We found an old friend while cleaning out the shed. . .
Joan and Rudy gave this to you, Caitlin- remember???
Day 136- Big and ROUND
I haven’t participated too much in my Flickr group, because I’ve been preoccupied with the class I’ve been taking from Karen Russell. But today I am going with the theme, which is round. Basically, I looked around for something round- and noticed a candle that has actually never been photographed. I used Aperture Priority with 1 stop exposure compensation and Kelvin white balance (I think it was around 4000).
And that’s about it!
Day 135- Time in a Bottle
My grandmother, Mimi’s perfume bottle
Day 133- Hens and Chicks
My Rapunzel group met for lunch last week at Jan’s beautiful home. As usual, there was delicious food, laughter, and tears. It was bittersweet that our dear friend, Nevin, has moved to Southern California and that FaceTime with Jan’s iPhone was how she was able to join us. Marie was with her daughter and also could not be with us- we missed her as well, but know she will be at meetings again in the near future. Our group seems small at times, but has stayed strong because of our deep connection to each other- and to our children (and grandchildren!).
Somehow. Vicki has been in my mind and heart this week. She is one of us in spirit, but we lost her to cancer a few years ago. The first Christmas after her passing, each of us brought a small gift for each member in the group, as Vicki had brought us on every holiday. What is noteworthy here is that this was one of those unplanned, synchronistic happenings; none of us knew that each of us was doing the same thing.
I think Jan must have been feeling Vicki’s presence as well, because she had a present for each of us- a cute little succulent plant. I believe it is a “Hens and Chicks”- an apt gift to give a group whose reason for being is support and friendship while raising children!
Day 130- Work- or not. . .
Work has been disrupted around the Anderson home office for a couple weeks, because the big computer died- and 3 visits from the Dell technician could not repair it. I stayed home yesterday waiting for the replacement computer, and then our computer whiz, Dale, arrived in the afternoon to install the old hard drive into the new computer. By 7:00, it still didn’t work correctly.
This is what our home office looks like currently- with my husband on the phone trying to coordinate things between the old computer, his laptop, and the new computer- and all his software that needs to be working perfectly so he can operate his business. Big headache!
And I keep whispering- Get a Mac!
Day 116- Blasts from the Past
De-cluttering has become an obsession, as I go through bouts of determination to sift through our old possessions, as well as those of my grandmother, mother, and our children. We have this vision of a sleek, uncluttered, low maintenance smaller house in our future- and we know that we’ll never be able to even think of downsizing until we get rid of and organize the contents of our closets, cupboards, and garage. I have been working on this in fits and spurts since my mother died fifteen years ago- and it seems never-ending.
Today I went through old record albums, each one with so many memories. I still have about a hundred to go through (trying to black out my name and seeing if the right record is in the right album cover). I have no idea yet what I will do with them! I thought of photographing them for today, but decided to go with the theme from Saturday- RECIPE.
This recipe box is where I keep recipes from my early marriage years- all hand-written and many in the handwriting of the person who gave it me the recipe. My current recipes are in binders- and often printed out from the internet- not nearly as personal.
I used Aperture Priority with Easy Exposure Compensation and AUTO ISO. Because I focused on the recipe cards, I had to lower exposure by 1 stop (so easy since I changed my settings to Easy Exposure Compensation). It felt like shooting in AUTO- kind of like cheating!
Day 109- Wash
These things won’t be used for awhile. 😦
Today I am putting away the last of the baby items- and mailing everything that wouldn’t fit into their suitcases.
The theme today is wash– and it seems like a sad state of affairs when I realize that I have already taken photos of my washing machine, my dish drainer, and soaps for my blog. I have SO run out of items in my house to photograph! No Project 365 next year!
I feel like I may have already photographed this ducky too, but probably not edited this way. I reduced contrast and added a white fill layer in Aperture.
Day 95- Shiny!
Tomorrow is the Big Day! The grandbabies will arrive with all the noise and confusion they will bring. We are so excited! The Easter Bunny has been busy- and I thought these shiny eggs would make an interesting photo for today. I set them on the bathroom counter (great light!) and snapped away. Yes, that’s me (and yes, that’s my bathroom!).
Day 94- Middle
Thank goodness for Easter decorations! I have something new in the house to photograph. The topic today is middle, so I focused on the middle bunny. I knew that when you are looking at depth of field, there is more in focus behind the subject than in front. This photo really demonstrates that principle- a good reminder for me!
Day 93- Up and Down
Deja vu? I know I have photographed these blinds before, but this is hopefully at a different angle. The topic today is Up and Down, and the blinds seem like a perfect choice. I chose a black and white treatment for interest.
Today I start Karen Russell’s Snapshots of a Good Life class! I’ve wanted to take this for so long- mainly to improve my family photography. I’m excited to begin and there will hopefully be a positive impact on my Project 365 photos. I’ll keep you posted!
Day 91- Cubist
We are getting ready for the arrival of the grandbabies next week. The family is on vacation with my daughter’s in-laws right now- and most of the family is sick! I’m going with the theme right today, cube, and this is one of the most obvious cubes in my house right now. I hope we won’t need it!
Day 88- Behind closed doors
The topic today is medicine cabinet. I took 3 photos of some essential oils using my speed light and added grunge in Snapseed on the iPad for a textured effect. I then added a watermark using :::TaDa!!!::: PHOTOSHOP TOUCH- all on the iPad!!!!! The test is whether I will be able to upload to WordPress.
Woo hoo- did it! I see the photo is smaller and doesn’t appear in the slideshow at the top- but that’s a small price to pay for the convenience of traveling with one iPad instead of 2 laptops! 🙂
Day 80 Attached
I’m going with the theme today- attachments and connections. Here is a photo of the beautiful necklace given to me by my husband- with connected hearts. OK, let’s hear it- Awwwwwwwwwwww !
Day 78- New
The topic today is new purchase. It was a toss-up between today’s groceries and my husband’s brand new iPad, which arrived in the mail Friday. The iPad wins, hands down! It is pretty awesome.
Although it is going to be used for business, here is what it is being used for tonight. . .
and here is how I hope it will be used in the future!
Day 75- Still a Mom
My kids are grown up, and we are empty nesters. However, with phones, email, cell phones, Skype, and FaceTime, we are grateful to be in constant contact with our adult children and the two grandbabies. Today I set up my tripod, took my remote in hand, and sat down to do a self portrait in a nice spot to sit (today’s theme). Since I am in the middle of a good book (an actual physical book, not my kindle!), I thought that would make a good prop. As is often the case, my son called- so I just kept clicking the remote while I talked to him.
melinda anderson photography 