While on our hike the other day, we came upon this scene. The scene of what I thought to be an accident from years gone by.

I thought this car came from the road up this steep mountain. And I thought it came tumbling down.

Tumbling down indeed, but with the help of someone helping it down the mountain.

As the hubs quickly noticed, no engine. And that it was missing major components that would be here had it been an accident.

I was eager to learn as much as I could. So I snapped a pic of the other side of the car. I doubt this door ever comes to a close again. And a small tree is beginning to take residence between the car and the door.

Some have already signed that they have been here.

The spot where gas once filled the tank.

And what is left of the wheels that once took passengers here, there and yon.

And what some see as junk, I saw as a treasure.

Many MANY thanks to the hubs for allowing me to snap ’til my heart was content.

Blessings – Debbie

And Happy Super Bowl Sunday! We’re cheering for the Ravens in this house, how about you?

The last two days were sort of panic attack, meltdown and shut-down all wrapped into one.

The photo today has nothing to do with this post. And everything to do with me taking a Photoshop break. A break that my professor (I’m sure) would not approve of. So, we’ll keep this between us.

Class was a bit overwhelming Wednesday.

And of all things, I sat there wondering if I was in the right class.

Should I drop the class? I cannot believe that thought went thru my head, but it did. Then again, I can believe it. As I recall, the very same thought went thru my head last semester during one of my early classes.

I was panic-stricken! And I felt myself shut down. And everything inside of me screamed “how am I going to retain all of that?”

I had to decide if I was going to take notes or pay very close attention. Since I couldn’t take notes fast enough, I decided to pay very close attention and follow along hoping to get some of it. Good choice, very good choice.

By the time I got the opportunity to relay all of this (and then some) to the hubs, I had semi-calmed down. But still feeling rather overwhelmed with everything the professor went over in that 3 hour lecture. Let’s just say “he threw a lot of words at us during that class”.

Then the hubs said to me. “The worst thing you can do is panic, just take that elephant and chop it into bite size pieces. You can do it, I know you can.” He mentioned that I can get all sorts of help on You Tube. And listed several ways that I can get a better grasp on the problem areas.

Allow me to say, my guy is the level-headed, smart, patient, calm and peace to my every storm. And I’m so thankful he helps to bring the best out in me.

Feeling so blessed as I chip away on my elephant, while I learn to take bite size pieces.

And really, REALLY delighted this is the hubs Friday off.

And extra thankful I have the laundry baskets empty and the ironing all caught up.

And truly looking forward to my extra special date with the hubs today. More on that later.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Blessings – Debbie

Greetings from the kitchen sink!

If we were at the kitchen sink, I would tell you I have always had a thing for water. From the time I was a child, I got my kicks from stealing water from the kitchen sink and pouring it into my play kitchen sink in my bedroom.

I would tell you that I got in trouble for that a time or two.

If we were at the kitchen sink, you would tell me that I look like a dork and we would laugh at me and the way I have things set up. True, I have my dress flopped over a box on top of the counter. True, I have the paper towel holder on top of the dress to hold it in place such that it doesn’t fall/slip off the box.

And then you would whip out your cell phone and capture the whole scene just to have proof of how silly the whole thing looked.

And I believe I’d tell you I’m on my search to capture that perfect drop of water.

And if you know anything about me, you know I’m up for a laugh at myself and welcome all to join in. My days of getting embarrassed are no more.

While changing backgrounds several times, I would like to continue searching for “the drop”. Have you any idea how many shots it took to capture the three shots above? I would have tell you it’s upwards of 500 + shots. Makes me wonder how many thousands of shots it’s going to take to get the perfect drop.

Perhaps I’ll wait for another really good rain and catch the drops as they fall in the garden. I believe I’ll add that to my list of things to do.

If we were at the kitchen sink. I’d tell you that I just got home from a little lunch date with the hubs. And that I just finished stocking the fridge and cupboards with groceries.

