Short and Sweet - 365: Week EIGHT

Keeping it short and sweet this week - week eight of my 365 project. 

Wednesday: photo fifty-four: stairs. at night when i go up to bed i've been taking note of the shadowing on the wall. now i wasn't able to capture that as effectively as i wish i had, but i still think it's an interesting photo. 

 Thursday: photo fifty-five: boca. through a screen, on a beautiful day. and who doesn't like boca? 

Friday: photo fifty-six: keeping time. almost nine: AM. 

Saturday: photo fifty-seven: the folds of my comforter. texture. shadows. light. 

Sunday: fifty-eight: sunday afternoons were meant for being lazy. doing nothing but laying around, being the perfect bum. upon getting home from church sunday afternoons i do first things first... change into my comfiest of comfy comfy-clothes (generally a super sized t-shirt and my favorite pair of cotton shorts). i carry the laziness even further by grabbing the book i'm currently working through (currently Frank Peretti's Illusion: a big time favorite of mine), plop myself on the couch with a rawther large mug of steeping hot tea, and read the entire afternoon. this has become my regular sunday tradition. and let me tell you, it is pretty legit. 

 Monday: photo fifty-nine: bare branches, grey skies... reflections of the day on our living room's coffee table.

that's it, friends. 
-Rebecca

stop for f-stops, "the birds"-in real life, nostalgic snow globes... and, etc.

A new week. new photos. new post. 365: week seven.

how are you guys? I'm doing well enough. just trying to figure out where I'm  headed in this big game of life. I know I want to do photography, however I'm not altogether sure how to get there. what path to go down. photography pursued as a career is no longer a cut-and-dry path as it once was. the market is saturated, and there are many, many different ways to get your business running... and only a tiny minority of those ways being successful. That's why I'm taking this whole thing slow. Slow and steady. I want this business started well - I want plenty of time to pray and figure out WHAT path to take to get to where I need to be. it's a lot to think about. I am thankful that in the mean time I can sharpen my skills through doing things I may not normally be able to achieve... such as the 365 project... and... some other projects that will be coming up here on this blog this year/soon-ish (stay tuned!!).

This past week I have been impressed with how much practice really does help cultivate your vision and sharpen your skills. I know, I know - that's kind of a super "DUH" type of thing, but... yet it's not. I think I personally had fallen into the lie of believing that either you have it(talent) or not, and if I really were that talented I should be able to pick up my camera whenever and wherever, and be able to take a brilliant picture. however it simply doesn't work like that - even if you're an Einstein of photography. Even for the most talented among us, it takes practice, TIME, and careful molding and formation of your skill.

I'm also learning - much to my surprise - that I really like my f-stop at a smaller opening/higher number. I used to always - pretty much without fail - keep my f-stop at the smallest number said lens would allow. I liked that shallow depth of field, ya know? however... I'm finally figuring out that often doesn't capture the "look" I want. I never would've guessed I would come to enjoy using higher f-stops, but I guess I'll never stop surprising myself! 

Anyway, here's to week seven! 


Wednesday:  photo forty-seven: I know, I take far too many pictures of my cats. however it's only my inner old maid coming out (have mercy). 
Mr. Howdy was cat-napping under our living room coffee table. I appreciated the way he was framed by the glass cutout therein... and the (cat/howdy/animal approved) magazines surrounding. 

Thursday: photo forty-eight: an eye. my eye. this was just an experimental shot... and I just happened to really like the result. 

Friday: photo forty-nine: Friday night, after getting ready for bed - washing face, throwing hair into a ponytail, brushing my pearly whites - that sort of thing, I came into my bedroom holding my camera (lately I've been making a steady habit of that - carrying Gigi with me where I go) and saw the silhouette of my window illuminated by the evening's moonlight. you can see all the bare(and leafy) branches sprawling about - I have a huge tree right outside my window.

 Saturday: photo fifty: daylight. 

