Sunday, April 30, 2006
Woonsocket Fire
Local Heroes "
Huge fire here in RI - remembering that one of the current challenges at DPC is "Photojournalism" I set off to go shoot a winner.
What a disappointment. By the time Kiki and I got there, the scene was completely under control - we had to park a freaking half-mile away and hike in, and we could only get as far as the news reporters area. Still, it was rather exciting. Unfortunately, firefighters don't stand still for pictures even when they are taking a quick break, and so this is a bit OOF. By this time, the fire was under control. Firefighters from 46 stations took part; more details are here.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Bonus shot:
"Little Girl Lost "
I was kind of hoping that it wasn't her house that she was watching burn. OOF again, I know, but I like the facial expression.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Through You
Today has been kind of a rough day. I'm kind of glad that by tomorrow, today will be over. That's the great thing about time, it heals all wounds and will just pass all by itself, without any effort on my part.
Lately, things that take effort have been on my low priority list.
Today I attended the funeral of my next-door neighbor, George. It was very sad, not so much because I had a close relationship with him but rather because I didn't. In many ways, I felt bad because I didn't feel worse. (I suppose that this is the kind of statement that makes people think I'm cold-hearted.) The truth is that I have a very open heart, and tend to feel things very deeply.
Upon reflection, the main thing that I remember about the funeral is the cloying smell of funeral flowers. Immediately on entering the area where the service was held, the stench of death infused my nose. For me, death smells like yellow flowers. I hereby declare a frigging ban on yellow flowers. I don't know why they ever picked yellow to be the traditional color of funeral flowers. In fact, I actually Googled that today to try to figure it out with no results. In any event, no more daffodils or freaking lilies for me on this PAD project. For awhile, I had forgotten how much I abhor and detest the sight or smell of a yellow flower. Today. the fact that I hate yellow flowers with a passion beyond reason has been freshly re-instilled in my psyche.
Kiki says the only reason I hate yellow flowers again is because they remind me of my Dad's funeral. She's right.
After the whole flower debacle, the other thing I remember is that there was a young girl in a very short black mini-skirt. with a slit up her right thigh so high that I was sure she couldn't have been wearing underwear. In front of the casket they had the Catholic bench thingy where you could kneel and pray, and I recall that when she went to pay her final respects I was sooooo afraid she would bend over and give a right show of her buttocks. All the old men in the place leaned forward in anticipation, and all I could think of was "Please, God, don't let her bend over or else all these old fogeys will surely have a stroke and we'll be right back here again next week."
Wouldn't you know she stood straight and tall, and next weekend I'll probably be playing tennis...which is a good thing.
Anyhow, I titled this picture "Through You" because at the time I took it, I had asked Troy to give me his best "death stare." This was the closest he could come. He doesn't look particularly mean, I know, but the facial expression closely captures my mood today.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Friday, April 21, 2006
Thinking
Ever wonder what goes on in a kid's head, before they know how to talk and can tell you?
Many thanks to Ben, who gave some suggested editing techniques on this one. This one took a lot of work...but I think it's one of my favorites and will likely get posted on my fridge.
Taking my comments to heart and sharpening up the eyes a bit. Many thanks to everyone who's made some suggestions! Today is going to be devoted to returning the favor....
(c) 2006 by A1275
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Toy Man
This is Troy, aka "Toy." He got that nickname because his family has a local toy company, and because he's so much fun to play with.
I'm so glad he married my cousin. It's hard to remember a time now when he wasn't part of our family...we all think quite a bit of him.
There's a house in my hometown that has only ever been owned by two families; the first family to own it could claim a Civil War general who carried the casket at President Lincoln's funeral. The other family is mine; Troy and Meghan live there now. Come to find out, all those hundreds of years ago it was an ancestor of Troy's that actually built the house. When they moved in, it hadn't been lived in for a little while and needed some work. I always thought it was cool that Troy fixed up the house that his ancestor built, and that somehow things had come full-circle again.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Senior Portrait
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Brian
This is my nephew Brian. Here I was playing with some softer focus... Over these next few days I'm going to be trying out some new editing techniques so let me know how it's going.
Over this holiday I actually got to babysit this little fella. OK, OK, it was only while Meghan took a quick trip to the grocery store, and we almost had a bad moment there when the Baby Einstein movie ended and I couldn't figure out how to get back to regular TV and all the toys had already been flung across the room for pure sport. All in all, though, we got to play with toys and dance to happy songs so it was all good.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Monday, April 17, 2006
Derek
My nephew, IMHO looking all precious.