And if we were at the kitchen sink, I would tell you that I believe it would be time to prop our feet up poolside with some sort of umbrella beverage.

But since it’s just me, I believe I’ll go recline with a fresh spot of coffee and dig a little deeper into my textbook. Speaking of textbook, I’m still loving my Kindle. It’s a lot lighter than carrying that 800 + page book around.

With that, it’s time for me to turn the page to chapter 3.

Blessings – Debbie

We’ve had more fun on these rainy days. And there is no such thing as letting this bring us down. The hubs and I had another wonderful day. We went shopping, out to lunch and then we took a moment to run over to the mall to check out an item in the Apple Store.

We also brought in some wood from our big stash out back, as we plan to throw the logs on the fire and stay nice and warm the rest of the evening.

But it was the break in the rain that allowed me to get out and shoot. Originally I wanted to shoot single drops of water, but we could not come up with a solid plan for that.

So my next idea was to drop a lime into a (small juice) glass full of water.

But I needed a helping hand. So the hubs gladly gave his time to continue dropping the lime.

As soon as it hit the bottom, he reached down in, rescued the lime, filled the glass with water and proceeded to do the whole thing all over again.

 Talk about me getting my kicks, there are no words.

Over and over we played.

as each and every splash is different than the last.

That’s what made this so much fun.

Splishin’ and a splashin’

It’s hard to put into words the joy that came from this little project.

Have you any idea how I wish I had yet another hand? I believe I could do this all day long and never get bored.

We stopped playing as soon as we felt more raindrops.

I believe I should have at least one shot to make the cut for my homework assignment.

Question: If you are reading this, do you have a favorite? Any suggestions are much appreciated. It’s difficult for me to narrow it down to just one.

Thanks in advance!

Blessings – Debbie

My shot of the day turned out to be this leaf just outside the door. It was looking rather forlorn on this peaceful rainy day. This is the shot that spoke to me. And I like that there is beauty on such a rainy day.

I have ideas rolling around in my head. Ideas that the hubs is working on to help me create the perfect set-up such that I can take the shot I want to capture.

We went to sleep on it last night. We are still brainstorming on how we can pull this off. Leave it to us, I’m sure between the both of us we will surely find a way.

In the meantime, I’m thinking up different mundane things to turn into a masterpiece. I just need two shots for the project. And here I’ve taken 500 + shots in the last couple of days. Surely I have enough, but I want more! After all, I have until the 13th of February to complete the assignment.

I read something the other day. I can’t remember who said it, but it stuck. When a photographer was asked the question “what is the best shot you’ve ever taken” his answer “my very next shot”. My wish is to never stop growing, to never stop learning and to never lose the passion that grows deep within. I want my next shot to be better than the last too.

As far as today goes, the hubs took off work to spend the day with me. He’s working from home a little + he asked me out for a lunch date. Makes my day and weekend brighter when I get to have a little more quality time with him.

On that note, I’m off to spend the rest of my day with the hubs.

Blessings – Debbie

It’s a happy day when I get to say I’ve successfully wrapped up another week of photography images.

This week I needed 60 images. That nearly put me over the edge as I did not have a lot of time last week to work.

But have no fear as I was finally able to wrap things up today.

My little double walled teapot made the cut.

I like the way the yellow flowers spill cheer as though they are spilling out of the pot.

I took a late afternoon stroll in the hood. I like this old contraption.  Don’t ask me what it is though. I just thought it made for an interesting composition.

A shot of the wheel of the above mentioned contraption.

And I even had a little fun shooting from our pool table. I like the shallow depth of field in this shot.

I’ll close this assignment and wait for the next assignment to be given tomorrow afternoon.

Cheers to moving on to a new assignment, it should be another fun week!

The best part of my day was meeting the hubs for lunch, I will never take these special dates for granted.

And last but not least, Happy Election Day to all of you too! The hubs and I mailed our ballots in a little over two weeks ago. Here’s wishing our president the very best these next four years.

