This summer daydreams post reminded me of the above photograph. I just now noticed that the pose in this photo is nearly identical to Roxanne's current profile picture on her blog. I guess laying in the grass goes well with all the summer daydreaming.
Soon enough we can play some bocce ball in the park, my friend. Soon enough. I cropped this photo square for the Exploring with a Camera theme this week. I must say I like this crop much better than the vertical format original. I need to remember that I really like square format more often. Also, who knew my front yard was so picturesque?
10 Simple Pleasures
The theme of my Lazy 365 challenge is this: See a shot, then get out the camera and get that shot.
H is for Highrise!
A slightly different view this time... I'm beginning to think I should just own the fact that I love these buildings that I drive past every day, and work my way toward a series of South Waterfront shots. Maybe something like Hokusai's Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. Each day, both directions, the buildings are a different color. Since they are all so reflective, the colors of the sky (which are affected by the time of day and the weather) and the colors of the river (also affected by the weather and by the sky) play a huge part in the colors of the buildings. Of course, I also like to play with those colors a bit once I get those shots onto my computer, but I'm not adding colors that aren't already there. If you look closely at the SOOC shot below (left), you can see the pink, purple, blue, and yellow sky colors reflected in the shorter building.
This shot was taken from inside my car, through a rain-drenched passenger side window, from the driver's side. You can see a couple of blurry spots that must be droplets of water on the window. Can't fix those, but I can do other stuff. What I did to this shot in Photoshop Elements 3:
_Now Available in E-Book and Paperback! If you haven't already, please start by reading Lesson 1: The North Star, Lesson 2: The Circumpolar Constellations, Lesson 3: Elegant Orion, Lesson 4: Ask Orion for Directions, and Lesson 5: Sweet Summer Sky before proceeding. The Zodiac Constellations are a group of 12 constellations that fall on either side of the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path that the sun traces through the sky, from the perspective of Earth, throughout the year. Put another way, if you were to take a giant celestial crayon and draw a line through all 12 Zodiac Constellations, you would end up drawing a ring in the sky that goes all the way around the Earth. The sun would always be near that ring, as would all of the planets (not Pluto, though... add that to the ever-lengthening list of reasons Pluto is only a "plan-ette"). Above, you'll see the ecliptic in blue, with the associated constellations. I've added other constellations we have learned so far, so you can get your bearings. The bottom part of the Big Dipper is just peeking through at the top of the picture in the center. Below is a video that quite effectively shows the relationship between the Earth, the Sun, the ecliptic, and the Zodiac Constellations. The upper right corner shows which constellation is being highlighted, and the bar at the bottom shows the time of year. Notice that if it's night time on Earth (facing away from the sun) then the Zodiac Constellation you see in the video will not be visible, because it is "up" during the daytime. You'll have to wait 6 months for that constellation to be visible in the dark. The music is nice and soothing, but beware: the end of the video will audibly jar you back to reality. We'll go through each of the 12 Zodiac Constellations below, traveling to the "left" along the ecliptic as we go. Some Zodiac Constellations can be found using others we've learned about, but others you may just have to learn to find on your own. When you're stargazing, if you can find any two Zodiac Constellations, you know that the ecliptic goes through them and continues on either side. Use that knowledge to find any others that might be visible at that moment. Taurus, the Bull: We're already familiar with this one. Remember, you can use Orion's belt to find Taurus's nose. Follow the belt up and to the right. Gemini, the Twins: We are also already familiar with the twins. Find the blue star Rigel, in Orion's ankle, and the red star Betelgeuse, in Orion's shoulder. Connect them and continue to find Gemini. Cancer, the Crab: Next to Gemini, you'll find Cancer. The stars in Cancer are very faint, so he'll be difficult to see most nights. The easiest way to find him is to find Gemini and Leo, and then look between them. Leo, the Lion: Leo's head, neck, and front left foot form a distinct backwards question mark shape. That shape will be your key to finding Leo in the sky. Those stars are brighter than the rest of Leo. Virgo, the Virgin: Find the handle of the big dipper, and follow