A picnic at the park helped Miles forget about his stuffy nose today. He enjoyed the slide and swing, as well as peeking out through the porthole of the pretend boat.
Henry had a good time as well. . .
Day 89- Off to College
Henry and Miles went to college today! Miles was very excited about it and wore his Thomas the Train backpack for the occasion.
Our friend, Nevin, teaches Child Development at Santa Rosa Community College, so Henry was invited to be the subject of an infant observation. The students wrote down what they noticed about his behaviors, while Nevin pointed out signs of his stage of development. It was a lot of fun for both boys- especially because there were presents involved!
Day 68- Baa, Baa . . . Gobble?
A drive in the country today provided wonderful photo opportunities! I had a hard time choosing my photo of the day, and, since I just got home an hour ago, I haven’t gone through all my photos. So here are three from our first stop- sheep penned up in a vineyard (have no idea if this common practice. . .).
Don’t you love the expression on the one in the middle?
After our drive, we stopped for a Mexican dinner at our usual restaurant. As we exited the restaurant, a strange man came up to us and shouted, “You guys have to walk down the street to The Inn- there’s a turkey in a tree!”
Well, of course we couldn’t resist the opportunity to see a turkey in a tree, so off we went.
And, by golly, there was a turkey WAY UP in a tree- gobbling mightily! Actually, it was a pretty amazing sight- and sound!
And, since it was dusk, it gave me my first opportunity to max out my ISO . . .
Day 66- Chinatown
I was in the city today with my husband who had some business there. On the way to his meeting, we drove by Chinatown, where I had fifteen minutes to find something to photograph- no problem! This photo of lanterns adorning a shop is one of my favorites from today.
f/5.6, 1/125, ISO 250, 35mm
Day 62- The Reward
It is often awkward and always heavy to carry my camera in my purse when I go out. Today I had a hair appointment and a couple errands before meeting a friend across the bridge- and I lugged my camera with me EVERYWHERE! Here is the reward:
f/2.2, 1/800, ISO 320, 35mm
These beautiful flowers- in shades of red, fuchsia, purple, and white- called out to me as I passed Crate and Barrel. Are they poppies? Please let me know- I love them!
Day 57- Choo Choo
Weather Report: Chilly, with blue skies and sunshine! The predicted snow?- alas not in Benicia.
We took a drive this morning around the industrial parts of Benicia- full of photo ops! Here is one of a train. There were a couple disturbing warning signs about unmanned, remote-controlled trains- I think this was one.
f/22, 1/200, ISO 400, 70mm
Day 54- ABC123
Guess what I did today!??!?
If you guessed substitute teaching, you are right!
I have taught for most of my adult life and am in my first year of retirement. My comments after today? Teachers aren’t paid enough for the work they do.
I love teaching. I miss my colleagues and the kids (their cuteness, sweetness, and innocence make everything worthwhile). But today I was reminded of what a challenging job it is. Between the standards to follow, the constant testing, meetings, parent conferences, increased number of children with behavioral and learning problems, correcting, planning, and -YIKES-the LONG hours (don’t let anyone kid you that you are done at three) when you often can’t even take a bathroom break- it is a very hard job. Rewarding- yes, but very hard nonetheless.
I was greeted enthusiastically by many of my former students and some of my parents too- I love that! And I laughed at myself when I started to pick up the stack of papers to bring home at the end of the day to correct- nope, I don’t have to do that! I am just a (mostly retired. . .) sub now!
Don’t ever let me complain again about the pressure of coming up with something to photograph for Project 365 . . .
Day 51- A Whole New Day
It’s a whole new day in the Bay Area- blue sky and white puffy clouds! I snapped this photo of Mt. Diablo from the top of a parking garage when we went out for brunch this morning. This photo was taken (using the Sunny 16 rule) with the 35mm 1.8 lens that was on the camera. I switched to my 70-300mm lens for the rest of the photos, but this one is sharper. Interesting. . .
f/16, 1/250, ISO 250 @35mm
Yes, that’s another parking garage in the photo. We were in downtown Walnut Creek after all!
