34/52 - Photo Project 2014

So many photos to choose from - more water droplet macro. Man, this shoot was well worth it but I was wiping sweat from my brow and condensation from my glasses every other shot. I promptly hid from the heat and humidity for the remainder of the day.

This is the winner;

This is the first time I was able to catch something like this - something I've seen in tons of other macro photos. I've gotta try this again!!

Close second:

Close third:

And this is just nifty:

This upcoming weekend is the Japanese Festival - so no early morning walking hours this time.

Until next time!

Happy List, Weeks 34 & 35

Whoops... I wrote the list out but forgot to post... so here's Week 34 and Week 35 together!


Happy List, Week 34 

1. Rosie. That's our new-to-us, 3 year old terrier mix rescue. Welcome to the family, Rosie!

2. Art Openings. They weren't mine, but I visited two in one night. It was time well spent.

3. Last Days of Vacation. I spent the last days of vacation being unabashedly lazy.

4. Busy bee. I crossed a ton of stuff of my proverbial to-do list during vacation. Perhaps the next one, I can be more lazy.

5. New Exhibit. I have not one, but two, upcoming exhibits in the near future. Exciting!


Happy List, Week 35

1. Sgt. Pepper. That's our new-to-us 18 month old Cairn Terrier rescue. Welcome to the family, Sgt. Pepper!

2. New car. Not mine, but mom finally got the 1996 van replaced. I will sleep easier knowing she's driving a reliable car.

3. Macro time. I spent 2 very sweaty hours at MoBot, taking macro photos. About every other picture I was wiping sweat from my brow or condensation from my glasses. Totally worth it though.

4. Road trip. I'd forgotten how nice road trips are. Just you and the road. Very zen.

5. Photo shoot. There is a place that has been on my to-do list for awhile. Despite the heat, I'm glad I finally went. I'm sure it's not the last time.

Short lists, but they're meaningful. Here's to a nice vacation induced list next week!

33/52 - Photo Project 2014

Week 33 was a relatively quiet week photographically. I had planned on exploring more macro water droplets on Saturday, but it was raining really hard and the skies were dark.

Thank goodness the weather during the week had been unexpectedly atypical for August. I found myself at my favorite place on earth. 

This one is the winner of the week. I love the color and the composition:

Runners up. The first one I waited 10 minutes for the bees to get off the flower. It was worth it:

There are a few more favorites from that day, and you can find them on Flickr.

Here's to another good week of photos!

32/52 - Photo Project 2014

Week 32 was a quiet week. My Photo Flood friends and I explored St. Louis Hills - a beautiful neighborhood.

The winner of the week is this:

The cleanest alley I've seen in a long time.

Runners up:

I've already taken some great candidates for Week 33!

Happy List, Week 33

Happy List, Week 33.

1. Fixed Car. It may have cost a bundle, but it definitely drives better and safer.

2. Photo Flood time. Exploring another new-to-me neighborhood with a good group of friends.

3. Chatting with colleagues. A few of us chatted after the post-flood dinner until almost midnight. Very fun.

4. Time off. It's been absolutely glorious. I've gotten a lot done in my time off while also catching up on rest and relaxation.

5. Crossing things off. See above. I like crossing things off on a to-do list.

6. Donations. I rustled up some things that have been collecting dust (literally and figuratively) since I moved back to STL. It was wonderful to take a carful of donations to Goodwill.

7. Starting a photography page on FB. I created a page for my photography on FB which will hopefully let me not *just* post about photography on my personal page and drive my friends nuts.

8. 3 year anniversary. Friday was my 3 year anniversary at work. My, how time flies.

9. Friends. Actually having a little time to spend with some work colleagues who are also friends is wonderful. They know who they are.

10. Upcoming trip. There's an upcoming trip in Week 35 that I'm really excited about. More to come on that.

I enjoy this list because sometimes I really have to 'force' myself to find the good in the week. Sometimes it is not obvious and sometimes it is not there. But it is an excellent exercise for me, nonetheless.

Happy List, Week 32

Happy List, Week 32.

1. Camera time. Even though I've been feeling under the weather, I made some camera time and it has been worth it.

2. Nature. Because with a macro lens, nature can be even more beautiful if you have the patience to look closely.

3. Kleenex with lotion. Because when your nose is a faucet (sorry, TMI), you want something that will be less harsh on your poor abused nose.

4. Good friends. Because seeing them, even briefly, helps make your day.

5. West Wing. Because, West Wing. That's all.

6. Vacation. I have worked harder this season than I have in a long time. It wore me out and now I am on vacation. YAY.

7. Summer thunderstorms. I love a good thunderstorm.

8. Streamlining. Starting to streamline my possessions down. It feels good.

9. To Do lists. It's nice to be able to work on and accomplish things on a personal (vs work) to-do list.

10. Claritin D. It's a wonder drug when allergies are out of control

HAH. I posted on time and it's a 10-er! YAY!

31/52 - Photo Project 2014

Well, I'd been feeling under the weather all week, but still managed to get a little camera time. I caught the sunset on Friday night which happened to be a bit colorful and then spent about a half hour at my most favorite place on earth Saturday morning in order to play around with macro again.

My winner of the week is this:

Though, I didn't capture the 'picture' in the water droplet like I strive for these days, I just love almost everything else about this. The glow-y-ness of it and realizing just how truly close I was to my subject. Someday, maybe I'll learn how to focus stack, but I love what I can get now because I can get it on my own, without a tripod and just a kick-ass lens.

Close runners' up:

A drop within a drop:

And the aforementioned sunset turning red:

Here's to some great opportunities this week and feeling more human. That 1/2 hour photoshoot took more out of me than I realized.

30/52 - Photo Project 2014

This... this show usurped my entire life for longer than I care to admit. But it was worth it. All of our work culminated in three rip-roaring performances (if one can call Ragtime rip-roaring) that had our audience abuzz.

They deserve their place in this photo project, even if I had had time to take any other photos this week.

This is the entire company at the end of the opening number:



Our entire company at the finale - barely able to fit in the proscenium opening:

And a typical shot from the show:

I'm so proud of everyone involved on this show from top to bottom. We accomplished so much. And we're all so exhausted now!

29/52 - Photo Project 2014

I skated into this week's qualifier by the skin of my teeth. It was a busy week at work, but the following one was going to be busier. I stole a few hours with my Photo Flood group and explored downtown through our lenses.

Here's my fav:

Close second:

I'm still behind in uploading the previous week's photos as well...