Scatter of light

A surprise night session with Christmas deco, wet street reflections, window rain drops, moving cars and a side view mirror. I felt like a kid in a candy store. :)

We celebrated our youngest daughter's birthday this week, and she enjoyed decorating herself with the outdoor lights.  I took the picture in color, and I'm finding that I like it better in b&w.  I prefer the way the highlights shape the lines in the image. 

Candy cane light

Took a new route last night while on our walk, and ended up on a stretch of road with a few Christmas decorations.  I had been playing around with lights and camera motion lately, and aimed to fill the frame with the shapes.  These experiments are much more entertaining to me than just photographing the lights as is.  I like the way these came out with the spirals, hearts, squiggles, and horizontals.

Beyond dead ends

Our walk last night brought us to the dead end right by the entry to the farm fields.  My young daughter was with me, and we stopped to listen to the sounds of the night.  We were surprised to hear frogs so late in the season, but maybe the warm temps brought them out for a bit.  Sparkle tugged to keep moving on, but with the ground wet from a light rain and the stroller, I didn't go further.  We sat, observed, then took a few flash shots of the dead end sign.  At first I wanted to stay stabilized to avoid camera shake, and then I had to let go of that as my daughter leaned on me for hugs.  I liked the results of shooting with flash, then intentionally moving the camera up and down or back and forth.  Of course my daughter wanted to try it, too, and the second photo above is hers.  It's one of my favorites out of the set, and got me looking at the tree in the background.  I then started shooting trees without the flash moving the camera up or down to 'paint' with the light and shapes.   Out of a handful attempts, I like the one of the pine the best.  It might be the darkness or just the novelty of it all, but it's something that will get me out there experimenting again.

Looking for the redhead who connected with Mike the Tiger

If you see a young redhead woman talking about seeing LSU's Mike the Tiger up close and personal, these photos are hers.  I took these quick shots and gave her my email so we could contact one another.  I thought she sent me a message, but it never showed up so I'm unable to send them her way.  If by any chance you cross paths with her, please let her know. 

Thank you.


And yes, Mike jumped into his pool, swam around a bit, then went right up to her.  He stopped, made eye contact and moved on.  It was amazing.

Tiger blur

Back and forth, back and forth.

Mike the Tiger, LSU's team mascot, was out and active, and his pacing along the double fencing was persistent.  I kept seeing that blur of striped color in the criss-cross as he padded by and grunted on his turns.  I've taken many photos of Mike before, and I needed to be creative without my zoom.  I waited with my camera against the outer fencing, focusing on the inner fencing where Mike continued to pass.  The shutter speed was slow enough to show some motion yet still able to capture his patterns.  A small crop to remove some background space helped me center on what I wanted.





If you see a young redhead woman looking for Mike photos, these are hers.  Like I said, Mike was active and he surprisingly took a dip into his pool.  (His living conditions are quite impressive.  Better than a good percentage of Baton Rouge residents.  I still feel funky about watching this beautiful creature in captivity, though.)  I took these quick shots, which could have been a lot better if I had thought to change my settings after my shot above.  I gave her my email on the spot, and thought that she sent a message so  I could reply with the photos.  It never showed up, and I wonder if she'll ever get to see these.

Near symmetry

I took this while attending LSU's Christmas tree lighting event.  A tent was set outside of the theater welcoming guests with warm drinks, cookies, and space heaters, too.  I'm one that's always taken by the skies right after sunset just as the stars begin to appear.  As I peeked, I found the lines of the tent top interesting and simple against the sky.  I suppose there's a good lesson in stepping outside of the crowd for something other.

I have to note that I was pleasantly surprised with the exposure of this image, and didn't make adjustments post-production.

Off and free

 

My youngest daughter, nearly 4, has a daily ritual of happiness and freedom. Leave school, get in the car, take off your socks and shoes. Stick your toes out the window and feel the cold air in the sunshine. Turn up your local college radio real high, and dance on the car roof once you get home.

