Photogsnazzy: blue skies

Some days the sky is such an amazing color of blue, you feel glad just to witness the color, no matter how mundane you might be.

P.S. If I would learn photoshop, I could get rid of that smudgy bush in the corner!

Photogsnazzy: summertime sun

Summer is almost over.  I tried to capture some of that sunshine around the house.

Photogsnazzy: A Rose is an Iris is a Gerber Daisy

Just because flowers are pretty here are a couple more favorite flower photos from the Rose Parade floats.

Photogsnazzy: A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

For New Years I had the chance to see the Rose Parade Floats!  There were so many beautiful flowers!  and it was great to get a chance to see so many colors in the middle of winter!

Here are a few I took of the abundance of roses I saw.

Photogsnazzy: In the Japanese Garden

I recently visited Hillwood Estate, a historic mansion of a rich heiress in Maryland.  Despite it's horrible slogan, it was an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon and look at beautiful antiques and beautiful gardens.

It is where I ate a very expensive and very good chocolate eclair and where I took a photo of a small statue in the lovely Japanese garden.

Photogsnazzy: Dreamy Caterpillars

I actually tried to do a little photography this weekend.  Almost always I'm lazy and do everything on automatic settings--- maybe I'll adjust aperture--- and focus mostly on composition, hoping that there is enough light for the image to come out looking pretty much how I want it.  Well, it's time to stop being lazy!

I did a little refreshing by cracking open a few photography books and borrowed my Dad's Nikon to actually try taking some pictures experimenting with the ISO, shutter speed, aperture and focus on manual!

Unfortunately, I took too long to get around to doing this and the sun was pretty much set by the time I got a acquainted with the camera.  That and I kept forgetting to check the focus!  (I'm so used to the machines doing everything for me!)  Maybe I should stay on auto focus until I get the hang of things.    So I basically took a bunch of really bad photos.

However, I thought I'd share a few dreamy (out-of-focus, over/under-exposed) photographs--- primarily of caterpillars!

I think these are the settings I used: 1/25s, f/4.5, ISO 400.

1/25s, f/4.5, ISO 640

1/24s, f/4.5, ISO 250 . . . also I just like the blurry green in this one, with the white flowers peaking through.

Photogsnazzy: Summer flowers

During my weekend trip to Winterthur (Delaware) and Cape May, I saw many flowers.  Some were in shadow.  Some were in sunlight.  Some held perfectly still.  Some were buffeted by the morning breeze.

Photogsnazzy: Drunk (on procrastination) Goggles

So I am supposed to be writing a paper this weekend.

And I've managed to do everything imaginable EXCEPT work on my paper.

Including make York Peppermint Patties Glasses.

 There is no hope for me, is there?

Photogsnazzy: A Tree, No More

Trees are very beautiful.

Even without their leaves in the beginning of winter this year, I keep on being surprised by how beautiful the trees are in the early morning, late at night, during sunset, in the rain, in the fog, all the time!  I find myself writing poetry about trees many times a week as I drive to work.

Sadly (or perhaps happily) by the time I actually get to work and can write my musings down, I've forgotten them.

My parents cut down two of the trees in our yard this summer.  As relieved as we all were not to have to worry about them falling on our house/cars during the Hurricane, I will miss them, especially the one outside my window.

No more will I be able to watch its bright leaves rolling back and forth in the breeze or being flattened in a windy gale or dancing against a backdrop of tumultuous dark thunder clouds.

I took this picture of the tree from my window last autumn, not knowing it would be our last together.

Photogsnazzy: Sunshine and Newspaper

All of this snow in October is making me long for the summer when I could spend a Saturday afternoon reading the newspaper on the lawn in the warm sunshine.

Photogsnazzy: Autumnal Guest Author Ania!!!

Welcome to my first guest authored post! I have super cool and talented friends who deserve a little attention. One of them is Ania who does a little, gorgeous photography--- while simultaneously being a medical student! You can check out her blog about photography, U2, and med school here. But first check out her post below:

Autumn Photos, Pinckney State Recreation Area, Michigan by Ania

My friend Ashley and I decided to leave Ann Arbor for a day and go immerse ourselves in the wonders of Mother Nature while the trees were changing colors. Lost among girl talk and miles of trails, I managed to remember to use my beloved Nikon D90.

Ashley really liked the Sassafras leaves, and found one so appealing she put it to her face. Voilà, the birth of a very fun photo.
I am a huge fan of macro shots, and when we spotted these adorable fungi growing on a tree trunk, I could not help myself.

Photogsnazzy: Luna

We came home from work and found this behind our front door. I generally don't like moths when they flutter around and collide with your face, but when they are sitting still, they are really very lovely.

Photogsnazzy: Prom

I took this picture before my lil sister's prom during this weird, endless ritual when everyone's family gathers at one person's house and spends ages taking a billion photos of 30 giddy teenagers.

For me it captures what prom seemed to be about for me: young people being confused, dressed-up & silly in a pretty drab and conformative setting, but some how believing it is supposed to be a really iconic, personal moment.

Photogsnazzy: Depression Bread Line, by George Segal

As I've said before, I don't know much about sculpture, but one of my favorite sculptors is George Segal.

He is well-known for his "Depression Bread Line" which just beautifully captures the pathos of 30s poverty.

Pics taken at the Ground for Sculpture.

He is also featured in the wonderful work he did for the FDR memorial in Washington D.C.

I think I feel a kinship with the dash of melancholy and bleak anonymity his style often gives his subjects. There is something very New Jersey (tri-state?) about it to me; Segal lived in New Jersey for 60 years. My writing professor once described my writing as: "You have Beauty & Nature versus, for lack of a better word, New Jersey." That's not exactly how I see it, but there is something of that going on in me, and perhaps in Segal as well.

Photogsnazzy: My summer friends, the Snapdragons

Rutgers rarely does things of which I approve, but I must congratulate whoever is responsible for this lovely bed of snapdragons outside the dining hall near my office. Every time I see their bright summer cheerfulness, I cannot help but smile and acknowledge that there is beauty and grace in the world.

Photogsnazzy: My summer friends, the Hydrangeas

My parents took my camera on a two week trip around New England. But that didn't stop me from taking pics, cuz my phone now is a camera phone because I am super hip and cool. Here are some GORGEOUS hydrangeas I had the privilege of encountering last weekend.


They were in full bloom, glowing with summer. I just wanted to dance around in their glory and splendor. Unfortunately, that would have been really weird and embarrassed the people I was with.

Photogsnazzy: King Lear, by J. Seward Johnson

I don't know much about sculpture, and this artist had many other, different sculptures around the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, but I was very taken with this 20ft metal depiction of King Lear. Something about it captures the forlorn, weary despair about the classic character yet retains its regal dignity and moral certainty.

I was very much fascinated by the haunting face and eyes.

Photogsnazzy: Chili Soap Bubbles

Ok, the story: my mom made chili.  After dinner, she filled up the pot in which the chili had been made with soap water, then oops! Someone forgot to wash it.  Got up the next morning.  Early morning sun streaming through the window.  Blazing orange soap bubbles!!!

If I actually had an photography skills I would have exposed this better.  They were slightly more red than in this picture  and they were pretty amazing.  I have no shame in confessing that I probably spend 15 minutes staring into the kitchen sink.