Sunday: photo fifty-one: lately we've been having a myriad of raven black birds come flocking onto our country property. you hear them coming - like a zillion squawking creatures soaring through the sky. it sounds and looks just like "The Birds". It's creepy... yet, pleasant, too. in a aerie kind of way.  

 Monday: photo fifty-two: one idea. that's all it was. it took me from going to bed at 11:30pm to going to bed at 1:00am... I decided to see what it would be like to experiment with slow shudders speeds and my favorite snow globe (i really do love this snow globe so much - my parents gave it to me as a surprise on the night of my 2008 Christmas dance recital. it's so special to me now. snow globes are kind of magical... maybe it's the cryptically beautiful music, maybe it's the way the snow swirls so softly... or maybe it's the nostalgia these glass globes seem to automatically arouse - I'm not really sure.).

While I'm not over the cliff happy with the results, i do like these pictures well enough. I think they could have been better however if I had had a tripod and someone to shake the globe for me while i snapped away (it would've opened up more creative options for me, anyway).  

 

I took many more snow globe pictures... I may post them in a separate post some time this week... 

Tuesday: photo fifty-three:  L. O. V. E. 'cause I LOVE my readers/followers. :) 

That's a wrap, friends. thanks for coming along.

-Rebecca

Week SIX : The 365

This past weekend i went up on (another) weekend road trip up to dallas tx. to see friends. on the way home night before last, sitting in the car with nothing to do but be thoughtful... i remembered, a couple hours too late: i never double checked to insure i had my camera bag in the car. with my camera and three of my camera lenses in it. my mind immediately started calculating how insanely expensive it would be to mail all of this equipment to my home (for someone who is as poor as i, it would be insanely expensive)... and, the sad fact that it would completely throw off my 365 project (yes, that would be horrific.). throughout the rest of the trip we never stopped so i never got out to check to see if it was there (frankly, i really didn't want to know - i just knew my irresponsible side had left it there!!). so i just prayed like crazy(crazy). upon first setting foot on home ground, i ran to the trunk  to check on this possible crisis. low and behold, thank God, there was the strap to my camera bag peaking out from beneath multiple bags (we're pretty organized). yes, glorious moment of redemption... the heavy cloud of panic went poof. happy moment. ha. so, yes, thanks be, i do have another week of the 365 to share with you guys. :) 

over-all i'm keeping the captions short and sweet today... I've been struck with a nasty ol' cold and my brain isn't all there, so I think i will do both myself and my readers a service to keep it simple. ;) :) 

Tuesday: photo thirty-eight: ESO lip balm. it is the balm (hahaha, get it? the balm, like, the bomb? gotta love corny puns!)! I really do enjoy this stuff... and if you haven't tried it, you need to!! reason to love eos lip balm (aside from the obvious fact that it is the balm): it's the coolest shape of chapstick out there (it's shaped like an egg)! call me a sucker for marketing, but i appreciate it! b: it comes in a lovely array of colors. c. it works reallyreally well and has natural, wholesome ingredients.  

Wednesday: photo thirty-nine: as y'all know, i think shadows are the coolest. i hope i never stop appreciating them, because they are just so amazing! thursday morning i woke up, and, as i often do... i admired all the intricate shadows painted across my walls. i had my camera handy, and went to work experimenting a bit. i like the results, and have decided to post more than one photo for today. 

Thursday: photo forty: light streaming through my window, cat sleepy on my bed, sheets tousled and thrown. yes, it is a beautiful new day. 

Friday: photo forty-two: have you ever baked eggs in an oven? no? well, i have... eggs baked in a muffin pan in the oven, at that. this was my first try doing it (thanks pinterest for the idea). it was... interesting. not sure i would do it again (the texture of the eggs came out a little strange), but it is a good way to make a healthy snack to-go for a trip (my intentions). 

Saturday: photo forty-three: packed and ready for roadtrippin' it up to Dallas TX. 

Sunday: photo forty-five: and... back again. on the road home.

