The end of the road

First, I'd like to say that there is an unspoken pressure on me to make this last posting full of the most amazing pictures ever. Of course, that is a self pressure and I'm going to start by saying these are far from my best. But since I love abstracts, here goes.
Unveiling my sight:
This journey started as a challenge between friends, a challenge to grow and learn and complete 365 days of seeing the world anew. It was a way to expose us to the wide open universe of the ordinary and the extraordinary. And it was a way for us to expose ourselves as real artists, eccentric visionaries, and deviant risk takers. It worked. While sometimes frustrating, the challenge caused me to see that not only can I take a good picture, I can reach people with my photography on an emotional level. I feel confident in my abilities to see things differently and I know that I can capture a moment, memory or mistake in a totally unique way that is all my own. Exposing that unique way was probably the most difficult part, but it has helped me see my growth and potential.

Opening or closing the door?
We don't really recognize the importance of the journey until the end. Am I closing the door on this challenge? Yes...but I'm also opening the door to something new or to the next stage, whatever that may be. The tendons of my wrist are taunt with both worry and excitement as to what that stage will be. And the light just beyond the door assures me that my hard work in this challenge was not for nothing.

A hole left behind.
Sometimes, when we leave something behind, an emptiness becomes apparent in our lives. I am sure that not seeking out a new photo everyday will be strange and feel wrong. But I'm just as sure that the next stage of my photography will build me up until that hole is filled with new learning and acheivements and a sense of purpose. Emerson said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us". Journeys of the past and future will fade in time, but what we are deep down inside will never fade away. If anything, I've tried to make my "deep down inside" have a place in all my photos, so that someday maybe my great grandchildren can look back and understand what kind of person I was, what was important to me, why I fought for what I loved.

So I am officially signing off from this challenge. I may still post from time to time, but this journey is complete. I now take my first steps toward that which awaits me, a mystery and a blessing and a chance to use all that I have learned for good.

A great day

I woke up feeling much better so when Mike invited me to go to Queensbury for his son's soccer game, I was very excited to go. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, cold and clear and a lovely drive to the game. Michael did pretty well seeing as how this is the first year he has played soccer and only their third game so far. They lost 2-0 and he almost had a shot on goal. The sunlight was so intense, I had a little trouble controlling the light for the shots, but these I liked fairly well. Also, I wasn't quite as recovered as I hoped; the game took quite a bit out of me. ONE DAY LEFT TO POST AND I WILL HAVE DONE 365 DAYS!

The shadow of sickness

Well, I'm happy to report that I do not have a fever yet this morning! Still achy and all, but the lack of fever is a great lift. Hopefully, it is gone for good. I looked at Linda's shadow pose from yesterday and thought, hey that is cool. Then suddenly, I looked over at the floor and there was my sick shadow :) I know I look puffier than usual because I'm wrapped in a blanket and a huge sweater. So that's my shot for today. Incidently, I only have two more shots to take before I've officially completed the challenge. I'm really excited about that!

Sorry Phil!

When one is stuck at home, one can not do the assignment properly. In fact, one spends the day trying to sleep, drinking an annoyingly high amount of fluids and watching the Indiana Jones triology!

Grr

Well, I've got it all...the high fever, the congestion, the aches and pains, the on again off again chills and hot flashes. One second I was feeling pretty good and then in a span of a few hours, ick! This little mug is my saving grace today because it has held cool water numerous times. Best I can do, according to the doc. I hope this is the flu and that once I get rid of it, I'll be good for the rest of the fall and winter. In the meantime, I'm parking my sick self on the couch and praying for sleep!

Ghostly stairway

Took this shot this morning because I know I have a busy afternoon and evening coming up. Mike, good luck in your class tonight:)

Morning mist with tungston light

7 days left and I'm really reaching here!

I know this photo stinks so no comments necessary. I'm just trying to find anything to fill these last 7 days of photos. I'm so ready for a blog break:)

Happy Birthday John

Another memorable birthday dinner! This time it is John's birthday and it was nice to laugh and have a great home cooked meal and spend time talking about everything good stuff. I'm particularly thankful for John who has been such a blessing to my mom and our family...and to me as well! His work ethic, his unique view points on life, and his tender heart are all so amazing to me. Happy Birthday John!!!
P/S Check out the layer of butter cream frosting on my mom's piece of cake! Like she didn't do that on purpose :)

Ick!

Feeling sort of ill this afternoon. Hope it's nothing major. Right now I just want to rest and stay still. No fancy pictures on a day like today.

We wear the mask- my assignment

It's pretty hard to beat out the interesting and well placed elements that Steve came up with for my assignment, but here is my take. I gave the assignment, The Masks We Wear, thinking that it would be interesting if we all tried to take a picture of something that we hide behind, whether it be materials, other people, whatever...I wanted something symbolic, but what I ended up with was a literal mask, the mask of makeup. For thousands of years, females have worn makeup to enhance or cover features of their faces and bodies. As a pre teen and teenager, makeup begins to become something you must have because its in all the magazines and your friends are wearing it. The problem is not necessarily the makeup, but more of how the makeup makes you feel. It becomes something that if you suddenly don't have it on, you feel embarrassed or vulnerable somehow. Advertising makes women feel as though they have to look a certain way to be successful, worthy, loved, etc. It all comes back to what society tells us is "beautiful". Will I ever stop using makeup? Probably not. But it is not something that drives my life; if I forget the mascara, oh well! Besides, I'm too busy worrying about my inside imperfections to waste too much time on the outside ones. I do think a mask becomes dangerous if it consumes your life and you can't let it go.

