Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
13 February 2011: Red Poppy
The poet's darling. ~William Wordsworth, "To the Daisy"
12 February 2011: Winter Sunset
I drove out to another part of Lake Hefner and found an area that was frozen over with ice. A man and his teenage son and also stopped and the boy picked up a rock, threw it out on the ice, and laughed when it just bounced and skidded on the surface. He had hoped it would break, that there would be a big splash, but instead he was humored by the futility of the attempt. The ice blanket is deep.
I also saw an empty 12-pack cardboard box on the ice. Maybe a few fools got together on the ice during the night to drink oblivion.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
11 February 2011: Painting Birds
This is en plein air painting my mom made last summer when she visited me. It's out by Lake Hefner, though I haven't been to this spot in a while. Maybe I will go tomorrow, I've had too much cabin fever lately. I haven't framed the painting yet, but it is propped on a little shelf on which I have two little painted birds sit, too. The painting is slightly out of focus as the lens focused on the birds, and it is slightly cropped on the left side because I didn't want to get my wall in the picture, too.
10 February 2011: Office
Yes, I was truly lacking a creative perspective this day. A photo of my office supplies at work?
09 February 2011: Cabin Fever
Snow. Day. Front door lock with a pile-up of snow. I liked the color contrast.
I'm ready for winter's cold to move on out of here. Of course, we've not had it as bad as other people in the country this winter, but I'm certainly tired of the lack of something pretty to enjoy and focus on. I love a little winter, but a long heart-crushing winter doesn't satisfy me.
08 February 2011: More Frosty Winter
Another iPhone photo. Shot this through one of the windows looking out on the backyard about mid-morning. Added one of the effects from 100 Cameras in 1 application.
07 February 2011: Shiner and Chocolate
Okay... Not shot with the Rebel but with my iPhone using the 100 Cameras in 1 application. Shiner Bock and chocolate, consumed. :) Not too excited about the extra grainy effect, but its okay...
06 Feberuary 2011: Hair
Yes, I know, weird picture.
I shot a few pics at the top of my head because I was trying to capture the color of my roots. It didn't work. But those were the only photos I took that day. This is the only one, with black-and-white and upped-contrast, I deemed okay for posting.
05 February 2011: Feather
Feather on a winter's day. I drove out to Stars & Stripes Park on the southern end of Lake Hefner to see if there was anything to take pictures of after the snow and after most of it had turned to slush. I shot some pics of the water looking as if it was rolling in on the sandy shore with froth, but it was frozen. :) I liked this picture better though.
I tried to return to one of the main roads by the same route I drove out to the lake, but the other side of the road was blocked by a vehicle and so I turned around in someone's driveway and drove in the wrong direction for about 50-100 feet before I could merge into the correct lane and try a different route to the main road. I was hopeful nothing would come, especially a policeman!
04 February 2011: Snowing
Coming Through the Rye, by Frederic Remington, located in the Plaza & Gardens at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City.
I made it to work this day, snapped a few pictures in the gardens after the snow, walked around in near knee-high drifts, felt my cheeks get pink in winter wind, and returned to warmth. I think this is my favorite picture of my mini-photo shoot in the gardens.
03 February 2011: McCullers
Last resort picture. I've been reading Carson McCullers book The Member of the Wedding. I finished it a couple days after this picture was taken. I love the cover design for this edition. I'm looking forward to watching the movie rendition of this book through video-streaming on Amazon.com.
The interesting thing about McCullers for me is that her writing leaves me in this state of mind that almost feels like a void, but it's not. I'm waist-high in contemplation that only ripples when I recognize something in the water, pick it up, and name it. I read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter last summer, and had the same feeling. It is not a state of mind I want to be in constantly, but it does me a lot of good when I am in it for a while.
02 February 2011: Snow lines
I went for a little bit of a walk today. I tried shoveling snow for a little while, but I don't have the proper snow shovel. I thought these wind patterns on the snow drifts was interesting...
01 February 2011: Frosty Sunset
Winter abounds. Snow everywhere. Frost was weaving on my windows overlooking the backyard. As I sat at the table tapping away on my laptop, I glanced out the window and saw this. Immediate scramble ensued to get my camera and snap the picture before it was gone. Success.