Give it a try and enjoy. Really. :) 

Soul healin' with the Soul Rebels Brass Band at Chelsea's

Went out with a few friends to Chelsea's Cafe and checked out the Soul Rebels Brass Band from New Orleans. It was my first time heading out at night for live music since last spring, and the Soul Rebels really welcomed me back with their fantastic brass sounds, energy and passion. I LOVE this breed of New Orleans music, and definitely set myself free to some soul healin' that night. The Soul Rebels return to Chelsea's on January 27 for their CD release party, and I'm ready to be there again.

Check them out:
http://www.soulrebelsbrassband.com
http://www.myspace.com/soulrebelsbrassband
http://www.twitter.com/soulrebelsno
http://www.youtube.com/user/soulrebelsneworleans


Lumar LeBlanc - President, Snare Drum
Derrick "Oops" Moss - Vice-President, Bass Drum and Percussion
Edward Lee - Tuba
Marcus "Red" Hubbard - Trumpet
Julian Gosin - Trumpet
Paul Robertson - Trombone
Corey Peyton - Trombone
Erion Williams - Tenor Saxophone

Formation

We had some fog and a soft drizzle this morning, and I head out as usual on my morning walk with my dog.  The formation of this little drop got me to stop, watch, and appreciate.  I almost caught the grand finale of the drop falling, but my dog's jump into the bush made it more of a splash. :)

Girls rule the night playground

They tumbled, they roared, they giggled, they turned.  My daughters and friends hit the church playground after the annual Thanksgiving feast, and set themselves free in a space they declared their own.  I stood near the brick wall and the large classroom windows that projected fluorescent light outside.  The dress colors were illuminated against the night as they ran, and I don't think they ever stopped for more than a moment. 

I especially liked shooting their motion with a stationary object nearby, and the lighting worked out to give us just what we needed.  I'd like to head back with the intention of using a wider range of shutter speeds and exposures to feel a better control of the blur.

Close Encounters

Cue Richard Dreyfuss and the famous 5 note melody.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The Conversation

If we bury it...

...it will be better.

My nearly 4 year old got very involved in the discovery of a dead possum in front of our house.  We were preparing to bury it when she said this, and then she walked off to get either a shovel or hand covering.  I'm not exactly sure what she meant by "it will get better", but for both of my girls it was if it was something that had to be done.  We had actually discovered a dead mouse, too, and my older daughter insisted on being in charge of its burial preparation.  We had done something like this before for a beautiful Wood Thrush, and covered the spot with a flat heavy stepping stone which we painted once it was set in place.  Today was the same, and this time I got more involved in the painting of a nearby stone not used for a marker.  It felt good to paint and reflect something positive in the experience. The image will remind me that there is always the possibility of a next step taking you somewhere good.  Also, at first I questioned why I wanted to take this picture of her looking at a dead possum, but then requested that she stay put so I could get my camera.  I saw it, I felt it, and now with hindsight I think it's part of the "it will get better" process.  As a photographer, don't look over those instincts.

I'm a moonbeam writer

All lighting courtesy of the moon. ;)

Redefine your space

Last night I was surprised that the hay bundles were there, and tonight I was surprised that ALL of them were completely cleared from the fields.  That was a lot of work to be completed in one day.  I was also preoccupied by my neighbor walking into the fields ahead of me.  She lives right across from the part of the property being developed, and I had never seen her in there before.  The small white dot on the left side of the top image is actually her.

Stepping into the field, empty of its companions, seemed very new.  Since I've been making the trek for the past month or so, I got used to the hay bundles being there.  Something was definitely missing, so as I walked with Sparkle I had to adjust to the open space.  Following our passage through the first field, I entered the rear filed and experienced the same thing.  All were gone, and now the open field lay free with a clear view for its entirety.  The tree that always welcomed me to this back section looked so alone.  I took a few shots, and soon my neighbor approached and we began talking.

I learned that this was her first time walking through the property since it stopped functioning as a farm years ago.  She said that there were always fences, barricades, and livestock, and wasn't able to venture through the fields.  I appreciated her wonder as she recalled memories of the place she knew and adjusted to the place of now.  She used to have a friend who lived on a nearby street and would stable her horse at the farm.  They both went horse back riding on the property, so she's explored the same places that I've seen.  I especially liked her description of the baby animals whose cries would reach her home.  It's hard to imagine considering the sounds of the nearby interstate and construction are what surrounds us today.

