SPC - Idioms - #3

Why was six scared of seven?
 

 Because seven ate nine.

 At sixes and sevens -- in a state of total confusion or disarray.

 On cloud nine -- in a state of blissful happiness.

SPC - Idioms - #2

 Behind The Eight Ball - In trouble or an awkward position, out of luck

 On The Ball - to be especially capable or efficient

 Not quite as diametrically opposed as last week's, but still, one meaning an adventageous position and the other meaning a dire position. I guess it just depends on where one is in relation to the ball.

Photo Friday - 'Depth Perception'

SPC - Idioms - #1

The new theme for Self Portrait Challenge in December is - 'Idioms'
 


SLAP

on the back vs. on the wrist

Interesting how they mean exact opposites:

A slap on the back is a casual gesture of congratulations

A slap on the wrist is a mild punishment

Transitioning from tiny words, as well.

Photo Friday - 'Graceful'

This is my wife, Christy.  She demonstrates grace every day in how she deals with others (especially her family; especially especially her husband).

I picked up her wedding rings from the jeweler today.  She had them sized down so they wouldn't fall off her finger.  I wasn't as nervous picking them up the second time as I was the first time, but it made me realize that I'd do it all over again.

In a heartbeat.

Coronet 500

Accidentally for Self Portrait Challenge - 'tiny words'

Didn't really intend for this to be a self portrait or a 'tiny words' shot.  I was just fascinated by the car.

Gotta be my first "tiny words" self portrait that is straight out of the camera, though.

Photo Friday - 'Rugged'

 On the theme, I thought this weathered door fit on it's own.

 I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover the cross emblem formed by the long shadows of fading daylight in this photo.

 The word "rugged" automatically conjures the cross of Christ in my mind because of the old George Bennard hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross."

thankful

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Photo Friday - 'Noon'

hedge apples

The kids and I were at the park Saturday and the hedge apples (we were calling them Alien Brains and making up associated stories) were abundant.  Several of the kids on the playground took it upon themselves to collect and compile the worthless fruit onto this piece of playground equipment. Some bonus shots from the same day:

Photo Friday - 'One'

the civil wars

For Self Portrait Challenge - tiny words 

Christy and I went to see The Civil Wars last Friday night. Awesome concert. There's something refreshingly honest about a simple vocal duo like The Civil Wars. Darn near zero noticeable production and yet there was magic in that room.

Backstory: Christy and I are not "concert" people. We tend to avoid crowds and are reluctant to spend money on luxuries like concert tickets. I was immediately hooked when I first heard The Civil Wars, but would have been content to listen to the CD, as usual.

It was actually in an effort to get her approval to buy the digital album that I showed her these two videos and she was like, "we have to go see them live." Well, that never happens, but I immediately looked into it and they had just been in Indianapolis like three days prior. The were headed for Europe and I didn't have much hope they'd be back to Indy soon. Then they announced their Fall dates and indeed they were coming back to Indy afterall. I ordered our tickets immediately.

It was a good night. The kids spent the night with good friends from church. We got dressed up. We stopped at a sushi place we'd been wanting to try on the way to downtown. Traffic was decent. Lovely weather for a short walk in the theater district of Indianapolis. Amazing concert. We even enjoyed the opening act. We discovered that we could upgrade our tickets when we got there which turned out to be a good thing because the Egyptian Room is usually a standing concert. Christy is....not tall. If we'd been in the middle of that crowd, I'm not sure she would have seen anything. The upgrades got a place to sit on some risers and some rowdy neighbors.





Cameras with detachable lenses were not allowed.

I crammed my smallest body and shortest lens (Sigma 30mm) into my smallest bag and didn't have any problems.  Wished I'd had my telezoom, but it was general admission and I had no idea where we'd be located in the room.  Just glad I didn't have to make do with my iPod.  :-)

Photo Friday - 'Public Space'

boo

The new challenge theme for Self Portrait Challenge in November is "tiny words."

We did this challenge two years ago (also in November) and had a blast with it.

It just so happens that November 1st falls on a Tuesday this year.  That means two things:  1.) We'll have five (5) weeks of this challenge.  2.)  I got to shoot this photo when it was still October 31st (aka Halloween).

Since we're coming off the "Fears" challenge from October, this seemed appropriate.

