CY365 Oct15-19 2019

I decided to take this to a weekly blog rather than daily and highlight each week’s photo prompts as a collection. I am also looking at the site canvas to create a digital photobook to link the weekly collections to. Partially to keep them as a unit, but also because there is limited media space here and I will quickly run out of room for more than just a featured image.

If I were to use a word to sum up this week, it would be orange as the majority of the photos have that color as a constant theme. As most of my weekly shooting is being done inside the house, I have been working a lot with still shot photography using a light box. It’s a style that like flat lay, I have discovered that I really enjoy.

The prompts that are featured here are: falling leaves, orange glow, home made and pumpkins. It was fun finding some creativity to make the shots happen. With falling leaves, what I had in my mind isn’t anything close to what actually ended up being the final project, but like a lot of times, what I see in my mind’s eye doesn’t translate to photo the way I hoped, so I end up letting the shot set itself. The one prompt that didn’t make it into the set was Emotions as I was unable to find time to even pick up the camera that day.

When I look back at my week in photos, I feel a sense of joy in what was produced.  I am also seeing that I am starting to discover my own sense of style and a cohesiveness that tells the story of my week from a photographic standpoint. If I were to shoot separate from the prompts, you would see an entirely different story. A story of a 2 year old girl’s adventure of the alphabet and numbers as we are working on one letter and number a week doing different crafts and projects.  One of those projects actually made it into this set of photos. The apple stamping shot for the Home Made prompt was one of our letter A projects.

I am looking forward to seeing how the weekly photo stories present themselves and where the journey leads.

Day 30: Getting Creative

This set of photos was a lot of fun for me. I had started collecting Pop! action figures before my granddaughter was born, and she essentially commandeered the majority of them from me over the last year. She loves the things, so we will buy here a new one to go with them every now and again.  There are endless ways you can use them for creative photo shoots, so while she and her Paws were at the park, I snagged a few of them to do this prompt.

The Walking Dead pops were the first that I started collecting, and Bicycle Girl was the first I bought, so I knew I wanted to take her and Rick out into the yard and feature them in a series of shots as a nod to the very first episode of the show. While Rick hangs out with all the other pops in Rory’s room, Bicycle Girl is one of a handful that I haven’t let her take. This is one of the very few times she has ever been out of her box, and it was fun freeing her for a little bit.

The second set of photos I shot feature Princess Aurora (my granddaughter’s name sake) from Sleeping Beauty and Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker. It was a Toy Story type of moment thinking about the things that toys might do when their owner isn’t home. In this case, it was princess bungee jumping as they used Rory’s bed for their thrill seeking.  After Rory got home from the park, she caught me trying to capture a final shot with Bob Dashboard Zombie for his Instagram page, and she grabbed up Aurora and Clara, so the shot ended up being just Bob and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Rory wasn’t too keen on the idea of me using her toys for these shots and let me know that she wasn’t interested in sharing right then.

The final shot that I took didn’t hold quite the creativity as the first sets, but gets the point across without question. Pokémon battles take place when the kids aren’t home, and in this case it was giant Pikachu vs. tiny Squirtle. You can just imagine the look on little Squirtle’s face because it looks like ole’ Pikachu is fixing to let loose a lightning bolt in his direction at any second.

Spending so much time on serious subjects and prompts, it was refreshing fun to wrap up this 30 day photo challenge with toys in a creative twist. I can’t help but smile, not just because I got to be a kid on this last day, but because I have completed the entire journey of “Photograph Your Days in 30 Different Ways”.  Now, I am moving on to the prompts of Capture Your 365 to continue with my daily photography journey. Thank you for following the first part of this trip through photos.

Day 26: Cozy With Family

As a family we don’t really get snuggly on the couch, under the blankets or the like. Our “cozy” moments in the normal sense of the phrase are few and between. We do more “Crash and Eddie” moments.

Day 25: Random

Today’s prompt is actually titled “Full Body Shot/Selfie”. I’m not a selfie person. I’m not really big on having pictures taken of myself, but will with family and friends in different situations when it calls for it.  Instead of shooting a pic of myself, I spent some time wandering from room to room in my house shooting random things, as well some rainy day shots.

 

 

Like most people when they pick up a camera, not matter what they are shooting they want to get the sharpest possible picture, and so when it doesn’t happen for me, I can’t help but get frustrated, adjust settings and if it’s a still shot, take multiple snaps until I get one that I’m happy with.  However, I am also learning to accept that while a photo may not have that professional looking quality and have some grain and noise to it, like the shot of my granddaughter looking into the camera with that look of pure happiness and joy, it’s still a great photo. It captured a moment in her life that she had no care in the world. Everything was right as rain, literally as it was raining.  Every day, when I pick up my camera, I couple hope and work with trying to be the best photographer that I can be. I don’t do this as a profession, but it is a passion and a skill that I want to cultivate to the best of my ability.  As I get better lenses and equipment, I hope that my shots will improve as well.

