Not Yellow Anymore

Not Yellow Anymore
(c) 2006 by A1275

Little Something

Little something I found in my backyard.
(c) 2006 by A1275

Road to Nowhere

This is the farm just down the road apiece from where I live. The white fence just gleams in the afternoon sunlight.

One of those shots that you drive by every single day and think, "Oh, someday I need to take a picture of that..." but you never find the time. Today, I stopped and savored the sight a bit more.

Having seen it now, I wish I had a focal point here. A good excuse to go back!
(c) 2006 by A1275

Abstract Macro

My very first abstract macro! I had no idea I had it in me....
(c) 2006 by A1275

Just Beginning

I used to know what the name of this was. It looks like spit, but it's really some kind of egg sac for some stupid bug I'll probably wind up killing in my basement later this summer.
(c) 2006 by A1275

Cow Path

This is the remnants of the old cow path on the (now non-working) farm where I live. The stone walls naturally herded them from the barn to the pasture. Now it marks the yard/hayfield.
(c) 2006 by A1275

A Walk in the Park

It's pretty easy to find old men in Providence.
(c) 2006 by A1275

Lift Me Up

I love love love this one; that's why I gave it a very special border.

Someday I will work out a way to not have wrinkles on the floor of the backdrop, but this one was at the end of the shoot and it was already covered in Goldfish crackers and other detritus so I just left them there.

When I grow up, I want to take more shots like these - the kind that show relationships between people and don't need further explanation.

(c) 2006 by A1275

Bubble Fun II

Hmm, I think this is the first time that Kate's made an appearance; other than her foot, that is.

Without Kate, this little Photo-A-Day project would never have come to fruition. That's because my photography career would never have gotten off the ground.

You see, in my family I'm kind of known for Picking Up New Hobbies, but not so much for Sticking With It. (OK, so my commitment issues aren't limited to my romantic relationships....) There's a story about a stove-pipe and a figure skating demonstration that will have to live in infamy at the holiday dinner table, but for the most part let's just say I believe in being well-rounded and having lots of things to talk about at cocktail parties

So when I gleefully announced during Thanksgiving festivities a few years ago that I was taking up photography, I got lots of groans, a few chuckles, and one smart comment that went along the lines of "Too bad you couldn't take a picture of that stove pipe you busted up...."

It was dear, sweet Kate who (although she might secretly have believed this was just another passing phase) pretended to take me seriously and cheerfully agreed to be my first model and let me do a few belly shots for her when she was pregnant. She's still a bit camera shy when it comes to a full portrait session, but she's pretty good with the "Ooohs" and "Aaaahs" which (as you know) is very important from an audience. :)

Anyway, without her support, I might never have gotten started.

Thanks, Katie-bird. I love you, too.

(c) 2006 by A1275

Peek-A-Boo

Derek, playing peek-a-boo.



(c) 2006 by A1275

Handsome Fellows

A1275 discovers the power of adjustment layers. At this point, no old picture is safe from a re-edit. I expect to be digging in the archives over the next few days to play with my new skill. Specifically, let me know about edges where I've used the transparency brush to bring an underlying layer through the the front.

Surprisingly, this one has turned into a new favorite of mine, rescued from the trash heap of "shots with too many wrinkles in the backdrop to save."

It's been raining here for several days in a row now. Not just the wimpy sprinkles you sometimes get, but large fat water droplets that have secret radar for the back of your neck and gloomy gray skies just one solid dull mass of icky.

Glad to pick up some new tricks, as the weather was starting to make me cranky.



(c) 2006 by A1275

Just Gillian

My cousin Gillian, who has only just recently joined the ranks of People With Cell Phones and is now the Text Messaging Queen of the World.

Seriously. We sometimes waste entire days on lyrical nonsense, which makes the unlimited text messaging phone plan a necessity. For example:

Gillian: Tiger, Tiger, burning bright, in the forest of the night. What immortal hand or eye dare shaped thy fearful symmetry?
Me: And Little Black Sambo watched the tiger's race 'round in a circle until they turned into a giant pile of butter for pancakes.
(Sometimes we play little games like this with nouns...I've lost her response now but it had something to do with pancakes.)


