52 Week Project: Week 48

I know the week isn't technically over until Saturday, but I'm excited about these photos. These last two days, I've been experimenting with photographing the surface of a soap bubble and the rainbows that form on the surface of the bubble. It requires good lighting (which I'm far from perfecting), a macro lens and some manual focus. I need to learn how to make the bubble last longer, and figure out how to light it the best.

Here are some of my favorite attempts:







Here's the close second - one of the toughest choices:



And the winner of the week:



I look forward to perfecting this technique!

52 Week Project: Week 47

I bought myself a new gift - a 100mm f2.8 Macro lens. It was a bit of an impulse buy but I think it'll be a great investment. I've always wanted to do macro and now, it might be the focus of next year's 52 week project.

So, I've spent the past few days experimenting and I loved this photo the best:



Star Anise - beautiful, isn't it?

This was a close second:



And this a close third:



Who knows what next week will bring - can you believe that there's only 5 weeks left until New Year???

52 Week Project: Week 46

Ahh... the last vestiges of fall. Forest Park is usually a bounty of beautiful sights - but in this awkward inbetween stage of fall and winter, pretty was hard to find.

I didn't think we'd get a good fall with the drought and everything, but I was pleasantly surprised with what fall color we did get. My parent's neighbors backyard has a stunning tree that is really holding on to its beautiful color.

This is a pathway near the Muny roundabout - I definitely was driving around to see what I could see - and I'm glad I saw this.



While this was a fun and beautiful photo, I really am looking forward to having a week off - and hopefully I will be able to take more photos than just my beautiful pup, Tom. He's hanging on and seems to be having many more good days than not good days. We'll treasure every day we get.

52 Week Project: Week 45

This week was an extremely busy one at work. We're celebrating our 25th anniversary this year - and our usual fall appreciation event was a little larger and complex this time. I had a chance to spend a little time with Tommy during the week but I don't want to oversaturate this project with Tommy, as cute and important to me as he is.

I took this photo in the "nick of time" on my iPhone - I think a first for this photo project. I gave myself the freedom to take with any camera device I had - but I always enjoyed using my DSLR for the project.

This is one of the flower arrangements from said event - hot pink against linens of navy and silver - stunningly beautiful.



I took more photos of our beautiful pup, Tom, but have already striven to take photos other than him this week. He's doing better but the days are still numbered... :-/

52 Week Project: Week 44

I won't sugarcoat this - this is a tough week and a tough choice for the project. Tommy is our wonderful, spectacular, stellar Cairn Terrier who turned twelve in May. For 10 of those years, he was one half of a therapy dog team who changed the lives of countless people and kids in the St. Louis area.

On Halloween night, he fell off my parents bed, which lead them to our great vet and then the emergency vet and a diagnosis that none of us wanted. Tommy's fall was the result of an inoperable brain tumor - definitely not the news we were hoping for. We are unwilling torture him with radiation (the treatment which might extend his life but won't cure him) and have decided to go the palliative route - just making him comfortable and happy as can be.

His tumor affects his balance and motor coordination (vs his personality) and the most marked change is that his balance is occasionally precarious. He can't always control his back legs and you can see him kind of getting annoyed at times with how his body is not exactly cooperating. It is hard to watch him lurch and stumble around the house instead of bounding around (yes, even at 12 - he was quite the spry pup).

We all share a bond with Tommy unlike any of our other dogs - and though we knew that he wasn't immortal, none of us wanted to face his mortality anytime soon. It would always be too soon.

It is too soon.

We don't know how long it will be before his quality of life declines - it could be soon, it could be awhile. But until that day comes, we are going to love him and make him comfortable and happy.

This is a picture of him on my dad's lap yesterday.



Until it's time, we're going to treasure every single day we have left with him.