31 January 2011: Cat
Early on this morning I looked in the backyard and I spied who I think is the mystery cat who meows incessantly some evenings. He's just perched in my dormant raised beds. I like this photo for its monotone coloring until you spy the black and white cat.
30 January 2011: Lloyd Moon
An intimate little house concert with Lloyd Moon, a friend and musician to my friend Tara. I didn't take this picture with my Canon Rebel... I brought it with me, but this fellow is pretty camera and video shy. He was audience shy, but as a birthday gift for a friend he gave a small concert for fellow friends. His wife, other friends, and others wanted me to record, and so I did. Afterwards, she said he was fine with it and he didn't realize I was recording but he'd appreciate a copy of it all. :)
29 January 2011: Window Gallery
It was a beautiful day in Oklahoma City today. It almost seemed like Spring was waking up and stretching her arms across the sky. But this Monday evening and Tuesday morning is supposed to bring rain/sleet/wintry mix/whathaveyou (unpredictable Oklahoma hyper-mix of weather forecasts) so it is doubtful this is Spring arriving. Over near Iguana Grill on 9th Street in downtown I walked by this building that used to be Mel's Towing among other things. I took a few pics of the R in the window, noticed my shadowy reflection and liked the whole composition so I tried a few more pics until I was satisfied. The only thing I did in Photoshop was add my watermark/name. :)
28 January 2011: Sunset at Lake Hefner
Sunsets appeal to me. There's something romantic about them that I can have alone as well as part of a couple. I can walk along a lake during a sunset and think about life, writing, conversations, friends, music... anything that comes to mind and I feel rested and relaxed. No pressure. No guilt feelings of being lazy sitting on a couch tapping away on a laptop [which is what I feel this moment].
But I love finding photos like this one during my walks. I am glad Spring is slowly on its way. The winter season aches for me because of the starkness of the scene, and I resort to macro photography because the landscape just doesn't hold beauty to me. The minute details do. But lakeside provides a different glimpse, especially at sunset. I can find silhouettes of life scattered over the glittering lights of people in the distance. And the light, the light is full of color and love and energy and thought. And patience.
27 January 2011: Closet Clean-out
Anyway, these are going to a women's shelter resale store, Our Sister's Closet in Oklahoma City.
One of my inspirations is Project 333. I've cleaned out the closet with a serious and determined attitude. I'm writing this entry on February 12, and since the 27th of January I have also started a big purge from my "art supplies." Yeah, the second bedroom dedicated as an "art room" with tons of fabric cut up from old clothes or from quilt stores. Boxes of wooden plaques I was going to recycle into art. More boxes of old frames.
I am a writer and a photographer. I like to dabble in making other things by hand, but I shouldn't allow myself to be so distracted and clutter my living space with so much "maybe I will do that" projects. Today I am finally going to do one I have thought about doing for over 2 years. It won't take me but 2-3 hours, if that much. And all this time those items have been waiting, waiting, waiting... I could have retained the idea, never bought or collected the items, and when I was absolutely determined and ready to make the crafty thing, get the items and make it then.
But that's also assuming the artistic and creative nature can be planned and known in advance. Some nights, truthfully, I get a wild hair and decide to make stuff right then.. 3, 4, 5 sleepless hours later and I've made my ideas tangible. But for now on, I really want my focus to be on my writing and photography. So, the hoarder-like collections of supplies will find new homes with other artists.
26 January 2011: Standstill Cowboy
There's a "Children's Cowboy Corral" at the museum where I work. I went inside today and shot a few pictures of the figures, buildings, chuck wagons, miniature cabins, and other things.
I've been watching a lot more western-themed movies lately, but it still hasn't captivated my heart like Kentucky and Appalachia did. I don't believe it will.
25 January 2011: Windowed Sunset
I went to Lake Hefner to shoot a sunset picture -- sunsets will probably be my go-to if I can't think or find something else interesting to shoot -- and on the way back to my house I saw the light reflected in these buildings by the park. I pulled into the parking lot and shot a few pics. I like the fact that the dusk was reflected in the windows, but even more so interested in how the different levels of glass changed the colors. I also think people were still working inside the offices. I had a fleeting thought of myself as a spy, click-click photographer. But hidden I was not. Bad spy. Okay photographer.