, so unless I force myself to leave every day, I can easily get bogged down in the house with work and chores and stuff. But I have challenged myself to take a photo and blog one for every day of the year so unless I leave my little hovel from time to time, my photographic subjects will dwindle down to the dust bunnies under the couch.

Anyway, today I didn't really get out. But...I've been looking at this shirt I have and thinking it would make a cool photo if I could get it right. It's got these little fabric covered bumps on it with little "jewels" sewn on. Up close, it looks weird. And I'm really trying to work on my macro-style pics, so I thought I'd take a snap. Tomorrow...I will leave the house. Or at least go outside.

2010-01-10 Goin' Shootin'

I convinced my friend Shirley to come out to the park despite the c-c-cold Florida temps, and do some picture-taking with me. She took the same class as me last summer so we're both working on our skillz.

I tried to do some homework for my class. I was handed a baggie with 2 pieces of palm frond, 2 rubber bands and 3 paper clips. Using these objects, I should take pictures and bring in what I thought were my 5 best.

Here's my homework:


We did all kinds of weird stuff with the homework items. I guess this is my "photo of the day" -- I just liked it. I think if it had'nt been so cold and if I could have stopped the leaf from trying to escape into the middle of the pond, I could have worked the light and shadow a bit, but man, it's hard to figure out what to do with a rubber band. I have a few other shots and plan another round of shooting tomorrow, so on Wednesday, I'll post the 5 selections I made to bring to class.

2010-01-09 Cold Little Birds

Wow, today was a cold day in Florida. A high of about 42 degrees, complete with rainy grey skies. Thought I was living back in NJ for a few minutes when I looked outside. But all is well...at least I'm prepared for dealing with the cold--LAYERS!!

I got a couple of friends together for a fully indoor activity -- we went and saw the movie "Nine." It was good. Not as good as Chicago, but good.

On the way out, my friends pointed to a small group of birds huddling together for warmth in the eaves of the mall courtyard. Can't say I blame them today.

2010-01-08 Mmmmm, Bagels

I had to have bagels today. I probably only have them about once every couple of months from my local place, and today was the day. I woke up immediately when the alarm went off. Sat up, smiled at the world with a twinkle in my eye and said, "I'm getting a bagel today!"

Hm. Rewind. Rewind. Rewind. None of that happened.

What actually happened was that the alarm went off. I snoozed it twice. I sort of leaned up on one elbow...eyes still closed. I spent 3 minutes fantasizing about winning the lottery. I tried to get out of bed. Eyes still closed. Finally put my feet on the floor, opened my eyes and stepped on the dog's bone on the way to the bathroom. My stomach grumbled, and I said groggily, "Mmmph, bagel."

In Fort Myers, Bagel Connection is about the only place to get decent bagels so I got a few for the weekend. And of course, I thought to take a picture.

Inspired by my favorite food blogger Ree Drummond, who takes amazing pictures of her food, I took this picture of my breakfast! All it needs is a schmear...

2010-01-07 This Little Piggie

I love pigs. Not romantically or anything. But they are cute. Plus, they're tasty.

My friend Jeff gave me a cute little chalkboard that looks like it came right out of a French bistro, and I've always loved having it in my kitchen. And I kind of like this picture of the piggies going to market.

2010-01-05 The Eye

My eyebrows are angry and are not amused at the idea that they should sit gently on my face...rather they always seem to be trying to make a break for freedom by growing at a preternatural rate. They must be tamed. I have to fight not to look like Maggie Simpson's baby enemy:

I have a brow-tamer called Brooke. She is my "eyebrow lady" and owns a place called Browtopia, which specializes in skin care and waxing. I go to Brooke's about every two weeks. As nicely as she can -- and she admits she feels bad about it -- she drips hot organic soy wax on my eye area and rips out any brow hairs dare grow within my "natural arch." I once saw a little hair at the end of my brow and asked "Why didn't you get that one?" And, reverently, she said "Noooo, I'm cultivating that one." When I looked quizzical, she explained how that hair marked the end of my natural browline and she was cultivating the hairs growing there so that they would fill in and create the perfect brow.

I took a shot of my post-wax brow -- she did some more trimming around the top after this. I didn't end up liking the shot too much but it was interesting to try to shoot this by standing in front of the mirror.



And here is Brooke! Thanks for your ongoing sculpting!

2010-01-04 Baby It's Cold Outside

I sure could tell it was cold when I woke up this morning. Any parts of my body which were unfortunate enough to be exposed to the air were shocked at the unaccustomed chill. In fact, this little cold front is set to be the longest in about 20 years. That's what most people don't understand about Florida...it does get cold here...it just doesn't usually last long. A few days of freezing temps and then back to 70 degress.

So needless to say, anyting with a heartbeat in my house is cuddling up with blankets and coats.



I'm sure I look like an idiot walking to the mail with my super-long sherpa coat on, but I can't help it...it just feels good.



Temps go back to normal around the 12th, so until then, I'll be wearing socks and sandals and a long coat to walk from the bathroom to the kitchen. Eccentrics of the world unite!

2010-01-03 Last Day of Vacation

Well, this just shows something about my life doesn't it? It's my last day of vacation and many people would be out and about sucking every bit of marrow of out life. I, on the other hand, am at home, sucking.

I shouldn't be that harsh. But I am somewhat desperate to keep up the cleaning. My table, below, was probably only this clean once during all of 2009. I tend to make piles on it...piles of papers, books, and "stuff." So I really want to keep the table clean in 2010. I hope this pic keeps me inspired.

A New Purpose!

I haven't been blogging. I am lazy and have a shitty memory. When I have something to say, I'm often away from the computer and then can't remember what I was so excited to share.

So, in the way of many people facing a new year (and a new decade), I have some New Year's Resolutions. One of them is to become a better photographer. I'm starting an Abstract Photography course this week and I'm really looking forward to learning about how the camera works and perhaps taking some amazing shots. So, when I saw this article on New Year's Day, I thought it was no coincidence...I felt moved to take this project on. I'll be taking one photo each day for the next year. And, I'll be using my old blog to track my progress and share it with anyone who is interested.

Along the way, I might also blog about other stuff and share some other photos that I like that I've taken in the past or that others have taken. But don't hold your breath. I also many not blog every day, but the photos will be taken every day.

So, what's the goal?? Of course a project like this will force me to use my camera every day, and ultimately force me to really embrace this as a proper hobby! But it would also be really interesting to me to sort of document what will be my 40th year. I don't know where my time goes sometimes...could I possibly find a way to see my life in a different way? My own way of seeing the forest AND the trees?

Anyway, I don't promise the pics will be fascinating, but unless I'm hit by a truck, they'll be here!