odds and ends

a collection of flotsam and jetsam found on my work desk today:

I have a question for you:

have you ever taken apart a drink parasol 

and unrolled the chinese newsprint at the end of the stick? 

(it's the "flag" in the photo)

I have been doing that for as long as I can remember 

- and at a recent BBQ - 

no one believed me - or could believe that I was so weird to do that :)

... so I wanted to ask my blog buddies ...

town and country

I've just gotten back from a bit of a vacation

(not wanting to advertise my absence while gone - it's a good idea in this day and age)

can you guess the city from these photos?

if you haven't guessed by now, it could be you're from another country

or maybe you just haven't had the pleasure of visiting ....

... c h i c a g o 

we were only in the city for a day and spent the better part of a week in the country

Illinois is where I grew up - and have lots of family there

it was so wonderful to reconnect and meet the new husbands, wives, babies

kissing familiar cheeks and newly familiar ones

what a joy

*

and homecoming was sweet 

... I just have a little horn to toot ...

while I was gone I had art from my Etsy shop featured on their front page TWICE!

it's funny how things like that happen while you're sleeping - or even on vacation

hanging out

every year I mean to dry the echinacea for making tea or a tincture in the winter time

finally got around to it this year

(I will tell you how it turns out)

more light

the light is captured here 

but, it seems like there is even more light here:

the smoky cast is gone and the black background is almost magic to me

*

and then this photo has amazing color:

and didn't translate to b&w quite so well because of the blueness of the sky:

the two colors (blue and green) are too similar - so it's monochromatic in b&w

(a continuing series exploring color vs. black and white photography and what makes it work)

summer fun

taking in a baseball game from the bleachers is a quintessential summer pastime

Seattle Mariners v. Los Angeles Angels

the M's won the game to sweep the series (that doesn't happen often for our M's)

and I got this picture from the car window as we were leaving

(no that wasn't our parking spot)

looking and seeing

 taking some pictures today and thinking about

the nature of color:

and the nature of tone:

it is definitely something to explore

not all color photos make good black and whites

(and vice versa of course)

but why is that?

tone

trying to see the tone of things

a tale of two cameras

 it started this morning with a plate of crepes in the morning light

I grabbed my "handy" camera (nikon coolpix s6300) and had mediocre results

then I pulled out my Dad's "special" camera (nikon d200) and got a stunner

nikon coolpix s6300 results

so later today, I took my project outside -

shooting the same things with the two different cameras

the differences are striking

nikon d200 results

but in defense of the handy little guy, I would never have gotten a picture like this:

(all of these were taken only because I had my pocket camera with me in my purse)

(taken while on the anacortes ferry - this is Friday Harbor)

or this:

(taken while on my morning walk)

or this:

(taken from my car while sitting in the driveway)

but it was "the beast" that got this great one from today's experiment:

my conclusion to this tale?

I'm glad I have two cameras to choose from

... and then I have some film cameras (also from my Dad) begging for me to give them a try ...

Hasselblad and a 1964 Nikon F

any advice, experience, etc.?

faerie garden

the Tall Guy has an english style garden with lots of roses and stuff

as for me - I have an herb graden with resident faeries

maybe it's from having three little girls

or maybe it's just cuz I love tiny things

.... let me show you around ....

this is my Chinese Fisherman (his pond is an abalone shell):

here is The Sage Lady, wise as all get out:

this is my church birdhouse with a pinecone steeple:

here is a table set for tea (can you see the yellow jacket on the left?):

this is where my Kitty Witty is buried under the stones (he was so sweet):

all the wine bottles end up out here as borders:

 this year I added a twig fence and oyster shell border:

and the faeries are there, crouched under leaves and such,

waiting for the sun to set so they can dance and sing under the stars