the arc to the red star, Arcturus. Now, instead of bouncing back up to Corona Borealis, "spike down" to a blue star, Spica (SPAI-kuh). Spica is a fairly bright star, and is the only bright star in Virgo. Frequently, you'll be able to find Spica, and be unable to find any other stars in Virgo. Libra, the Scales: Libra is the only non-living object represented by the Zodiac. The scales are usually depicted as those old-fashioned two-sided balances. This version is one side of the balance. Scorpius, the Scorpion: The scorpion has a red star right at its heart, called Antares (an-TAHR-ees). The Milky Way goes through Scorpius, as well as Cygnus and Cassiopeia. Follow the path from Cassiopeia, through Cygnus, and onward until you find the red star. It will be low to the horizon in the summer. Orion and Scorpius are enemies. According to the ancient Greeks, the gods put Orion and Scorpius as far away from each other in the sky as possible. If you can see Scorpius, Orion is below the horizon in the opposite part of the sky, and vice versa. Sagittarius, the Archer: The archer shoots his bow toward Scorpius. Sagittarius also appears very low to the horizon in the northern hemisphere, so it may be difficult to see most of the time. Capricorn, the Goat: In this depiction, the goat is leaning down to eat some grass near his feet, with his tail in the air, and horns pointed toward Aquarius. Following the point of the Summer Triangle through Altair may be helpful in finding Capricorn's tail. Aquarius, the Water Bearer: Aquarius is leaping over Capricorn, and water is spilling out of the bucket that he bears (see what happens when you run with a full bucket of water?) Pisces, the Fish: Pisces is two fish with their tails tied together. The "V" shape is the rope that holds them together, and the circle and triangle at the ends of the rope are the fish. Aries, the Ram: Aries leaps toward the rope in Pisces, and away from Taurus (yep, we've come all the way around again). Now that you're more familiar with the Zodiac Constellations, watch the video again. Some of them are drawn using the same stars, but different lines. See if you can still identify them (try not to look at the answer in the corner) as the video progresses. • Back to Lesson 5: Sweet Summer Sky • • On to Lesson 7: (coming soon...) • Conflict, 7th Grade: Watching the images emerge over the course of just a few days has been really enlightening. Though some students do not believe themselves to be good artists, I can find merit in every single one of their pieces. There is so much beauty and power in the black lines, the color choices, the way the watercolors swirl and dry unevenly, the words on the dictionary page showing through, and the images themselves. We have started to hang the finished pieces on the wall in the classroom. The final wall will be impressive when we get all 60 of them up there. Unfortunately, these pieces say so much more when you look at them up close. The ones highest on the wall will not be able to be inspected fully. All Culture and Conflict posts can be found under the topic heading: Diversion Audit.
I love entering photo challenges, but Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt Sunday is always difficult because it requires new photos, and a variety of themes all at once. This week, however, I realized that the photographs I had taken in the last week and a half could fit the requirements well enough.
If you are a regular to my blog (all 3 of you), you have seen all of these images as their own posts (except for "book" which will show up in the next post or two). So, here they are, the highlights of the week:
1. Diptych - The Portland Aerial Tram tower and the OHSU Center for Health and Healing LEED Platinum certified building, taken whilst stuck in traffic. Originally found in the post: Lazy 365, Day #2
2. Book - A page from an old dictionary, serving as a backdrop for a student's art piece depicting conflict. The planes and sky are not yet glued down. To be seen soon in the post: Culture and Conflict, Volume 18: Only Color and Light 4. a Taste of Italy - A deli sign on the side of a building. I still have not yet been inside this particular deli. I hope it's an Italian deli, for deliciousness sake. Originally found in the post: Lazy 365, Day #1 5. Reminders - A puzzle, waiting to be completed. This is my reminder to keep up on my Lazy 365 challenge (and it's the image for the first post), and also to finish what I begin. Originally found in the post: Lazy 365, Day #0 3. Fill in the Blank - I have been writing some stargazing tutorials, and adding in a new constellation feels like filling in the blank. Also, I like to contemplate the Universe. Originally found in the post: Day and Night, Earth and Sky When I think about how insignificant our tiny planet is in the grand scheme of the universe, I just have to take a few moments to contemplate the serendipity of my existence.
