Peaceful Christmas

It's been ahwile

I picked up my camera for the first time in months tonight. I got this shot of Haley- I like that she was wearing a dark sweater, and that her freckles are so prominent. I think I need to watch the lighting a little more.... I hate manipulating the lighting. I wish I could always shoot outdoors in natural light!

3/18

Symon's rough nose!

I'll try not to disappear anymore!

2/22

I am pleased with how this photo turned out - except the only thing I can't figure out is why the sky is such a bright white.  The sun was behind me, actually it was hidden behind a building behind me.  Any ideas?

A change - 2/20

Well, it's 51 days into this challenge, and I am finding it to be A LOT harder than I thought it would be.  I am able to take the photos each day, but posting is a problem because I am sooo busy with school work, rugby, and taking care of things around the house.  At the end of most days, I am exhausted and the last thing I want to do is upload/edit photos.  And it gets even worse when I'm behind!

So, with that, I am changing this blog.  I don't want to feel pressured by this, it was supposed to just be something fun and a way for me to take more photos.  However, at the end of the day, if I don't have my photo- then I end up taking a crappy photo of something completely uninteresting anyway.  

I'll post photos as I take them, and I'm going to post some photos that I've taken in the past as well.  I don't want to feel so constrained anymore!

Today, Em and I walked around downtown and took some photos.  This door was really cool and different, plus I liked the reflection  :-)

2/12

2/11

Photographing moving objects is very, very hard. Out of about 100 photos, this was the ONLY ONE where the bird was actually in focus.

2/10

2/9

2/8

Today we went to Country Park with our friend Courtney (same Courtney as in the previous photo) and took Sydney to the barkpark.  I saw this gorgeous husky (we think?).  I shot it for at least 20 minutes, but the sun was at an angle that was throwing weird shadows on things, so it took me forever to take a photo I was pleased with.  This was the result, and although it's not as sharp as I'd like it to be, I'm satisfied with the composition and lighting.  Also, I couldn't figure out what was strange about these photos, and finally I realized - the dog is basically the same color as the background!  I think that's what is making his tongue pop out.

This was another shot- I didn't like it as much, but he just looks so cute in it!

2/7 - Guest Photographer

Okay, strike one. I didn't take a photo on Saturday, but it was our first game! And after the game, we went to the social and consumed food and drink, and we all know what happens at rugby socials. (read: I probably couldn't have even turned my camera on, if I'd had it with me!)

Em took this great shot of our flyhalf, Courtney, passing the ball down the line. I can be seen to the left of her, as I had just passed the ball to her out of a ruck.

2/6

On our way back from the game (it was past midnight, so this counts as my photo for Friday!), we passed by campus and realized that they had lit up the side of the library for the big game!

2/5

This shot wasn't anything beautiful, but it's a pretty funny story - On Thursday we had a huge game at the Coliseum- UN.CG vs. David.son College. There was a big tailgate in the parking lot before the game, and I heard from someone that the Chancellor was playing beer pong (I think it was actually water) with one of the fraternities. I ran over there and captured it! She was pretty much done by the time I got there, so I only got a few shots, plus there was a ton of people standing around, watching and laughing. We have a cool chancellor! :)

2/4

2/3

I really, really like this one! Except that Sydney's ears look a little dopey- I couldn't get her to perk her ears up and look cute. I did everything manually in this photo- ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, AND I focused on my own :)

I can't wait to find more time in my day to photograph outside - I like it so much more.

2/2

Syd on our front porch.

2/1

Em working on her laptop.

1/31

The frame on my bedside table is sooo dusty!

1/30

Tie-Dye tapestry hanging on my bedroom wall.

1/29

Our roomie is getting married in 11 months... there have been a lot of these books lying around lately!

1/28

1/27

1/26

1/25 *EDIT

Sydney's friend, Rugger, is over for a sleepover tonight! My friend Kim's heart is broken, so her and her dog came to spend the night in our warm house.

*EDIT: Kim's HEAT was broken, not her heart. However, had her heart been broken, I would have invited her over in that instance as well. ;-)

1/24

I bought Em the "My National Parks" edition of Monopoly for her birthday.  It's a really fun twist on the game!  (I was the player on the left... you can tell I was losing - look how many of my properties were mortgaged!)

