Dove Candy Wisdom

In short, it has been and will continue to be a stressful summer at Opera Camp. That's not really what its called but it is a very intensive summer. We put up 3 mainstage shows (fully stage, fully teched, etc) in 8 weeks; plus there are other concerts, events, etc on the side. There shall be a later post detailing more, but this one is chocolate-oriented.

The candy of choice (first provided by our production manager and later supplemented by others) has been the Dove Promises candy nuggets. They are amazing. We're particularly fond of the dark chocolate ones; and me personally, the dark chocolate with almonds.

But what's just about as good as the candy inside are these little nuggets of info/sayings/advice on the inside of the wrappers. We've amassed our favorites - some very appropriate, others just amusing.

In no particular order:

Fill your cup and nourish others from the overflow.

Sing, no matter how bad you sound.

If you can imagine, then you can achieve.

Life is too short to drink cheap wine.

Sometimes good enough really is good enough.

Let your light shine, the world is watching.

If in darkness, lift your eyes to the stars.

How perfect a day can be if you think postively.

Perserverance is a synonym of victory.

It's okay to not do it all.

The most enjoyable experiences are often free.

Remember to exhale.

When you can't control the wind, adjust your sails.

Instead of complaining, try to find a solution.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. There may be more... and there definitely will be follow-up posts about this summer. And sometime in the near future, my artistic soul won't be screaming so much as I will soon have the opportunity to take pictures!

Archive Photo - 3 Duck Tails

Honest to goodness, I haven't taken a picture in awhile. Actually, I have, but I haven't uploaded them. And I may not have had the steadiest hand at the time.

At any rate, I've certainly not been taking the quantity or quality of recent times. My summer job schedule is absolutely insane. I barely have time to sleep and accomplish all the work that needs to get done.

So here's an oldie but goodie. It is in my desktop pictures folder and so every so often when I get to see my desktop, this picture makes me smile.

So here, in turn, it shall make you smile. I was taking pictures of the ducks, and suddenly, they all flipped upside-down. Thusly, this picture was taken.

Bellefontaine Cemetary

I'm not usually a fan of cemeteries. As a photographer, I do enjoy the tragic beauty, especially when gravestones/gravesites were ornate and tributes beyond the basic headstone.

St. Louis is home to one particularly historical and beautiful cemetery. It's called Bellefontaine Cemetery and there are many notable St. Louisans buried there as well as Civil War soldiers.

My mom and I visited it one day - and let me tell you, the cemetery is VAST. We didn't stop at every 'notable' grave, but we stopped at many. Some were simply famous St. Louisans, or just plain famous. But some were listed on the tour because of their unique gravesite. Or in particular, one had a great story.



Herman Luyties fell in love with a model, who turned down his romantic advances. He was so obsessed with her that he had a sculpture commissioned in her likeness and it was eventually moved to his family's burial plot from its extreme weight. He had the statue enclosed in the glass case when the weather started to deteriorate the marble. He's buried at the feet of his long-lost obsession.

Isn't that a great story? Makes you wonder if that woman ever knew she has a sculpture of her.

Here's some more interesting graves/masoleums:











Read more about it here.

I'm alive...

For almost a year, I've posted nearly daily. Now that my 365 project is done (hurrah!), I'm not taking photos on as regular of a basis. Mostly because I don't *HAVE* to, and I'm also debating my next 'big' photo project. Found alphabet or colors. (If you want more explanation, let me know)

The also small wrinkle in my photo life is that my job this summer is part of an 8 week uber-intensive schedule. I have managed to take a photo in some crazy times in the past year, but I think this summer rep schedule is just going to take the proverbial cake.

This is NOT me saying that I'm not posting anymore. This IS me saying that there will be gaps between posting. I have a few entries up my sleeve that I just need to sit down and compose and post. They'll be coming soon.

I'll try to keep you updated, even if its just a textual anecdote or a basic picture or two.

So stick with me, and keep checking back for updates. You never know when I'm going to have the time or the motivation to post some photographic or anecdotal fun.

Thanks for reading!

An Evening in Forest Park

Warning: Mom, there are birds in this post. Ducks and another bird that I don't know, but he/she is integral to the post. Sorry!

The other night, I was desperate for a good picture for the tail end of my 365 project. I was tired of random photos that I happened to take it home. It had also been extremely rainy lately. So with a clear evening at hand, I decided to go for a drive, and ended up in Forest Park. By the time I had made the decision to go there, I decided I really wanted a sunlight/sunset on water picture, so I ended up parking by several bodies of water that are cut-through by a jogging/biking trail.