Halloween, 2011

Here are a few pictures for Halloween, 2011:

Photo Friday - 'Wide Angle'

I don't have a particularly wide angle lens.

This is a shot from Michigan a couple of summers ago that shows some of the effects of wide angle distortion, etc. despite it being shot at 18mm (27mm equiv.).

Pediophobia

Pediophobia - def. - the fear of dolls

 I don't know if the Uncanny Valley shifts based on personal experience or not, but these dolls, for me, reside on the downward slant of it.

Photo Friday - 'Little'

Kleptophobia

Kleptophobia - def. - the fear of being stolen from or robbed.

 OK -- I'm having a little fun at the expense of certain members of the Flickr community.

 To be clear, I am among those who share at least a hint of this fear with regards to images.

 I'm interested in starting a dialogue for those interested.

 What do you do to protect your images? Upload low resolution files? Watermark? Register copyrights? 

What about on the other side? If you upload large files, are they available for use?

 Anybody use Creative Commons? I have, at several times in the past, almost worked up the nerve to go with Creative Commons (non-commercial, attribution). Anybody else?

 Curious about the thoughts of the communities out there.

Photo Friday - 'My Baby

Iatrophobia

It would be unfair to say that I have a fear of doctors. It would, however, be accurate to say that I have seen my doctor exactly three times (as a patient) in the fifteen years I have been out of college and "on my own" as they say. All of those were for very specific procedures (all relatively minor/outpatient). Have I mentioned my 17-year non-vomit streak?

 I actually like my doctor. I have seen him on many other occasions. He is a GP who delivers babies, so unless there is a need to see a specialist, he is the doctor that all members of my family see for whatever ails them and I have often accompanied said family members to appointments, when necessary.

 Still, one can never be too careful, so here I am pretending to adhere to a well-known proverb for real and imagined iatrophobes, everywhere. iatrophobia -- def. - the irrational fear of doctors.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"

Photo Friday - 'Slick'

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia -- def. - the fear of long words.

 For the month of October, participants at Self Portrait Challenge are exploring fears. They may be honest-to-goodness actual personal fears or depictions of fears that they may not actually experience, but have fun depicting photographically. The latter is the case for this one.

 I do not experience any problems with long words except for the occasional misspelling -- which may be an issue here. Since I found this word and got my paper prop ready, I have discovered an alternate spelling for this word "quipped" (double-p, there). Still not sure which one is correct.

*********************
 

 This was actually my original concept for this shot with the typewriter and white out. I decided to shoot the wadded up version as an alternate. I switched the alternate to the primary when I saw how the post-processing turned out.

Photo Friday - 'Animal'

Well, I guess I'll just stick with the tiger again, this week.

 I hope you don't get tigered of seeing them.

:-)

SPC - Reflective Surfaces - #4

This is not at all what I conceived when I stopped for this shot. My intention was to use one of these, but when I loaded them all as layers, I noticed that these three aligned (accidentally) so nicely that I put them in as clones.

Any resemblance to any real flags, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Seriously.

Photo Friday - 'Inside'

SPC - Reflective Surfaces - #3

The kids started up with swimming lessons at the local YMCA again. They're both doing great. They seem to take to it naturally and have good strokes. They're both in small classes because soccer is still going on (which affects other kids who might otherwise be in swimming lessons). At least, that's what I've been told. 

Afterward, they were curious about the racquetball court and when I noticed the reflection, I knew I had my shot for this week. You can see Hannah off to the right of frame there. She was looking for a light switch, I think.

Photo Friday - 'Glowing'

March, 2011 - One night before Supermoon. This is from the Sam's Club parking lot at 96th Street and I-69 if you can believe. The windsock indicates the nearby airport (Indianapolis Metropolitan Airfield). Looking east here and getting the glow on the silos from a setting sun (or already set, possibly) behind me. The dusky sky allowed for a proper exposure on all three elements, here (sky, moon, silos). I think I played with levels on the silos to enhance the glow that was there, but I liked the final image.

SPC - 'Reflective Surfaces' - #2

Photo Friday - 'Near'

A macro shot of a thin stream of water coming from our bathroom tap. If you look closely, you can see my face (sideways) refracted in the water.

First Day of Preschool -- Year 2

He's an "upperclassman" this year. :-)