1/23

Em brought me home flowers!

1/22

My childhood "lovey" ... her name is Annie.  (After Raggedy Anne, I'm assuming)

1/21

Tonight Em and I went to the gym to swim some laps and afterwards, we went for a little drive around Greensboro.  We passed where the school buses all park at night, and I took this interesting photo.

1/20

I've decided that I need to start carrying my camera EVERYWHERE I go... I'm a little paranoid about it, my camera is like my baby and I'm always scared it's going to get stolen/wet/broken.  But, I'm going to have to suck it up because I'm tired of being places and realizing that I'd love to shoot something and not be able to because my camera is at home, safely tucked away in it's spot!

1/19

I can't wait for the weather to get warmer so that I can venture outside to take some photos.

1/18

Em got beautiful flowers from her parents for her birthday.  They're blooming nicely!

1/17

I can fit all of my shoes into one bin now!!

1/16

I've missed my tiny, cozy room.

1/15

Our cat, Symon, snuggling on the couch with Em.  Tomorrow marks one year since he's joined our family.

1/14

Today I drove from Wilmington, DE to Greensboro, NC.  It took 8 hours.  I saw these beautiful clouds right as we were going through Richmond, VA.  I snapped this with my cell phone, which I think is fitting for the day.  I'm exhausted, my camera was packed (so that no one could see it when I stopped for pee breaks!), so this cell phone shot is all I've got for today.

1/13

I should have taken the time to make this photo better, and now I'm sorry that I didn't.  There was a beautiful sunset tonight, but I ended up finding more interesting things to photograph.

1/12

My mom's new boyfriend brought her flowers tonight.  We weren't expecting him, but he stopped in just before dinner and spent some time with us.  The flowers are gorgeous.

1/11

Tonight I decided to take a self portrait.  I figured mirrors are probably way over used for this (along with annoying myspace photoshoots), but hey, the lighting was good atleast!

So, I was born with blonde hair.  It was this beautiful golden/white blonde for all of my childhood, and then around age 13, when my eyes went from blue to green, my hair started getting darker. It's gotten darker and darker every year since then.  

So, my question to whoever is reading this - do you think I'm still a blonde??  Or have I crossed into the brunette threshold yet??

1/10

The house that we just moved into in October was just newly renovated.  It had a huge fire a few years ago, and had to be gutted and rebuilt on the inside.  The outside stone walls and the stone fireplace inside are the only remaining original parts of the 200+ year old house.  When we first moved in, I couldn't figure out why the ivy was gone off of the walls in the back of the house.  Our entire yard is covered in ivy, it's growing on everything.  And you could tell it was on the walls at one point, but all that's left now are tiny traces of the ivy.  My best guess is that the ivy grew up the walls of the house, but when the fire happened, the high pressure hoses used by the fire department just knocked all of the ivy right off the walls.  

1/9. One Minute Late.

After a long day, Em and I played with her dad's Canon when we got home.  It has fun settings.

1/8

Today we visited a close friend of Em's (Camp name: Pita) who had a baby boy 5 weeks ago.  He was so sweet, and slept in my arms for a good half hour.  I avoided using a flash, so that he wouldn't freak out.  However, I learned that infants don't really stop moving, so most of the photos came out pretty blurry.

1/7

We finally took down our Christmas Tree today.  I took all of the ornaments off before my doctors appointment, and then my mom took the lights off and took the tree down when she got home from work.

Note: You can see half of me as a baby on the right side of this photo.  =)

1/6

Good snack, boring picture.

Bear with me.  I've photographed like every inch of this house already.

That kiwi was awesome though.

1/5

I am seriously devastated that my "mystery rash" is back.  It covers my stomach, my upper arms, my shoulders, and my fingers.  It's definitely not contagious.  My doctors and I just can't figure out what it is, but I have an appointment for Wednesday morning... I'm trying to stay hopeful.  This is sort of starting to affect me mentally, because I can't sleep and I feel like I am going crazy trying not to scratch it.

1/4

The air freshener in my mom's car

1/3

Jack is so silly.  

1/2

The girls playing with Dewey and Rodney.

(This was the only photo that I took this day, so it's not the greatest thing ever!)

1/1

Sunset at Deep Creek Lake, MD.