I'm made to realize that when things change I've got to let go of the mindset that something is missing.  It's good to remember just like my neighbor did and I do with the special images I've liked seeing in that space.  What will help me redefine is being open to the new - what will I notice and create without the familiar there.  Already on the way out, I turned behind me to the east to the bright star hanging high in the sky, then back to the west to the other bright star appearing low to the tree line.  It was a good mind path to take me home.

Final hay bundle run

11/12/11:  This had been a quick visit because Sparkle was really on the move.  I'm not that happy with the quality of my images, so I'll treat them as a final document of the hay bundles in the property.  That morning I had seen a tractor piling up the ones from the front field onto a flatbed, so I expected that all would be gone that night.  Sparkle must have sensed my curiosity because she took me right there during our walk around sunset.  I was surprised, and relieved in a way, that the back fields hadn't been cleared once we arrived.  I was nearly jogging through, but did manage to stop a few times for quick shots.  On our way out, I turned around to check out a couple bundles sitting under a small tree that had turned color (we have very few of those here).  I just liked the dull brown set against the red and oranges, and upon a closer look, a small leaf stuck in a bundle caught my eye.  You've got to appreciate the little things that stand out against the big, and I was able to take a few pictures before Sparkle was on the move again.  With hindsight I'm glad that I had this one last bundle run.  For some reason, there's something to hold onto in that space.

Painting with the moonlight...

While out walking and observing my shaky images of the full moon, I decided to move my camera intentionally to create an image. After many attempts and tries at home, I'm happy to share my heart created with moonlight. I moved my camera with an open aperture to make the heart. Not easy at all.

My other attempts.  Here are 6 frames collaged.  You can see that it took time to learn how to keep the moon light in the camera frame.  The smallest movements of the camera, in the inverse direction, created the heart shape. 

I'd like to learn how to write the word "Moon".  Yah, I tried, but failed.  It really is difficult but good brain work.

Moon play

 

I stepped outside around 11:30 with my dog and looked up to see low lying clouds floating over the tree tops filtering the moon light.  It looked like I could touch them, and I loved the play of light, wind, and clouds as they passed by to my right toward the west.   Sometimes a halo orange/sepia formed and other times the faint appearance of the spectrum.   After laying on the ground, waiting, watching, shooting, and enjoying,  I was able to nearly capture the "night rainbow" of my experience.

Night walk

 

We were nearing the end of our 2 hour Trick or Treating rounds in a friend's neighborhood.  Nearly full bags and tired bodies made the last stretch when a car blasting their high beams approached us.  The crew complained about the blinding lights, while I was psyched by the silhouette ring forming around their shapes.   I'm not happy about the headlights appearing in the above image, but the outlined mounds of candy filling the candy bags compensate.

Bluebonnet Swamp Haunted Hike

Phantasmagoric.  That's what a friend said when he saw this photo.  It was the first time I heard the word, but I absolutely love it.  Its definition: 

1. having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.

2. having the appearance of an optical illusion, especially one produced by a magic lantern.

3. changing or shifting, as a scene made up of many elements.

I exposed the scene for 5 seconds propping the camera on the angled walkway edge.  I did it on a whim while refreshing myself on the techniques of night shots.  Every year after this event I tell myself that I've got to get out there on my own to just play around with my camera.  Maybe next year will be the one to get me out there.

This is actually the boardwalk taking you through the swamp.  On this night, called the "Haunted Hike", guides meet you at stations with a live creature and some candy.  If you want that treat, you've got to brave the snake, or the baby gator, or the...

...hissing cockroach!  It wasn't doing much of anything because the temps were in the 50's round here.  A guide had it laying on his arm while he illuminated it with a flashlight.  It's about 4 to 5 inches long and oh so unpleasant to see in person.  I like this image because it's pretty true to what was actually out there.

I haven't been a fan of skeletons and Halloween lately, but for some reason this skeleton worked with me.  I worked to get the red eyes and the darkened background through the angling of my camera with the above lights.  Maybe it's the voodoo-esque nature that makes me feel at ease.