FEB 28, 2009, Santa Barbara, CA-The Pier

For this shot, I turned my body 180 degrees and pointed down. The pier seemed to serve as a dividing line. There were several of these blankets, panhandlers and sleeping homeless people on the opposite side of the pier.

Feb 27, 2009 Santa Barbara, CA-The Pier

Seascape

I visited Santa Barbara, recently. Over the next few days, I am going to post some photos that I took from the pier. I took all of the the photos within a few minutes from the same location.

FEB 26, 2009 - Flowers (103)

Here is a close up of the Magnolia flower from the Feb 23rd post. I did like that tree :)

Feb 25, 2009 California Missions - Santa Barbara

There is a chain of 21 missions along California's El Camino Real ("The Royal Highway") . All have been, to some extent, restored and can be visited. I live near three of them, so whenever I visit one, I will probably take a few pictures and post them. I'm creating a theme called California Missions. Mission Santa Barbara is the only mission to remain under the leadership of the Franciscan Friars since the day of its founding.

This is a fantastic historical site. Mass is still held in the Old Mission Church. I am not satisfied with the photos that I took of the Church, so I'll try again next time.

Blogger Question-Can anyone help? I can't figure out why some of my images enlarge when you click them and some don't. From my computer, the second image, from today's post, enlarges, but the first does not. Both of the images were uploaded at the same time. Yesterday's post doesn't enlarge at all. Is that the way its working for you? Does anyone have any idea why?

Feb 24, 2009 - Tent (318)

When Mom's Away, the Kids Will Play.

The kids built an elaborate fort when I went out of town for a couple of days. I think my husband may have had something do with it.

FEB 23, 2009 - Window (362)

When I walked into my friends house, I knew, immediately, that I wanted to photograph her living room. I loved the tree that you can see through the window. I knew the exposure would be tricky for me. I tried using a flash, but you could see the light reflecting on the window, and I didn't like that. Around dusk, I was able to capture it. I'm not very good at this "see though the window" exposure. It took a long time for me to get anything, but that is what this is about--learning.

FEB 22, 2009 - Candy (40)

I know that you've seen a bowl of jellybeans before, but I thought I had plan that would bring something different to the jellybean experience. Well, when I showed the pic to my husband, he was underwhelmed, to say the least. I guess you win some, you lose some.

FEB 21, 2009 - Storybook Curves (72)

I like this photo, because it is the first time I, consciously, followed the rule of thirds as I was composing. I didn't have to crop it. Unsharp mask is all. You know I'm the ready to add a cloud or two, but not this time. They were real :)

FEB 20, 2009 - Childhood Memories (48) - The Library

When I was young, our family had an old set of encyclopedias. We had the same set for as long as I can remember, and all of the kids used and enjoyed them. We read them for fun when we were bored. Encyclopedias, always, make me think fondly of childhood. Weird one for childhood favorites, huh?

FEB 19, 2009 - Architectural Details (13) The Library

There is no place on earth that I've spent more time (other than my own home) than THE library. The one at the school I work at is in jeopardy due to budget cuts. What a tragedy that would be.


The building is very inviting. There are unique architectural elements and a nice mix of artificial and natural light. (Getting the proper white balance was a nightmare. I couldn't put a gray card in the ceiling.) If you look closely you can see strings running parallel with the beams that student work, sun catchers, etc. are, sometimes, hung from. The effect is that the objects look like they are suspended in the air.

Does this pic work for any or our themes? I've already used repeating pattern. I am going to post a couple more pics from this library.

FEB 18, 2009 - Tools of the Trade (332)

What's Up Doc?

I had to take one of my kids to the Doctor's office, yesterday. He's fine. He just had a bad cough that I wanted to get checked out. Each exam room has a unique theme. It was apropos that we got the baseball room, because Little League has, already, started. The second photo shows a mural that took up an entire wall.

FEB 17, 2009 - Rain, Rain, Go Away (249)

The Sky Opened Up

I had the day off, but it rained cats and dogs, yesterday. We didn't leave the house.

FEB 16, 2009 - Dessert (75)

My husband and I went out to dinner for Valentine's Day. We haven't gotten out much, lately, so it was a real treat. Of course, I take my camera, almost, everywhere, but I try not to be obnoxious, so I left it in the car. When the dessert came, I knew I had to take a picture. My husband was very sweet and went out, in the cold, to get my camera, so I could get my dessert photo. He even went to the car, a second time, to put the camera away. The chocolate cake was delicious.