Blessings – Debbie

Good Friday afternoon! I’m still snapping shots and working that camera. I’ve just been a bit pre occupied with the goodness of a busy life, that I have neglected the blog. Sorry about that, my bad. But I’m back!

I can think of a couple of things to report.

A. I got my very first flu shot last week. I wasn’t so sure about getting one as I have not had the flu in over 14 years. And I can only recall having the flu 3 (perhaps 4) times max in my life. But the hubs wanted me to get it as I’m around students and a lot more people these days. So I agreed that it would not be such a bad idea.

B. Our daughter is moving to So Cal! She landed the job of her dreams in LA and we could not be happier for her.

With our daughter making her way out here next week, she asked if we would check out the apartment of her dreams (yesterday) before it gets snatched up.

So yesterday, the hubs and I made our way up the coast and landed in this beautiful neighborhood. The neighborhood where our daughter wants to call home sweet home.

This shot was taken with the cell phone.

The hubs and I not only checked out her (hopefully) new place, we also took a nice stroll. We think she’s going to fall in love with this place.

What a feel good place to visit.

Shot taken from the pier.

The hubs and I enjoyed our little outdoor lunch with ocean views.

He had the Simmzy’s Burger – loaded with all the yummy fixins’. He reported it tasted as yummy as it looked.

Save the Farm! – I had that killer Grilled Cheese. I will definitely be getting it again and again and again…The best grilled cheese ever!

And we shared this amazing Apple Filled Donut. Let’s just say, we nearly licked the plate clean.

That’s pretty much a wrap of our day in LA.

Today I had to run the hubs into the city for a little “oral” surgery. So while he was in surgery, I ran over to the beach to work on my new assignment this week.

The assignment – Understanding How To Capture Motion and Blur

We are to use a moving subject traveling at a reasonable rate of speed. With the subject moving parallel to the camera, make the exposure at 1/30 of a second or slower as well as shoot the subject at 1/500 of a second or faster.

To capture two different kinds of “Motion and Blur” we are to hold the camera still (in place) and shoot as the subject passes. The outcome will be a crisp foreground and background with a blurred subject.

Next, we are to pan the camera at the same rate of the moving subject. While panning, we are to take the shot and continue panning until the shot has fully taken. This will give a crisp subject with a blurred foreground and background.

For my first try this morning – I captured a shot of this gal jogging. This is a panned shot as she is in focus and everything else is blurred. Taken with a shutter speed of 1/30 of a second.

Another panned shot = subject in focus with everything else blurred. Shutter speed = 1/30 of a second.

This is a shot of the subject passing while I’m holding the camera still. Shutter speed = 1/30 of a second. It gives a real feel of the moving subject while everything else is in focus. Interesting, ay? There you have it, two different kinds of blur and motion.

Another with the camera, still as can be = the same blur and motion as the shot above. Shutter speed = 1/30 of a second.

I took this at 1/500 of a second. The shot was taken holding the camera still (no pan). I learned with the speed of that shutter, it freezes everything, even the spokes of the tires

I think it’s cool how this dude waved and looked right at the camera as he/they passed by. I especially like his red shoes. This is the shot that made my day.

Again, 1/500 of a second = Everything froze. This was a pan shot but the shutter speed was so fast that everything froze, even with the camera moving.

1/500 of a second. While her hair is the only thing showing motion, it froze in place. If you (scroll up) look at the gal jogging at 1/30 of a second, check out her hair to see the difference between frozen and the blur…

One more fun 1/500 of a second = fun shot.

You get the idea right?

Cheers to spending time at the beach. Cheers to hubby getting thru his surgery just dandy. Cheers to him getting rest as we speak. Cheers to having my assignment complete. And Cheers to the weekend!

I’ll be back in the next day or so to share the assignment I finished last week on Painting With Light.

Blessings – Debbie