Project 365 - Holiday Preparation

Holiday Preparation

In preparation for the holidays, the Leshinsky family always takes a photo that we use in our holiday card.  Joel had an idea and wanted to make sure that we took the photo before Rachel left for school so we went out to find this perfect location and I set up my tripod and put the camera on the timer feature and snapped away until we got the perfect shot!

This is NOT the shot.  But I liked it a lot.  The girls look happy, rested and comfortable with each other and in front of the camera.  I like the way the tree is the frame around them.

As we made our way back to the car we saw this branch that was incredibly long and crooked.  So I was trying to get the whole thing into the shot while they were yelling at me to hurry up and let's go!  But as always, I ignored them to take the photo at the right exposure and angle.

The other shot was of the family getting ready to get into the car, but of course they couldn't because I had the keys!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - November 27, 2010 Part II

The Leshinsky Girls Get a Haircut

We all needed a haircut so after we spent the afternoon at the Kaplans watching the Michigan/Ohio football game.  Needless to say, Michigan lost and it was a very quiet ending to a very loud beginning.  But I know that my friend, Leon, was extremely happy!  As for me, I am not really into football so it doesn't matter to me who wins as long as someone I know is happy.  I am a baseball girl myself.

Well, I digress . . . as soon as the girls sat in the chairs, I HAD to take photos!  These are the results of the fruits of my labor.  Nothing earth-shattering, but I like them.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - November 27, 2010

Photo of the Day - November 27, 2010

I am back to my normal routine!  I think about photography, see photos with my eyes and carry my camera everywhere that I go so that I can capture, well, capture whatever!

As the Thanksgiving Holiday continues, and I get more rest, I have the energy to roll out of bed, throw on my sneakers and one camera on each shoulder . . . one with my 28 - 55 mm lens and one with my 55 - 200 mm lens.

I was totally uninspired by the drab lighting.  However, I like a challenge.  So I stayed out there for more than an hour.  I wandered around the lake, looking for anything that I could shoot.  I found some ducks and these other birds that I don't know their real name, but I call them swamp chickens, and then I found one perfect moment where this bird was perched on the edge of the dock.  So, after be uninspired, I found what I was looking for!  The photo of the day.

For more visit my Flickr site.

Project 365 - Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Our annual tradition on Thanksgiving is for Joel to get up really early and start cooking, he makes me a cup of coffee and then reads the paper.  It is a quiet start to the day.

By 9 a.m. Rachel walks in, sleepily, carrying her laptop and blanket and climbs into bed with us  . . . usually in the middle!  Then in swaggers Adina with her laptop and blanket and at this point, Joel leaves.  We turn on NBC so that we can watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Our favorite part is the first hour where we get to see snippets of the newest and hottest Broadway shows.  This year . . . American Idiot, Memphis and Elf!  Adina and I saw American Idiot this past July and LOVED it.

We are still sitting in the same position and it is more than two hours later, but we don't move until we see Santa Claus!  Aren't we good Jews??

Seriously, it is great fun and I wouldn't miss it for the world.  This last photo is my view of the morning!

Project 365 - South Beach Photo Shoot

South Beach Photo Shoot

I am taking the Level III Advanced Photography Course offered by Jeremiah Jenner.  We meet every Saturday at a different location.  We have gone to the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum and worked on PhotoShop at his studio/gallery/apartment in the Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts.  This past Saturday night we went to South Beach in Miami Beach.

I drove to Sailboat Bend and picked up Jeremiah and and Doug (a fellow student) and we got to Lincoln Road at about 5:15 p.m.  With the failing light, we were offered MANY challenges to take good photos.  Two rules . . . no flash and no tripod.  So there is a lot of standing VERY still, elbows tucked in, and holding your breath but letting it out as you squeeze the shutter!  We also experimented with using walls and other surfaces to balance our cameras, not to mention our knees as we were sitting on the ground watching traffic fly by.

But South Beach offers an eclectic array of subjects to shoot, from diverse faces to neon in every color on the planet.  The colors of South Beach are unlike anywhere else . . . pastels, brilliant pinks and greens . . . remnants of Miami Vice days and art deco architecture.

To see more, simply go to my Flickr account to see them all.

Project 365 - It's Potter Time

It's Potter Time

Oh to be 15 and carefree again.  My daughter and her friend, Amaris, went to extreme lengths to dress up like the characters that attend Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.  I think they did a fabulous job!

Then my neighbor, Robert, took them to the midnight showing of the film on Thursday, November 18.  I would have taken her but I just got off the plane at 7 p.m. after flying for five hours from San Francisco.  There was absolutely no way that my eyes would have stayed open past 10 pm.

I am a Harry Potter geek too, but I am waiting for Rachel to come home and we are all going to go together the day after Thanksgiving!  I don't think I will be dressing up though!

Project 365 - Napa Valley Winery Tour

What a Day!

When in Wine Country what else do you do but take a tour of the wineries!  In my head it was going to be like a day in the movie "Sideways.' Nothing was further from that image!!

The day started out with a simple breakfast of yogurt and fruit while we read our emails and uploaded photos.  By 10 a.m. we left for the train station.  Sitting in the train station was an experience as we listened to Mike Grgich, a local winery owner and Napa pioneer.  The man is about 86 and his daughter is now running Grgich Hills Winery.  He was charming and spoke lovingly about making wine.  His daughter also spoke about the different wines and especially about the two that we were tasting today.  One was a Fume Blanc and the other was a Cabernet Sauvignon.  The white wine was "spice" a very interesting taste.  One I wouldn't normally choose, but I really did like it.  The other was very dark and rich and smooth on the tongue.

Then we got onto the train.  Oh, I forgot to mention that I am visiting my cousin Rebecca.  Our parents were siblings and since she grew up in Brooklyn, we spent a LOT of time together as kids but as adults, we only see each other occasionally, but thanks to Facebook, we talk quite a bit.  So Rebecca took a few days off to spend with me and she is treating me to two days of wineries!

So the train took off, headed north and we talked and drank, caught up and then we walked out on the platform of the back of the train and I shot lots of images of this pristine countryside.  The colors are so rich.  This time of year is after what they call the "crush" but there are still a few grapes still on the vines here and there.

Then we moved to the dining car where we shared our lunches . . . I had chicken with baby carrots and polenta and Rebecca had salmon with baby red potatoes and spinach with a curry avocado sauce.  Are you hungry yet?  We topped that off with Tiaramisu and Creme Brulee.

Needless to say, we were both so full that we really never ate dinner tonight, but after a trip to downtown Napa and a walk through the Oxbow Public Market, we both selected something extremely simple and continued to talk well into the evening.