FEB 15, 2009 - Candlelight (39)

I thought that in honor of Valentine's Day, I would do the candlelight theme. Boy was it difficult. I struggled and sought help in the dpforum. The advice, certainly, yielded better results, but the photos still did not come out the way I envisioned. This is my final product. I am going to revisit this theme, in the future.

Here is the barn, in color, for M.A.S. and Lisa.

FEB 14, 2009 - Abandoned (5)

I've driven past this barn, every day, for years, and I never even noticed it. It is a little back from the road, but, definitely, visible. The original photo is full of green grass and the sky is blue, but I though a soft black and white might work well.

FEB 13, 2009 - Flag (101)

Old Glory has taken a beaten, but she is still flying.

FEB 12, 2009 - Litter

I took this photo, today, on my way home from work. I parked my car on a a beautiful, curvy stretch of road with rolling hills.

FEB 11, 2009 - Rainbow (250)

I just got lucky.

FEB 10, 2009 - A Teacher's World - Chalk or Chalkboards (46)

I took this one in my classroom.

FEB 9, 2009 - Box (30)

This is a box filled with gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Growing up, I always celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. We ate king cake, and had parties at school, etc. It was fun, but, as a child, I never thought about the religious meaning of the holiday--even though we did it every year. So...one year a bought this box and had a big celebration with the kids. We blessed the house, read bible & secular stories, ate king cake, etc. I'm sure they had fun and at gained some understand of the religious meaning. That was in 2007. In 2008, We did nothing, but the box was in the Christmas stuff that is still in the garage. I was prompted to get the box, because, last week, a friend sent me a picture of a king cake. It made me wish I had had my party.

FEB 8, 2009 - Toys (334)

This is a bakugan. It is difficult to describe, exactly, what it is. It is a toy, but it is also a game. You might call it an action figure. The card that the bakugan is sitting on gives it power, and the kids battle, somehow. There is a trading aspect related to it. The bakugan folds into a ball, and players roll it on the card. The card has a magnet in it which make the bakugan pop into a figure. A bakugan battle take place at that point. I don't know how the battle works. You would think that I could be a lot more articulate in this explanation, but I have no idea what my kids are talking about when they attempt to explain the "full nature" of the bakugan, daily. There is a huge generation gap between my kids and myself, when it comes to this toy. I just don't even want to understand, but I spend a lot of time, reluctantly, experiencing the bakugan :)

FEB 7, 2009 - Garden (118)

It has been quite a week. Who would have dreamed this would be so challenging, but rewarding. I came into this wanting to learn, and boy have I learned a lot so far. With each photo, I have taken away something new. The biggest lesson for me, this week, is that if you want the shot, you’d better have your camera with you and stop the car :)

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to stop traffic for this shot. This is my Aerogarden (indoor-hydroponic). I LOVE it. I’m growing mostly Italian herbs.

FEB 6, 2009 - Road (262)

The skies were dynamic--really amazing today. It was supposed to rain, all day, but the sun kept shining through. It created interesting lighting and beautiful skies. I stopped on the side of the road and took these on my way home from work. Unsharp mask is about all I did to these photos.

FEB 5, 2009 - Repeating Pattern (259)

Now that I've figured out that I don't have to go in order, there is a lot better chance of me following the themes.

Today it started to rain, so here is a photo of the rain on my car window (on my way to work). My kids began their, usually, contest of whose droplet would drop fastest. Friends with girls tell me that everything doesn't have to be contest, but with mine, everything is a contest.

FEB 4, 2009 - From the Sea (112)

I promise, I will try to get back to the themes, tomorrow. I had one more day at the aquarium, so I figured I'd give it one more try. This is a picture of a little crab just hanging out at the bottom of a tank.

FEB 3 2009 Go Fish (123)

I believe today's theme is breakfast. But... I had a chance to take pictures at an aquarium, today, so I figured I'd should take advantage of the opportunity. It was really difficult getting pictures of the fish. My auto-focus was almost useless. I got some good ones, but I took a lot of dark, out of focus shots. Most of the tanks didn't have lighting, so it was a challenge for me to figure out what shutter speed was going to work. It was a learning experience. I'll be going back, tomorrow, so we'll see if I can take what I've learned and get some better shots. If I get time tonight, I'll post a few more of them.

FEB 2 2009 - Break the Rule of Thirds (33) Part II

This is a second post of the same photo. I deleted the background layer. I think that works much better.

FEB 1 2009

This is my first attempt at macro. I'm pretty pleased with it. My kids pull this flower (weed) all the time and give it to me. I have no idea what it is. Like a good Mommy, I put it in my hair and in vases. It smells terrible. The bottom photo is before editing.