Zoom In < Zoom Out #6: Extreme Weather

I'm mixing things up a little for this week's Zoom In < Zoom Out, hosted by Helena. First, I'm doing zoom out > zoom in. Second, I'm using photos from two different places, rather than two photos taken at the same time. But that's one of the things I love about this meme - it's so flexible. So, first, zooming out on a rainbow taken on Superbowl Sunday here at home. If you look carefully, you'll see it's actually a double rainbow! Second, zooming in on snow covered twigs, taking in Denver Colorado. It's hard to believe they were taken with 48 hours of each other!

Frugal Still Life Photography: Complimentary Colors

This week's lesson in the Frugal Still Life Photography class was about shooting complimentary colors and trying to get an "old world" feeling through the use of shadows. The latter idea was also explored in last week's lesson on metering, but I skipped that lesson because I was traveling (and, well, the whole metering discussion also went a bit over my head). In any event, I decided to work with the split complimentary colors of purple and green. I went outside because I find that nature often displays the perfect color combinations. I picked a bunch of lavender and brought it inside to play with.  I arranged a white table cloth on a chair near a window and selected one of my Belleek trays to hold the buds. I like the crispness of focus I got on the lavender (you can see it better if you click on the photo to enlarge it) and the overall softness of emotion in the image. I wish I left more white space around the tray, but I wanted to avoid getting any of the details embroidered on the table cloth into the shot! I did a whole different set-up, but I decided to save that photograph for Valentine's Day . . . so come back then if you want to see it.  As always, I love feedback on my photography!

PHC: Enjoying Life; Finding Peace

January was a good month for photography. I took out my camera and played.  A lot. Partly due to the Frugal Still Life Photography class I'm taking; partly due to the arrival of the chickens. So, I had a good selection of images to review to find my PHC: the one photograph which gives me the strongest connection to my heart and soul. And this is the one which called to me. A still life with feathers and alstroemeria buds and a rustic blue honey pot which makes me smile and think of Winnie the Pooh. And that's why I chose this photograph - it makes me smile. It makes me feel happy and at peace. It's a reflection of having time to play and enjoy life; of not being stressed and tightly scheduled. There's a looseness of composition; a looseness of purpose. In some ways it's the opposite of this photograph (my PHC from July) chosen when I was searching for order and stability and control:

Because right now I am enjoying some freedom to breathe, to enjoy life, and to be at peace.
*******************************************************************************
There were two other contenders for PHC this month. The first captured Clara and beautiful lighting. You can read the journaling in this post.

And the second, a still life of Lladros inherited from my mother:

The more I looked at this photograph during this month, the more I liked it. To me, it has a fairy tale feel. I imagine the story: a beautiful princess and her loyal polar bear servant, emerging from the court to go on adventures near and far. 

Photo-Heart Connection is a monthly photography practice hosted by Kat Sloma. To see the other entries from February or to join in, click on this link.

49 Things in My Life

Sian suggested this list of 49 things quite a while ago and asked readers which ones they have done. I've highlighted the ones I have accomplished.

Meeting Dolores Huerta, one of my idols

49 Things: My Life in a List

• Kept a friend for more than twenty years
• Made my own jam (lots of it, in a Little House kind of way)
• Sewn a quilt
• Learned how to tap dance
• Ridden on a tandem
• Walked up the outside of a volcano
• Found or sent a message in a bottle
• Crossed the equator
• Slept in the open air
• Appeared on Live TV
• Been locked in overnight - or long enough at least for it to start getting scary
• Seen the Terracotta Army in China
• Admired the Crown Jewels in London
• Looked at Paris from the heights of the Eiffel Tower
• Caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights
• Visited a penpal
• Tracked down a long lost relative or friend through the internet
• Set my heart on something and worked tirelessly to achieve it
• Driven from one end of my country to the other
• Flown in a hot air balloon
• Built my own house
• Found a beautiful fossil to take home and keep
• Gone to a school reunion and enjoyed it
• Met an idol
• Been photographed with someone famous
• Held a stranger's hand just because they needed me
• Had a handsome man buy me champagne
• Partied through til breakfast
• Won a bet
• Found something valuable and make sure it is returned to its rightful owner
• Sold something I made myself
• Had an interesting part of my body pierced (or maybe a tattoo?)
• Dyed my hair a crazy colour
• Gone out on the town in an outfit I've made entirely myself
• Spent far too much money on something I've never worn
• Spotted a ghost
• Discovered a peacock feather lying on the grass and take it home
• Been recognised for some kind of community service
• Judged a competition
• Won a competition
• Started a Mexican Wave
• Taken part in some kind of endurance event
• Scored an own goal, figuratively or otherwise
• Discovered disappointment, but found a way out of it
• Got something published
• Seen my name in lights
• Taken up something new and discovered that I'm good at it
• Asked for my money back
• Been treated as an emergency

Which have you done?