I first saw some ducks, a family swimming across the calm pool of water, mirror-like in its stillness.





Then, I crossed the road (yes, to get to the other side), to see what kind of life there was in that body of water. I met this tall, white bird. I'm not sure what he is - but he was very tall, very skinny, and very white. As the night got darker, he seemed to get whiter.

But what was more amazing about him was watching him eat. He ate fish, unsurprisingly, but it was the manner in which he got his fish that was amazing. He'd stay very still, and then very slowly creep forward and then, super quick, lunge with his long neck and beak into the water and grab his prey. He almost seemed to tiptoe as he moved. It was amazing. And beautiful. But what was even more amazing was his incredible wingspan. Looking at the bird at rest, you'd have no idea that he had a huge wingspan. I stalked this bird on both sides of the road because I just was amazed at his behavior - and I wanted to get pictures of him in flight.









All this was broken up by this dog who decided, much to his owner's dismay, to take an unplanned dip:



And since so much time had passed, I stuck around for a lovely sunset picture:





All in all, it was an hour or so well spent. I saw the sunset, I saw ducks, I watched and learned about a big white bird. And I have the pictures to prove it.

Task #57 - Complete/ Day in My Life

57. Photograph a Day in My Life and Blog about it.

I chose to do the Day in My Life project as my birthday. I will most likely repeat this project at a later date at some more mundane day, but yesterday begged to be recorded, especially since it fell the day after completing the 365 project.

7:30am

Woke up, but after going to bed very late, went back to sleep.

8:30am

Finally decided I was up. Checked email - lots of facebook love.



9:30am

Time to get showered, dressed and packed for the day.



Saw the message my awesome roomie left for me on our whiteboard by the front door:



10:00am

Drove to my parent's house for brunch. But first, present time! No wrapping needed - I ordered this one on my own, but it was partially gifted by my parents as well:



Just opened the box. It's so pretty. Syncing it up for the first time:



10:45am-ish

Brunch with my parents. Mom got up early and made my favorites: popovers!



A brief nap, laundry and other everyday stuff occurred here. And maybe some toying around with the iPad.

1:30pm/2:00pm

Time to work on my birthday cake. Mom worked on the batter as I prepped the bowls to dye the batter six different colors to make my rainbow cake. That's paste food coloring - very potent in color.



See? But since a little goes a long way, we were tentative in the coloring at the beginning. Our theory was that the batter would get lighter in color when cooked.



You have to pour it quickly - gravity is both our friend and our enemy. Six bowls, six colors, six spatulas. Mom and I switched off every other color.



Ready to go in the oven!



3:45pm

Cake's done! It looks amazing! We're not going to ice it, but just sprinkle some powdered sugar on it.



Research and purchasing of tickets and reservations for a trip in August happened here. No pictures taken, sorry.

5:00pm

Portrait photography meet-up. A chance to play around with lighting equipment that I don't own without having to rent it. Also fun to chat with photographers of various skill levels.





7:30pm

Birthday dinner with my parents and roommate at a Mongolian BBQ place that also has a buffet. First, you have the appetizers:



Yes, that's toasted ravioli you see. So what? It was there, and it's St. Louisian. :)

Then it's time to mix your own veggies, meats and sauce and they grill it up for you:



9:00pm

Birthday cake with my parents, my roommate, and my parent's neighbors:



Look at the cake! It turned out SO well!





11:50pm

It's been a long, fun and exciting day. Even with the rainstorm. Time to curl up in bed with the iPad.



Thanks to all who were a part of my birthday, whether in person, by phone, by text or by facebook message. Thanks for making me feel so loved!

Task #14 - Complete

14. Take a picture every day for a year.

What a year it's been. I'm using blurb.com and making a photo book of it - and it is going to be amazing.

---

365/365



My what a year it's been. It is amazing where I (and subsequently this camera) have been in 365 days.

364/365



A lovely sunset after a rainy day in Forest Park.

363/365



Clematis, up close and beautiful at the Missouri Botanical Garden.


362/365



Exploring Forest Park - this is the rear 'lobby' of the Muny in Forest Park.


361/365



Our garden at my parent's house. Flourishing away from our TLC.

360/365



Not every day can be a great picture - today was a day of mundane tasks including laundry.

359/365



Black and white cupcakes made for Mother's Day.