More yard work!

More mowing. This basket was made by the woman we visited yesterday. It is beautifully made and full of fall flavor!

Time-less

School work, work out, mow the lawn, go to Mom's to go and visit an elderly friend. Somewhere in there I had some time to scarf down dinner!

Happy Birthday to you

A willing model as the sun goes down! It was so much fun posing Mike for these photos...especially when he was making fun of my poses:) Today is his birthday so he really didn't have to let me boss him around the fields by the house or tell him how to stand. Luckily for me, he was and is a so easy going and a good sport. Plus, he really got a kick out of imitating my non-sensical demands! Happy birthday Mike. I cherish your laughter and your smile and more than anything, your heart.

Pretty in Bronze

While mowing the lawn this afternoon, I got a good look at an apple tree that Mike had trimmed a bit last week. For the first time, I could see how beautifully bronze the tree limbs were, especially set against the green leaves and changing colors of fall. I added a soft focus filter to get this look. Incidently, I have recently stopped shooting in JPEG and now shoot completely in RAW format. After doing some research and trying it out, I've discovered I get a much better image in RAW and editing is much easier (i.e. the data I get is much richer and easier to adjust). What do you shoot in?

p/s I began this challenge on September 27th, 2008...that means I have two weeks left, only 14 more posts!!!!

The Gathering of His Body 2009

Went to The Gathering of His Body in Amsterdam at the Riverlink Park in Amsterdam today. It's an all day praise and worship festival with many local and regional bands. It was a great time to just sit on the park bench and worship. You may recognize some faces from this shot.

And yes, the faces are purposely out of focus. I was actually focusing on the microphones.

I didn't take a lot of pictures. Number one it was kind of rainy and number two, I didn't want my focus to be on finding great pictures, but on God.

How I started my day...

Alarm goes off, downstairs for breakfast and tea. When suddenly I notice a still damp paint roller and some things out of place. I think, oh, Mike must've come over and done some painting in the night (he always has trouble sleeping and does things until he's tired enough to sleep.) I head for the dining room, since I know he was planning to start that soon and I want to see how the paint looks. This was on the wall waiting for me:


What a great way to start my day:) Too bad it can't stay like that forever!

I see...September (Leslie's assignment)

Distraction

There is no time to think much about pictures today. I'm too excited about school and tomorrow when some real teaching begins and home and all the millions of things I have to do here. I love these old light fixtures though. Very medieval, leaves me with pictures of dungeons and knights in my already cramped head!

No time for pictures

School, working out, dinner, bible study... no time to think about composing a good picture. Just a simple shot of Mom's flowers on the dinner table.

Salvation Army find

I love the salvation army! Got this skirt there last week and it is so unique with these buttons sewn in one corner at the bottom. You never know what treasures you might find there.

With a litttle bit of luck and magic.

This morning on the way to church, I was stunned to see a beautiful hawk resting gracefully on a hay bale. I've seen this before, but in a different place. I wonder if they like hay:) I couldn't get a good shot because my stopping the car startled him and made him fly to a farther hay bale so the resulting image is not sharp, but I still think it was a beautiful sight and with a little bit of luck and magic (photo editing) I came up with this:Also, I was practicing some shots at church and they were all coming up crummy. Lighting in there is awful and I really need to practice working with poor lighting conditions. But again, with some perseverance, I was able to conjure up this shot:

Everyone hopes to get that perfect shot, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I love that photo editing can help you save some shots you think are worth saving. It's not was you saw when you were shooting, but it's just as special because you helped create it.

A beautiful morning

Today, Mike woke me up at about 6:00am and we headed off to do some canoeing, which I love to do but haven't done in a while. What a perfect morning! Clear, crisp air met us at the shoreline along with calm, warm lake waters. The lake was an empty painting, nothing moving, no sound except the soft breath of our paddles. While fishing, we saw a beaver swimming nearby and watched the majestic flight and rest of a Blue Heron. The fish were definitely nibbling, but not really biting. We sat in silence, listening to the birds and occasionally, being startled by a jumping fish! Finally, Mike caught a small mouth bass, just a baby that he threw back in. He was determined that I would catch something before we left. Nestled by some lily pads and with his help, I reeled in a sun fish, again too small for much of a meal, but beautiful all the same. It was better than I had thought it would be, just the two of us, in a world all our own. I had promised myself that today would not be about taking pictures, but would be simply the two of us enjoying a quiet morning doing something we both enjoy. That being said, I shot these two pictures just before we got into the canoe.Too bad I didn't have the camera...I nearly tipped Mike into the lake while trying to pull the boat ashore!

Nature