I hate choosing

064:365 Timid is as timid does.

Yesterday, it was a cinch to choose the photo of the day. Today was agonizing. My daughter's class went apple picking and, because I volunteered, I got to spend a bit of morning time staring down at the Saint John River Valley in the mist. None of the photos are spectacular, but I like 4 of them a lot. I've made a choice but am tempted to change my decision.



The ducks swam into the picture out of nowhere.



The tree framed the horizon perfectly.



The mist hung over the valley as if by design.



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But the combination of fall colours has tentatively won out. At least for now. Just call me a timid editor. Or at least an indecisive one.

Where there is no light

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Truth be told, this week held very little fluff for me. Tonight all I wanted to photograph was the void.

Next week's prompt: timid

Civics' Lesson

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The blurring says it all: my vote doesn't matter. There's really only 2 parties here in this province and one of them has all the focus tonight.

She speaks in bubbles. I, in barbs.

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Kathryn and I saw this bit of garbage grubbing fluff on our walk home from book club.



059:365 Kick at the darkness.

My Friday was blue and the weather didn't help.



060:364 Mafia Bunnies

I really wanted this bit of fluff to look sinister. Note to you all: pink bunny slippers cannot look sinister no matter how much you manipulate shadows with a flashlight.

The last day of summer

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Defeatism

Yep, that's right, I've givien up on my own prompt. I did have photo ideas for pacifisism and vandalism, not to mention all those provincial election signs that are over town with their myriad of -isms, but, hey, life is busy and losses must be cut. Instead:



055:365 Spare the rod...



056:365 The first time she tied the laces on her shoes all by herself. Bye-bye bunny, she's a big kid now.

_________________________

Next week's prompt: fluff

Creationism

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Ok, now I've just gone -ism silly. We did have fun apple picking today. If you drop by, I'll give you a slice of pie--and perhaps the knowledge of good and evil to go along with it.

Exhibitionism

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Taken at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. Would you accept a free hug from this guy?

The ghost in the machine

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Aestheticism

051:365 Found object: All the pretty horses

Activism

050:365 Self-portrait: shadow of the activist I used to be.

I was a volunteer escort at the local clinic during a particularly blue time in my life. My only role was to walk women past the protesters and safely into the clinic. After a while my mornings became conflicted with too many activities and I had to step back from my volunteerism.

I tried taking pictures of the meancing protesters yesterday but my efforts didn't pan out. The pictures were blah. The grim faced old men that I remember from those cold, early mornings made a point of smiling at the camera in an unnerving way. I may try to get back there some day to reshoot. In the meantime, I walked by the protesters' counselling house today where they keep plastic fetuses and other misleading propaganda in the window.

The pretty looks in the opposite direction of me

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Two weeks of being single parented and 49 days of Project 365 are starting to take their toll. Poor lamb. This was supposed to be a self-portrait until she inserted herself in the shot.

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How are you all doing? Do you look more like me at this point in the project or more like my daughter? We lost one member of the project when Hannah stepped down yesterday. I fear the season of attrition may be upon us. Please let me know if you are keen or flagging, and/or if you could use some boosterism.

Boosterism. Now that's a fun word. I notice it ends with this coming week's prompt: -ism. Have at 'er.

Like, in a barrel

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Meet Go-go, the family pet. He's ancient and I just cleaned his tank tonight, so he might not make 'til morning. Best to take his picture, then.

Round and round

046:365 The pumpkin shot. It's an annual tradition.



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This photo was taken inside a camera obscura that was built this year on the city's riverfront. The picture on the round tablet is a live action shot of my downtown. The eye in the sky is either someone who loves her hometown or it's some kind of radical theology. You decide.

Me'n'her

I'm single parenting for two weeks so there's a whole lot of me'n'her.



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Shooting in the opposite direction of the pretty

When I set yesterday's prompt, I wasn't thorough in my explanation of it. I didn't mean to imply that Alejna had recommended shooting past the pretty. It's just that her comment made me notice how rarely I do so and that maybe it would be a good idea to try it. I also didn't mean to imply that pretty referred only to subject matter--even though I know that's exactly what I did imply. For me "the pretty" is often tied to formal composition and the desire to get focus and depth of field clear. I like my pictures to be neat and tidy, even though that's not necessarily what I like to look at in the pictures of others. Today I tried to throw out all my notions of neatness when it comes to composition and focus. I really liked the results.



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I live in mess and this shot shows it: the dress up clothes, the weights, the clutter on the coffee table, the papers on the floor of the office...

I'm keen on the multiple reflections provided by the mirror and the French doors. I like how I can see the tree out my front window as well as the clothesline out my back window. I like the butterfly that still hangs from the light fixture, 9 months after the birthday party. And I like how I can make out the poster for the play that my husband opened on the night our daughter was born. You can see it there not too far above the silhouette of the rocking chair I rocked her in when she was a baby. The girl is dancing to the Belle of Belfast City, her favourite song of all time.

First Day

042:365 Because there are times when the classic, clichéd shot is just what posterity demands.

_________________
Alejna said something in reply to my comment on her blog the other day about shooting past the pretty. I'd never heard this expression before and it made me think: in the photography of others I very much appreciate the aesthetic of ugly or dirty or disturbing or even rumpled commonplace. In my own photography, no way. I long for the pretty. Because I spend so much of my free time with a rather (if I do say so myself) pretty subject, I find myself succumbing to it, always trying to up the ante on pretty. I think this means it's time for a shift in focus. Next week's prompt: shooting past the pretty. HALP!

Len's cap

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He left today for two weeks. This was taken at the airport.

Fair enough

I might be the only person who can take a camera to a fall fair and not get a great photo. This is the one I went with:



040:365 Rides! Junk food! Menacing animals!

That about sums up our day at the fair.

Even though I went with the long shot (pushing my boundaries, you see), this is the shot that captures my heart:























First candy apple

Cornered again

039:365 -- The eyes have it.

Meh

I wasn't thrilled with any of my shots today. I decided to go with this one, even though I've been relying on the girl as fodder a bit much lately.



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But because I can't resist a pun, I'm including this one too:



Earl-y warning. The big guy is slated to arrive mid-morning.

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

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Cornered

Last fall, I switched from the dreaded Superstore to my local Co-op and it was pretty much the best decision I made all year. Now, instead of loud 80s pop songs competing with a shouting and overstimulated girlie, all while I'm trying to figure out where stuff is because they've REARRANGED THE ENTIRE FRIGGIN' STORE YET AGAIN, I am faced with this:



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I am no longer cornered but she, delightfully, is. The competing patterns in this shot remind me how I used to feel at the grocery store. The silence implied by her posture, on the other hand, speaks volumes.