Day 22: Sourcing Inspiration

Inspiration for photos comes in many forms, but if you are a mother or grandmother, then there is no other source of inspiration greater than your kids or grandkids. I am no exception and instantly thought of my four boys when I watched the prompt for today.

I’ve talked about them in a previous blog and about the paths they’ve chosen in life and how very proud of them I am. They are always in my heart and I think of them daily, even if I don’t see them daily. My thought with the shots for this was to gather something that represented each of them.

My oldest is represented by an X-box controller as he is a gamer. When he’s not playing with his daughter or at work, he engaged in one game or another. As I am from the Mario generation, I can’t even begin to tell you what games are even out there now.

My second born is represented by a fleur-de-lis cookie cutter.  He has always had a passion for being in the kitchen and as he got older that passion leaned towards pastry and bread. He is extremely talented and makes beautiful, flavorful creations.

My third is represented by his challenge coin from AIT.  His graduation day and turning blue ceremony are etched into my memory and I still tear up when I think about it. He has modeled himself after his father being a protector, aiming to take care of family above all else.

My youngest is music. There is a song by Heart called Love Me Like Music, I’ll Be Your Song. While written as a love song, that line is how I think of him. I love him like music, and he is indeed my song. We talk music quite often and I am thrilled that he has chosen to saturate his life in it with his chosen majors.

In spite of being grow up, all four of them inspire me to be a better mother, a better friend and supporter of all that they do. I am blessed to call all of them son and friend. They will always be my little boys no matter how old they get and they will always be a subject of photography inspiration for me.

Day 16: Your Morning Walk

Our walks are usually done in the evenings, but every now and again we will make an exception and head out in the morning. We have a set route that we will walk because we know it is safe, and safety is everything when you are out with a toddler. Trying to take photos when it’s just the Bug and I is a bit of a challenge because this is a girl who does not like to be still.  When I first thought about it, I didn’t think I’d find many opportunities that would really fit the prompt’s guidelines that the author had in mind, but I was pleasantly surprised to find several opportunities. Even more, I was thrilled with how the shots turned out since they were each quickly snapped so that we kept in motion.

Rory is so used to me having a camera or my phone in hand pointed her way snapping shots, and most times, she continues what she is doing, will pose or hide depending on her mood, but rarely tries to grab the camera. Today, as we stopped to say hi to “her dogs” along the route, I tried to get a shot of her looking at them, but at the last second, she turned to the camera and reached out to touch the lens just as I pressed the shutter button. The resulting photo made me laugh and is one that I’m glad captured a spontaneous moment rather than a set one.

With a very emphatic “no” when we returned home, we got settled back in the house with a snack and some Mother Goose Club, but there was a closing shot that I wanted to get here at my own house.  Outside my back door is a rather large Orb-weaver who has taken up residence in the same corner of the porch for weeks now. We leave him alone, outside of saying hello to him or showing him to Rory, teaching her respect for this and other arachnids. Just a note, this coming from someone who has been working at getting over arachnophobia for years is HUGE.  While taking a few shots, he waved one of his legs at me, I’m sure it was to tell me to get back, but I’m going to go with he was saying hi. It has been through photographing spiders and webs that I have mostly gotten over my fear of spiders and I’ve started finding them more fascinating than scary. This does not mean I want one as a pet or to hold one. This disclaimer is added for my husband.

All in all, this morning’s walk was a relaxing, fun trip around the neighborhood as it rained in the earlier hours so it was cool and actually felt like fall, even though as I write this the temps have already climbed and it is hot and humid once again. It was refreshing seeing the same sights with new eyes and capturing them as a physical memory and I’m looking forward to the next outing with the Bug.

Day 11: Your Hands

While the prompt is actually for BOTH hands, it is hard to capture both by yourself, so I did an single hand shot in different ways with different meanings. We use our hands for so many things. Work and play, we treat them with gentleness or roughly depending on the situation. My hands have always offered the role of support, for my husband, my children, my granddaughter and my extended friends and family.

