Jackson Again...

... given the somber mood at home recently with the death of Jen's younger sister and the way that Matthew "stepped up" and conducted himself during the graveside ceremony, Jackson was a resource of happiness for several of our family, and eased the sorrow and tension.

It's sometimes strange how we react to the situations that life puts us in, but somehow the innocence of youth pulls us together to define the context of where and who we really are and how we will continue to be. Here are four, untouched from the camera as I don't have the energy right now to do "tweaking" as it might be needed. Tomorrow will be some floral shots that I really worked for, what with close up lenses and diffused lighting and a tripod and all.

With that happy-go-lucky, not a care in the world face, Jackson says "bye-bye"!

More Spring Leaves

I just can't leave (no pun intended) this subject alone. It seems as though the setting sun combined with the telephoto lens has provided me with images and color (none of these have been altered at all from the camera) that I continue to find fascinating and pleasing. There is a joy in the beauty of nature that is to me miraculous because there seem to also be so many imperfections in nature and how "she" works. I imagine that it is all spiritual, and often feel that spirit when I photograph the "natural world". When I see an image through the viewfinder of my camera that moves me and seems "striking" it is almost as though I have captured or contained nature at its best, having been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Backlit by the Sun

I took a quick break from my "lawnmower man" task after supper tonight and I grabbed my Sony Alpha and went out to photograph in the low sunset. I found a number of subjects such as the new blossoms on the crab apple trees and the sugar plum, but I turned toward the sun and noticed how it shone through the leaves of the maple tree in the back yard, where it is just beginning to leave out. Here are three I liked the best, these are about light first, subject second and the composition always!

Georgia On My Mind

So I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything here, but I have been really busy at school and doing things with my student photographers, so I really don't feel too guilty. I took my phone out this morning and grabbed a couple of shots from the vase of flowers on the kitchen table. Mother's Day was Sunday, but the flowers are still in pretty good shape. Georgia O'Keeffe has always been so beautiful to me, and I haven't been able to get her off my mind today!

Sunset Stil-life

I was struck by the light from the low sun after "suppah" last night and so I went down front to see if I could find a few pictures. I found more than sixty-five and narrowed down a few to post on blogs. I have taken so many pictures of the apple tree down by the shore, and in fact it was one of the first subjects I put on this blog, that I've lost count. I'm always telling my students to "work for the picture" by changing points of view, moving in and out, and generally just looking for a "fresh or unusual" approach to a subject. I found my self doing just that with the apple tree, and moving around to the lighted side I found this sort of "still-life" with some flotsam that wintered under the base of the tree.

Last Weekend

A surprise visit from Jackson and his Mom & Dad made last weekend very nice! We had a lot of "holding" time and I took hundreds of pictures. Here are a couple I liked.

Sewing for Matthew

Tonight after supper I took Matthew's torn jeans upstairs to "patch up", and I used the Brother machine. I started sewing with the classic "zig-zag" and saw something in the cloth, the shiny pressure foot and the path of thread that came from the process. I went downstairs and grabbed my camera, took three shots, saw what I wanted, what struck me in the first place and finished the sewing. Here are two of the three shots, they seemed to have the most "drama" for me.

Wintered Apples

So after the snow melts and the ground begins to reveal what was underneath, it seems almost tragic that the advancing decay occurred in spite of the cold of winter. I feel like I have been looking toward the ground frequently lately, but there is much to offer the inquisitive mind there, and this late afternoon gave me this image. It was quite dim as the sun had set but the remnant of light in the western sky was enough to allow me to photograph, although I had set the camera speed at 800, knowing things might be a bit "grainy".

This shot seemed to symbolize the winter's work and the leaving of winter at the same time. My active imagination always looks for imagery (imagine - imagery, hmmm) and I found a hand with thumb and forefinger reaching for these decaying apples in the shape of the snow. The passing of another winter presents me with all sorts of thoughts! Faces everywhere in those apples.

Thin Ice

Ahhh... "thin ice" can suggest so many things, being a metaphor dealing with risky behavior or the fragility of things. The ice on Flander's Bay shore yesterday was very thin and washed up on the beach and around the rocks in layers that taken all together gave a look of glistening lines through out the many layers of the ice.

Here are a few photos I grabbed on the shore that morning. It was cold and I was dumb enough to go down without a jacket, so I didn't stay long, just long enough!

I see things sometimes in these photos, things that are really only in my imagination, but to me are symbols of my thoughts and inner feelings, such as figures darting about or large faces gazing questioningly at me. I suppose I might have "tweaked" these a bit, but I often like to just trust the camera to be "smarter" than I.

Evening Windows

The nights seem to come way too fast each day, but the sense of spring is so very much in the air that I find it difficult to fall into the winter "doldrums". Stepping out into the air Monday night in Bar Harbor after the show at Morning Glory it really felt like winter was over before it ever really began, with 40℉ as the temperature and a full moon in the sky. Here's the shot from last night in the dining room.