Me: What's the word, little bird?
Gillian: What's the scoop, little poop?
(Sometimes our games revolve around adjectives and rhyming. Notice, there is no actual exchange of information here - that's what I mean by utter nonsense....)

I tell you, it's good sometimes to have fun with English. So when I receive a silly text message, I know it's just...Gillian.

(c) 2006 by A1275

Kate's Left Foot

My cousin Kate's left foot this time. Hey - it can't always be about my body parts, right? And no smart comments about a dearth of T & A, please.

I have no idea what point I'm trying to prove here, but for some reason I do like this.
(c) 2006 by A1275

Naturally Framed

Another test with the new Wacom graphics tablet. I think I'm getting the hang of using a pen to edit rather than the touchpad mouse.

In my head, this was going to be a way cooler picture. This is another from the covered bridge debacle...from inside the bridge looking out to the little stream that runs under the bridge. I gave the landscape a painting treatment, well, because I could.

I think I give up on covered bridges. I'll have to abandon Little Rhody and head to Vermont for a decent shot of a covered bridge....
(c) 2006 by A1275

Bridge to the Past

Rhode Island's very own covered bridge. The first one was built about 10 years ago, and then some local kids burned it down so the town re-built it. Little Rhody is not about to let Vermont have all the covered bridges in New England.

Was out shooting stock for a calendar request. Note to self: next time read the request -- when it says "only landscape orientation" it's a good idea to shoot in landscape. This is my try to save a completely boring image that was shot at the complete and total wrong time of the day, but it took me awhile to find it so this is what we get.

I do kind of like how the dirt road goes up and through the frame, though.


(c) 2006 by A1275

Way Up There

This folks, is a shot of a real live tree logger. I never knew people still did this for a living....

I have a book called "Rhode Island - Off the Beaten Path" and every now and then Kiki and I get bored and try to find some of the unusual landmarks and out-of-the-way touristy-type things mentioned in the book. (Once we spent a whole day looking for a landmark called Devil's Footprints and mistakenly wound up in a trailer park where Satanist's lived due to horrible directions in the book and a misguided police officer, but that's a whole other story for another day.)

So, as usual when we play tourist in our own state using the directions from this book, we were lost and driving aimlessly around hoping to stumble on a place to have lunch. Lo and behold, in the short distance we see a tree fall gracefully to the ground. We decide to stop and see if more trees fall, sensing there could be photographic opportunity or at the least, relief from boredom.

Come to find out, some homeowner had hired this tree logger to cut down a bunch of trees on the property. A tree logger is like a forest cowboy, for the uninitiated. They attach ropes to themselves and climb trees with running chainsaws hanging from their body, and "limb" the trees on the way up. Once they get near the top, they "top off" the tree by cutting it down while they are still attached to it. We got to watch the whole thing and shoot to our heart's content - tree limbs and sawdust flying all about - it was fantastic.

This guy was a real hoot to shoot.

(c) 2006 by A1275

Mossy Post

So today, Kiki and I went out looking for photo ops. It was super sunny and warm, but not warm enough to take the top off the Jeep. Per Kiki, "It's cold when the wind blows...."

Another image from this shoot will likely be a challenge entry, so while this isn't my favorite one from the day, it's the one that made PAD. :)
(c) 2006 by A1275

Good Gas Price

On the original, if you zoom in, it says $0.00 for the gas price - I'm not sure if you guys can see it in this re-sized baby version.

This was outside an antique store, just next to a sign that said "We buy junk, and sell antiques." There certainly was a lotta junk hanging about.
(c) 2006 by A1275

Got Milk?

This is just one of those random objects I just had to photograph. Ben said it screamed for black and white, so here ya go.
(c) 2006 by A1275

Sprung a Leak

This was just about the only in-focus picture I took the night of the fire. For some reason, I like it.

(c) 2006 by A1275