reeling in the years

from top to bottom are shots from the same week of march for the last six years. in the first shot i have not yet decided that i wanted to persue photography - i knew i loved it, but this was taken with a now archaic kodak point and shoot.  because photographs were placed in our company's reports to the banks, the resolution was quite small.  i do remember this shot as it is one of the most beautiful sunset's i've seen from one of the most beautiful cities i've visited.  it's taken at the end of one of the piers on alaskan way in seattle, washington.  the restaurant was wonderful, the food was fantastic, and i loved it. 

the next shot i had just purchased my canon rebel xti.  i didn't know aperture from a hole in the ground and i shot mostly on "green mode."  the next year, i felt more comfortable with my camera - composition - and exploring photography.  i started classes towards a certificate and began to develop a sense of my style.  the next shot, i learned more about macro photography and though i don't shoot it a lot, i recognize the talent of people that do a lot of macro photography.  last year, i felt more comfortable with how my style had developed and worked a lot on staging shots.  this year, i feel another change coming...i'm not sure yet what it is....but it's coming. this is the first time i've laid my photographs year to year to year to year.....i like the exercise and hope i can continue to do this.

************************************************************************
obsessions this week - pinterest, dogwood trees, reading new authors (discovering new books)

stormy sunday playlist (also known as "today on my ipod") - you can sleep while i drive (melissa etheridge), she loves you (the beatles), peaceful easy feeling (the eagles), your winter (sister hazel), dock of the bay (otis redding), bubble toes (jack johnson), all i want is you (u2), i'm yours (jason mraz), come away with me (norah jones)

dc on the quick

two weeks ago, i was in dc for a series of meetings about health information technology and exchange - oooh, sounds fancy and boring right?  *smile*  due to the thin southern blood i have, the length of the meetings, and the bone chilling dc weather - my photography ops were rather thin.... here are the few i got.

 

you know, 6:00 a.m is pretty early in the morning if you ask me 

the view from 13A (i usually pick this row so superstitious people will leave the row empty - you would be surprised how often i have a row to myself)

breakfast at old ebbitt's (?) grill (daughter and niece of my co-worker)

looks like they were ready to go somewhere - see the snipers on the roof???  sorta scary!

the white house christmas tree - in the gray, flat light of the morning

later that day the clouds cleared and the wind howled...i decided not to wait to go up

 

waiting to hail a taxi - the view was beautiful

one of the days was an "un-meeting" - very new-agey and unstructured.  i learned to attend sessions as either a convener (leader), member, butterfly or bumblebee.  i also learned about the law of two feet.  very empowering in some ways and very....weird.  it was great to open dialogue but not so great in knowing what was going on in other groups.

kay-kay smiled no matter what - taylor on the other hand was rather miserable due to the cold.  i think i looked that way too.  this also was their second day without luggage so that added to the misery - the luggage was delivered later that day.

waiting on a taxi to get to reagan airport - the roads were slush and taxis were hard to come by

i worried that the flights wouldn't make it out - turns out mine was the only one that did on time.  another reason i prefer usairways to other airlines.

update

upd

update:  miracles of miracles, they think they were able to save my tooth and i'm sitting at home with a temporary crown.  i was in the dentist chair for about five hours today while they worked me in and did an emergency root canal on the spot.  i'm a bit sore but so far, so good.

theme class has wrapped and i'm struggling with what to take next - i need to take a photoshop class in order to get into the advanced photography class.  but...i'm wondering if i can get a pass because i'm not sure how often they offer the advanced class.  the shots you're looking at today were for my last theme "rainy day women #12 and 35"....the limitations were that we could not shoot anything with drugs or any images of bob dylan.  ms. c is always such a good sport and jumped right into doing some of the shoot in the rain.  my favorites are the 2nd and last shot.

******************************************************************************
today on my ipod (mellow monday around here) - turpentine (brandi carlisle), hang (matchbox 20), hey there delilah (plain white t's), one (u2), solitary man (covered by chris isaak), i'm yours (jason mraz), because i told you so (jonatha brooke), close to you (far too jones), nobody knows me (lyle lovett), lover's cross (jim croce)

the weekend in yellow and blue

believe*
(card by andie edwards - 'spreading hope')

dinner at home for three**
(shrimp and grits -- see below)

mise en place

if sunshine doesn't come to you....make your own

even southern girls get the blues....canning jar blues that is

ladies in waiting

full of wishes and dreams

**Cheesy Shrimp & Grits

1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut in half
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped finely
6 green onions, sliced thin (mostly just the white part)
1 clove garlic mined (you can use dried if you're out of fresh)
1 can ro-tel tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup old fashioned grits
2 tablespoons butter (i used olive oil instead)
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1 cup jack cheese, shredded (i used the four-cheese mexican blend)

chopped bell pepper and slice green onions. soften vegetables in a skillet with olive oil or butter - do not brown as it will spoil the appearance of your casserole. add garlic to season (do not scorch garlic as it will ruin the taste of your dish by making it bitter)

in the meantime, bring broth to a boil and stir in grits. cook according to package directions (do not use instant or fast cook grits). peel, devein and cut shrimp in half. open tomatoes (do not drain) and put in casserole dish with shrimp. add softened vegetables to the casserole dish and stir. once grits are cooked, remove from heat and add approximately 3/4 of each of the cheese and stir until smooth. pour grits over the shrimp and vegetable mixture and stir together. top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 F until bubbly (about 30 minutes). serve warm with crusty bread and a salad if desired.

a year in review

2009 through my eyes....

it's funny looking back at it this way - has on only been this year that i learned about textures, the beautiful of pola coloring and the wonderful light a window can bring? it also appears that i'm rather fond of diagonal lights, the close-up instead of the faraway, and a lot of blue.

thanks to all of your for your unflagging support and suggestions during the year. i am inspired by you (as you can see in some of my 'lookalike' shots) and am in awe of the talent we have in our circle of friends (and their friends and their friends' friends...and so on). i look forward to more inspirations and laughter with you.

impressions of a day

gratitude:: day 19 of 30

almost two-thirds of the way there and i'm feeling the home stretch. tonight was one of those beautiful nights, the tiniest sliver of the new moon, the purplish skies stretching on into the evening light. as i rode the elevator to the top of the parking deck, i decided that i was grateful really for a lot of things. the light, the colors, the incredible wealth of having a camera in my hand...i'm so blessed in having this way to express myself and nature provides me many things to see. and i realized, this world i had been disdaining and berating because it wasn't what i wanted, still holds many secrets for me. never had i looked down on the montgomery skyline. never had i seen the details of the stars on the light fixtures as i left the building. even the construction site made wonderful silhouettes as it crossed the sky. so many things to see...it's all in the looking really.

tonight i'm grateful for montgomery and her secrets she revealed. she's been whispering that she has more....i was just not listening.

the triplets

i wanted to share a few of the shots of the adorable triplets. we (and their parents) spent a lot of time together last sunday. they were very shy at first but got into the swing things as the afternoon progressed. they are fraternal triplets, each their own separate little person.