Monday: photo forty-six: yuck, Sunday night, I felt it coming... like a dark cloud on a sunny day... the dreaded cold. yes, sure enough, here it is, and here i am, feeling yucky, unlucky, and sick (yes, not only do i like corny puns but i like corny rhymes too). i still feel yucky, unlucky and sick. actually sicker. and this isn't the first time i've come down with something this winter (and oh the irony: i do all the right things health wise. so why me??!!). 

that's it, guys. please be praying i will be able to shake this nasty cold, quickly! 

-Rebecca

365 - five. cute kittens, pretty shadows, coffee, and blueberries.

It is week five of the 365 project (cheers!). 

I'm learning to loosen up a little with technique... things like the rule of thirds. yes, it's a fantastic pointer, but you also must feel free to just let go and allow your creativity to flow. if one rule after another is going through your mind it closes the gap for creativity to flow through. learn to look through the lens... and feel. feel for something deeper. capture something deeper. do what looks and feels right, not necessarily what follows all rules to a tee. let your soul breathe free of rules. learn to take pictures for yourself, not for other's approval or praise. learning to take pictures for yourself frees you up to focus on two things. A. God. you can learn to look to God for your self satiety, and not to people to give you praise. it allows you to remember that God is the one that should receive the glory in the beginning and not you anyway. B. no longer looking for human praise? that unlocks those chains and allows you up to simply take photos for the joy of taking photos - for the joy of doing something that makes you happy. it allows you up to make mistakes, if necessary. it reminds you that it's not about you or your talent or how good you are. it's not about what people think of your work. it's about something much bigger than you, so what people says becomes idle. 

So friends, those are my thoughts for the week.... now here is a new week of 365... week five. 

Wednesday: photo thirty (yay!): my sisters call this my ultra-sound picture. yep, isn't that nice? haha. i can see where they're coming from... however, I like this photo (and they did too, once they figured out what it was). i took it on a bright and sunny morning... the sun was streaming into my room from my two large windows... laying out these gorgeous reflections of light contrasted with dark shadows.

Thursday: photo thirty- one: oh sweet mr. howdy. he's mostly a very happy indoor key-kat (oh the life of a spoiled cat. it is to be envied), but on sunny, warm days he loves to rampage around outside exploring every nook and cranny... occasionally, on an especially good day, he'll bring in a grand surprise... you know, like a dead mouse or something. yes, you guessed it, that is always a joy! 

Friday: photo thirty-two: windows. and shadows. they are only the best thing since sliced bread.

Saturday: photo thirty-three: i love fruit. like, i'm a fruit maniac. or something like that. mangos are my favorite (eaten with the skin), but those are a treat. apples are a close second. followed by blueberries. i really like blueberries. it's funny, just about a year ago i would've told you i didn't like those tart blue round things. now they're a favorite afternoon snack.

Sunday: photo thirty-four: hey hey, it's Super Bowl day (yes, that is a rhyme)!! Super Bowl, in my eyes, is a great excuse for making and eating various fun treats/snacks! So Sunday afternoon, i slipped on my girly pink apron, got out my bowl and spatula, and went to work. one of my baking endeavors was to make these: Cookies! try them! they were amazing. i did make a couple slight modifications - instead of black beans i used white, and instead of sugar i subbed stevia. they were delicious (note, were. they're completely gone now.).

Monday: photo thirty-five: the more the coffee... the more the tea... the more it is a gage of a wearing day.

 Monday: photo thirty-six: my boo bear, esther. she's a pudgy toy poodle who waddles around like a cute little (er, large) piggy. she was basking in the morning sun, and i liked all the shadows going on around her.  

Tuesday:photo thirty-seven: at night, before i go to bed, i do one of two things. i read, or i journal (where i write all kinds of silly things that i'm sure i will look back on one day and roll my eyes at and muse at how lame and immature i was). between the two of these, i end up staying up too late. right now i'm reading through frank perettie's Illusion. for the second time. it's a fantastic book... one i really connect and relate to.   

that's a week, guys! 

-Rebecca