I really thought that as he grew older he'd be easier to photograph. You know, he'd be able to sit up by himself and play with toys. What I realized is that it's harder instead of easier. He won't sit still! He absolutely refused to sit, stand, or play on the backdrop...he insisted on tottering over to where I was and playing with the tripod or giving hugs to Auntie instead of being quiet and angelic.
Ahh, I'll take hugs any day over a good shot. Wouldn't you?
(c) 2006 by A1275
Sunday, April 16, 2006
My Favorite Fire Chief
A smoldering look from the Fire Chief. He's a bit camera shy, but with a little persuasion we managed to capture this image for posterity.
Many thanks to the Fire Chief for not only going into the station on his day off, but going in on a holiday just to help me make my nephew's Easter extra-special. Not only did we get a ride in a fire truck, but also a personal tour of the station and a super awesome demonstration of a thermal camera.
Fast fact #1: You can lose a structure to fire in as little as 7 minutes.
Fast fact #2: Firemen can get into their gear in 90 seconds.
Fast fact #3: Fire trucks get about 5mpg.
There's more, but that will have to wait until later.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Just Looking
Another friend of my cousin Gillian's.
The next time I set up my makeshift studio in Meghan's dining room, I'm inviting this dude over for some tough guy shots. He's a super sweetheart in real life, but he's got that rebel look that should go over well at our favorite photography website.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Friday, April 14, 2006
Surrender the Booty
Ok, so it's not art, you'll just have to sue me. I don't know about you, but when I see a guy wearing a T-shirt that says "Surrender the Booty" I have to act fast..and by that I mean I grab my camera. If we look closely, I believe we can see some tonsils...
Ah, the joys of a small-town pub. About 8 feet above this guys head was a deer trophy head which I tried in vain to also get in the shot. The vocalist was just jumping around too much to get a decent depth of field going.... Now, I have no idea who this guy is, but I'm pretty sure my cousin Gillian does. She may have even told me, but I forgot. It was that kind of night....
Side note to Seth K., I apologize for thinking you had the flu...and related incidents. :)
(c) 2006 by A1275
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Pussy Willow
Pussy willows - another sign of spring that I've always enjoyed. Here I'm playing with the new curves trick (on the background) that I just learned the other day.
I'm traveling home to Maine for an extended Easter holiday, where I'll be lucky to get even a dial-up connection, so you'll just have to miss me while I'm on vacation. It will be almost 4 months since I've been home, which for those of you that know me well, is a huge long time for me. Frankly, it's been awful wiggly these last few weeks, and going home always seems to "ground" me in a way that nothing else ever has.
If you remember the theme song to the TV show "Cheers" you also might recall the line in the song where it says "...sometimes you have to go where everybody knows your name...and it always seems the same...." or something like that. I love that feeling -- the one you get when you finally get there and everybody is full of hugs and kisses and you know they've missed you as much as you've missed them.
That's the best most awesome thing in the world - to go home again.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Turkey Shoot
One of the signs of spring around here is the wild turkeys doing their little mating thing. This hen was chased by three toms into the woods. 'Natch, I had high hopes of a little spring fling right in front my very camera, but alas, no good.
Wouldn't you know the little buggers couldn't shake their tail feathers in a spot where there was decent lighting. I suppose it's not often that many people get to see a turkey act like a peacock, so I thought I'd post today's romp in the backyard anyway.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Lily
Here's one thing that I learned from this shot -- if you click on the background in the Curves adjustment and drag the slider, you can easily get rid of wrinkles in the background fabric. While I've heard rumors of something like this in the past, this is the first time I've done it myself.
Aaargh - I now have to go back and re-edit a bunch of shots. Previous to my little epiphany here I've been airbrushing, or using the blending brush, or just plain putting up with the wrinkles.
Many thanks to Setz, who if he hadn't written a nifty black and white conversion tutorial I might have gone my whole darn life doing things the hard way.
(c) 2006 by A1275
Monday, April 10, 2006
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Seven
Seven months pregnant here.
How do you tell a photographer friend that you are pregnant? This girl did it by whipping out a photograph album, and then the first image was a sonogram photo. Yay! I'm so happy for her and her husband...and even happier that I'm able to do her maternity shots for her!
(c) 2006 by A1275
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Motherhood
Friday, April 07, 2006
Contorted
Thursday, April 06, 2006
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