I'm Choosing Grace

I realize that it's been a while since I've updated this blog. I feel kind of guilty because I've been posting something EVERYDAY on my Other Blog. I guess I find the One-Photo-One-Paragraph-A-Day thing a tad more manageable. Well, like the title of this post suggests, I'm rejecting the guilt and I'm choosing grace for myself on my laziness around here, and I'm not even going to try to catch up. Thank you all for understanding.

And it seems that my laziness has spread from the world of blogging to taking photos of Cadence. Have I already mentioned this? I don't even remember. But yeah, it's true. I looked through my flickr stream and these are the the only photos of her I can find from August. I better get on the ball with that, or August is going to look pretty bleak when I make my annual calendar for the grandmas.

Well, I do have a few other shots of her, but they're set to private because they're part of photoshoots I did that I've chosen to keep private for the sake of the other kids in the photos. This one happens to be from last week's VBS at our church.

I know I said I wasn't going to try to catch up, but I did want to mention that we visited Scotch Hill Farm last Sunday to help weed the vegetable patches and to hang out with Tony and Dela, the farmers, and their CSA subscribers. Spending a few hours down in the dirt amongst the prickly squash plants pulling weeds with your own bare hands (although I recommend gloves) gives you a new perspective on something that seems as ordinary as putting food on your table.

And then I happened to pick up Wendell Berry's novel Hannah Coulter for my commute last week, and I felt that familiar lump in my throat and aching in my heart for a slower, more connected way of life.

And then while researching cooperative nursery schools, I stumbled upon this website that sparked the hope that our family might actually be able to participate in a housing cooperative someday.

Daydreams, I know...But I'm thinking of writing all of mine down in one place so I can refer to it regularly and keep hope alive...

Perpetually Behind

I've been in class all week and haven't had the time or energy to post here, so I apologize. And as always, there's so much that's been going on.

For starters, Rudden turned 4! Do you know what that means, folks? That means that Cadence is running around with FOUR YEAR OLDS and that she TOO will be FOUR YEARS OLD in less than TWO MONTHS!!! Yikes...

The party was a blast. My friend Amy went all out with some of Rudden's favorite things, including a Robot Parade, a Buzz Lightyear cake, a group singalong of Yellow Submarine (complete with trumpet solo by Rudden's Uncle Don), bubbles, sprinklers and a kiddie pool.

There's a lot more stuff, but I am seriously too exhausted to get into that. I'm learning to stop and take a breather from blogging when I get this way. I just get so monotonous and I can't stand the sound of my own typing.

FYI, I do post a photo every day on my other blog.

Love Thursday--Sometimes Hearts Are Blue

I haven't participated in Love Thursday in a while, but I found this photo in a bunch from a few weeks ago that I never posted to flickr. It's ABC (Already Been Chewed) Blue Bubble Gum flattened into the shape of a heart. Kind of an unusual find, but I thought it was appropriate to find a blue heart, because sometimes that's how we feel.

Check out Love Thursday on Shutter Sisters, and don't miss the wonderful conversation Karen of Chookooloonks had with her 4 year old daughter Alex.

Best Shot(s) Monday--Trying New Things

One of the challenges as a photographer (and for any artist for that matter) is trying new things so that you don't get bored. And lately, I must admit that I HAVE been bored. So this week, like I posted over on Shutter Sisters yesterday, I decided to break a few of my own rules. Like in the photo you see above. For one thing, it's not in vibrant color. It's also got a bit of grain to it, which is something I normally try to avoid in my photos. And it's just a tad blurry. I don't have a problem w/ blur, but usually when I go for blur, I make it clear that I was going for blur so you wouldn't think it was just cuz I couldn't keep my camera still. I basically cranked up the ISO to 800 (which is high for me), shot in a moving car at night, and didn't worry about it. And you know what? There's something about that photo that I really love.

And here's another one taken about the same time through the back window of the car. Normally, I wouldn't have put the back windshield wiper in the frame, nor would I have taken a photo through such a dirty window, but I think those elements add a genuine dynamic to the photo that I really like.

In this photo, I totally chopped off the dude's head, and that wouldn't have been a normal choice for me for a shot that was framed w/ so much empty space. But it totally works for me and makes the image that much more interesting to not know what the musician's face looks like.

It was another busy weekend, and I'll leave the recap to another post, but it was really exciting for me to take photos in new ways, pushing past my comfort zone, and ending up with images that I just absolutely love, regardless of whether other people will "get it" too.

Don't forget to go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey's Mother May I.

Breaking the Rules on Shutter Sisters

I've got a new post up on Shutter Sisters called Break the Rules. Go check it out if you have a chance. Hopefully, I'll get my act together for tomorrow's Best Shots post.

P.S. That shot is of Cadence at Nichols Park in Hyde Park on the South Side. We were in the neighborhood Friday night for a benefit show.