American Honey

Friday nights with a special plan is fun.  I like it.  It's nice to get out, to go beyond the confining walls of the house.  But, I also really like a Friday afternoon without having a big plan and nothing to get ready for.  On those Fridays I can finish up the school day and feel the freedom of not having to think about academic related pressures for 2 days! It is so freeing.  And in those moments, I LOVE to turn up some loud, fun music- sing and dance while I clean my kitchen or living room or whatever.  What type of music varies- could be bluegrass, could be jazz, could be oldies, could be Christian, could be country, etc.  Hey, sometimes it's the soundtrack to Newsies! One of my favorite country groups is Lady Antebellum. I love so many of their songs but one I really enjoy is called American Honey.  I love the sound of it. It feels soothing- it makes me sing, and sway. :) For many months, whenever I have heard that song I have had this photography vision.  It is Kate in a grassy field, with this blue dress that I love. I thought I wouldn't ever get to try to realize the vision.  The warm season would end and the dress would be too small, etc.  But, whatdya know? Super warm beginning to fall and I snuck out to work on it on Sunday.  I can't say that this is what I envisioned :) My young model couldn't quite get down the elegant yet carefree walk/stride I had pictured. And, lacking a good location, I fought with barriers in the view and other distractions.  But, as I look through the shots I got- I like this one to match the song.  It's not so lyrically applicable to my Kate.  Or to me, really.  Because I grew up early and fast. But, the song and the image match the photographic vision I had. Here it is:

(and by the way, I had never watched the video before posting here- though I see a little girl was used in filming the video. pinky promise I didn't see that before)

http://youtu.be/PgawTEzsJD0

twirling

I was able to sneak out to the park on Sunday evening to do a little photo shoot with Kate.  All the usual barriers were present- time, sunlight fading, public place so lots of people in the way, the boys fighting, one having to go to the bathroom urgently as soon as I got things where I wanted them, etc etc. :) In the midst of all that, I forgot to check my ISO. I don't know how that slipped my mind! Seems so basic.  But I had the ISO bumped pretty high from being indoors at my niece's bday. So- with my camera not handling highers ISO very well, this vision I have had for a while, and tried to squeeze in with this shoot- it's all pretty grainy.  Oh well. I'm still happy with some of what I caught.  It just isn't something I would enlarge in print. Too bad. Live and learn.

The Lord knew what he was doing when He gave me this girl.  She is so often a beautiful dose of grace and goodness in my life these days.  She is so loving.  So full of life and fun.  She enjoys beauty and cooking with me.  I appreciate this wonderful age where her heart is still so soft and sweet toward me.  I hope it stays.  Lord, please let it stay.

I was asked to be the photographer for our class reunion in a couple of weeks. Ha! FAT chance! People are SERIOUSLY overestimating my abilities! I turned them down. But maybe I will have a gig for the 30 year. :)

I hate titles

I used a "yesteryear" preset on this image.  It was one of the first I took that day,before getting my exposure right. But, when I opened it up I liked the highlights being blown out and the loss of detail actually worked in my favor, I think.

Water Hyacinth at sunset

New pics

I have several things to edit. A couple, I did a quick edit on and posted in a daily Instagram challenge.

This one- well, I think it does what I hope to do- it captures a bit of God's glory shown in the beautiful, intricate details of His creation.  I love the texture of the leaf and the play of light and shadows. BUT! I totally biffed the composition on this one.  That leaf needs some breathing room on the right of the frame! It bugs me. A lot. But, I posted it anyway because of the other things I mentioned.

This one is one of the willow trees. The wind was blowing and I was trying to capture some of that movement. It's hard to separate the experience from the image- to me, this is a very calming image. But, maybe that's just because I remember the sound of the willows, the quiet, rainy morning, etc.

This last shot was also taken at Fox Grove.  Almost by accident.  The sun was just about to slip below the horizon.  I have kind of gotten into a habit of keeping my camera on my face and turning around to see what I might be missing.  That's when I saw these WEEDS :) so pretty and illuminated by the setting sun.  

Once I saw this photo on my LCD screen, this quote came to mind. It is a poetry/literary favorite of mine, though kind of cheesy and overused.  :) I was thinking I might use it with this image to make another, more cheerful set of cards.  But, my sister thought it might be too mushy to be used for a basic friendship card.  The problem with ordering the cards is that there are so many of one kind.  I want it to be versatile so I will prob look for another quote if I end up using it for a card.  I don't know, though. I'm not sure if I agree with my sis!