Before these hands supported law enforcement they supported and still support the United States Army and Oklahoma National Guard. My husband enlisted in the National Guard his junior year in high school, and when we decided to get married, he went active duty. A week after our wedding, he was on a plane for Germany and was there for 20 months. During that time, I gave birth to our oldest son, and thankfully he got to come home when he was born. 24 years later, my third born decided he as going to follow in his father’s footsteps and signed up doing a split ops between his junior and senior years of high school. When we went out for his turning blue ceremony and AIT graduation, I got to watch my veteran husband, put the blue cord on my enlisted son. My shaky hands capturing the moment with my camera. He is currently a sergeant and only has a few months left until his enlistment is up.

1993, 1996 and 1999. These years are three of the most important of my life. They are the years these hands held each of my boys for the first time. They all may be grown now, but my hands still work at supporting each of them in their own individual and unique way. My oldest is a hard working man that is working to build a good life for him and his daughter. I do want I can to ease some of the burden of taking care of her as being a single father is not an easy task. My second born is the bookend of my solider. Having twins is an experience all in itself and you have to learn how to support the individuality of each child, letting them grow into the person they were meant to be. One chose to serve his country, the other chose service and hospitality in the culinary industry.  His creations are worthy of their own photo blog post. He is insanely creative and his food is beautiful and has the flavor to match. My youngest is in his sophomore year of college and is a music major. A gifted and talented musician, I get excited every time I get to go and see him perform, be in on the field marching, or on the stage for jazz or symphonic concerts. He has been driven since the moment he first picked up a trumpet to the point of self teaching himself on every other brass instrument and a few others as well. I hold my children in my heart and in my hands every single day. I will support them for the rest of my life in whatever way I can. Investing in them is my purpose.

When you have grandchildren, the world opens up in a way you never knew possible. A fear you didn’t experience with your own children is there, a pure joy and seeing the world through their eyes and going on that journey with them is priceless. I literally hold this little girl of wonder in my hands every day. She will grab mine and take me to go play with her, help her with things she is wanting to do or just pull me to the floor wanting me to crawl after her. When I hold her tiny hand in mine, I see a world of opportunity and possibility. I see a life that her care is literally in my hands each day.

The phrase “offer a helping hand”, is my mission as a wife, a parent and a grandparent. To help the men and the little girl in my life accomplish every thing they want and need to do.  My hands do many things from housework, to photography, to working with fireworks in the summer to wiping away tears. When you think of the role your hands play in your life literally and metaphorically, they are a remarkable part of your body tackling millions of tasks in your life time.

Day 10: Exploration

Exploration is another prompt that I have to pull from a past experience rather than in the moment. Every chance we get, we live a life of exploration on hiking trails, or as in the pictures that I am using for this subject, botanical gardens. Not only are they stunning in natural beauty, they are rich with photo opportunities.

Before she could even walk, we started taking our granddaughter Aurora on hiking trips, to museums, gardens and parks.  She does not care what the weather is doing, she wants to be out exploring, swimming, puddle jumping or looking at stars. Labor Day was one of those rare days that both her father and my husband had a day off, so we loaded up and made the 2 hour trip to Wichita, Kansas and went to the botanical garden, Botanica, the Wichita Gardens.

This amazing set of gardens is a joy to visit, no matter your age. The Downing Children’s Garden was a lot of fun for all of us. While designed for kids, us grown up kids were just as enchanted. Visiting the bee house, playing the different chimes and musical instruments, climbing the giant tree house, seeing the tiny fairies, it is a magical and beautiful area that enables children to be in touch with the beauty of nature on their level.

One of the first sights we saw upon entering was the Gene E. Spear Railroad Garden. My oldest son, Rory’s dad had a love of trains from the time he was a toddler. Thomas the Tank Engine was his favorite show and he could recite just about every episode by heart. Needless to say, he lit up when he saw this garden, and took joy in getting to show his daughter the trains as well, especially since one of them was that cheeky, little engine, Thomas.  Rory studied the train set up and then made every effort to get in there and have some hands on fun and it was hard trying to explain to her that she had to stay outside the fence line and just look. When you are a two year old explorer, that’s very hard.

As we explored all of the different garden areas, we got to experience an incredible and unique sight. 15 different sculptures made entirely of Legos. Truly one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. The complexity of some of the sculptures is incredible. Each statue has an information plate listing how many bricks make up each one.

Towards the end of the day, we visited the Butterfly House filled with multiple types of butterflies. They were the explorers here as they flitted from flower to flower, and even to us, one landing on my son’s finger. Rory would squeal with delight as she ran trying to see the butterflies up close.

We are already thinking ahead to where our next trips will take us, and making lists of places we want to explore. Like so many before us, seeking out new trails and new experiences call to us and like Miguel and Tulio, we will follow that trail that we blaze!