Zoom in Zoom Out #5: On the road

A quick zoom in zoom out photo pair this week featuring the world's greatest carry-on luggage. It rolls, it actually fits under an airline seat, and it's big enough for a 2-3 day business trip. I'm off to Denver for a conference. But I'll leave something on my blog for you to read, with a wink and a nod to my friend Sian.

Let's Sit and Have a Cup of Tea . . .

Come on in and sit down. . . let's have a cup of tea and chat (a monthly meme hosted by the Amazing Abi) . . . 
It feels good to sit down because I've been on my feet a lot lately. I'm still walking dogs at the Humane Society with Clara; I've upped my work-out routine; and I've been packing boxes and putting things away from the spare bedroom. The latter two, a result of work I've been doing thanks to my one little word for 2014 - illuminate.
I bought this beautiful ring from Lisa Leonard to help keep my word visible. In the past, I've bought One Little Word necklaces from her, but my word this year was too long, so I poked around her site until I found this ring. In addition to "illuminate," the words "clarify" and "lighten" are also stamped inside.  I love it!
And it has definitely kept me on track with my word. I joined a weight loss challenge at my gym, and I've completely changed the way I eat . . . definitely for the better. I've only lost four pounds in the first two weeks, but I feel so much better. My energy level is through the roof; my clothes are fitting a little better; and my hot flashes have disappeared completely. I'm also working out more, and I've got another new piece of jewelry to help me with that - a fit bit! I love the gizmo (which tracks your steps and activity levels), but it definitely needs a better clasp as it keeps falling off. Recently, it went missing four almost two weeks! 
Luckily, I found it today while working in the spare bedroom (it had fallen into a suitcase I was packing with Henry's spare clothes). I'm determined to clear the room out and turn it into a room that I can use as my art studio but that will also serve as a guest room and can easily become Henry's room when he's home from University. At a school auction last fall, I bought a package which included a few hours of consulting with a woman who specializes in "home organizing." We had our first meeting last week, and she gave me some good ideas and homework which included clearing the room and figuring out what I want to put in it. I've been very good so far at packing Henry's stuff up and purging books so the room is almost empty. The next step is to organize and purge my art supplies, so I know exactly how much stuff I have to move in. She's coming back in a few weeks to help me figure out the best way to organize the room and then how to decorate it.
If we had a chance to sit and talk over tea, I would tell you that I'm really profiting from the introspection caused by my one little word. I'd tell you that, as I have examined the various parts of my life and my feelings about 2014, I have realized that I want this to be a year of letting go of burdens, of lightening up, of not worrying and not being stressed. I have goals and things I want to do, but I am not setting up unrealistic expectations. I am fine with slowing down and enjoying life, of not constantly feeling like there are things that need to get done. And, ironically, I'm actually getting more things done than ever!
I would admit that I'm watching less television and spending less time on the computer, but mainly I'm being more efficient because I'm not wasting time spinning with worry about things beyond my control. I feel like my path to happiness is becoming clearer and better illuminated.
Just in case this starts to sound too deep, I would show you had I spent my time today - finally finishing up and mailing my Christmas cards! As a bit of an explanation to by friends, I stamped this on the front of the envelopes:

That's about all the stamping I've done lately, but I have been doing a lot of photography. I'm really enjoying the Still Life Photography class and the Zoom In Zoom Out weekly challenge. I'm also taking an online class called Studying under the Masters which I'm working through slowly, but that's okay.
Before you'd leave, I'd ask you advice about one thing that's been puzzling me as I go through my supplies. Do I need to keep the negatives from the photographs I took on film? What about extra photos that I didn't think warranted being scrapped? I'm feeling ready to let them go (and it will free up a lot of space), but want to know whether I'm making a mistake.  What do you think?

Staging a Matisse Still Life Photograph

I'm taking a nine week online class called Studying Under the Masters. The course features a different artist each week. Week 1 was Matisse, and learned a lot about his still life style, which feature vibrant colors, a lot of patterns and (often) women. I was thinking about doing a Matisse-style art journal page, but then I decided to try to stage and photograph a still life in the Matisse style. The photograph up top is what I came up with.  I'm pretty happy with it, and I think it does reflect Matisse paintings like these:

What do you think? Can you see the similarities? 

Here's my set-up shot:

 

I used a flowered skirt and three scarves for the backdrop, arranged on a chair. The frugal still life photography class definitely influenced this shot as well. It's fun to combine classes, isn't it?