Day 47- Blurry Boot (made for walking . . .)
We arrived home today from our all too short trip to Arizona, and making certain that I kept my Project 365 commitment of a photo a day was on my mind while we waited for our flight to Oakland. Inspiration came from the blog of my good friend and photography buddy, Carol, who had recently posted an excellent photo of her friends at the gym walking on the treadmill. There was fantastic motion blur as her friends walked in unison- hmmm, how could I do this in an airport? I quickly and discreetly placed my camera on my knee, picked a random slow shutter speed, and clicked away in burst mode as people walked by. I was a little concerned that I might be violating some security procedure, so I quickly put the camera away and didn’t examine the photos until I came home.
Well . . . mixed results. The one I am posting is probably the most successful attempt. After this first shot, I, for some reason, lowered my shutter speed, and the results were interesting and a little bizarre. Let’s just say that it looked like I was photographing a planeload of amputees disembarking. The leg in motion in each case was SO blurry that it disappeared! Eeewwww . . .
So- here we are, Day 47- Blurry Boot:
f/1.8, 1/30, ISO 250, 35mm
I suggest that if you want to try this at home (or in an airport) you should check your results (chimp!) and adjust your shutter speed accordingly!
Day 46- Buddha of the Rocks
Outside of Prescott lies an area of magnificent rock formations called the Granite Dells. We had driven by on previous trips, but this was the first time we took some sideroads and drove among them.
f/20, 1/160, ISO 250, 100mm
I think this particular formation looks very Buddha-like.
f/22, 1/160/ISO 250, 78mm
Day 45- Arizona Highways
We celebrated Valentines Day with our good friends, Debbie and Dale, starting with a HUGE breakfast at the Lone Spur Cafe.
We then drove to Jerome, a historic mining town perched on the mountain overlooking THIS:
I think those are the San Francisco Peaks in the distance- looking towards Flagstaff.
Day 44- Sunsets and Kitties!
Our visit to Prescott gave me the opportunity to photograph something I don’t have the opportunity for at home- KITTIES!
First we have cute 8 month old Charlie . . .
And then we have Beautiful Phoebe!
On the way home from dinner tonight we spotted this beautiful sunset, so, when we pulled into the driveway, I had to run in to get the camera. It almost looks like the forest was on fire!
Day 43- Matt!
Our son, Matt, has been working in Phoenix for awhile, so we are having a quick visit with him before we head to Prescott tomorrow to see our good friends, Debbie and Dale. After he picked us up at the airport, we headed to his usual spot for lunch near our hotel. I snapped a few photos- using auto white balance- and am noticing a difference from photo to photo. I am beginning to wish I had never heard that auto white balance isn’t the way to go . . .
But he looks pretty cute anyway- looking a little like Dad!
Day 41- Camera Class
My first camera workshop- woo hoo! My college roommate and I met today for a camera workshop- both beginner and intermediate. I am happy to report that the beginner one was probably too easy for us (we both got our cameras last summer). I did a learn a new (to me) focusing method. Focus by depressing the shutter halfway, then flick the switch to manual on the lens and recompose and keep shooting until you are finished or the subject moves. We practiced on each other- so here are some focused and recomposed photos of my friend, Carol (the last one was shot separately).
I found this method a little difficult and can get the same results focusing, recomposing, and locking the focus by holding down the AF-L button. It was fun taking this class with my friend- although we did get in trouble once for talking in class!
Day 37- Blossoms!
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, but my photo of the day is about something else. Trees are starting to bloom here in the Bay Area! I was hoping to find some blossoms on my plum tree, but just buds. I didn’t have my camera with me when we went to church (again, I know…), so I used my iPhone camera to record these beautiful blossoms.
I did crop and sharpen it up a little in Aperture 3.
melinda anderson photography 