I spent a little time on this beach with some friends, watching the pelicans, crabs, and fishermen. This one waded right into the surf for his catch. They day was grey and dreary, but the red hues of the Golden Gate Bridge always perk up the mood.
This bridge is beautiful, and has an interesting history, but my favorite fact about the bridge is that it is always being painted. A team of painters works full time to touch up the most corroded parts as needed. When I say a team of painters, I don't mean 3 guys and a bucket. There are thirty-eight painters who maintain the now-acrylic topcoats. Watching the painters work high up on the cables has always made me nervous for them, but what a great job! What do you do for a living? I paint the Golden Gate Bridge...
Last time for Murietta365's SOOC challenge, I posted a photograph taken with a 35mm film SLR. I thought I'd dig even deeper in to the archives for this one, taken with a 35mm film point and shoot, and a broken one at that.
I didn't know it when I took this shot, or the rest of that roll, that there was something wrong with the camera. I think there was a slowly increasing light leak somewhere. This was one of the first shots on the roll, and subsequent shots included ever-increasing strangely over-exposed shapes on the final prints. This one escaped with only a mildly hazy over-exposed feel to it. I like it because it gives the shot a dream-like quality (matching my memory of the place) that I probably couldn't have done on purpose if I tried. This is a completely un-edited shot, and you can see dust specks from when it was scanned who knows how long ago, and a scratch on the print. I spent 9 summers on this lake, and this image certainly brings back memories. I can hear in my mind the sounds of paddles gently tapping and scraping the sides of those plastic kayaks as kids tooled around in them exploring the lake. I can remember where every large rock is in that swimming area, and exactly where the deepest and shallowest parts are. I can smell those Ponderosa Pines, and I can feel the texture of the "grass" (not really grass, but it served the same purpose) in the meadow in my fingertips. The flavor of the juice we always requested whenever we cooked meals over an open fire is unlike any other, and the image of the stars we would gaze at as we fell asleep each night, framed by the starburst-shaped clusters of pine needles sticks with me to this very day. I could go on, nearly indefinitely, but these are my memories, and probably not as interesting to you as your own. Leave a comment and tell me about a time in your past when you can remember with all five of your senses, with your whole being, every detail of an experience. What was your favorite part (if you can choose)? Which tiny detail had you forgotten about completely, but through the process of remembering the whole picture, came back to you as clearly as though you were there yesterday?
The theme of my Lazy 365 challenge is this: See a shot, then get out the camera and get that shot. Exactly that shot.
So, there I was, stuck in traffic again. This time it took me 45 minutes to travel a distance that Google Maps says should take me 4 minutes. Normally that's true, but every once in a while the traffic gods want me to take some photographs, I guess.
And since this qualifies as not planning to take a photograph, but then seeing a shot I just couldn't pass up, I'll file it in my Lazy 365 category. If I had passed up this shot, it would have been ridiculous, since I was sitting there, inching forward, for forty five minutes! My three favorites from my commute, leaning out my unrolled driver side window with my camera are below. I'm pretty sure I like the one above the best, but I'm open to critiques. Conflict, 7th Grade: Taking a break from the chess boards for a bit, we began studying one of our masterworks today. Know Hope is a street artist creating works primarily in Israel. While his website gives a good sampling of his gallery installations, his true genius lies with the art he creates in the context of surrounding conflict. This Google image search ("know hope" art) shows his more powerful works. In the context of the conflict project, the students are exploring chess as a metaphor for two ideas being unable to occupy the same space at the same time. Know Hope's art is a thought-provoking juxtaposition of hope and conflict, painted directly on the physical evidence of that conflict, to be pondered and appreciated by the everyday participants of it. Exploring the same ideas of juxtaposition, the students will be creating a piece of art to represent their conflict of study. Each student chose an image of their conflict, and traced the image onto translucent vellum paper. The image will then be enhanced with watercolor, and finally affixed to a page of text in such a way that the text shows through. Here are some of the designs in progress. The students chose some really powerful imagery, and the final pieces should be pretty impressive when they're finished. All Culture and Conflict posts can be found under the topic heading: Diversion Audit. |
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